Chosen Solution
HiI have a HP LaserJet P1505 printer whose formatter board is damaged. Is it possible for me to replace it with formatter board of P1505n model ? So that I can share my printer on the network from now on.
The issue with cheap printers like the p1505 is when they begin to break down, the parts tend to cost more than a new one (or a low-use used replacement). They’re like inkjets in the sense they are disposable, they just changed the printing material and added laser printer parts. Their disposable nature alone makes it hard to find parts like the formatter board. However, it is sometimes still made available but it can be very hard to find due to the original cost of the printer, a similar new one (even with toner DRM), and how many get discarded. Sometimes if you know someone who may be scrapping one in IT that’s a possible lead (and if I landed a deal where I had to take the low-end printer if someone wanted it, they can have it; I have a C3326 and M401n). If you really want to replace it your best bet is usually to get one with a major fault like a bad fuser and pull it from there if you can’t just buy the formatter. My experience with all of these cheap lasers is they’re built down to a price anyway so a modern one will not be any worse off for build quality than this, but it likely has more toner DRM if it isn’t a Brother. The reason I detest these low-end (read: DISPOSABLE) printers comes down to how cheaply made they are. I would rather buy my M401n again (if I can still get them with low page counts, think 10-15k; 20k if I’m getting desperate) or repair a 10-year-old 75k page workhorse HP without toner DRM if it broke and I needed another spare to deploy if this one breaks. At least with my dead C3426 it was unfixable due to a bad controller but at least it was worth attempting the repair on because it is considered to be a proper “business class” color laser (with higher operating costs vs a mono because it’s color).
