Print smears The first one or two pages come out smeary. I have replaced the maintenance kit with no luck. A response to a similar question about the 8550DN mentioned cleaning the encoder. I took the covers off and saw it. However, how does one get the thing out to clean it or access it otherwise. All help greatly appreciated.

Included general maintenance video and how to clear smears from the paper.

Solution: Remove Print Smears / Printing Fuser Cleaning Pages
7750 Support Knowledge Base Remove Print Smears Fuser Cleaning...

With Troublshooting highlighted on the printer display perform the following steps:

1. Press OK.
2. Press the Down Arrow and scroll to Print Quality Problems.
3. Press OK.
4. Press the Down Arrow and scroll to Remove Print Smears.
5. Press OK. The printer will print 5 cleaning pages.

Repeat this process five or six times, to remove stubborn toner buildup from the fuser.
Always make sure you are matching the type of paper loaded in the printer tray(s) to the correct Paper Type front panel setting. When you load a tray with paper, the front panel will ask you to indicate the type of paper you loaded. For correct print quality and printer operation, be sure to set this correctly.
MAINTENANCE:
Phaser 7750 Video Instruction Maintenance for the Printer Phaser

Take print out of configuration page(menu-information-configuration page), chech the maintenance kit interval 2,25,000 crossed?
YES... replace maintenance kit & Swing plate assm..
NO... check fuser sleeve surface arrested with toner?...Replace fuser...

Have you looked at the roll in your maintenance kit? It may be dry in that area and not applying enough lubricant on the drum. Or you have some contaminant on the print head wiper blade or the mylar strip in the maintenance kit. Sounds like something is making contact with the drum causing your problem.

Hi jepeto997:
Try these steps.
Check for and remove any media, jammed
paper, or debris found in the printers exit
path.
2. Did this correct the problem?
Complete. Go to Step 2.
2 1. Clean the maintenance kit wiper blade or
replace the maintenance kit.
2. Did this correct the problem?
Complete. Go to Step 3.
3 1. Check the exit area, exit frame, the
preheater, maintenance kit, and the
printhead (including the paper release blade)
to see if there is anything touching the drum
assembly.
2. Reseat any printer component interfering or
touching the drum assembly.
If there are streaks on the front side only of a
2-sided print, the preheater may be scraping
ink off the print.
2. Look for ink shavings along the streaks on
the printed paper.
3. Clean the preheater using the Control Panel
Remove Print Smears function.
4. Did this correct the problem?
Complete. Go to Step 5.
5 1. Possible weak or missing jet. Print the weak/
missing jet test print from the Control Panel,
see "Weak/Missing Jet" on page 5-33.
2. Did this correct the problem?
Complete. Go to Step 6.
6 1. Possible discolored jet. Print the solid fill test
print, see "Black, Red, Green, Blue, Cyan,
Magenta, and Yellow Solid Fills" on
page 5-40.
2. Did this correct the problem?
Complete. Go to Step 7.
7 1. The X-axis drive is not functioning correctly.
If the X-Axis Drive does not move the
printhead smoothly and evenly during
printing, vertical lines appear on the print.
For information about X-Axis Drive
problems, see "White Stripes (Pinstripes)"
on page 5-30.
2. Did this correct the problem?
Complete. Go to Step 8.
8 1. Smears on a duplex print can be caused by
the paper preheater operating at a
temperature that is too high or debris is in
the duplex roller or duplex paper path
guides.
2. Run the service diagnostics Duplex Path
test to check the paper preheater’s
temperature.
3. Is the operating temperature within the
correct value range?
the paper preheater operating at a
temperature that is too high or debris is in
the duplex roller or duplex paper path
guides.
2. Run the service diagnostics Duplex Path
test to check the paper preheater’s
temperature.
3. Is the operating temperature within the
correct value range?
Replace the
preheater.
Replace the
electronics
module
Hope this helps
3. Clean the paper release blade.
4. Did this correct the problem?

Your maintenance kit is running low on oil and needs to be replaced. Since the image drum is not getting enough lubrication, some of the ink from the previous page is sticking to the drum and carried over onto the next page. Also, try to match the printer paper type to the paper you are using. It will adjust speed, temperature, etc. to optimize print.

The toner cartridge sounds like the problem to me. Did you refill it? Or have it done? It sounds like an incompatible brand......toner is very model specific, and not just 'any' will do, and it often doen't mix well with the remaining toner i the cartridge if it is not completely disassembled and cleaned out. Just curious

Appropriate cleaning procedures, as listed in the following tables, should be
performed when specific print-quality or paper transport problems occur.
All cleaning procedures are detailed in the printer’s Phaser 8400 Reference Guide or
the Phaser 8500/8550 User’s Guide.
Light Stripes or Missing Colors
Problem type Solution
Missing or light-colored
stripes on prints.
Select the automated procedure Eliminate Light Stripes from
the Control Panel.
Ink Smears, Oil Spots, or Random Ink Streaks
Problem type Solution
Ink smears on the front,
back, or edges of a page.
Select the automated procedure Remove Print Smears from
the Control Panel.
Check the maintenance kit for ink and paper-dust build-up on
the wiper blade.
Oil (drum fluid) on top edge
of print.
Select the automated procedure Remove Print Smears from
the Control Panel.

Hope this helps
pdouglasss

What normally causes that condition is a worn or dirty wiper blade. That blade is located between the print head and the drum. Is will not clean properly between prints.
There is a possibility that the maintenance kit could be the problem depending on how it was stored.
That is a roller impregnated with silicon lubricant, if it is stored standing on end, the lubricant will seep to one side and the opposite side will be pretty dry causing smears and streaks.
Also, have you gone into the tools mode and run the cycle to remove smears and smudges? That can help resolve your problem.
With the problem getting somewhat less as you run, I would take a good look at the maintenance kit just to see how it is cleaning. Look at the large roller and see if there are any sopts.

We were having a lot of print quality problems, similar to what you describe. We replaced the drum and it worked fine.

That really sounds like you need to replace the maintenance kit.
The white roller most likely is black and has depleted itself of lubricant a bit prematurely.