Konica C8000 review and Please HELP!!!!

[Toner4Brains]

Thats the same story I got....i dont see how one test sheet would take so much heat out that it needs to warm up. some serious software fault

Rsands-
The time it takes for warm up is to stabilize fuser temps. You can cut the warm up time considerably by going into Utility - User Settings - Common Settings - hit next a couple of times until you see the options "Fusing Stability (Quick Start)" and change it from Image Quality to Speed. There is also an option for Fusing Stability on Mixed Media which if set to speed will not stop at all between different weight sheets. The caution here is that the fusing temp may be slightly different on the first few sheets of a job as it stabilizes once in production, but it cuts that warm up time down by about 70%.

[Toner4Brains]

Here is a link to the dropbox file. Take a look. the shift is visable from the scan, but its a bit more pronouced in person. FYI. This is a print of 10 sheets. This is a SHEET to SHEET issue. Whats interesting, is it is not visible on all projects. Solids seem to be where it really shows up.

Does the color stabilize once a job is running or does it continue to jump around like this throughout a run? Without knowing a whole lot of details, it wouldn't be totally out of the ordinary that color could shift like this in one of 2 scenarios:
-If the CDC sheets were spit out prior to this job starting, it would begin the process of adjusting the color over however many sheets you have the CDC control set up for (you can have it move abruptly or slowly over a number of sheets).
-If the IDC is detecting changes sheet to sheet, it would take a few sheets to stabilize so if it jumps around in the beginning of a job and stabilizes that may just be the machine doing what it should be doing (technically) and getting the color back to where it should be as much as an excuse that sounds like.

[csudman]

Does the color stabilize once a job is running or does it continue to jump around like this throughout a run? If I run 200 or 1000, same issue. Its sheet to sheet.

Without knowing a whole lot of details, it wouldn't be totally out of the ordinary that color could shift like this in one of 2 scenarios:
-If the CDC sheets were spit out prior to this job starting, it would begin the process of adjusting the color over however many sheets you have the CDC control set up for (you can have it move abruptly or slowly over a number of sheets). We are outputting CDC sheets every 500. Sometimes it prints them before the first sheet comes out, sometimes not. I'm not sure of the reason it happens that way.

-If the IDC is detecting changes sheet to sheet, it would take a few sheets to stabilize so if it jumps around in the beginning of a job and stabilizes that may just be the machine doing what it should be doing (technically) and getting the color back to where it should be as much as an excuse that sounds like. Being the sheets vary through the entire job, I dont see this as the situation. No, the IDC may be detecting the changes and trying to adjust it back on every sheet. I don't know. We pay A LOT of money for service so I don't have to know.

[rsands]

Thanks Toner4Brains....worked a treat. You wouldn't mind coming over and teaching Konica a few things??

[grafix]

I too have a C8000 with problems like yours and others. Try running the sheet in tray 5 & 6 and see if this alignment is helped. If you have auto-centering off and are using mechanical alignments that is one thing. If auto-centering is turned on you will have problems...a fix is being tested.

[csudman]

After 2 and a half months of no fix, sending at least 2 sets, if not 3, of samples from the machine to the KM lab. The engineers decided to reinstall the fiery, which makes no sence.

Km's software tech got here at 1:00 yesterday and stated there was no reason to reinstall fiery so when the hardware guy got here they installed all new drums instead. (They were at about 60% of life). It made a difference, were about 75% better, but its still not right.

This is rediculas. I hate KM.

[rsands]

I know the feeling....

[KopyBoss]

We have been lucky no major problems with our c8000. I would tell them to either fix the problem or replace the print engine again this time with a new one...Not one with a 100k.

[csudman]

We have been lucky no major problems with our c8000. I would tell them to either fix the problem or replace the print engine again this time with a new one...Not one with a 100k.

I wish it was that easy.

[IR8PIR8]

Wow, this seems to be the only bad report on the C8000. There sure are a lot of other bad ones on their competitors, especially the Ricoh 901.
When looking at the C8000 the only real machine that fits in that space with them is the Xerox 800.
The Ricoh 901 comes to an absolute creep when doing any mixed media. I have literally seen jobs take over three minutes on a 901 that took under 20 seconds on a C8000. That single fuser on the 901 kills it. It takes forever to switch media, not to mention i hear they have color consistency issues.
It is very important on a C8000 to realize their paper catalog is imperative. You do not want to run that machine with generic paper descriptions, you need to catalog your paper.
Another bright spot for the C8000 is that Konica Minolta manufactures their own finishing and Ricoh and most other manufacturers do not. This means when a VDP job jams you can reclaim on the proper record due to it having true bi directional communication pas the engine. When other manufacturers outsource their finishers to other companies they slow down considerably from engine speed and they also lose communication past the engine. Big problem!
The C8000 also has two densitometers on the inside so they are checking density both pre and post fusing while most others are just doing this once if at all. I also like the 350gsm single sided and the 300gsm duplexed. If you catalog your papers and listen to your trainers they will typically give you a sequence to do these actions, that order sequence is important. If you follow it you will get good consistent registration as well.
I know the C8000 also has a larger color gammut than most engines out there so you can hit those difficult colors a little more easy. I know I have been provided many positive and glowing references on the C8000 and they all seem very happy. You can't make everyone happy, but the majority of C8000 owners I talk to seem to love it.
It's a shame Ricoh directed me to this site and particular blog as a selling tactic against Konica Minolta. There seem to be compliments and complaints on every machine, but if you line the spec's and facts up the KM seems to be stronger.
200 page booklet, 80 page on 901
300 page perfect binder on KM
Dual fuser versus one fuser that winds up and down in temperature for mixed media. exponentially faster on the KM.
The folder on the KM is brilliant, 6 different types of folds, some even nested.

Just my opinion, but the C8000 is gold. The only other machinein its class is the Xerox 800 if you got the money.