Is it me or the printer?

[gazfocus]

Could really do with some opinions here...

As you may have read from my past threads, I recently got a Xerox C560 with Light Production Finisher. I know it's not the best printer in the world but it's substantially better than my last machine.

Anyway, when I'm printing stuff, the printer doesn't seem to print in the same position of each sheet of paper. As an example, I might print an A3 poster (on SRA3 paper), and the first sheet might have a 10mm border on the left, and the second sheet might have a 14mm border (not exact measurements as I've nothing to measure at the moment).

This in itself is a right pain in the rear, but coupled with the fact I've just spent a lot of money on a Uchida BC-10 business card slitter, the problem is amplified somewhat as I have no control over where the cuts are.

Now, I'm always open to the idea that I'm the one at fault being a relative beginner, so I'm just wondering if it's me (or my expectations), or is it something I should be asking Xerox to come out an look at (or is there something on the printer I can play around with)?

Any suggestions gratefully received.

 

[DYP]

There should be a sensor in the paper path right before the 2nd BTR. Have you taken that apart and cleaned it?

 

[MailGuru]

According to the administration/operation manual on the 560, there are some adjustments you can make to improve skew, alignment, and registration (you can download the manual off of Xerox's site), HOWEVER, the sales literature on that printer (and, which is probably also in your Customer Expectation Document) is "plus or minus 1.2 mm on the leading edge, and, plus or minus 2.4 mm side-to-side", which would not be acceptable in our environment (most mid-range digital production presses are usually rated at plus or minus 0.5 mm top to bottom and side to side. But, like I said, there appears to be some adjustments you can make through the printer's LED menu that may help.

 

[gazfocus]

DYP - thanks, not sure where that is but will have a look. I've only printed 2000 pages with it since having it due to one problem or another. Getting fed up now.

MailGuru - thanks. I did find some settings in command workstation that can improve front to back registration but not much help when the printer can't even get one sided right.

I wasn't aware of the 1.2/2.4mm issue (and probably wouldn't have bought the printer if I had known), so that's an interesting thing to learn.

I will have a play tomorrow and see what o can figure out.

I'll never understand why you can't just send a document with a 12mm border round and get a printed document with a 12mm border haha.

 

[pippip]

What weight is the stock? Is it the same on all weights and finishes?

We have a DC242 at the moment. Its rated to 300gsm. I can get most 350gsm through the machine but depending on the make of stock some would have register movement of up to 5mm. I have found one make of 350gsm uncoated and another make of 350gsm silk that do hold perfect register. Not sure exact reasons why. I initially thought it was something to do with grain direction but with a micrometer one is slightly thicker even though they are both 350gsm. You can feel the difference too.

 

[gazfocus]

pippip - it is pretty much the same on all stock. The only thing it seems to work well on is A4 sheets of labels from tray 3 (an a4 only tray).

I did have extra problems today with paper jams on some Xerox 350gsm gloss paper today (had to set it to Coated 3 which is rated up to 256gsm or something similar) but before that was using a Lumi 350gsm gloss and that went through the machine without jamming (although still had the same issue of prints not being centred).

Would be interested to hear which brands you've found to work well. I switched from Lumi to Xerox paper because the Lumi stuff tended to curl a lot on our old printer.

 

[pippip]

Sounds like a sensor issue if its across all the range, to be honest I wouldn't be able to assist there, our service contract takes care of the technical knowhow. Presume its staying straight but moving? rather than just swinging about.

We used to use the Lumi silk 350gsm but they changed mill about a year or two ago and all of a sudden it stopped holding register. Had been using a brand called Experia 350gsm silk but even that mill recently closed and haven't found a replacement there. For uncoated we were using Prodesign 350gsm until that mill went and now using a range called DCP which is a ultra white 350gsm, holds perfect register, does have a bad curl like you said but I generally just man handle them flat every 30 sheets or so.
Have used HP laser 350gsm which works fine too but slightly more expensive than the DCP.

To be honest I had completely forgotten about the Xerox ranges, very expensive here in Ireland and haven't used them for years. Might see what prices they are now and whats available.

 

[gazfocus]

Will have a look at some of those brands. Yeah, Xerox is quite a bit more expensive but it doesn't curl anywhere near as bad as Lumi (although our Xerox C560 has a dual decurler module so might not be a problem).

We do have a service contract with Xerox so I am wondering whether to give them a call, but just wanted to make sure it wasn't something I've done wrong before I ring them and make a fool of myself

 

[RobertABD]

Will have a look at some of those brands. Yeah, Xerox is quite a bit more expensive but it doesn't curl anywhere near as bad as Lumi (although our Xerox C560 has a dual decurler module so might not be a problem).

We do have a service contract with Xerox so I am wondering whether to give them a call, but just wanted to make sure it wasn't something I've done wrong before I ring them and make a fool of myself

Hi there, should you wish to upgrade your C560 to C60, C70, C75 or J75 or even to Versant 80. Message me. Great deals on Refurbished Xerox production printers.

 

[gazfocus]

Hi there, should you wish to upgrade your C560 to C60, C70, C75 or J75 or even to Versant 80. Message me. Great deals on Refurbished Xerox production printers.

Seeing as we've only just got this printer, I don't think we'll be upgrading...plus you're a long long way from us :
Oh and I don't tend to deal with people that sign up to forums just to try selling their gear to forum members!

 

[easiprint]

There will be some movement, but 4mm is unworkable in my opinion. The obvious thing to check is that your paper guides in the trays are tight to the stock - if it moves in the tray, then there will of course be movement on the printed sheet. Providing the tray guides are good, then yes, call an engineer to fix it.

 

[gazfocus]

I've been doing some test prints on various media today and the problem is apparent from all trays and on all media. I have also noticed (rather worryingly) that the printer is also printing slightly wonky (i.e. at the bottom of the sheet I have a right margin of 9mm, and the top of the sheet I have a right margin of 8mm, so the print is at a slight angle).

Think I'm going to have to give Xerox a call.

 

[namelessentity]

Most lower end printers don't have great sheet to sheet registration. they generally just try to center the print, whereas the higher end machines try to run closer to a press by butting a sheet to a corner so everything lands in the same spot.

Your Uchida BC-10 business card slitter should have a registration mark function to accommodate for printer shift sheet to sheet. Look in your manual, or contact your sales person.

 

[gazfocus]

Most lower end printers don't have great sheet to sheet registration. they generally just try to center the print, whereas the higher end machines try to run closer to a press by butting a sheet to a corner so everything lands in the same spot.

Your Uchida BC-10 business card slitter should have a registration mark function to accommodate for printer shift sheet to sheet. Look in your manual, or contact your sales person.

The Xerox 560 was a $40k (list price) printer when it was new, and the results I'm getting in terms of the position on the page are worse than the cheap Konica C220 I had.

To be honest, if the printer successfully centered the print, I'd be find with that as at least I'd be able to work with it, however, not only is it not entering the print, it's also printing wonky.

The Uchida does has a registration mark function - had not thought of that. Will read up on it

 

[namelessentity]

I should have emphasized the "TRY" for centering, it's basically just eyeballing it, despite all the marketing they claim. Our old Konica c6500 loved to just randomly bounce mid-run and ruin entire jobs for cutting.

 

[stonemask]

you should be able to get a Ricoh Pro C5100 or a used C651 for cheaps with excellent registration (I´m a Ricoh and a Xerox tech)

 

[gazfocus]

I'm not interested in buying another printer at the moment, I want this one to print straight haha

 

[MailGuru]

I'm not interested in buying another printer at the moment, I want this one to print straight haha

".......Beam Me Up, Scotty..............There's No Life Down Here..........."

 

[gazfocus]

".......Beam Me Up, Scotty..............There's No Life Down Here..........."

What are you trying to say?

 

[MailGuru]

Maybe it's just me, but, lately, it seems that there is an increase on this forum of recommendations to just throw out the piece of equipment that is causing a challenge, and buy a different piece of equipment. An appropriate analogy would be:

"While driving at 40 mph or above, my car continues to pull to the left. Has anyone else experienced this? Any recommendations on how to fix?"

Answer: "Buy a new car"


Like I said, there's no life down here.................................