C258 - Faded print on one side of 12x18 inches art card

[Diwakar]

Hearty hello to all !

We are encountering a strange problem with our Konica Minolta C 258, wherein, when print on 12x18 inches sheet of 260 GSM, we are getting faded print on one side. I have attached the image in which the left side can be seen with light (faded) colours as compared to the right side.


We called in the expert technician and he dis-assembled the drum and developer units and cleaned the laser unit assembly by inserting cloth piece inside the cavity. However, after he is done with the cleaning, the print quality deteriorated and faded prints started coming in thick strips.

After few more prints, the fading pattern restored back to one side fade print as it was earlier before the clean up.

Please advise.

Thank you for reading this and we truly appreciate if anybody can come up with some suggestions.
A lovely and safe day ahead.

With warm regards,View attachment faded print.jpg

 

[SteveSuffRIT]

I'm a litho guy, not toner, but I would be curious if the same issue is "noticeable" if you changed the layout by turning around one of the 2-up images. Instead of head-foot, try head-head? It may but solve the root cause problem but it might allow you to get sellable quality?

 

[Ynot_UK]

Are you using the correct weight setting (Thick 3) so the pass is suitably slowed down for the thickness of the substrate?

What is the length of run of your heavy coverage jobs?

The C258 is an office grade MFP device and although it will accept heavier weights and coated stocks, on such jobs the output won’t necessarily be consistent and drums won’t last as long as expected. Plus you’ll get jams. If not now, later.

Speaking from experience, we used to use/abuse our C454 in a similar way, before buying the C4080

 

[Schnicklefritz]

Over here I operate a KM1100 and see the same problem every couple of months. The technician usually tries the cleaning approach as your's did, but there could be two other reasons for the fading. When the developer is due to be changed you may see that kind of fading, or if the corona isn't holding it's charge it may have to be replaced. I'm surprised your tech left you without a solution.

 

[Diwakar]

I'm a litho guy, not toner, but I would be curious if the same issue is "noticeable" if you changed the layout by turning around one of the 2-up images. Instead of head-foot, try head-head? It may but solve the root cause problem but it might allow you to get sellable quality?

Hi, thank you for the response, however, that cannot be implemented as of now because of the variety of print jobs. However, we will keep it in mind in case of urgent requirements.

 

[Diwakar]

Are you using the correct weight setting (Thick 3) so the pass is suitably slowed down for the thickness of the substrate?

What is the length of run of your heavy coverage jobs?

The C258 is an office grade MFP device and although it will accept heavier weights and coated stocks, on such jobs the output won’t necessarily be consistent and drums won’t last as long as expected. Plus you’ll get jams. If not now, later.

Speaking from experience, we used to use/abuse our C454 in a similar way, before buying the C4080

Thank you very much for the response and the time you have given.

So, we select Thick 4 on the setting tab and we usually print 50-70 12x18 in 260-285 gsm art cards with 95% coverage in full colour at 1200 dpi.

And, yes, we do agree that it is an abuse of the office grade MFP :-( . We will shift to production grade printer in coming months, but for the recent print jobs, this is a cause of concern.

 

[Diwakar]

Over here I operate a KM1100 and see the same problem every couple of months. The technician usually tries the cleaning approach as your's did, but there could be two other reasons for the fading. When the developer is due to be changed you may see that kind of fading, or if the corona isn't holding it's charge it may have to be replaced. I'm surprised your tech left you without a solution.

Thanks for the response and your time.

So, the technician asked his supervisor to take a look as he said that the laser unit needs to be taken out and dismantled and then it has to be cleaned thoroughly.

He will be here with his supervisor in a couple of hours, and I will let you know the outcome.

 

[The Copy Guys]

Are you using the correct weight setting (Thick 3) so the pass is suitably slowed down for the thickness of the substrate?

What is the length of run of your heavy coverage jobs?

The C258 is an office grade MFP device and although it will accept heavier weights and coated stocks, on such jobs the output won’t necessarily be consistent and drums won’t last as long as expected. Plus you’ll get jams. If not now, later.

Speaking from experience, we used to use/abuse our C454 in a similar way, before buying the C4080

This here. The C258 is a very small office duty MFP. It can do heavy stock as a page here and there, but not continuously. It doesn't have the means to keep up page after page with toner supply, fuser temperature and charges.