Different fusers for different paper sizes?

[mongoose]

I have the Ricoh 7210. I run mostly 100#, 110#, 120#, 130#, 16PT coated cover papers and NCR as well.
The problem I tend to have is that if I run a job with smaller size first, then switch to the bigger size, then I will get the fuser line running the top and bottom of the paper.
For example, If I run 1000 sheets of 12"x18" 110# cover first, then run another job on 13"x19" sheets. I will get the lines running across horizontally on top and bottom. (0.5" inch from the top margin and 0.5" inch from the bottom margin).
The same thing applies if I run a few thousands of NCR size 11"x17" then switch to run anything bigger 12"x18" or 13"x19", there will be lines at the 11" mark.

The machine has the maintenance option to "Smoothe the Fusing Belt manually" which if you run enough of those, eventually, the lines will slowly fade out. But I had to run many times of those manually to get rid of a good portion of that line. The lines will be more obvious when you have solid color coverage.

Now, the only way I can think of to avoid such the problem is to dedicate different fuser for different paper size so I don't have to worry about those lines (1 fuser for 11x17, 1 fuser for 12x18 and the third fuser for 13x19). I wonder if you guys have such a problem and what your solutions might be?

 

[Fredbarnes]

No idea at all. But someone will soon answer this

 

[Shawnd]

I solve this issue with 2 machines, one I run 11x17 and smaller and the other I use for 12x18 and larger. I would recommend having 2 fusers if you are running 1 machine and using different paper sizes, did you not get 2 fusers with yours? You should have a backup with the TRCU program and spare parts onsite. If you can do 3 fusers it would be better. One thing you can do is have your tech increase the time for your smoothing, we have ours set to 5 minutes in order to get rid of lines.

You will also get lines on your paper transfer roller, so you might also have to dedicate one of those to the different paper sizes, depends on how much and what you are running.

 

[SoggyWinter]

What does Ricoh Support recommend? I have never seen this issue before, but have not run Ricoh equipment.

 

[mongoose]

I do have a second fuser as part of the TRCU program. I was debating if I want to get a third fuser or not but that will come with an additional monthly cost. So i'm just running through my options to see what might be best. Ricoh support basically said the same thing that either keep running the Smoothe Fusing Belt or getting a third fuser to separate out the jobs. They showed me where to increase the duration of each Smoothe fusing belt. I did set it to 5 mins. I might set it longer. The issue with that is it's the machine down time. I might just need to negotiate with Ricoh better on this. It's more like.. look either you give me the third one for free or I keep running this Smoothe option many times and it will reduce the lifespan of the fuser which you will have to replace more often.

 

[truehue]

We've had the exact same trouble. On our old Ricoh C901, it was a frequent problem, and our technician DID suggest using one fuser for large stock and another for smaller stock. Those fusers were so heavy, this solution didn't last long AT ALL. So, we just called the tech when it became a problem. So far, with a new 7200, it hasn't been a big issue. We print some full coverage posters on 19x12.5 that show those lines heavily. But (fun fact) if you UV coat the job after, those lines go away. Hope someone else can offer better advice.

 

[Shawnd]

5 minutes usually does the trick for us, rarely do we have to run it twice. Is it possible to schedule your jobs by size? Cut down on how much time you have to run smoothing.

I would pester your sales rep about the 3rd fuser as they want to try and keep you happy, maybe take one from the demo room?

 

[pippip]

Never heard of this with ricoh? Will be replacing our v80 in the next year or two and was really leaning to ricoh as serious option but not sure if having to replace fusers between job sizes would suit our workflow, i could run a few different sizes within an hour alone.

 

[msaeger]

I do have a second fuser as part of the TRCU program. I was debating if I want to get a third fuser or not but that will come with an additional monthly cost. So i'm just running through my options to see what might be best. Ricoh support basically said the same thing that either keep running the Smoothe Fusing Belt or getting a third fuser to separate out the jobs. They showed me where to increase the duration of each Smoothe fusing belt. I did set it to 5 mins. I might set it longer. The issue with that is it's the machine down time. I might just need to negotiate with Ricoh better on this. It's more like.. look either you give me the third one for free or I keep running this Smoothe option many times and it will reduce the lifespan of the fuser which you will have to replace more often.

How many prints do you have on the machine? That fuser smoothing roller does need to get replaced. You can also set the machine to run it automatically for a short time every so many pages to keep the lines from getting bad enough that the smoothing roller won't get rid of them.

 

[mongoose]

This ricoh press is practically brand new. Only had it for a month or so. It's still in the setup and testing phase. It has approximately 25K ish prints on it. Ricoh wants me to pay additional $50 a month for the third fuser. Hate to pay for anything extra for things that shouldn't be a problem to begin with. I did set it up to run the smoothe more frequently during a job. Will see how much that will help. So far, i'm not super thrilled with the machine or service. Beside these issues, the front/back registration continues to bother me. it's like every monday I had to readjust the registration on certain types of paper. But this thread is not about registration so i won't bother with too much detail.

 

[ColorMonkey]

So the smoothing feature is definitely your friend. However, like msaeger stated, that part does wear out after some time but you can monitor it's life in the CP.

It is advised to swap between fusers for size of sheet but even then you would still need to use the smoothing function so tbh, it doesn't make much sense to have so much cumulative downtime only to find out you need to smooth the belt anyway. It may extend life of the belts in the long run due to not constantly smoothing the same belt but I like to have a fresh fuser on hand when the other one needs to be serviced.

I can tell you though that I used the smoothing feature quite often and not only did it work well but the roller itself does last for a while. When it starts to wear out though you will know do due its effectiveness.

Three fusers is certainly overkill but it want to pay for it and can I guess that's your choice but that is not the norm.

ShawnD actually nailed it on the head though. I would if possible, try to run jobs so that your running your largest sheet jobs to smallest. This will help a lot as far as needing to use that function.

I just wanted to add too, using the smoothing feature is not outside the norm. Depending on you workload you may use it a couple three times a day and some days none at all. Don't be scared to use it but to let you know the "short time" whatever it is called is kinda worthless IMO unless your just trying to buff the belt to bring back a little sheen to the sheet/image.

 

[rcreveli]

We run almost exclusively 12 inch wide or 13 inch wide. We have two fuser and switch out as needed. When we get a weird size like an envelope we smooth the belt after the job.