Ricoh Pro C7110X

[spcink]

Good Morning.

I'm having trouble with color balance on a Ricoh Pro C7110X. Attached is solid prints of each color to show what is going on.

For one, I can't get the color to balance out evenly operator to non-operator.

The next problem I'm having is with the edges. As you can see, the non-operator side of the black is horrible. The other colors have issues as well on both sides, but not nearly as bad. I've replaced basically every mechanical part I can. I've tested out swapping drums, but that did not help.

The ITB assembly has been basically rebuilt.

The techs I'm working with thought it might have something to do with the bands and fans that transport the paper into the fusing assembly. They were replaced yesterday to no avail.

At this point, I'm stuck. Another tech has a call into the help desk. I'm really starting to think it's something electrical, but I have no way of testing that theory out.

Has anyone seen this problem?

Thanks

Steve
Southbury Printing Centre

 

[DYP]

Sure looks like a transfer roller/voltage issue. I assuming all transfer rollers have been changed and have you adjusted the voltage for the transfer rolls to see if that makes any difference. Since it is on all sheets I would start with the common transfer roller. Not sure is it called the bottom transfer rollers on the Ricoh printers.

 

[spcink]

Sure looks like a transfer roller/voltage issue. I assuming all transfer rollers have been changed and have you adjusted the voltage for the transfer rolls to see if that makes any difference. Since it is on all sheets I would start with the common transfer roller. Not sure is it called the bottom transfer rollers on the Ricoh printers.

Yes. All transfer rollers have been replaced. Yes, they are called transfer rollers.

That was my thinking, but I've increased the voltages to almost max and it hasn't made a difference.

 

[SoggyWinter]

Have you tried reducing the current and/or voltage by 10% to 20%? Is it possible that there is a defective batch of transfer rollers and that you have gotten two sets of defects?

 

[spcink]

Have you tried reducing the current and/or voltage by 10% to 20%? Is it possible that there is a defective batch of transfer rollers and that you have gotten two sets of defects?

The voltages were fairly low at the beginning so increasing them was really my only option.

That's entirely possible that parts are defective. I'll see what the tech says.

 

[Shawnd]

Does changing paper have any effect? Not seen this with my 7110's.

 

[msaeger]

I would send a couple of the patterns to print (just one color start with black because that looks the worst) and open the door before they come out the best would be to cheat the right door then watch for the paper to just pass the ptr roller and open the door. Then shut off the machine, drop the ptr, and slide out the itb unit and see what it looks like on there.

If it's good on there you have eliminated the image transfer, drum, charge, laser exposure, developer and developer unit. If it's bad on there you have eliminated paper transfer and fusing.

 

[spcink]

I would send a couple of the patterns to print (just one color start with black because that looks the worst) and open the door before they come out the best would be to cheat the right door then watch for the paper to just pass the ptr roller and open the door. Then shut off the machine, drop the ptr, and slide out the itb unit and see what it looks like on there.

If it's good on there you have eliminated the image transfer, drum, charge, laser exposure, developer and developer unit. If it's bad on there you have eliminated paper transfer and fusing.

OK. I'll give that a shot. My tech should be coming in today.

 

[spcink]

Alright. So after doing multiple things including replacing gears, motors, testing different ideas that included those mentioned above, we've gotten the problem to be better, but it's still there and it's still causing issues.

My tech has brought it to the Help Desk. The service manager told him to escalate it to a national alert.

That's fine. I can except that.

Between him and I, we definitively narrowed the problem down to the Paper Transfer. There's nothing else left to test.

So Help Desk told him to order a Black Dev Unit......

What?

I don't even need the unit here to know it will not work. Help Desk is wasting my timer and energy, not to mention money.

If anyone out there has any other ideas, I'm game. This is an unusual problem that I understand is difficult, but at this point, what Help Desk is asking my tech to do will get him no where.

Thanks.

Sorry for the rant. Just really frustrated with Help Desk and this problem.

 

[jwheeler]

...we've gotten the problem to be better, but it's still there and it's still causing issues.

Wow, you've been dealing with this for about a month now! Are you still able to produce acceptable orders? Maybe you could ask them to swap the engine for a loaner machine and let them work on it back at their warehouse/office instead of keeping you down like this...or even a permanent swap if they can't correct it. I can understand a week or 2, but this is getting crazy! Have they swapped everything else just to be safe? (Fuser, corona wires, drums, developer, etc)

 

[spcink]

Wow, you've been dealing with this for about a month now! Are you still able to produce acceptable orders? Maybe you could ask them to swap the engine for a loaner machine and let them work on it back at their warehouse/office instead of keeping you down like this...or even a permanent swap if they can't correct it. I can understand a week or 2, but this is getting crazy! Have they swapped everything else just to be safe? (Fuser, corona wires, drums, developer, etc)

Longer. I've been able to make due with what we've got, but it's challenging. I'm doing things I've never had to do just to get a sellable print.

Not a bad idea, but we are at the end of our lease. I'll make that suggestion to my tech. New machines were in order, but then Covid happened and put that on hiatus for now.

 

[jwheeler]

New machines were in order

I think it would be reasonable to request/negotiate your first XX number of prints be free on the new machine to make up for the time and prints you've lost in making this one work (might be good to start tracking). I know KM and Xerox will offer 50,000 or 100,000 free prints if you sign by XX date in my area. If the new deal they were offering was less, get it ASAP to make this headache go away!