Versant 80 - banding?

[gazfocus]

I’m a Konica fan but recently bought a Versant 80 as a cheap(ish) second machine and have no idea how to troubleshoot it haha. Printing some greeting cards and getting this banding on pink and purple. On a Konica I’d say it’s the corona wires but don’t know if it’s just the drum on the Xerox (although it has just had a new magenta drum put in today).

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[TJPrinter]

The drums are interchangeable between colors, so if you think it may still be one of the drums you can swap the drums around. That would be the easiest thing to try. Couple other things to look for would be does your V80 have the fly wheel on the 2nd BTR unit? If not that could cause the banding if it’s missing or was never upgraded. If it’s missing you could try putting the machine in skip pitch mode. Skip pitch mode will slow the engine down but may resolve the banding issue. Sorry I don’t know the NVM Read Write code for skip pitch on the V80. Last the 2nd BTR roller could be the culprit if it's at the end of it's life. Does the 2nd BTR roller look clean and shiny? If so it's probably not the issue.

 

[gazfocus]

Thanks for the suggestions. I would have to look up how to check all of that haha but will have a look tomorrow and post back

 

[DYP]

Does this banding run from inboard to outboard or from lead edge to trail edge?

 

[gazfocus]

Does this banding run from inboard to outboard or from lead edge to trail edge?

It runs from leading edge to trail edge.

 

[DYP]

Looks like the problem is in magenta. Make a PDF file of 4 pages of 50% of each color and print it with Color Management turned off in the RIP. This should show you which color or colors are the problem. If it is all colors then look at the IBT or 2nd BTR or its backup roller.

If it is only one color then take out the drum to swap drums look if there are any streaks on the developer housing transfer roller. Could be contamination in the developer housing. How long ago was the developer housing changed and or developer cleaned out and changed?

If you don't see anything on the developer housing transfer roller when rotating it then if you have a color what does not have this banding move the imaging drum to the color that shows banding to find out if it is the drum or not. This might want to try first and while you are doing that check the developer housing roller.

 

[ReproElectroProspero]

Definitely a drum issue, but for good measure look up the density uniformity adjustment and run it

 

[pippip]

Just a simple one but have you tried cleaning the ROS windows.

 

[gazfocus]

I have printed 100% cyan, magenta, yellow and black sheets today and this issue is only appearing on magenta. I’ve also swapped the magenta drum out for a brand new one (again) and still getting the issue. Also cleaned the ROS windows and still no improvement.

 

[Milo Wilson]

Debris caught on magenta developer housing

 

[gazfocus]

Definitely a drum issue, but for good measure look up the density uniformity adjustment and run it

Have just tried that as well and no improvement

 

[ReproElectroProspero]

Have just tried that as well and no improvement

Damn if you swapped drums, did the DUA, and cleaned the ROS windows...those are pretty much the only user serviceable things I am aware of. I think Milo is on the money that something in your developer housing is borked. I'm no help there, I have a service contract.

 

[DYP]

Damn if you swapped drums, did the DUA, and cleaned the ROS windows...those are pretty much the only user serviceable things I am aware of. I think Milo is on the money that something in your developer housing is borked. I'm no help there, I have a service contract.

It is fairly easy to clean what is blocking the toner transfer in the developer housing. Take off the developer cover. Make sure you clean the seals when you put it back.

There is enough room to slip a piece 100# cover paper between the roller and the piece of metal on top of it that regulates the toner. Tear the paper into a hook, find where the obstruction is and first push through it to the right side of the printer and see if you see anything that is blocking the toner. if not move to one side (inboard or outboard) or the other and the drag the the hooked paper to the other side and pull it to the left once you pass where the obstruction was. Now turn the developer roller and see if you see any streaks. Repeat the process again until the roller shows no streaks when turning it. You will probably find the culpert the first or second time you do this.

 

[TJPrinter]

Just a simple one but have you tried cleaning the ROS windows.

You may want to give this a second try. I had a tech instruct me to move the wand back and forth fairly quickly multiple times. It's an easy thing to try and well worth the effort before you move on to the developer housing which could also be the culprit.

If cleaning the ROS and developer housing fail to fix the issue it could be that you have a small buildup of toner or dust on the top side of the ROS glass. The wand cleans the bottom side but the top side of the glass could also have a buildup. This is a bit more complex to clean and something I've never had to do but a tech said it's much easier on a Xerox because of the hinged top that needs to be opened to access the top of the laser glass. Perhaps someone else has some guidance on this if the other suggestions fail to work.