Xerox 5000 - Top/Bottom orange/red color varies.

[alf]

Hi, I've a small copy shop in Singapore, with a Xerox DC5000 with Creo. We've been pretty happy with it for the past 2 years. Its running along side our DC1250/DC1256 (splash).

Of recent, we've been having problem with some of our orange/red print outs (Flat 1 color Book covers) on 256gsm artcard stock. Single sided prints. (CMYK values of these colors are 0/60/100/0 for orange and 0/100/100/0 for red, and the worst was when it was a 20/100/100/0) Same issue happens on uncoated and thinner stock. The most obvious is for thicker/coated stock.

The top edge and bottom edge of the landscape A3/SRA3 print out (i believe its called outboard and inboard) has very different colors. I cant explain it colormetrically since I don't have a spectro handy, but i could have it scanned and uploaded somewhere if needed. Basically if i printed a strong orange, the top looks like a bright orange (fruit), and bottom part looks like its the same orange (fruit) left to dry for 2-3 days.

Its recreated by using Indesign/Illustrator, fill a whole A3/SRA3 with a single orange/red color. and sending to the DC5000 and print. (200 Dot). cutting off the unprintable areas. I cut two long strips off the top and bottom, around 50mm each, and compare.

I tested the same printouts on the DC1256/1250 and the difference is not that obvious. This is not a banding issue.

We've called up Xerox and they've been adjusting for the past few days. I'm getting varied replies from the technicians from "its like that." to "lets try to replace X part". And its worrying me. They said its the "maximum we can adjust the printer"

Anyone else got this problem ? Any good suggestions ?

(I've tried other colors, including 30-60% CMY greys, blues, purples, yellows, and its not that bad. I understand there will always been variances, but for orange/red its very bad.)

From the CED, it says "Inboard to outboard density - CIN 60% @ C,M ,Y and K; Maximum Desnity difference </=0.16" - What does that mean ?

Update: (Happened after i posted, got word from the xerox engineer) They adjusted it now such that the top and bottom strips are almost the same color, but they are both now lighter then the center part of the print out... LOL.. *sobs* My poor printer is still in pieces, and man there's a ton of fuse inside...

 

[UberTech]

power it off and back on, it'll be back to where it was before...giggle.

 

[alf]

=(

i even tried using it cold (in the morning) and hot(peak traffic)

same =X

 

[Sandeep5]

Faced the same problem on my old DC12 for more than 45 days.... After incessant adjustments failed..... Replaced the magenta developer and bingo !! Problem solved.

 

[Josh]

Is the floor level? (no seriously)

Basically we had something very similar on our old 250 (which uses near identical imaging process), basically there was a very slight (you're talking millimetres) difference between the front and the back of the machine, this was causing the developer to pool at one end, so changing the dev would correct it but then over time the problem would come back.

 

[Sandeep5]

Yes , the floor level seems to be quite an important issue... we too are on the verge of purchasing a used DC5252 and the first thing that the engineer pointed out was that the floor should be level !!

 

[jonteo]

I would set up the the following test files and print them to the DC5000. First file would have 75% cyan fill on first page, 75% magenta fill on second page, 75% yellow fill on third page and 75% black fill on fourth page. The second file would be the same except 50% tints on all pages and the third file would have 25% tints. This test file is similar to the file used by the technicians to check for colour consistency from inboard to outboard.

Printing the above files would tell you which colours are off. My guess would be the cyan or magenta unit. If you have access to parts, a quick fix would be to put in a new drum unit located below the toner cartridges, above area 4. The drums are light sensitive so you have to work fast or cover the other units while you replace the worn one. In addition to replacing the drum, the service technician can also go into service mode and make some adjustments but they are correct that they won't be able to make it perfect.

This problem is most obvious when running light colours (<10% tints) on heavy card stock. Your colour is dark enough that I think you should be able to get it reasonably close.

Good luck (and if this helps, please send over a Char Kuay Teow with extra cockles)

 

[tiger_scout]

Since you are saying orange is showing the problem then i would run 50% halftones of magenta and yellow to see if the problem is in only one of these colors. The problem could be a magenta or yellow developer housing or if it is a problem common with all colors it could be transfer related (2nd btr or ibt). The laser can also be adjusted for inboard/outboard by the tech.

 

[che.c]

Hmm interesting point about the floor level.. We moved premises recently and the floor is uneven, I've noticed this issue a bit more with our 260 and 250 since. That said, I was talking to a tech and he said a cause of this can be retransfer - this is when the magenta is put down on the paper (but before it is fused) then parts of it are picked up by the other colour drums as they lay their colour on top.

 

[GregNac19]

power it off and back on, it'll be back to where it was before...giggle.

Stay with your Cheap Plastic and give advice for your cheaply made and cheaply designed products

 

[alf]

As an update, almost 2 months later...

After a dozen engineers, with many team leaders, and multiple visits from the color specialist and service manager, they insisted it wasnt a printer problem.

Their solution is to change a multitude of parts (toner tanks, rollers, drums) and even the laser unit. This eliminates the difference by a huge amount, and no longer noticble by the naked eye. The only problem is, the problem returns after 5-10k prints, and their solution.. is to change the parts all over again.

Thankfully, this only affects the solid orange/red prints. And for now, we stick to this solution. (Xerox service in my area is great, and response times of <4 hours + pre-ordered parts means we have minimum down time)

 

[thebluesdude]

You wont solv it, the colours drift periodicaly as you have found out, its down to wear on the dev housings ans drums loosing their transfer voltages, if you find it goes the same everytime you might want to ask them to change the dreaded smile curve? they dont like doing it but it certainly works

 

[xxeroid]

Common fault

Common fault

Sounds like the smile/frown effect which is a common fault on these machines, well most of the Xerox's that use this engine. That ranges between the DC5065 and DC700 and includes DC5000. Can be a range of issues that cause it. They haven't fixed it for a good reason. They cant