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Question:
I have a new customer with a Ricoh 3245C. When you
print or copy anything in color, the magenta (any reds) is slightly
offset with the rest of the text / graphics. I did all the
calibrations in the User / Tools menu, but that didn’t help. I
cleaned the machine too. Are there any tech adjustments for this? I
looked at the service log, and it was obvious the previous techs
were chasing their tales on this one! DV, Drum units replaced over
and over... etc. I don’t want to follow their tracks, and it must be
something else? Thanks for any help on this.
Answer: Clean the ID sensors and the silver roller under the
transfer belt. Then do a line position adjustment. Replace the
transfer belt if it is badly worn.
Question: You mean clean the drum ID sensors right (the
sensors above each drum unit)? Also, if it was the transfer belt
wouldn’t all the colors be offsetting? Not trying to be a
pain...just trying to learn this beast.
Answer: The ID sensors are located in the copier mainframe
behind a shutter above the upper left end of the transfer belt. When
the line positioning is done, patches are developed on the transfer
belt and looked at by the ID sensors. The transfer belt needs to be
clean (transparent), and the upper left roller under the transfer
belt in the transfer unit needs to be shiny, or the reflectivity
will be insufficient to perform line positioning and/or color
calibration. I usually disassemble the transfer unit and clean the
entire unit, including all rollers and the inside of the transfer
belt, and that usually does the trick. If the transfer belt is no
longer transparent (worn or excessively dirty), you should replace
it or the line positioning may still fail.
Answer: I couldn’t have said it better. Oh, and one last
pointer: If it still fails, try doing a forced toner on each color.
Sometimes the reason for failure is because the toner patch is not
fully saturated.
Answer: Old drums or developing units can cause this as well
(poor density).
Answer: Remove the ID sensor assy, then remove the cleaning
shutter, screws and spring and throw them in the bin. All the
cleaning shutter does is smear toner over the sensors!
Question: Thanks guys... You were a big help!
Answer: If you replace the transfer belt, be sure to clean
all transport and charge rollers. This will cure your issue.
Question: What’s the best solvent to clean the belt with? Is
alcohol ok?
Answer: Water or alcohol should be OK. I wouldn’t try any
industrial strength solvent or ammonia based cleaners.
Answer: I don’t recall the exact symptoms, but the flapper on the cartridge [above the drum] wasn’t being opened up entirely so the erase lamp couldn’t strike the drum, which caused either blank or black copies. A piece on the copier was broken or bent- I seem to recall. Test it by removing that drum flapper.
Question: Thanks. That wasn’t it, but you lead me to the erase lamp, which is a big possibility. I’ll check.
Answer: Is the scanner lamp bright?
Answer: You need to pull the covers inside the copier and clean the inner optics. Good luck.
Question: The lamp is bright and increases when sliding the exposure lever. It looks like it may be a negative image.
Answer: Take a can of Air and blast the transfer roller, and try a cartridge out of a known working machine. Customers often have bad refills because they buy them on eBay from cartridge fillers who sell their rejects there. I think I have a junker in the pile if you want cheap parts.
Question: OK. I checked again today and saw that the lamp is not bright enough and there is no variation through the controller. Any hints? The lamp is not blown or snaked!
Answer: Are they remanufactured cartridges?
Question: No, OEM.