RISO RZ-370-EP, a few problems

[papertiger]

Hello,

we just bought an RZ-370-EP for our graphic design and small-print studio in Paris, and are encountering some problems to get it to work properly.
We only have a small experience on RP3700 and EZ571 machines, and never had to really fix anything. (a long way of saying we are quite helpless and hopeless right now....)

Here's what we have :

_the machine will not print in full A3 format, but only prints the first 30 centimeters of the paper, as if the printing format was A4 (but still, it prints the whole width of the paper, basically we get a 30x30cm print instead of 30x42cm). The masters are fine, they are created in full A3 size. I thought it might be the paper-feed sensor not working properly but this seems to rule out this explication. (Apparently the scanning zone of the originals on the platen glass is determined by the size of the paper detected on the paper feeding tray, so the sensor seem to work just fine (?) if we get regular A3 masters). The person we bought it from (a professional with quite a lot of technical experience on Riso machines) said it is possible that the machine was mechanically "restrained" to print only A4, since the first client didn't have a need for A3 prints.... We're waiting for his advice/instructions, but in the meantime if anyone has an idea / solution, we'd be infinitely grateful...

_we have a thin white line appearing on all the masters... typical for a thermal print head problem... I tried to clean it several times, it's always there. I read an older thread on this forum advising to modify the voltage of the tph... Is it likely to solve the problem ? If yes, how would we do this ?
We have no idea how to enter the Service Mode, and do not have a technical/service manual...

_just before the creation of a new master, I will sometimes hear a pretty loud noise on the left side of the machine, as if something was scraping/rubbing somewhere on the inside, near the master disposal box and the paper feed tray. No idea what it can be. It doesn't seem to have any direct effect on anything. And it's not systematic either, it only happens sometimes...

Let us know if you have any idea / advice on these issues.
Any help will be extremely appreciated !

Thanks in advance !
Aurélien

[papertiger]

regarding the white line, i'm told it might be just dust on the scanner's optics

I guess we'll have to take off the glass and clean the scan-head to check this ?

is there any kind of built-in test we could run that would show if the problem is on the thermal print head ?

thanks in advance !

ps: i forgot to mention in the original post, is suppose it helps to know : the counts on this machine are 186 masters and a little over 89.000 copies.

Hello,

we just bought an RZ-370-EP for our graphic design and small-print studio in Paris, and are encountering some problems to get it to work properly.
We only have a small experience on RP3700 and EZ571 machines, and never had to really fix anything. (a long way of saying we are quite helpless and hopeless right now....)

Here's what we have :

_the machine will not print in full A3 format, but only prints the first 30 centimeters of the paper, as if the printing format was A4 (but still, it prints the whole width of the paper, basically we get a 30x30cm print instead of 30x42cm). The masters are fine, they are created in full A3 size. I thought it might be the paper-feed sensor not working properly but this seems to rule out this explication. (Apparently the scanning zone of the originals on the platen glass is determined by the size of the paper detected on the paper feeding tray, so the sensor seem to work just fine (?) if we get regular A3 masters). The person we bought it from (a professional with quite a lot of technical experience on Riso machines) said it is possible that the machine was mechanically "restrained" to print only A4, since the first client didn't have a need for A3 prints.... We're waiting for his advice/instructions, but in the meantime if anyone has an idea / solution, we'd be infinitely grateful...

_we have a thin white line appearing on all the masters... typical for a thermal print head problem... I tried to clean it several times, it's always there. I read an older thread on this forum advising to modify the voltage of the tph... Is it likely to solve the problem ? If yes, how would we do this ?
We have no idea how to enter the Service Mode, and do not have a technical/service manual...

_just before the creation of a new master, I will sometimes hear a pretty loud noise on the left side of the machine, as if something was scraping/rubbing somewhere on the inside, near the master disposal box and the paper feed tray. No idea what it can be. It doesn't seem to have any direct effect on anything. And it's not systematic either, it only happens sometimes...

Let us know if you have any idea / advice on these issues.
Any help will be extremely appreciated !

Thanks in advance !
Aurélien

[Iowatech]

If you haven't tried resetting the operating memory, you might try that. Irregularities in the local power utility can cause voltage surges, which will cause wrong values to occur in the machine's operating memory, which will cause all manner of undesired operation. To do that, hold down the Reset key while turning the machine on, and continue to hold the key down until the display shows ready. Do that only once.
That being said, the print length problem could be from an errant piece of master material on the drum. Or check the length sensor in the paper tray to make sure it is in good shape.
Hope that helps

[papertiger]

Hi,
thanks for your answer, sounds like something we could try indeed

regarding the print length problem, the drums and masters are fine (we have the same problems with all the drums, so it's definitely something in the machine), nothing there.
From what I understand, the size of the master (A4 or A3) is determined by the size of the paper detected in the paper feed tray. So, if our masters are created properly in full A3 size (and also only created in A4 when we place A4 paper in the feed tray), that should mean the sensor is working fine, right ?

Is there any way to make sure of this ?

Thanks again!

If you haven't tried resetting the operating memory, you might try that. Irregularities in the local power utility can cause voltage surges, which will cause wrong values to occur in the machine's operating memory, which will cause all manner of undesired operation. To do that, hold down the Reset key while turning the machine on, and continue to hold the key down until the display shows ready. Do that only once.
That being said, the print length problem could be from an errant piece of master material on the drum. Or check the length sensor in the paper tray to make sure it is in good shape.
Hope that helps

[papertiger]

I was able to enter Test Mode and run some simple tests :

_the sensors are fine, so I suppose our print-length problem is indeed mechanical. Either it was restrained on purpose, which was said to be likely by the person who sold it to us, or else something's not working properly.

_I ran the print tests, and our thin white line is always there... I checked the TPH voltage, it matches with the one specified on the TPH itself (2073 Ohms). Can anyone give some advice on this ? (could it be any help to increase it ? decrease it ? by how much ?)

_the noise in the master-removal area (mentioned in my original post) is always there, but not systematic. At some point the noise was heard again, not as loud as previously, and the machine gave me an error code P-89-350. Couldn't find it in the Service Manual. Pressing the Reset key, made it go away.... Any idea on this as well ?

Hi,
thanks for your answer, sounds like something we could try indeed

regarding the print length problem, the drums and masters are fine (we have the same problems with all the drums, so it's definitely something in the machine), nothing there.
From what I understand, the size of the master (A4 or A3) is determined by the size of the paper detected in the paper feed tray. So, if our masters are created properly in full A3 size (and also only created in A4 when we place A4 paper in the feed tray), that should mean the sensor is working fine, right ?

Is there any way to make sure of this ?

Thanks again!

[jermyth]

Error code p89-350, master compression plate: incorrect position. The clamp unit was not in the clamp open position and the compression plate was not in the home position when the drum started its movement. My first guess is the compression plate is cracked. Maybe somthing out of time in the disposal unit.

As for the image area does the unit print a full test print from test mode on your larger paper?
Does the unit fully scan down the page? How about enlarging?
Is something blocking in the optics or on the underside of the glass?

Good luck.

[papertiger]

thanks for your advice

we'll try to have a look at the disposal unit, indeed this is where the problem seems to be
what's strange is that it really isn't systematic, it only happens every once in a while,
I think it tends to happen when a master is created after a new stack of sheets has been loaded on the paper tray (so, when the paper feed tray is moving up in "active" position while a master is ejected)
we'll look into that

regarding the printing area, the test mode only prints partial copy too
nothing to do with the scan apparently : the unit is fully scanning, and masters are fully created
the technician who sold us the machine is pretty confident that the machine was intentionally restrained to only print A4
he's looking for the adequate part, and should come over to fix this (and hopefully, the other issues too..)

we'll let you know!
(but of course, any additional advice is more than welcome at this point!)

Error code p89-350, master compression plate: incorrect position. The clamp unit was not in the clamp open position and the compression plate was not in the home position when the drum started its movement. My first guess is the compression plate is cracked. Maybe somthing out of time in the disposal unit.

As for the image area does the unit print a full test print from test mode on your larger paper?
Does the unit fully scan down the page? How about enlarging?
Is something blocking in the optics or on the underside of the glass?

Good luck.

[Iowatech]

If it is a mechanical problem, you might want to pull the back off and look for a solenoid return spring that popped off on one side. It sounds like maybe the one that is on the solenoid that controls the movement of the of the pressure roller might have come off.