large format KM3650W lite edge every 185mm

[Gar the pilot]

Our KM3650W goes lite about 5"total from the right side every 185MM the rest of the print is nice and dark as it should be. I wonder if just 1/2 of the drum can have a lite patch on it in such a smallish area, and can these be polished with any good outcome?? this only happens with 36" roll so we often use the 24" or 30" rolls.
Thanks
G

[Iowatech]

I'd recommend you do an emergency stop to see if the drum is really the problem. Mainly, because wide format drums are really expensive. I don't know about KM drums, but the last time I replaced one on a Ricoh was a few years ago and it cost 1 KBuck. And the mothership was aligned with Ricoh through Lanier at that time, so we were getting the good deal on them then.

[CWP]

That 185mm measurement sounds more like a developer roller than a drum, but I could be wrong. Measure the circumference of the drum to check that it is 185mm; if it is not, then the drum is not the culprit. This sound more like a developing unit issue and the KIP machines tend to do this sometimes. I would rebuild or replace the developing unit. Considering the age of this machine, and if you have never rebuilt the dev. unit, it may be better to just replace it.