spots, dots and lines on photocopies Aficio MP161f

[knowell77]

OEM is Original Equipment Manufacturer - in other words Genuine Ricoh units. If you're using generic or remanufactured units and toner look no further than that as to the cause of your spots. Generic and rebuilt parts typically use the cheapest items available - quality is a major issue.

Having the machine in an open air environment may also shorten the components lifespan - the variations in temperature can cause humidity to condense inside the machine, or in the paper which comes in direct contact with the drum.

Other hazards come to mind, including:

Grit contaminating the machine - especially in the paper tray. A single grain of sand can put a spot on the drum that will buildup toner as you've noted.

Excessive heat or cold - drums don't like extremes of temperature.

Damaged Transfer Roller may be damaging the new drums.

where is transfer roller located so that i can try to clean it.. is transfer roller the same with fuser roller mentioned above.. many thanks.

btw the lines appear when i set the mode to Darker.. on the exact same location per copies probably in line with rollers.. dots also appear on same location at 2-3 intervals..

[Shadow1]

Lines that only appear when you darken the copy are an indication the optics need cleaned.
Transfer rollers cannot be cleaned, and any damage that would cause an issue with your drum units would be extremely obvious (Like a piece of gunk or a staple stuck to it) Now, having asked that question, I'm going to advise you to call a tech - Transfer roller is easy to replace, but you don't want to mess around with the optics - you're getting into areas where you can cause more harm than good - especially to yourself

[copyaction]

Sounds like it needs a good cleaning, new OEM drum unit and new OEM toner.
Only after that can you diagnose if there are any other issues contributing to this problem.

[JustManuals]

This Parts & Service Manual can now be purchased for $12.77 and downloaded immediately after payment from:


Just Manuals, The Internet's largest selection of manuals ~ Instant Downloads


Paul@justmanuals.com

[Shadow1]

I was waiting for that... Paul, you're slipping - this thread is days old. ;-)

If you do decide to get a manual and try it yourself (and if you're going to do any work on it, I highly recommend having the manual) PLEASE pull the plug before doing anything and read all the cautions if you're lucky enough that the manual contains a procedure for whatever you need to do. As I said, the transfer roller is very simple to replace, but cleaning the optics can be delicate - there's lots of moving parts, High Voltage on the exposure lamp, and all the mirrors are 1st surface reflectors meaning they're very easy to damage. It's not just the mirrors, the glass and white reference plate need cleaned, and on the off chance the CCD is dirty it can be a challenge for an experienced tech to clean - DO NOT DISASSEMBLE THE LENS BLOCK - even professional techs do not have the equipment to properly realign it in the field.

If in doubt, call a tech.