Help! Ink smearing question GR 3750 Risograph

[ncscmissions]

Hello group - I am some what new to using the Risograph so please be patient with me. We bought a used Riso GR3750 from a local Church and was wanting to put it to work in our Church .. it has one million on the counter so it is just breaking in from what I have read on these units. It prints perfect .. text looks great .. the whole machine is working as should from what I know about it ... the trouble we are having is .. ink smearing .. even after a page sits overnight .. you can still run your finger across the text and have a ink smudge .. not that it is wet, but much the same as the old carbon paper would do in the days long ago .. So, is this an ink problem .. it came with OEM Riso ink ... even when we set the machine to make it lighter .. we still have this trouble. Is the some other brand ink that dries faster? we are lost as to what is the next step ... Thanks in advance for any and all help ~ David

[Iowatech]

Re: Help! Ink smearing question GR 3750 Risograph

Until we know more, that just might be the way it is. If you rub your knuckle across a newspaper you can smear that ink after all.
A wild guess, maybe the paper isn't absorbing the ink correctly and you might want to try something different. I don't think that's an ink issue, at least I don't remember having a service call for that problem when the GR line wasn't obsolete. But that's just a guess.

[jermyth]

Re: Help! Ink smearing question GR 3750 Risograph

Iowa could be right on the paper, but how old is the ink? GR ink was not known for great drying and why the current Z line is the way it is because so many complaints. If the ink is more and two years old, then you need to replace it and either clean out the old ink from the drum or flush it out by running 100s of prints to get the fresh ink in place.
Good luck.

[BlueLine]

Re: Help! Ink smearing question GR 3750 Risograph

I've used/owned Riso GR units for many years, and ink smear / set-off, etc., has always been an issue. I've been told that it's most likely from the soy ink formulation that's used, but that's of little help in solving the problem. I've had better luck with the less-smooth, more absorbent types of paper. Otherwise, I just make my masters with a slightly lower density and run the machine at the highest speed.

[ncscmissions]

Re: Help! Ink smearing question GR 3750 Risograph

I've used/owned Riso GR units for many years, and ink smear / set-off, etc., has always been an issue. I've been told that it's most likely from the soy ink formulation that's used, but that's of little help in solving the problem. I've had better luck with the less-smooth, more absorbent types of paper. Otherwise, I just make my masters with a slightly lower density and run the machine at the highest speed.

Thanks Blueline for your reply. We are new to Riso... Love the GR and seems to be a workhorse. We run 24# smooth NOT gloss paper ... I have since this post used new ink and have learned how to set the setting for density of masters and also lowest setting on ink ... this seems to have helped. I also learned to accept the fact that this is the nature of the beast .. with that, I've been doing lots of research on soy ink problems ... this also seems to be something that we'll have to learn to live with ... Thanks again for your reply .. we hope our Gr3750 will run many more years for us .. has only one million on the clock so it should be able to run a few more million ...

[joelsa12]

Re: Help! Ink smearing question GR 3750 Risograph

so many issues...... so many adjustments...... if you get a hold of the service manual there are many adjustments to cut back the ink. a properly adjusted machine printing on the proper paper(not glossy) should not smear or offset. i mean with in reason of course. you could adjust the pressure multiple ways, adjust your tph voltage down a little to keep the holes that are being burnt in the master smaller, there are 3 adjustments in the drum a lone that will cut back ink, you could do any or all of these but it would be best to have a tech who know what he is doing to accomplish this. just my 10 cents

[BlueLine]

Re: Help! Ink smearing question GR 3750 Risograph

You wouldn't know of a freelance tech guy that does work on the GR series in the Chicago area, would you? I'd like to see how much they might charge to tune mine up a bit... Thanks! 877-685-3380

[joelsa12]

Re: Help! Ink smearing question GR 3750 Risograph

nope i do not. i live in indianapolis..... if i am ever up that way i will hit you up.

[pj4nh]

Re: Help! Ink smearing question GR 3750 Risograph

so many issues...... so many adjustments...... if you get a hold of the service manual there are many adjustments to cut back the ink. a properly adjusted machine printing on the proper paper(not glossy) should not smear or offset. i mean with in reason of course. you could adjust the pressure multiple ways, adjust your tph voltage down a little to keep the holes that are being burnt in the master smaller, there are 3 adjustments in the drum a lone that will cut back ink, you could do any or all of these but it would be best to have a tech who know what he is doing to accomplish this. just my 10 cents

Are these adjustments on settings in the technician manual under the print cylinder section? I just re-read it and didn't see any mention of this.

I'm printing a double sided project and am having loads of problems with set-off. We are using 110lb and 130lb cardstock from French Paper.

[jermyth]

Re: Help! Ink smearing question GR 3750 Risograph

How long is the dry time between running the second side? How much coverage is there on the first side? Main rule I suggest, the longer the better on dry time.

[khobo1]

Re: Help! Ink smearing question GR 3750 Risograph

nope i do not. i live in indianapolis..... if i am ever up that way i will hit you up.

do a youtube!!!! I'm brand new to duplication and everyones just laughing at me that i purchased a unit. seems like a dying art and i'd love to know how to maintain.
plus the information would be lasting