DC12 Paper wave in output on one edge only

**Joel_M** · 01-19-2017

Hi - I'm new to posting but have been following this site for a year or so. I'm supporting a Docucolor 12 that Xerox dropped maintenance on last August and our local service provider no longer wants to be involved. I've worked in IT for 20 years but have limited experience working on machines like this. I've very glad to have this site and the support of some people I've met online.

This machine prints mostly card stock with some transfer paper as well. I've worked through through a couple of problems and it's printing very well right now on the heavy paper, but I'm seeing a noticeable amount of 'wave' in the edge of the paper closest to the back of the machine. The front edge of the paper is flat. The prints are useable, but I don't know what is causing the paper to be like that. It's not a curl or a wrinkle - it's 3 or 4 waves in the paper. Would the fuser nip or a worn fuser roll cause this?

**Joel_M** · 01-19-2017

Paper type is set correctly in the Fiery and printer. I don't know the count on the fuser, I would say a lot. Where can I see that? There is a light clicking noise when it prints - it's been doing that for the past year or so. The machine is in a small business and I estimate it's printing 5000-10,000 sheets a year.

When I started working on it around the holidays it had been leaking toner on the middle of the 2nd BTR exit for at least a year, leaving marks not the back sides of the copies unless it was cleaned off regularly. I traced it back the IBT cleaner that spilling over the film seal. During this time it started making a strong ratcheting noise during image creation that would lessen when the sheet was fed through. I think it was the torque limiter slipping on the 2nd BTR drive - the 2nd BTR turned with difficulty and I found the drive gear worn. I replaced the gear, the 2nd BTR as a unit, and the film seal on the IBT. Now it's running without the leak and without the noise - very glad of that. But the light clicking has remained.

**exCSER** · 01-19-2017

That could also be moisture in the paper. If 8 1/2 X 11. try turning it around and see if the waves go to the other side.....if so it's the paper. Same with 11X17 (that size is even more likely to have excessive moisture). You could also try running 8 1/2 X 11 short edge feed, although that will take longer to run the jobs.

**Joel_M** · 01-19-2017

I'll try that with the paper to see if it makes a difference.

**Joel_M** · 01-20-2017

I tested the paper and found no change regardless of the orientation of the stock. The wave is worse on lighter weight paper and better on card stock (280).

I performed the fuser nip measurement and am finding that the nip is not consistent accross the page - it has an hour glass shape. The width goes from about 10.4 at the back of the sheet to 10.1 in the middle and back to 10.5 on the side of the paper closest to the front of the machine. Moving the adjusting screws changes the width, but the hourglass shape remains.

Could toner be built up on a roller inside the fuser based on the leak that this machine had for such a long time? Or the rollers worn out? I have pictures of the test sheet if it's helpful to see them.

**exCSER** · 01-20-2017

Both fuser rollers are a soft type, and it is a color machine which I've found means the condition of the rollers is absolutely critical. If the bearings are seated and in good shape, it would probably be a good idea to try other rolls. If that doesn't fix your wavy edge problem, you can always remove the new rolls and save them for later (you'll definitely need them one day if you continue to service this machine).

**Joel_M** · 01-24-2017

As a followup, I checked the oil delivery system, pressure roll, and heat roll. The wick was very dirty so I cleaned it. The oil rolls looked good. The heat roll also looked good, but I found the pressure roll had a spot the size of a quarter worn down to the orange underlayment, with orange lines showing on the edges of the paper area. I replaced it with a spare I had from another fuser and the paper no longer has waves.

I'm still chasing a color issue - the prints are good but the uniformity is off. But thanks for your help so far.

**exCSER** · 01-24-2017

Glad your wavy edge is fixed! Have you run 'Max Setup' ?

**Joel_M** · 01-24-2017

no, I've not run max setup. I didn't think I needed to as I didn't unhook the oil system. should I?

**exCSER** · 01-24-2017

Max Setup would help to combat the color issue that you said the machine is having. It automatically sets the density of each color, alerts you to problems in setup, and allows you to finalize the density of each color visually.