C252 Prints Black Text but images and colored text are blurry

[Islandtech]

C252 is an old girl but trying to see what else she's got left in the tank Symptoms are - prints black text fine. Try to print images - blurry. Try to print colored text - blurry. Did a few rounds of image stabilization, tried to clean print heads with the wand. Called the service company, tech tried stabilization and a few things for 5 minutes and said it might be the laser but not worth fixing. Machine Status Error codes are P-6,7,8,9,21 which I read could be imaging units, IDC Sensors, Transfer belt etc.

I figured I might as well try a few things so I removed the image transfer unit. The belt had a lot of toner piled up on top. I think the cleaner/sweeper is pulled the wrong way on the unit (pic below). Can anyone tell me if its supposed to be tucked into the curve of the belt rather than laying on top? You can see part is tucked and part is laying on top. Can I remove the two screws and try to put the wiper in the right spot?

I searched quite a bit online, seems like the IDC sensor is something to clean but I can't find them based on the graphics from the service manual. Seems like its accessible after removing the image transfer belt. Also saw I should try image gradation but didn't try to get the printer into service mode. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

[Islandtech]

Re: C252 Prints Black Text but images and colored text are blurry

Re-trying attachment of demo page and transfer belt as pdf.

Attachment.pdf

[allan]

Re: C252 Prints Black Text but images and colored text are blurry

Yea try and get it into place dust the the area with some yellow toner and turn it by hand before reinstalling.
Check if that helps your color registration issue.

Printing half-tones from service mode is very handy to check for drum and developer condition.
Amazing that the touch screen on that is still working?

IDS sensors would be covered by a shutter that needs to be opened.

[Islandtech]

Re: C252 Prints Black Text but images and colored text are blurry

Yea try and get it into place dust the the area with some yellow toner and turn it by hand before reinstalling.
Check if that helps your color registration issue.

Printing half-tones from service mode is very handy to check for drum and developer condition.
Amazing that the touch screen on that is still working?

IDS sensors would be covered by a shutter that needs to be opened.

Thanks for the quick response. Yea she's been good to us for the last 10-12 years so can't complain. Touch screen still looks beautiful

As for getting the transfer belt wiper back into place, you're saying it should not be visible right? And tucked into the roller end? Seems like that's where it belongs since the toner was piled up on top of the belt more in the region where the wiper was laying on top.

I took another look at the service manual, I see now on page 149 about the IDC Sensor, sorry for my ignorance.

[allan]

Re: C252 Prints Black Text but images and colored text are blurry

Not sure if that is the wiper blade. If its a thin material then its just a dust seal.
In that case it should not be tugged in.
Its been ages since i worked on one of these.
See if you can find a picture of a transfer belt somewhere.

[Islandtech]

Re: C252 Prints Black Text but images and colored text are blurry

Not sure if that is the wiper blade. If its a thin material then its just a dust seal.
In that case it should not be tugged in.
Its been ages since i worked on one of these.
See if you can find a picture of a transfer belt somewhere.

PDF attachment below. with the blue vs black text and the imaging unit bay that probably hasn't been cleaned in 12 yrs. Not sure how much effect it would have but seems wrong.

Thanks yea, got a few peeps of it from an ebay sale and this video before but figured I'd check with you guys. Doesn't look the flap or dust seal belongs on top. Yea its just a thin piece of material. YouTube

Document3.pdf

[femaster]

Re: C252 Prints Black Text but images and colored text are blurry

You have a Color Registration issue.First step would be to clean the IDC sensors, as they not only verify proper toner density on the transfer belt, but also assist in getting the colors to line up. Once clean, reassemble and boot the copier, this alone may take care of your registration issue.

It sounds like you have a copy of the service manual, so if things still look off, look up how to perform the color registration and follow the instructions. Hopefully this will get you back on track.

[Islandtech]

Re: C252 Prints Black Text but images and colored text are blurry

You have a Color Registration issue.First step would be to clean the IDC sensors, as they not only verify proper toner density on the transfer belt, but also assist in getting the colors to line up. Once clean, reassemble and boot the copier, this alone may take care of your registration issue.

It sounds like you have a copy of the service manual, so if things still look off, look up how to perform the color registration and follow the instructions. Hopefully this will get you back on track.

Thanks very much allan and femaster. I took apart the side to get to the IDC sensors. They looked OK but I gave them a wipe then blew some light compressed air to make sure they were dust free. I also took the far end off the transfer belt assembly and fixed the dust seal. There was a lot of toner in the round end of the transfer belt too. Anyway, cleaned all that up and ran the new demo page, looks great Thanks again. Will be sure to make a site donation, too bad I can't send ya some fresh fish

Looking at a new c300i to replace the c252. Will put the c252 in a different department until its completely done.