Kyocera Taskalfa 400ci beginners question - scans too light

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  • Matthijs
    • May 2025
    #1

    Kyocera Taskalfa 400ci beginners question - scans too light

    Hi forum,

    I hope it is OK to ask a beginners question.
    I've recently acquired a Taskalfa 400ci that I'm trying to revive.

    I could use some help pointing me in the right direction.

    When used as a printer the print quality is excellent both B/W and color.
    But while copying & scanning the image/copy comes out too light in B/W and with colors "washed out".
    With my limited knowledge that would mean for me that I need to look at the optical system i.e. CCD.

    Perhaps there is a maintenance routine or parameter I could tweak ? (I have the manual & maintenance manual).

    Thanks for your help !

    Marc
    Tags: None
    • gtheflea
      Technician
      • Jul 2017
      • 13
      #2
      Re: Kyocera Taskalfa 400ci beginners question - scans too light

      Originally posted by Matthijs
      Hi forum,

      I hope it is OK to ask a beginners question.
      I've recently acquired a Taskalfa 400ci that I'm trying to revive.

      I could use some help pointing me in the right direction.

      When used as a printer the print quality is excellent both B/W and color.
      But while copying & scanning the image/copy comes out too light in B/W and with colors "washed out".
      With my limited knowledge that would mean for me that I need to look at the optical system i.e. CCD.

      Perhaps there is a maintenance routine or parameter I could tweak ? (I have the manual & maintenance manual).

      Thanks for your help !

      Marc
      Hi Marc.

      You can try cleaning the optics. (remove platten cover and clean the mirrors. Unplug machine firstly - NB!). As dust gather on the optics it blocks the light from shining at its optimal intensity (Lack of better description...) (take a household light cover that is dirty, wash it and assemble it again and see the difference in light output...)
      Also make sure to clean the white strip that is underneath the platten glass (closest to the slit glass). Take care when cleaning the optics to not cut yourself on one of the frames. Personally i don't like to remove the actual mirrors but if you do take note of the way you remove them. If assembled with the optic the wrong way around you will get a blurry image when making copies or scanning.
      Also clean your exposure lamp (very carefully).
      DO NOT remove any screws that has been covered by some form of paint/ nail polish as those are covered for a reason (referring more to your reference to CCD). They are factory set and if you play around there you will create plenty work for yourself...

      Perhaps there is a maintenance routine or parameter I could tweak ? (I have the manual & maintenance manual).

      Make sure that your optics has been cleaned firstly before you start looking at adjusting default exposure values. Oh, and forgive me for the following statement (no offense intended) - make sure to use a clean cloth that is free from any oil. And if the cloth leaves behind small pieces of fluff just make sure that none stays behind on your optics as this may result in lines when scanning (copy) - most noticeable when doing colour scanning.

      Hope this helps and please do give feedback.

      Cheers

        Comment

        • Tonerkiller
          Senior Tech

          500+ Posts
          • Oct 2012
          • 665
          #3
          Re: Kyocera Taskalfa 400ci beginners question - scans too light

          Check the status page is eco print on?

            Comment

            • blackcat4866
              Master Of The Obvious

              Site Contributor
              10,000+ Posts
              • Jul 2007
              • 22930
              #4
              Re: Kyocera Taskalfa 400ci beginners question - scans too light

              Don't remove mirrors. And when you move the mirror assemblies use the drive drum with the wire rope wrapped around it. If you pull on the mirror units you can over-wrap the cable on the drum, or have a cable come off. =^..^=
              If you'd like a serious answer to your request:
              1) demonstrate that you've read the manual
              2) demonstrate that you made some attempt to fix it.
              3) if you're going to ask about jams include the jam code.
              4) if you're going to ask about an error code include the error code.
              5) You are the person onsite. Only you can make observations.

              blackcat: Master Of The Obvious =^..^=

                Comment

                • Santander
                  Senior Tech

                  Site Contributor
                  500+ Posts
                  • May 2009
                  • 768
                  #5
                  Re: Kyocera Taskalfa 400ci beginners question - scans too light

                  Agree totally with Blackcat, do not remove the mirrors [if you do you are in for a long process of getting them back to where they should be]. Clean the mirrors with a soft lint-free cloth, you may have to use a glass cleaner if there is a haze built up on the mirrors. Do not forget to clean both sides of the lens and the CCD. After that I would perform a color calibration and a gray scale adjustment [both in the user mode] While Kyo calls it a grayscale adjustment it actually prints out several color charts that calibrates the scanner for both color and grayscale. If the colors/density are way off you may have to do this twice. In the user mode [system menu] you can also adjust the default density if needed. Since you say the print colors are fine, this is where I would start. Hope this helps.

                    Comment

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