KM 3035-5035 blacks not dense enough, (dirty laser?)

[Rigger]

I have quit a few of these 3 year old "off lease" machines out there now. I still have trouble with "not so dark" blacks.
In the manual it says which way to change Dev bias, Dev duty, Dev Sbias and TC, but I wonder which adjustments are more prefered/correct over the others? And maybe how much deviation from default is acceptable?

Also, I service some Canon "laser" copiers and the Laser unit itself needs cleaned when copies get light and routine Dev and toner and voltage "fixes" don't seem to help.

Do these machines need their lasers removed, opened, cleaned and reinstalled? Even some of the tinkertoy Brother lasers need that "laser cleaning" frequently!

I prefer to clean what is dirty than adjust voltages to compensate for "Foggy mirrors" in the laser or elsewhere@!

[kyoceradude]

First off, how many copies on the machines? There is a PM sched for drum, transfer and developer units. If your machines are 3 years old and never had a PM then that is where you need to start, before you start tweeking any adjustments. Also, some copy quality issues have been taken care of with firmware. Is your firmware up to date? I would check these things before you start pulling your hair out trying to tweek....

[Rigger]

You are right, they are all just over three years old. I only sell them with 50,000-120,000 copies on them, (very low count). That's what makes it hard to put a full PM in them. I did a full PM on the first one I sold new after it was 3 yrs old with 250,000 on it. it had bad drum scratches but they, too, still have "semi lite" copies. That's why I thought maybe I'm suposed to check/clean the laser, before I start Tweekin'.

Do you know where I can get a couple of PM kits for 3035/5035 for dealer cost plus 10%?

Where can I get firmware? Can it be downloaded from the web? Or, at least, is there a publication that shows the most recent firmware for the models I have so I can check to see if Mine need upgraded?

Rigger

[fitsy.13]

I have quit a few of these 3 year old "off lease" machines out there now. I still have trouble with "not so dark" blacks.
In the manual it says which way to change Dev bias, Dev duty, Dev Sbias and TC, but I wonder which adjustments are more prefered/correct over the others? And maybe how much deviation from default is acceptable?

Also, I service some Canon "laser" copiers and the Laser unit itself needs cleaned when copies get light and routine Dev and toner and voltage "fixes" don't seem to help.

Do these machines need their lasers removed, opened, cleaned and reinstalled? Even some of the tinkertoy Brother lasers need that "laser cleaning" frequently!

I prefer to clean what is dirty than adjust voltages to compensate for "Foggy mirrors" in the laser or elsewhere@!

had a few of these machines with pale copies turn out to be the transfer roller it was covered in toner and not putting out the full voltage start there first

[Guest]

Try cleaning the developing unit out and scrubbing the mag roller. Then make sure you tone it back up with OEM toner. Katun and Polek & Polek toners make horrible prints in these models and prematurely wear out the consumables. Also keep in mind that PM kits are rated for print counts and time (3 years, I think for these models). Just because the machine hasn't reached the appropriate copy count doesn't mean it isn't due for a PM.

[Rigger]

KM3035,4035 light copies

What would you scrub it with, (mag roller)?

[Guest]

After vacuuming it out, I'd just use a rag with maybe some alcohol.

[IKy]

it could be drum, sometimes it wears out too fast (near 300.000),
it just doesn't give real dense black color.

[copyaction]

What would you scrub it with, (mag roller)?

mag roller causes light density on these, some have said to even use a scotchbrite pad to shine it up.

[dyodyo]

I have quit a few of these 3 year old "off lease" machines out there now. I still have trouble with "not so dark" blacks.
In the manual it says which way to change Dev bias, Dev duty, Dev Sbias and TC, but I wonder which adjustments are more prefered/correct over the others? And maybe how much deviation from default is acceptable?

Also, I service some Canon "laser" copiers and the Laser unit itself needs cleaned when copies get light and routine Dev and toner and voltage "fixes" don't seem to help.

Do these machines need their lasers removed, opened, cleaned and reinstalled? Even some of the tinkertoy Brother lasers need that "laser cleaning" frequently!

I prefer to clean what is dirty than adjust voltages to compensate for "Foggy mirrors" in the laser or elsewhere@!

try to isolate it first. are you using good paper? because moist paper will give you this prob.does your drum still good? does that problem occurs from the PRINT(e.g. service mode list) or from the COPY? if it gives you light image from the print first then you have to clean the laser unit but if its from the copy(and you dont want to replace parts) then try this:
- clean all the mirrors(optics) or,
- look on the copy default of the machine, are they all on its standard settings? maybe it is all set to lighter mode or scanning of original is set to photo instead of photo+text or text mode or,
- maybe your toner(replace your dev.unit) or,
- check transfer roller or
- if your drum is still usable, there is bias adjustment in this unit. pull it out, on the top right there is a VR(yellow) turn it counterclockwise(will give you darker output) a little bit and check the result.

hope this helps.

keep us updated. good luck buddy!

[texchar555]

first thing is first did you clean out the filter in the bypass section? The reason i asked is the heat builds up and messes with your fuser,drum,dv unit. The dv unit will get hot and melt the toner on to the cleaning blade and build up and cause the dv unit to put a very thin layer on it and will cause light prints. Just get a piece of paper and place on the cleaning blade turn the roller the backwards till the paper goes in. When the paper is inside move it from side to side until clear. If the paper gets stuck reverse the roller again and try again. This should get it done if this is the issue. as far as cleaning the roller if it has lines use just a green cleaning pad and wipe with dry cloth.

[n25an]

question

first thing is first did you clean out the filter in the bypass section? The reason i asked is the heat builds up and messes with your fuser,drum,dv unit. The dv unit will get hot and melt the toner on to the cleaning blade and build up and cause the dv unit to put a very thin layer on it and will cause light prints. Just get a piece of paper and place on the cleaning blade turn the roller the backwards till the paper goes in. When the paper is inside move it from side to side until clear. If the paper gets stuck reverse the roller again and try again. This should get it done if this is the issue. as far as cleaning the roller if it has lines use just a green cleaning pad and wipe with dry cloth.

which cleaning blade are you talking about... ???

you completely lost me...

[Craigdumass]

If the copies are just a little light rather than changing out a drum right away I adjust background in the copy defaults.

[oxtails]

This all seems great advice but have you tried a "drum refresh"? i sometimes find this will bring back the density to a decent level but obviously depends on how faded your copies are

[mjunkaged]

Light cq

Okay, I'm factory trained on this one (the hard way-over the phone with tech. support, we had one, and I loved it, except for the plastic drum cover in the maint kit-BE CAREFUL!!)
I would bet one of the previous posters may be right with transfer roller (1) and mag roller (2) BUT i'd bet that the starter/developer inside the unit has died of OLD AGE. Why? You say they're all 3 years old, but the maint. cycle on the 5035 is 400K prints!!! Yeah!!
So, you've gotta be looking at one of those 3, but if i was a betting man, I'd say my answer should be #1 most likely. What say the rest of you guys??
I've been techin' for 22+ yrs.
Mitch