MP C4503 SPDF Scanner Skew

[IndependentChrisCT]

Hi All- our C4503 has the single pass doc feeder (can scan doubled sided with one pass) and I'm having an issue with skew on feeder scans and copy's.

Pics worth a thousand words, so check the attached PDF. I guess you'd call it the trailing right edge is lower than it should be by about 3mm. The leading right edge is similarly "pulled" down about 3mm more than leading left edge. I marked up the pdf scan to better explain, but let me know if there are questions.

Maybe to make things a little more confusing, the line artifiact only shows up during scans, not when copying from the feeder.

I've tried adjusting some SP settings, namely in SP6-006 and SP4-008+ but haven't hit the right ones. Starting to wonder if this is a mechanical issue with the feed unit.

Thanks for suggestions.

PS- scanner counter shows about 26,000, so relatively 'fresh'.

[LNorris]

Re: MP C4503 SPDF Scanner Skew

is it happening with print or off the glass? if no, i'd check to make sure the adf was squared up with main body. if so, i'd look for something in the path that may be impeding it.

[IndependentChrisCT]

Re: MP C4503 SPDF Scanner Skew

Off the glass and prints are very nicely square. just stuff off the feeder I'm getting the skew. Our Ikon tech tried adjusting the feeder's hinge awhile back but didn't have time to fine tune things. I just checked it and the hinged is maxed out in it's current position as far back as the screw will allow.

[davel]

Re: MP C4503 SPDF Scanner Skew

Check the mylars each end of guide plate before white roller for CIS.

[copier tech]

Re: MP C4503 SPDF Scanner Skew

Off the glass and prints are very nicely square. just stuff off the feeder I'm getting the skew. Our Ikon tech tried adjusting the feeder's hinge awhile back but didn't have time to fine tune things. I just checked it and the hinged is maxed out in it's current position as far back as the screw will allow.

If you have a maintenance agreement with Ikon call them back out again thats what you're paying for, he cant turn round to you & say "i've run out of time!!!"

[IndependentChrisCT]

Re: MP C4503 SPDF Scanner Skew

If you have a maintenance agreement with Ikon call them back out again thats what you're paying for, he cant turn round to you & say "i've run out of time!!!"

Good point, except we don't have a contract with them. I had them out to help commission the c4503 on a t&m basis since I was familiar with the tech who serviced our previous 3501 the last five years.

Edit- to clarify, we bought this machine lightly used for 1/4 of what Ikon wanted to charge, so minor issues like this were not unexpected.

[DougD]

Re: MP C4503 SPDF Scanner Skew

We used to have this issue a lot on the older black & white 1045/2035 machines.
The left front corner of the optics section would "sink" probably from repeated slamming of the heavy adf.
This caused crooked image through the feeder.
The fix was to loosen the bracket screws and pull up on the corner while tightening the screws.
Ricoh came out with a reinforcing bracket for those models.

[slimslob]

Re: MP C4503 SPDF Scanner Skew

We used to have this issue a lot on the older black & white 1045/2035 machines.
The left front corner of the optics section would "sink" probably from repeated slamming of the heavy adf.
This caused crooked image through the feeder.
The fix was to loosen the bracket screws and pull up on the corner while tightening the screws.
Ricoh came out with a reinforcing bracket for those models.

Also caused by users leaning on the front of the machine and by transporting with a tie down strap over the corner and the shipping support removed.

[IndependentChrisCT]

Re: MP C4503 SPDF Scanner Skew

We used to have this issue a lot on the older black & white 1045/2035 machines.
The left front corner of the optics section would "sink" probably from repeated slamming of the heavy adf.
This caused crooked image through the feeder.
The fix was to loosen the bracket screws and pull up on the corner while tightening the screws.
Ricoh came out with a reinforcing bracket for those models.

I had a feeling it might be something like this, but it wasn't clear how to achieve what you're suggesting on my model. I did take the glass off to inspect the optics but felt that I could easily cause more problems than i'd solve by banging around in there.

I also thought about trying bend the right hinge on the adf it's it's already maxed out on the screw adjustment.

[slimslob]

Re: MP C4503 SPDF Scanner Skew

I had a feeling it might be something like this, but it wasn't clear how to achieve what you're suggesting on my model. I did take the glass off to inspect the optics but felt that I could easily cause more problems than i'd solve by banging around in there.

I also thought about trying bend the right hinge on the adf it's it's already maxed out on the screw adjustment.

Playing with the hinge very seldom helps. If anything, it makes things worse. Lift up on the bottom corner of the scanner while holding down on the machine.

[DougD]

Re: MP C4503 SPDF Scanner Skew

Something easy to check is that the 2 big stepped screws that locate the hinges on the top of the machine are tight.
I got burned once when those screws were loose and the rear of the feeder sat up too high when it was closed.

[IndependentChrisCT]

Re: MP C4503 SPDF Scanner Skew

So I pushed a little on the adf and it made a soft click and seemed to set into place. You could see when it was closed that it was no longer aligned, so I redialed in the hinge adjustment on the ADF and am getting pretty good scans. No doubt it got racked a little during shipping. I need to adjust out the trailing edge shadow that only appears on ADF scans (not copies), but at least it's a fairly straight line from front to back on that trailing edge! Should be able to find that in the SP codes somewhere.

[DougD]

Re: MP C4503 SPDF Scanner Skew

How does the magnification look when you copy the counter sheet through the ADF.
Most machines reduce the image slightly if SP 6017-001 is set to "0".
I like to adjust it so the lines are a bit longer and then adjust the registration.
That usually takes care of the shadow on the right side.

[IndependentChrisCT]

Re: MP C4503 SPDF Scanner Skew

How does the magnification look when you copy the counter sheet through the ADF.
Most machines reduce the image slightly if SP 6017-001 is set to "0".
I like to adjust it so the lines are a bit longer and then adjust the registration.
That usually takes care of the shadow on the right side.

ThanksDoug.

I defaulted out some of my earlier margin and trailing edge changes. I had to play with a few of them before I got it right, but I think it was front trailing edge in SP that finally did it for me. Thanks for your suggestion as that put me on the right path.

[Mark Bbb]

Re: MP C4503 SPDF Scanner Skew

Also caused by users leaning on the front of the machine and by transporting with a tie down strap over the corner and the shipping support removed.