Ricoh PRO 1106EX

[banginbishop]

2nd visit within 2 weeks for dropping toner.

The machine has done 130k and it had overtoned to such an extent that the image was blurry, vsg etc should have been 4.0v but had hit 5v and when you turned the dev unit it created a toner cloud coming from the upper dev roller. All the important voltages were so far out.

I've spoken to ricoh who havent had a problem on this machine and the simple thing would be to just replace the developer but its only done 130k.
The SMC report was showing vsp, vsg etc as having masive diferences. Thankfully i have another pro opposite so i can compare the two.

I was advised to check the connectors for the id sensors but after doing what the MP range is famous for i cleaned the dev mag rollers, cleaned the ID sensor and done a an ID initialization, done a 100 sky shots, ran id initialization again, checked the vsp, vsg, checked the dev unit again and copies came back in again. Copies were sharp and crisp but what concerned me has the MP curse struck the Flagship models or was this a one off bag of dev gone funny.

Booked myself back in again next wek to check it over.

[Kopyrtek]

Had similar problem with MP9000.Had to go in and do basically the same thing but also used the old 850 mylar to clean the doctor blade off.Had a build up that was causing some issues as well.

[banginbishop]

i've rebooked myself to go back in again but so far havent had the chance because its so busy. The only plus side is that the machines working ok as i havent had to go back yet through the customer phoning in........... now i've said that i'll end up there some time today.

[banginbishop]

Well i've been back and i've had to scrape the mag roller again. Same problems as before by dumping toner on the id sensor and putting all voltages out.

Damm i love ricoh toner and i thought non oe toner was crap

sorry for the poor pictures.

[TonerMunkeh]

I'd be more than willing to bet this is a bad bag of dev.

Replace it and the toner with a different batch number, but vac the living piss out of the dev unit when you put in the new dev. Hopefully that should sort it.

[banginbishop]

Well i think its due for a service soon anyway so i'll replace it but i'm just so dubious of ricoh toner and the problems with the mp range in general. I never had a problem with the 2105, 2090 etc except the pipes blocking but that was normal and not to frequent but i'm just not confident in ricoh products anymore.

I recomend kyocera b & w over ricoh because i just dont trust them at the moment and i just dont want the hassle like i'm getting with the b & w range.

I know there there is something happening to recify the balls up with the MP range but how many times have they said that and its still cr*p.

I've lost confidence in ricoh and they need to sort it out, its bad enough when your forced to use non oem toner but when its genuine dev and toner and it still doesn't work - you know your up Sh*t creek without a paddle

When i do the service i'll keep you posted with better pics.

[schooltech]

I'm with TonerMunkeh on this one. That is some nasty buildup on those mag rollers. I would, on each dv service on the older 2090/2105 series, disassemble the doctor blade and thoroughly clean it. If you're going to better identify the issue, I would also clean all of the lines and get all of that crap out of the dv assembly.

You didn't specify, but was the correct bag put in? I'm sure it was, but sometimes this can be easily overlooked when other things are on the mind.

[Kopyrtek]

How many copies on this machine?It just may be time to replace the dv unit.I havent had that much luck rebuilding these units.

[Shadow1]

Whenever I've seen something like that on a Katana it's always been something wrong - possibly environmental, maybe customer abuse, more than once tech induced. Is the customer running super heavy solids? Is the room extremely hot or humid? Cheap crappy recycled or colored paper (stinks when you run it)? If the tech doesn't clean and PM the machine properly then initialize the ID and TD sensors properly it can throw off the process controls and result in stuff like you see. If the tech doesn't keep the air filters clean the extra heat can cause buildup like you see. Trust me - I learned my lessons the hard way. You can stretch the PM's on these machines, but don't short the machine when it needs it, and don't rush through it either - take care of it and it will take care of you. I've got several of them that run hard, sometimes over 1Mil a month. If I get a call on them I can guarantee something is over PM. Usually way over.

Clean it up thoroughly - especially the dev assy. Check the doc blade gap - a real tight .45 is good. PM it good - if it's anywhere due, replace it, and put in a new drum, developer, and charge regardless. Call tech services and see if they have any reports of bad toner or developer.

...and quit goofing around with Kyocera - this machine will run anything they got into the ground. The MP4000/5000 is a different story, but Japan finally admitted they have a problem with the toner...

[banginbishop]

This machine is not that old its only done about 300K - yep 300k. The machines located in a print room so they know what their doing. No other engineer has touched it apart from me and the workshop team who would have set this up correctly as the manager is a service engineer who i can say knows what he's doing.

As for Ricoh beating kyocera hands down on products - i don't disagree but at this present time i'd rather have a kyocera sat at a customers than a ricoh that drops its guts when its feels like it. Theres only so much you can tell a customer and telling them the ricoh they have has a fault which at the moment you can't fix is something they dont want to hear and you cant tell them.

[Kopyrtek]

Only 300k and the mag roller looks that bad?Have to agree with Shadow and start cleaning really well.Paper dust from paper and of course the recycled paper does no good for any machine.
When you replace the dev make sure to get ALL the old out.

[banginbishop]

Well i cleaned it all off with a normal rag (top and bottom roller) and the copies were actually a lot better i.e the solids. It's not overtoning that you would expect e.g. dirty background but the toner dust is a lot and its causing the machine to think when it does a check that theres to much toner in the system hence it gradually fades away.

I will be changing the dev etc as its due but not untill i have to go back and i'll print off an smc report, check the mag roller and id sensor again.

Cheers for the help everyone - i'll keep you updated.