Toners suddenly running out with no warning on 305/306/307/imc 300

[Gift]

Re: Toners suddenly running out with no warning on 305/306/307/imc 300

We had this issue a lot but it kind of vanished over the last years. AFAIK it didn't happened witht he IMC300 to us...yet^^

Did you have a chance to inspect the toner bottle if it was really empty? Issues with the toner supply mechanism (like a faulty auger) can also lead to sudden toner-end conditions.

[RicohBoomer]

Re: Toners suddenly running out with no warning on 305/306/307/imc 300

This series is a real nightmare to be frank. While the machine itself works well when it actually works it has so many unique issues to it that I feel like I've gotten grey hairs from servicing them.
Doesn't help that they aren't very fun to pick apart either.
So far the IM C300 hasn't given us any headaches, so fingers crossed.

As for the topic at hand we've had sudden toner ends from the toner hopper breaking. Removing the hopper reveals that the rubber spiral that is supposed to feed toner into the devbox is either loose or damaged beyond repair.
Why this happens is probably because of the hopper getting overfilled because of the devbox not accepting new toner, causing pressure build up until that rubber spiral snaps.
But it probably isn't relevant to your case as it seems to be much more widespread and if the hopper was broken it wouldn't help to switch toner.

Another issue with toners on this machine is toner buildup inside where it locks in place, causing it to no longer seal the toner as the customer pulls it out. Which turns into a nasty story and a lot of cleaning. This can also mean the copper strands inside the machine to get so dirty it stops detecting the toner. But in that case you should get; "Toner not set correctly" rather than toner end.

I personally haven't had as many issues with sudden toner end in my region. Instead we get SC672 as if it were paper jams.

[GIUBOSS]

Re: Toners suddenly running out with no warning on 305/306/307/imc 300

Hi Chaps,

I also experience the same issue on our fleet of MPC307/407/IM300/400 devices. You can try adjusting the toner near end threshold via SP mode this will give you a bit more notice at toner near end before the cartridge runs out. Keep firmware levels up to date.

The only information I got out of the Ricoh around this issue is as follows:

The MPC306/307/407/IMC300/400 use one motor to drive all toner cartridges. So if a user sends a black & white print job to the machine it will turn all toner bottles regardless if C,M,Y is not being laid down on the image surface. This then gives a false reading onto the chip that the toner has been used. Still doesn't explain the drop from 30/40% to 0% though. But does make sense that incorrect toners levels are being reported on any remote reporting software.

Cheers
Batman1976

Each toner has its own individual
DRIVE UNIT: TONER SUPPLY
:ASS'Y which rotates independently

[Batman1976]

Re: Toners suddenly running out with no warning on 305/306/307/imc 300

Each toner has its own individual
DRIVE UNIT: TONER SUPPLY
:ASS'Y which rotates independently

The toner amount remaining/shown in the display is calculated through the pixel data and the number of the toner bottle rotations..
And, 20% and End are judged by the sensor.


The phenomenon occurs when printing many B / W documents in Full Color setting mode.
In the above operation, only B/W is used when all toner is supplied, so toner refresh in the PCDU is performed, and toner is removed from the PCDU.
As a result, the pixel data count does not increase, but only the toner bottle rotational speed will be counted.
Therefore, there is a difference between the toner amount in the display and the actual toner remaining in the bottle. and something like this occurs.

According to the designers this is a specification.

If the machine is set to full color black .....switch it off. Make sure the firmware is at the latest level.