[CQ] Ricoh SpC210Sf light copies from glass and feeder but not prints

[patterson70]

This is the all-in-one color machine made back on 2007-09.
I am getting very light copies but dark when printing. From both the glass and the feeder. Could there be something that needs cleaning inside the laser area? The glass looks clean underneath but could there be a coating/film on it that is causing the light copies? Any help greatly appreciated!

[rthonpm]

Sounds about right. The best way to check the optics on a colour machine is to copy a black and white document in full colour. If the copy looks blue-ish or grey then the scan mirrors are definitely coated with something. A fine layer of dust will do a nice job of fogging the optics.

[Ricohslave]

The brightness and contast for copying can be adjusted in the user menu. This can easily be adjusted by the customer playing with settings.
Press menu, scroll down to main-menu 3-copy, scroll down to sub-menu 2-brightness and 3-contrast. The settings range from 1 to 5.
Hope this helps with you problem.

[patterson70]

Thank you, will check that out, So there is nothing to clean besides the glass? Will let you know Tuesday when I go by.

[tazofmiami]

Take off the glass and wipe the mirrors that should fix it.

[CrapAimer]

give the optics a good clean

[patterson70]

Thank you all for that info also. Will let you know Tuesday if it works.

[patterson70]

Thank you for your suggestions, you are never going to guess what it was. This is really a Hitachi and it has a "Quality" setting. Under that is a "toner save mode" Yes, it was on. Turned it off and have black copies once again. Ricohs that I know of don't have this feature and it was hidden under "quality" so I did not know to even look for it.

[Ricohslave]

Glad you got it sorted. I'll check that setting out next time I see one.