[Misc] GR3770 feeder wheel transferring ink to prints

[mrjonolewarne]

Hi,

The feeder wheel on my GR3770 keeps picking up ink from prints and transferring it to the rest of the sheets in a print run. I've left the ink to dry for up to 36 hours before printing second colours, and made sure it's completely dry to the touch, but it still keeps leaving a stripy line down the middle of my prints.

Any ideas on how to stop it would be great!

Thanks

[mrjonolewarne]

Nobody had this problem as well? Any ideas? I'm stumpted.

[zx81]

this is a common problem especially when a block of ink sits underneath the feed rollers, you could try different paper stock (more absorbant), print on larger paper so the feed rollers sit on unprinted paper (chop down afterwards), make sure in your design that dense ink parts of the design are out of line with the rollers.
the marks can be rubbed out with an eraser!

[mrjonolewarne]

Thanks zx81

Your post is an exact summary of what I've been doing to get round the problem. I was just hoping there would be a way around it that meant I could print anywhere on the sheet.

If I'm printing booklets to be trimmed after, if I get two spreads per sheet (A5 booklets for example) then the gutter of the booklets works really well with the line of the wheel.

The problem is when I get a customer after a A4 book and I have to tell them they have to leave a gap running horizontally across the centre of the spread. They'll either be disappointed or just find someone else.

I might try spraying each sheet with fixative after printing, but even if that does work it's going to be an expensive and time consuming solution.

Any other suggestions on this matter would be gratefully received!

Thanks

[zx81]

i think you have to leave printed pages for longer, i sometimes leave prints for more than a week before attempting a second colour (depending on positioning) a cartridge type paper (or book type paper) seem to work much better with less problems than a copy type paper.
as for a fixative years ago we used to use hairspray!

[bigste]

If I am printing nore than one colour or double sided I never do the second print on the same day as the ink is never dry enough. I've tried it on the same day and it causes nothing but the problems you mention. Leave a 24hour gap and store the printed paper in a reasonably warm place, normal room temp of about 20c or more is fine, the warmer the better. I also put a weight on top of the prints during storage, a couple of reams will suffice to keep the prints flat.

[ddude]

Been seeing this more and more, unfortunately it is occuring due to the new environmentally friendly soy inks being distributed by the OEMs. The new ink will not set up like the oil-based ink would. To be fair, this would happen with oil-based inks if you rushed your job and did not let the first set cure for a day- but with the soy ink, it may never dry.
The only solution is to work up your print area layout to include a blank area where the feed tires will hit.