Kyocera FS-C5030N

[jasonofx]

This printer is shifting the entire image to be printed to the left about 2 or 3 inches. It only happens on 1 out of 20 pages printed. We have ruled out print drivers, computers, networks, electrical outlets and circuits, and have replaced just about every electrical board in the unit. We have also tried new memory, hard drive, all new LED print heads, drums, developers, transfer belt, etc. (We have a new identical printer in the shop and switched out all these components, we did not order $4000 worth of components for troubleshooting, don't worry). At this point it is definitely going to be cheaper to replace than to repair, but my Service Manager and I would really like to figure this one out just for the sake of knowing (and if it ever happens again).

[Warnock]

If the page is the same page all the time, I would say it is in the data stream. A hex dump will verify if an escape sequence is doing it. You will need a hex to ascii chart to find it or I'll look it up for you. If it's hopping all over the place, it's likley to be in the system software and I would suggest a flash upgrade. Also, how does the same job print to other machines?

[knightfall]

Have you check the firmware levels of the system, engine and NIC. start there first.

[jasonofx]

I have done both system and engine firmware updates 3 times just to triple-check. It always seems to happen at around the 16th or 17th page of a 20 page print job.

[Warnock]

Perform a data capture, zip the file and post it. I'll check it out to verify your data.

[jasonofx]

Perform a data capture, zip the file and post it. I'll check it out to verify your data.

Sorry, i didn't know how to do this (i'm a printer and copier repair noob), and my Service Manager put this in our Kyocera Area Tech Rep's hands. He tested it and took it apart, etc. and just ended up replacing the unit. Good for the customer, but doesn't really help me much on the tech side. Oh well, at least the customer is happy and Kyocera took care of it. Thanks to you all for the help.

[Warnock]

Data captures are great tools to isolate if you have bad data or a bad machine. The Compact flash card is a no brainer. Put in the card, go into your printer defaults menu at the copier and choose write data, go to your compter and print. It will tag it with data001 etc. Its a text file so you should zip it with winzip or RAR or whatever you like. Another way is to print to a file. Use a generic text driver which you can install from the printer and faxes menu, Add printer, and choose Generic, open up the properties and go to ports, check 'FILE', then send a test page. It will ask you to name your file. Name it something odd so that you won't get a lot of hits in case you have to search for it. This is also a text file and will reside in your documents and settings folder. You can open it with notepad or wordpad. I prefer textpad which you can download for free. And it has a hex editor which will tell you if hidden commands are disrupting your data.