Ricoh Aficio MP 2851

[aphelps]

I work in a Public/School library and we have been having ongoing problems with our RICOH copier for over a year. It starts when we run a large number of copies. Well, large for us 150+. The Prints start getting darker and darker. The whole page turns dark, almost black, it gets lines through it. The copy is single sided but the back starts getting dark too. They get progressively worse and worse. We let the copier sit and only print one or two copies in the normal course of the day. It does ok until the next time we need to print a large number. Except this time, it only does 70 or so. We stop it, let it sit, print one or two copies in the normal course of the day and it again, does ok until the next time. Except now, it only takes 40 or so. Then the next time 10, until it is doing it every copy. We have gone through two different techs in our very rural area. They both swear the fixed it every time. The last time we were told that the drum was replaced and that was definitely the problem and it was all fixed. We haven't used it overly much since it was "repaired" three weeks ago. Tonight were making 40 copies for little league signups and it started doing it. We don't have a backup copier.
It does it on prints and copies now.
I have tried googling the troubleshooting from Ricoh but no one lists any problems remotely similar to our issue. Clearly the techs don't know what is going on. Does anyone have any ideas? We are desperate for answers.

[Phil B.]

I work in a Public/School library and we have been having ongoing problems with our RICOH copier for over a year. It starts when we run a large number of copies. Well, large for us 150+. The Prints start getting darker and darker. The whole page turns dark, almost black, it gets lines through it. The copy is single sided but the back starts getting dark too. They get progressively worse and worse. We let the copier sit and only print one or two copies in the normal course of the day. It does ok until the next time we need to print a large number. Except this time, it only does 70 or so. We stop it, let it sit, print one or two copies in the normal course of the day and it again, does ok until the next time. Except now, it only takes 40 or so. Then the next time 10, until it is doing it every copy. We have gone through two different techs in our very rural area. They both swear the fixed it every time. The last time we were told that the drum was replaced and that was definitely the problem and it was all fixed. We haven't used it overly much since it was "repaired" three weeks ago. Tonight were making 40 copies for little league signups and it started doing it. We don't have a backup copier.
It does it on prints and copies now.
I have tried googling the troubleshooting from Ricoh but no one lists any problems remotely similar to our issue. Clearly the techs don't know what is going on. Does anyone have any ideas? We are desperate for answers.

we need more technical info from you please:

total pages on machine

when was the last FULL PM was performed.

is the machine dirty inside

are you using Genuine Ricoh Toners and drums? *not refilled/3rd party Katun type toners..no rebuild drums*

MOST times toner on back of page and NO words/banners/photos above means dirty lower roller in fuser.

do they report a lot of jams?

what is the environment in the area it's located in?

is it jammed against a wall where air flow could be impeded?

PhilB. "The Dentist"

[zed255]

Do the pages feel at all gritty?

[copyaction]

The toner on the back of that page is from the transfer roller, because the developer is worn out and the drum and developer are probably way over the 60,000 pages they are rated for.
As was already asked what is the total count and when was the PCU serviced?

[aphelps]

It is sitting at 163K copies. We have no access to maintenance records so I have no idea when anything was done, I will be asking for copies. The pages don't feel gritty. The service contract includes toner replacement. We assume it is genuine but I don't know for sure. It is something I will ask when I talk to the tech tomorrow. The drum is a genuine drum and was replaced less than 700 copies ago. The tech made a point of saying that he couldn't believe that he found three new drums on the shelf from his predecessor and if the guys in Portland knew he had them they would steal them. The printer very rarely jams. The area is clean and dry. We live in a very arid climate so humidity is not an issue. The copier is 6-8 inches from the wall. It doesn't appear to be dirty inside.

[zed255]

I have seen similar when the quenching array got damaged by over zealous cleaning. The array is series wired so dislodging one SMT LED kills the whole thing. Lack of quenching interferes with proper photoconductor preparation immediately preceding a new print cycle. In the case I saw there was a slight (very slight) grittiness the the prints / copies as the charge build up began to pull developer material onto the paper.

[slimslob]

If pictures 4 and 5 are the back sides of the page, that is almost always the transfer roller. Since you do not know how to get the maintenance counters, there is no point in telling what SP settings to check/change. Since you have a contract, you should be calling them every time you have copy/print quality issues.

When the tech replaced the drum did he replace anything else? When a drum is replaced the following should be replaced with:

Pickoff Pawls
Charge Roller
Charge Cleaner Brush Roller
Blade Cleaning
Developer

Otherwise you are asking for quality problems. Recommended replacement interval is 60K. If it is not done at the point, somewhere between 80K and 90K you WILL start getting drum spots, random 1mm to 2mm black spots initially on both edges of Letter size paper ran long edge first (LEF) and gradually expanding toward the center.

You mentioned that the 2851 has 163K on it. Ricoh recommends rebuilding the fusing unit and replacing the transfer roller at 120K though it can usually be pushed to 150K. With the possibly dirty transfer roller I doubt if it has been done. When the tech is out next tell him that you want to see a printout of the PM counters

[aphelps]

Thank you all for the quick replies.
What does PM stand for? I like to know what my abbreviations mean before using them

[aphelps]

If pictures 4 and 5 are the back sides of the page, that is almost always the transfer roller. Since you do not know how to get the maintenance counters, there is no point in telling what SP settings to check/change. Since you have a contract, you should be calling them every time you have copy/print quality issues.

When the tech replaced the drum did he replace anything else? When a drum is replaced the following should be replaced with:

Pickoff Pawls
Charge Roller
Charge Cleaner Brush Roller
Blade Cleaning
Developer

Otherwise you are asking for quality problems. Recommended replacement interval is 60K. If it is not done at the point, somewhere between 80K and 90K you WILL start getting drum spots, random 1mm to 2mm black spots initially on both edges of Letter size paper ran long edge first (LEF) and gradually expanding toward the center.

You mentioned that the 2851 has 163K on it. Ricoh recommends rebuilding the fusing unit and replacing the transfer roller at 120K though it can usually be pushed to 150K. With the possibly dirty transfer roller I doubt if it has been done. When the tech is out next tell him that you want to see a printout of the PM counters

We do call them every time we have issues. They pretty much run in and run out as fast as they can get here. It took two weeks for them to get to it the last time it was down. For the last 2 or 3 years and the last few maintenance calls I have been pointing out black spots on the prints and it took two years to get the drum replaced. Our library director had been handling maintenance and maintenance requests on the copier because it was here before I started. I handle the maintenance for the other tech and I will be taking over the copier now so that I can keep up with the records and maintenance. I really appreciate all the help. I know zilch about copiers.

[zed255]

PM is service guy speak for Preventative Maintenance. Parts with known life spans are replaced on a schedule dictated by the number of pages printed. Think mileage based service visits for you car.