MX-3140 Light Washy Copies (Print/Copy)

[BigE]

MX-3140 has light copies and prints. Sim 64 test prints and Sim 46-74 calibration charts look dark and solid. The Images are always washy rather your coping or printing. Sometimes they don't look to bad but still washy. There is a darker wavey area on the trail edge most of the time. Any ideas? Pattern.pdfPattern1.pdfPattern2.pdfPattern3.pdf

[Phil B.]

MX-3140 has light copies and prints. Sim 64 test prints and Sim 46-74 calibration charts look dark and solid. The Images are always washy rather your coping or printing. Sometimes they don't look to bad but still washy. There is a darker wavey area on the trail edge most of the time. Any ideas? Pattern.pdfPattern1.pdfPattern2.pdfPattern3.pdf

genuine OEM toners/drums?
how old are the drums/dev units/fuser?
who does maint on this unit?
how many total copies on unit?
which of the examples are copies or are they all prints?

[JR2ALTA]

Which one is the print? I see test charts being copied. Gradient color copies generally look like crap.

[BigE]

Sorry my scanned copies are not that good. The first image (PatternPDF) is generated from Sim 64. The actual image has solid colors. Pattern1PDF & Pattern2PDF are copies to show that they are light and washy. They also show the dark wavy area on 1 side of the copy. Also the 2 copies show how one time its very light and then its a little better without doing anything. Pattern3PDF is from color calibrating Sim 46-74. This original image also is solid. I dont understand way my copies and print are light and washy when anything generated from the copier engine looks good. I did not include a print image as they look the same as copies. New DV. Drums, Transfer belts and fuser not very old.

[tek tevee]

check Toner Save Mode maybe ON. Uncheck the box of the toner save mode.

[guitar9199]

Sorry my scanned copies are not that good. The first image (PatternPDF) is generated from Sim 64. The actual image has solid colors. Pattern1PDF & Pattern2PDF are copies to show that they are light and washy. They also show the dark wavy area on 1 side of the copy. Also the 2 copies show how one time its very light and then its a little better without doing anything. Pattern3PDF is from color calibrating Sim 46-74. This original image also is solid. I dont understand way my copies and print are light and washy when anything generated from the copier engine looks good. I did not include a print image as they look the same as copies. New DV. Drums, Transfer belts and fuser not very old.

OK... If your PRINTED images look dark and crisp, but your COPIES look washed out, first thing to look into are your optics. If you have dust on the mirrors/lens/lamp, it won't produce enough light for the laser to give you a solid image on the drums.

[BigE]

OK.... So Im new here. Working on copiers for 30 years. Been working sometime now for a small business with limited resources. Was hoping this site could give me some help. So please tell me how do I need to describe my problem? I thought I was clear that the PRINTS & COPIES are washy and light. The engine generated images (i.e.Simulation 64) look good and solid. Also there is a DACKER area on the side of the page(prints & copies). The dark area is not on the engine tests. THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR HELP.

[jp74msj55]

MX-3140 has light copies and prints. Sim 64 test prints and Sim 46-74 calibration charts look dark and solid. The Images are always washy rather your coping or printing. Sometimes they don't look to bad but still washy. There is a darker wavey area on the trail edge most of the time. Any ideas? Pattern.pdfPattern1.pdfPattern2.pdfPattern3.pdf

Looks like your Yellow or Magenta developer is depleted to me on your 3rd example.

[JLSam]

I don't know if OP has resolved the issue or not, but I have experienced this issue many times on this family in general.

It would be nice if you posted the 22-6 print out, and your answers would have been better. In your pictures posted, it looks to me that you need fresh developer.

Also, you need to do the FULL CALIBRATION stated in the Service Manual. Remember to do so after every change of developer or drums. You can clearly see that your halftones are off, no wonder you have light copies and prints.

After replacement and service, your routine should look something like this:
Clean IDS and OPTICS (Scanner and LSU) then perform Sim 50-22 (Follow instructions) / 44-2/ 44-6/ 44-27/ 44-26/ 61-13/ Reboot/ 61-11 (Light, Medium, Dark)/ Reboot/ Sim 46-74/ 64-5 for test.

Also please see:

Bulletin TT-100314_2
1. Check laser skew and color registration in Sims 50-2 and Sim 61-4.

2. Clear the auto and manual correction values in Sim 61-13.

3. Enter Sim 61-11 to run the laser power auto correction in the order of Light -> Middle -> Dark. Follow the screen instructions carefully. Note, SIM 6-11 is ADJ-22 in the MX-6240N /MX-7040N Service Manual and ADJ 10 in the MX-4140 / MX-5140 / MX-4141N / MX-5141N / MX-4140N / MX-5141N Service Manual. Refer to the respective Service Manual for additional Adjustment information

4. Check the image quality. If the result is not satisfactory, repeat step 3 again.

5. Run 64-74 to adjust the color balance


​Good luck.

[repn1999]

for what its worth....check to make sure the exposure settings for copy and print modes are on factory defaults and then recalibrate. I have actually had a tech with a similar issue who did a complete pm and still did not resolve the issue and it ended up being someone set the exposures to max for both print and copy which caused the machine to not calibrate properly. just something i see overlooked alot.