PAVER@MAXIMILLION.CP.MCC.COM (Bob Paver) (03/02/88)
> HI > I'm not on the mailing list, so I'm not sure if this subject has been > brought up. We have noticed that on our LN03 & QMS1500, that the OPC belt > degrades much faster than it should (i.e. 10K pages). The LN03 develops faded > areas, while the QMS1500's output becomes uniformally light. Our other people > experiencing similar problems and is there any solution? Thanks. > Mark London > MRL%PFC-VAX.MIT.EDU@XX.LCS.MIT.EDU We had a similar problem with TI21xx printers that use the same Ricoh engine. The OPC belts are rated for a number of revolutions, typically 20,000. BUT, you don't necessarily get one page per revolution (graphics and legal size take extra revolutions) AND there are 1 or 2 "overhead" revolutions associated with each print job. If your print jobs tend to be just a few pages, you eat up your belt in overhead revolutions. Unfortunately, many sales people assumed that one revolution gave one copy and told their customers that. OPC belts, for the record, aren't cheap. List price is about $200. from TI. The belts therefore contribute significantly to the cost of each copy. As far as I know there is no solution. I suspect TI, DEC, QMS and others are plenty mad at Ricoh, the real culprit (in my opinion). -------
eap@BU-CS.BU.EDU (Eric Pearce) (03/06/88)
We have 32 laser printers that I know of at Boston University. I
think this qualifies us as to make some observations on the subject.
At last count we have:
7 Talaris T1200 (Xerox print engine, I think)
10 Talaris T1500 or TI 2115 (Ricoh print engine)
15 Talaris T800 or QMS-800 or LaserWriter (Canon print engine)
The T1200 is out of production - but there are quite a few still
around. It is pretty good for the quanity of printing that goes
through it, but it's print quality is poor compared to a working T1500
or T800. We have one that is approaching a million pages printed. It
required 7 service calls last month. Apparently they can be
refurbished by the factory for some large cost. The two printers with
the highest counter values jam and burn paper often. It pretty easy
to clear the paper jams and add toner (dry imager in Xerox language).
The T1500 is nice when it is brand new, but the print quality goes
down hill from the time you replace the first OPC belt. I found the
highest counter value to be 83,000. The print quality is good when
you put in a new OPC belt and have enough toner in the bin, but the print
is smeared slightly. A large light area appears on the lower
righthand side of the page after several thousand pages are printed.
This does not seem to be unique to just the TI 2115, even though it
has recived the most attention in this newsgroup. I would call this a
problem with all the printers that have the same Ricoh print engine.
The T1500 jams rarely and is otherwise reliable from the hardware
point of view. The OPC belt and toner replacement is simple and quick.
The T800 is my favorite. I would recommend it to anybody who was looking
for a laser printer in this price range and size. I think that it has
the best print quality over the lifespan of the cartridge and the
printer itself. It tends to print slower than a T1500, but I do not
mind waiting a little longer for better quality. The single tray
holds a lot less paper than the double tray T1500. I think the reason
for the good print quality is that when you replace the cartridge, you
are replaceing most of the parts that wear or degrade the print
quality. The cartridge replacement is also quick and easy.
The printer software is a different isssue.
moral of the story: buy a Talaris T800 or QMS-800 that runs PostScript.
-Eric
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DECNET ep@buenga * Hanging out in the Q Continuum * BITNET iteap@bostonuharry@rainy.atmos.washington.EDU (Harry Edmon) (03/08/88)
We have a similar problem with the OPC on our TI2115, sometimes after as little as 5,000 copies. We then see a faded area about 1/4 of the way from the bottom of the sheet. At the suggestion of our TI service rep, we put in a new OPC and saved the old OPC in the black plastic wrap with the plastic clips on the roller to remove the tension from the belt. When the new OPC develops a faded spot (usually after a month), we then put in the old OPC. Lo and behold, the faded spot has disappeared. TI theorizes that the belt builds up an electrical charge over time, causing the faded spot. When removed from the printer, this charge slowly disappears, and with it the faded spot. TI is currently gathering information on the behavior of OPC belts, but all knowledge so far is empirical in nature. -- Harry Edmon UUCP: harry@rainy.atmos.washington.edu or (206) 543-0547 uw-beaver!geops!rainy!harry Department of Atmospheric Sciences University of Washington BITNET: HARRY@UWARITA