Vertical Repeating Black Lines when Printing - Xerox c70

[INTL Minute Press]

Anyone have an idea why we are getting repeating black line on all print outs, all colors. I've swapped the drums out several times (color and black) with different drums and we've also wipped down the ibt belt and these lines will not fade and seem to repeat like it was on a drum but the lines never change after swapping each drum and test printing. Attached is the image of the lines and suggestions??repeating lines

[corisys]

Hi Joe

After taking a more indepth look at the Drums and following your suggestion of swapping R1 drum with R4 the defect changed from Black Lines to Yellow Lines and as such after looking at the drum more closely I could see some lines on the drum itself.

I have left the R1 drum in R4 as now the yellow lines only appear when colour printing and no marks appear now when printing letters or black and white documents which will provide a work-around until the new drum arrives. 

Many thanks for you assistance as always. 

Lee

[Joe Arseneau]

Sorry to be a little stupid but is the 'Fuser Heat Belt' the same as the IBT Transfer Belt?

They are different

Fuser heat belt

IBT transfer belt

I've seen a video on YouTube where they remove the transfer belt and clean it very gently with alcohol wipes... I know it's probably not official advice, but could I do this without the alcohol wipe causing severe damage to the belt?

Very much not recommended, but realistically, if it already has issues, it can't hurt to try before replacing it. (assuming you are not under warranty of course, because consider it voided if they know you did such a thing)

Would the mark appear as a continuous line on the fused (or transfer belt) or could it be a dot?

I'm assuming there is no harm swapping R1 drum with any of the other drums? And if R1 is at fault and I placed it in R3 would the line colour change to Magenta or Yellow if placed in R4?It would be a line, definitely not a dot. Not necessarily continuous.

[corisys]

Hi Joe

Many thanks for the comprehensive reply and the detailed instructions to troubleshoot, it is very much appreciated.

Sorry to be a little stupid but is the 'Fuser Heat Belt' the same as the IBT Transfer Belt?

I've seen a video on YouTube where they remove the transfer belt and clean it very gently with alcohol wipes... I know it's probably not official advice, but could I do this without the alcohol wipe causing severe damage to the belt?

I've rotated the fused cog round all the way and inspected it and cannot see any lines or marks on that so assume it's most probably the belt as that's the only item I've not looked at.

Would the mark appear as a continuous line on the fused (or transfer belt) or could it be a dot?

I'm assuming there is no harm swapping R1 drum with any of the other drums? And if R1 is at fault and I placed it in R3 would the line colour change to Magenta or Yellow if placed in R4?

Thanks

Lee

[Joe Arseneau · Accepted solution]

Would the vertical lines be clearly visible on the Fuser photos I posted if the fuser was the cause?

 They would be visable, but of course you would need to rotate the roller to see all sides to be sure

Also, is the transfer belt the large wide black shiny material that can be seen when the Fuser is removed inside the 7830 and if so, would the marks be visble on that?

 Yes they would

By the drums, do you mean the R1 through R4 just under the toner or is there another drum?

 Yes, and since it is in black only, just R1

I take it we cannot clearly see anything at fault from the repeating defects print out I attached? (Sorry I couldn't really understand it). 

You just fold the paper and line up the arrows, in your case it shows it lines up every 95mm, which makes it one of 2 things.

Drum cartridge (Probably wrong since it affects all colors since each color has its own drum)

Or the Fuser heat belt (Much more likely, requires a tech though)

So, swap R1 with R3 and make 20 copies of something and see if a new color picks up the defect, if it does, the drum that was R1 is the issue, else, the Fuser is at fault.

[corisys]

Hi Joe

Thanks for coming back to me. 

Would the vertical lines be clearly visible on the Fuser photos I posted if the fuser was the cause?

Also, is the transfer belt the large wide black shiny material that can be seen when the Fuser is removed inside the 7830 and if so, would the marks be visble on that?

By the drums, do you mean the R1 through R4 just under the toner or is there another drum?

I take it we cannot clearly see anything at fault from the repeating defects print out I attached? (Sorry I couldn't really understand it). 

Thanks in advance

Lee

[Joe Arseneau]

I'm not much for the hardware side of things, I would suggest a tech visit.

If it isn't the fuser it would be the drum, or possibly the transfer belt, but I believe the belt is a technician only part (I could be wrong though).

[corisys]

Just wondering if anyone had any suggestions, Joe did you have any further thoughts?

Do I need to get a Service Engineer to visit?

The issue is getting worse and it is starting to cause problems with faith in the product with our users. 

Any help appreciated. 

Thanks

[corisys]

Hello

I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas as to what may be causing the above issue?

Many thanks in advance

Lee

[corisys]

Hello Joe

Many thanks for your assistance. 

I have only just had chance to visit site and take a look at the Fuser as advised and I cannot see any visible marks. 

I did notice also that the control panel on the printer seems to be a little slow at responding at times, almost like there is a delay when you press a button, I'm sure that never used to happen. 

I have attached photos of the Fuser as best I can. I also checked the drums and couldn't see any visible marks either. 

I have also uploaded high resolution versions of the Fuser Images as seen above for greater detail:

Fuser High Resolution Images

I also printed a 'Repeating Defects' report which I then scanned in which you can download and take a look at by clicking on the link below. 

Xerox Repeating Defects Report

Many thanks in advance

Lee