By Ramond Cote

Paper feed problems account for about 70% of all mechanical problems we are faced with on a daily basis.  From the key operator’s point of view, the paper jams are really annoying.  When we respond to service activity for paper handling problems, the first thing we usually do is check the condition of the paper. If it’s wavy or in some way damaged, we clearly see the problem and advise the customer to use a new ream of paper. We, as technicians, always try to remedy the situation on the phone before responding to the customer’s location but in some situations the customer will insist that his/ her paper is not at fault. “It’s got to be the machine”, they usually say.  Then when you get there you find they are trying to run tissue paper or 150 pound card stock or something along those lines.  The Xerox Docutech family was designed to accommodate a wide range of paper stock ranging from 16 pound paper to 110 pound card stock.  For the best results, it has been recommended that you use a 20 pound long grain bond paper. When we check the label on the end of the ream, make sure the label says “for Xerographic use”.  I mention this because some people think all paper is the same and it will work regardless what we say.  Case in point was a customer running offset paper in his spirit offset machines. Offset paper is designed to be run on a liquid type offset press, where the Docutech needs a bond paper that will work well with a dry process. There is a big difference between the offset (spirit) machine and the Xerox Docutech (dry) copier.  And the difference is “heat & pressure” is used to permanently fix the image to the paper as opposed to quick drying ink in the offset press.  Two distinctly different printing operations and two different types of paper.

Once you have the best paper money can buy (for your copier), the next step in improving paper handling is to make sure that you do not have any red flags in the chain 8 HSFI section.  As a general rule, if the printer has a history of paper jams and there are no Hsia’s due, I will go ahead and replace them anyhow thinking that the last technician may have re-set the counter and avoided replacing the components.

 HSFI     8-802  to  8-817               Kit/ Part #           

 08-802 Tray 1 and Tray 2  Feed Belt Kit  

 (with retard roller)                       600S7637       

HSFI     8-802  to  8-817             Kit/ Part #

08-806 Tray 3 Feed Belt Kit              600K8340      

08-806 Vertical Transport Belt Kit                600S6991       

08-810 Tray 3 Transport Belt Kit           600K8350      

08-815 Duplex Backstop Roll Kit (5090 family)            600K10283    

08-815 Duplex Paddle Wheel Kit          600K32110    

08-816 Registration Cross Roller Kit            600K7301      

08-816 Registration Edge (registration transport)           38K2189        

08-817 Registration Servo Rollers  (clean)             6K13290        

08-817 Registration Servo Pinch  Rollers                 22K16940      

The next step is to closely examine the registration rollers for wear. If the white rollers are not white any longer they will need to be replaced. Check the condition of the metal Idler Rollers, if they are dirty or worn, replace them as well.  This rule seems to hold true for the white rollers on the top transport assembly as well.  If any roller seems to be worn, replace them. The registration transport comes out and goes back in quite easily, so don’t be afraid to take it out.  Normally when all of the above components are replaced, and the machine is tested, the HSFI’s usually fix most, if not all of the paper handling problems.   With all the components replaced and you are still having Paper handling problems, the next step is to do all the associated adjustments that are outlined in the service manual. If you do not have the adjustment procedures for the Docutech family, contact the author and we will either e-mail or fax them to your location.

08-104   and 08-105 Paper handling Jams

Initial Actions:  

Make sure that the paper is properly loaded in all the (interposer) trays and the adjustment guides are against the paper stock. Also make sure the paper does not have an excessive curl. It is also a good idea to check that the Interposer is properly docked to the Processor.       

08-111 Tray 1 Jams

HFSI 08-802 due?  Note the condition of the paper. Is it curled or in some way damaged?  Check the length guide.  Has it moved?  The tension on the length guide can be adjusted. Check ADJ 7.7  If the tray opens while in print perform the Lock Assembly Adjustment ADJ 7.12. Check Tray 1            Stack height adjustment and Paper feed set up procedure ADJ 7.13.   

08-113

HSFI 08-802 and or 08-808 due?  Is there a multi feed? Check the coupling alignment on the feed head. Check the feed clutch belt adjustment ADJ 7.1.  Is the Take Away Roller in good condition?  Is there excessive noise from Tray 1 (or Tray 2)? Check the adjustment on Tray 1 or Tray 2 Feeder Drive ADJ 4.4.  Make sure the paper tray is parallel. Do the height adjustment.      

08-115

Check HFSI 08-802 and 08-808. Examine the Paper Handling Module (PHM) Drive belt tension.  Make sure the Magnetic strips (PL3-A8) are not damaged and properly seated on the Vertical Belt.  How does the Takeaway roller look?  If you clean the vertical transport belts with film remover and the 09-115 goes away for a short time, then the belts may be badly worn and need to be replaced.    

08-131 and 08-136

HSFI 08-806 due?  Check condition of paper. Curl side down? Long Grain?  Make sure both length and width guide are set against the paper stack. With the machine in diagnostics check

Tray 3 feed belt tracking.  Make sure that tray 3 Air duct and hose assembly is connected.  Check the feed clutch assembly while running the copier,.  Gently flush the clutch with film remover         and if the jams do not occur, the feed clutch is suspected to be bad. Check dc-131 MIN locations 178=55, and 179=0. Perform the stack height adjustment ADJ 8.2.            

08-132  and 08-133

HFSI 08-806 and 08-810 due?  Make sure both length guide and width guide are against the stack of paper. Remove Paper Tray 3 Feed Head to examine the Paper Damper assembly. Make sure it is not binding. Is the Retard Bracket interfering with the Feed Belts? Look at the Idler Roll tabs on the feeder, are they ok?  Go into dc-131 MIN location 178 and check to see if the range is between 35 and 55?  Also check MIN Location 179, it should be set to 0 (zero).             Perform Tray 3 Parallelism / Stack height adjustment ADJ 8.2. Replace the Stack height switch.           

Quite often when we are troubleshooting a paper handling situation we sometimes overlook the obvious. And the obvious is the simple adjustments (ADJ) in the Adjustment section. This happens time after time and we keep replacing components with little success.  A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is if the machine is within Adjustment Specifications and it still doesn’t work, and then replace the parts that seem to be responsible for the jams. All too often we sort of tweak things up trying to adjust for previous tweaks. This goes on until the device is totally not working.

In my experience with (truly) bad paper, I only saw one brand that refused to work in a Xerox machine. It was (get ready for this) re-cycled square grained 20 pound paper. The customer was committed to using re-cycled paper to save the environment and the re-cycled paper was committed to driving us nuts. Every adjustment that could have been performed on this machine was done. The copier was also checked out by a field engineer from corporate headquarters and was certified to be within all factory specifications. The copier refused to run more than 75-80 sheets between jams. Field engineering sent the team back and all the adjustments were tweaked to the customer’s special paper. This time we were able to get 50 to 60 sheets between jams. After 6 weeks of totally messing around with this brand of paper, the customer agreed with us that it would not work reliably and replaced it with a cheap 20 pound, long grain bond paper that jammed on average of once every three thousand copies. 

 In the field we have to be like jugglers in the circus, always trying to balance performance with dollars spent on parts.  With some self maintainers, money is not a concern and they will usually spend the dollars on the parts because it was cheaper than the service contract that they could have had through the manufacturer.  With third party independent service providers like us, the customer is always watching the bottom line. And rightly so, because if it was my money I would like to get the biggest bang out of my bucks. Besides, if you’re as good as you say you are, then the replacement parts should be at an all time low.

I would like to do a survey on billing information in the United States. A goodly number of independent service providers have asked me what the appropriate amount to charge their customers is. Actually it depends on you, the Independent Service Provider (ISP), and what your overhead costs are. I would greatly appreciate any input to this topic. Please contact me at VillageCopierNY@AOL.COM with your service rates. If you have used service contracts that were successful, I would like to know what they covered. And if they worked well. Time and material appears to be the way most Independent Service Providers (ISP) operate.  Once I have the data accumulated I would like to share the results with the field. If you have any comments about this month’s article please feel free to share those ideas with me. u