Abrasion lines on Pro-4100 dark or solid prints

[mfrohman]

Hello,

I've had a pro-4100 for 9 months and a few weeks ago I started to notice lines that run vertically along my prints, from the front edge back about 4" towards the printer (so perpendicular to the printheads). After running multiple tests, I've determined it the plastic ends that are attached to the rollers that are causing the abrasions (the lines line up perfectly with them). They are only noticeable on dark colored prints or prints that have large fields of solid color and the light needs to hit them just right. Those plastic ends are digging into the surface of the paper before the printheads lay down ink. Once the ink is printed over the paper, it leaves a shiny line of dots where the abrasions are. I only use matte paper. The abrasions seem to happen when the paper advances and retracts just before printing (as part of whatever adjustments it makes between prints).

So far I've called Canon twice and this is what I've tried:

Both canned and custom profiles.

Tried all the 3 paper feed tension settings, from weak, standard, to strong on all 3 options.

Set head height to highest and vacuum strength to strongest. 

Tried 2 different brands of paper and lines showed on both.

Basically, I've adjusted nearly everyone of the advanced custom profile settings that seemed remotely relevant.

I will attach some images of the issue. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks!

[Michael]

Hello.

If the abrasions are appearing after all of the adjustments that you have described, this may indicate a hardware issue with the unit.  Please contact our support group at 1-800-423-2366 to review what options are available to resolve this matter.

[Marinaneder]

Hello, I have just bought a 6100 printer and we are having the same issue. Have you came to a solution? 

[mfrohman]

I have not, the issue continues. I spoke with Canon 4-5 times when my printer was still in warranty. They kept giving me different suggestions with each person I talked to, none of which worked. The last person I spoke with suggested it may be a hardware issue needing a service call. They didnt mention this until it was a few weeks out of warranty. It seems that Canon should honor the warranty since I reported the issue several times when it was still in warranty. I gave up on finding a solution and have to use very frustrating work arounds. I am about to start calling Canon again because it's really affecting my business. If you find a solution please report back here and I will do the same.

[Marinaneder]

Ok. If you can share the workarounds you found it would help me until we find the definitive solution.

[mfrohman]

I dont know if my workaround will help with your workflow but I nest a lot of different images together. What I have to do is print my light colored images on the head of the paper and nest the darker images after that since the abrasion lines only appear on the first 4 inches of the paper. You can also make a 4" blank header to print before every image but that wastes alot of paper. Thats all Ive found so far. Have you called canon about the issue as well?

[Marinaneder]

Hello, by doing further tests we came to the conclusion that the problem of marks on our printer is caused by the arms that hold and guide the roll paper during the loading process. While loading the paper they exert a very intense pressure on the roll paper and this causes the wider rollers to mark the paper, either on the sides (thin lines) and on its entire width causing wider marks. Once the paper is loaded the pressure exerted by the arms is much lower causing less intense marks, which is why the beginning of the roll papers is more marked.

The technician who serves us is in contact with Canon to try to understand if there is any way to regulate the pressure exerted by these arms. A workaround that worked here was to hold the arms during the paper loading process so they can not force the paper so much. We did this by attaching them with elastics to the arms of the second roll or holding them manually. If you can, do this test to see if your problem is really the rollers you highlighted or if it is the rollers of these arms as in our case. Please tell me the result if you do this test.

[mfrohman]

Thanks for this information. I will try to do some tests with my printer and report back in a few days.