Convert your Xante Impressia in to EN/PRES

[OkiTech]

Hi guys, if I could create a kit to convert your existing Xante Impressia system in to sort of Xante EN-PRESS, but based on Ricoh SP-C841 printer - thats the printer Xante makes EN-PRESS out of...
Simply put - I am thinking, no, I am working on swapping the print engine of Xante Impressia (Ricoh SP-C820) with newer Ricoh SP-C841 printer where you'd keep the feeder and exit conveyor... there is no direct swap as body of those printers are somewhat different, I'd have to manufacture several things to fit feeder/conveyor of Impressia in to EN-PRES/Ricoh SPC841
I'd provide a low mileage (under 100K ) and all necessary bits and pices to do retrofit or if you're withing driving distance from Jersey Shore could come by and perform the swap.
Anyone would be interested in such thing? I guesstimate price tag of $5k-ish, I dont know what CNC machine shop will charge me yet but I estimate this to be somewhere around that.
Another advantage - using regular Ricoh supplies VS Xante ones that tend to be more expencive.
Let me know what do you think guys.

 

[Kringle]

Sounds cool. One of the problems will be with IQueue. I recently tried to get license for a Ricoh in IQueue. I asked several times, and they finally just started outright ignoring me. The machine was a C830dn and Iqueue recognized it as an impressia. I was able to do the 30 day trial and use it with Iqueue and then it stopped working at the end of the trial. I think Xante doesn't want to license Ricoh branded machines so they just ignore you????

 

[OkiTech]

Hi. Thanks for your input. Surely Xante does not want you to use Ricoh printer in their system. I think you can throw a used Xante formatter in your printer and that will, likely, allow it to communicate with IQuene software as if it was a xante printer. But you can print to it VIA Ricoh Post Script Driver, I used to own printing shop several years back, we ran envelopes in OKI printers with just a print driver, not the end of the world...
If you have EFi Fiery workstation, it could also run Ricoh printer, I'd imagine, am I wrong?

 

[Kringle]

Hi. I honestly don't know. I have 2 Fierys on xerox production machines, but they don't seem to recognize my xantes. I've never messed with the "formatter". How do you do that? Is that just a board?

 

[OkiTech]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2660900857...-0yMur3Rme&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[OkiTech]

Whereever you plug in the network cable, it is about 8 screws and it slides out. It is not direct swap, There is fairly simple procedure. I've done this for a customer a while back, you'd need to go in to service mode and key in S/N, something like that - nothing major.

 

[Kringle]

Got it.... never horsed around with that before. I'll give it a look. That ebay link appears broken.

 

[OkiTech]

I am pretty sure that Identity of the printer, i.e. if it thinks of itself being Xante Impressia or Ricoh SP-C830 is on that board. Meaning, if you throw in Xante formatter, printer will think of itself as a Xante Impressia.
If I could get my hands on used Ricoh mpc830, I'd try that myself. But all I get from my local lease returns warehouse are Impressias and Ricoh MPC842

 

[OkiTech]

Ok, go to ebay dot com and type "Xante Impressia Fromatter

 

[Kringle]

oh, I see it now. Cool, I'll see if they swap with the 830.

I have a couple of impressias that I use to imprint return addresses on the back flaps of A-7s. They are not great. I have a lot of color to color registration issues. I'm constantly chasing. running music routines and line movements. I also get an overall background toning. You wouldn't be able to see it, except I print on the back flaps, so when you lift the flap, there is a noticeable demarcation line where the toning ends. On top of that, they are always crying for expensive consumables.

I recently bought one of the new Postmark HP FI-1000 inkjet printers (like the new printware), but the color is muddy and doesn't stand up to the laser. Now I'm looking into inkjet treated stocks to convert into A-7s. There doesn't seem to be a great solution for what I do.

 

[OkiTech]

Ouch, sorry to hear that you're having these issues. You said something about expencive supplies... I am not aware that there is a premium line of supplies over regular genuine ones. Are you running all genuine supplies replaced as scheduled and having these problems or running generic stuff and/or resetting lifecounts without actually replacing the items?

 

[OkiTech]

This is really none of my business, you run your show the way you want. The issues you're describing are a little unusual for the way this printer forms the image. I've sold well over a dozen of these and currently have one with million clicks on it - no such issues...
Previous genetation of Xantes, Oki based, Xante Ilumina - those printets are a lot more likely to have CMYK misregistration issues. But the way prwvious gen OKI printers form the image is different from these Ricohs

 

[Kringle]

I'm running genuine toner. I do run way over life on drums. But new drums or old drums, doesn't matter, still same issues. Recently new ibt belts and fusers, same issues. I think part of the issue is i am laying down so little toner on such a small sheet. A lot of my prints are red text, and the magenta seems to be the biggest culprit. The drums probably get oversupplied with toner. Not sure, but I've been fighting it for years and that's my conclusion as to why. At least until some other reason pops into my head

 

[Kringle]

Registration problem may have something to do with printing on flaps??? More fuser to paper issue than development.... just my guess

 

[OkiTech]

Here is different theory: if you install new drum and peoblem goes away and then comes back after a while, it may not be over supply but opposite.
Drum is being constantly cleaned with silicone blade, its called "drum cleaning blade" while it phycically scrapes residual toner and that being moved in to waste toner box, the toner powder that remains on the drum surface also lubricates that drum blade, if you run the machine without putting much of the image to sort of lubricate the blades, it will cause them to wear and allow higher, still microscopic, but higher level of toner to stay on the drum surface and that will translate in to toning.
By the way, in Xante Ilumina, i.e. OKI printers, if you send the job as B/w, machine will kick-up CMY drums completely taking them out of printing process and print with black imaging unit exclsively. And there is the way to cheat, if you want, lets say print 100% magenta or Cyan, M or C imaging unit can be placed instead of K that will allow you to print monocolor.
I've read that people did actually mixed toners in the blender, filled up a toner cartridge with spot color and printed like that. Say Reflex Blue is nearly impossible to achieve laying down full CMYK process but if you pre-mix the toners and print as monocolor - different story

 

[Kringle]

Wow, that is an interesting theory, never thought of that. Not sure how I could fix that in my case. I do sometimes run off some sheets with a solid pattern and it seems to reduce the amount of toning in the background for a while. I refer to them as "cleaner sheets" for lack of a better understanding of the physics of what is actually happening. The mixed color is a neat idea, unfortunately that's not an option for me as I get random process logos occasionally mixed into my return address orders. Thanks for your insight.

 

[Kringle]

I finally got around to messing with this. I tried to swap the formatter in my impressia with the formatter board in my ricoh c831dn. They are definitely different. All the boards in the back of the machine look configured totally different. Kinda bummed out, I was excited at the prospect of printing envelopes faster. Any other ideas? I requested an iqueue license for that machine from xante, they just don't even answer. The infeed looks the same as the impressia as though the 831dn would go right in place physically with the feeder without any modification. Maybe I'm missing something?

 

[OkiTech]

Yes Sir. Looks like you're missing a very important detail...
Xante Impressia was actually made out of Ricoh SP-C820.
That is, most likely, why boards and everything else looks different.
SP-C820 VS SP-C831 is not just bs facelift, so to speak, where they'd just throw bigger display and everything else is the same, it is different machine.
If you'd try to take your Impressia boards in to Ricoh SP-C820, everything would look the same.
Yes, paper input is different and mouth of bypass is at different height Impressia VS SP-C831 so feeder and exit table are far from bolt off one and bolt on to another. That is what I am doing - trying to enginner the parts to make SP-C831 (which is what Xante EN-Press is made out of) work with Impressia feeder/exit conveyor.

 

[Kringle]

Got it! Thanks for the info. I honestly did think it was basically the same machine, but once I got the back off..... it was all different.
I for some reason thought the enpress was a C841 or something. I'll have to set the 831 up on the xante feeder one day just for kicks. It sure looks the same as the 820 infeed. Now I'm curious to see where it doesn't fit. Oh well, thought it would be nice to print envelopes faster, but I guess I'm stuck with my impressias. It's crazy, when I run #10's they print really fast, but when I go to custom sized (7.25x5.25) A-7s they print super slow. If I try to speed up the machines, the toner doesn't seem to set in the fuser and can be easily scratched off. Printing my envelopes is like watching grass grow with these things.

 

[OkiTech]

Guys, I have fully functional set-up, Ricoh SP-C842 (thats what EN/Press made out of) with Xante envelope feeder, exit conveyor.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1960950459...-0yMur3Rme&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY