HELP - Issues with Docucolor 242 printing greys

Hi guys, I have just registered on here because I am sick and tired of Xerox giving me hundreds of different answers to my problem.

I have a Xerox DC 242 with a Professional Finisher and High Cap Feeder.

Most of the colours printed on my machine are awesome. They come out very nice and vibrant. Very rich in colour as you want.

However when ever i try printing a shade of grey or even black i get a really rubbish result. Its prints very cloudy as though the black is running out. Its hard to explain, its just very fluffy, maybe there is a proper term for it but im new to printing. I am certain it is something that can be sorted via print settings in CWS but I have no clue where to start. I am printing on 300gsm uncoated stock. I remember this random dude printed something out for me and it was perfect, the black was deep black with no inconsistencies. please help

 

Can you print a test page, for example a solid x-% gray covering the full sheet or a range of grays on a sheet, scan it, and post it as an attachment here?
(click the big post reply button or go advanced on the quick reply, then manage attachments, upload, and post.)

I have not seen this with our 242 - in fact the black and grayscale is much better on our machine than I expected and I love the way it prints black and white photos so far - but we only have 200,000 on the meter and are only on our second black drum with this machine.

 

Jeff I have a photo of something else i printed. I have been running 300 on heavyweight3. I have spoke to an owner of another print shop and she reckons I should run the same paper at HW2 or even HW1, maybe that was the problem.

My machine has had very little use, it has barely done 10,000 clicks

 

Hi

Your problem is called Mottle or Mottling.

Your problem probably is caused by a low % of K in the print job. it is due to the fact that because K is a heavier and therefore harder toner to move onto the paper therefore the machine needs to work harder to get it onto the paper. If it is possible to adjust the file you are printing to increase that particular color K percentage. If that makes cents.

You can adjust the light/dark settings in CWS to increase to 115%. I find this works sometimes. Also it is vital that you use digital stock not offset stock as this can cause mottle issues as well. Other then that you can ask your Xerox Tech to adjust the bias voltage to the 1st BTR's (Bias Transfer roller) this may also help your situation. I have also found that you need to insure that your stock is not moist in any way this also can cause this effect.

Happy printing.
Dino

 

Hey guys, thought id bring this thread back to light.

I did get a slight improvement by running heavyweight stock i.e. 300gsm through as heavyweight 2 rather than 3. This helped a little but i still got an uneven spread of grey. The stock I use is all digital stock now I am going to try this light/dark thing dino has mentioned but was wondering, has any of you guys actually managed to get a large span of grey printing nice and evenly?

 

Jeff, what CWS settings do you run grey on if you dont mind me asking.

If you could, recommend me settings for say 170 Gloss, 300 uncoated and 300 coated

All my stock is digital stock with varying brands such as mondi, lumi, creator