Konica Minolta AccurioPress 7090 issues?

We just had an Accuriopress 7090 installed and have been having color and speed issues. Blues are purple, reds are almost orange. We even used the Modify Curves to get the image closer to what we wanted and in the middle of the job the press seems to override our settings and put more magenta in - making people look sunburned.

SPEED ISSUE
We printed a variable data job using a PDF placed in Printshop Mail as the base (I think it was 867K) and when ripped it was almost 1 TB! All we put in was a barcode and recipient address. Today I am printing a straight up PDF, 4 color on one side, black on the back, 2 up on 20 lb. 11 x 17, no variable and less than 500 sheets is taking 40 minutes. Does that sound normal?

We had a tech and a color specialist come in and they are looking into the color issue but our primary tech seems to think the speed issue is nothing they can fix. We tried PPML and that was a disaster. (Probably because I don't know what I am doing) and it didn't really run faster.

Any ideas? Anyone experience this with this model or another KM product?

 

Oh boy, where do I start! We've had a C6085 since Dec 2020 and love it. Our volume increased so we wanted a 2nd one. Unfortunately, that line was discontinued and the C7090 was our only option. We had the same problems of reds and blues being totally off. We had a color specialist in here for a week, then she had to bring in a next-level specialist for a couple of days the next week. Between the two of them profiling using a FD-9 spectrophotometer, they finally got the colors to look good...they said they basically had to do the G4 process. However, it doesn't match our C6085 at all (I think the C7090 looks better now). So I'd suggest to push back on KM and have them get out a regional specialist who knows more about color than your local specialist. There's lots of similar feedback on printplanet.com regarding these color issues if you search the forums...not just the C7090/C7100, but the C12000/C14000 as well.

I'm not quite understanding what you mean about the speed issue. Are you saying it's a 500 page document or your making 500 copies, or 500 variable data pages from PrintShop Mail? Do you mean it's taking 40 minutes to RIP, or 40min to print? If it's 500 pages long, then yes, 40min could be understandable, especially if there's lots of complex vectors and layering. It also depends on the controller you have. Do you have the KM controller, or Fiery, and which of the two Fiery's?

Regarding VDP, Fiery's have a built in VDP function where you upload the static background, then link it to the VDP. There is also a free stand-alone VDP product called Fiery FreeForm. However, Printshop Mail usually does the trick.

Lastly, something else other C7090 owners have experienced, including us, is the registration between colors. This has been especially noticeable on small knockout text where we see the magenta or other colors creep into the white. It doesn't happen across the whole sheet, just one half or one corner of 12x18 sheets. We missed it on a big run of 4up postcards. The ones in the lower left corner were all out of register and we had to re-run.

 

It's a combination on the speed thing. The jobs that take the longest to rip and print (because it stops every 20-40 sheets then starts up again) are simple variable data, 2-up letter documents. The variable data is run through PrintShop Mail and is a simple bar code and address, no complex variable images or anything like that. The art for the merge is a simple PDF that's less than 1,000k. We are able to run much bigger jobs (file size wise) and it runs without stopping except for the occasional adjusting..

Our biggest concern (aside from color inconsistency) is when we print copies of a 2 up generic PDF 4 color on the front and black on the back. The machine will start printing the 500 copies then stop after 40-50 and say its ready to print yet the job is still in the Printing queue and sometimes previous jobs are still there too. So I send o ver a fresh file, reset the 2up layout and it prints only the 40-50 copies and stops. (This job is NOT going through PrintShop Mail but is imposed at the Fiery). I have tried it through the layouts tab and also through Fiery Impose. Doesn't seem to matter. The jobs lagging in the printing queue after they are done has created a lot of headaches because then we can't get future jobs to start

If we send them to our C6085 we don't have the same issues (it's also Fiery) though recently we've had some issues with the C6085 ignoring preferences - printing to the top tray instead of the main stapler tray, printing on the wrong stock even though everything points to the 20# 11 x 17 it's suppose to print on. That's probably the topic for another post. (We did have to have Konica Minolta come in and do a fresh software install for some issue about 6 months ag0 but I don't recall why).

The new printer was supposed to make things better but when one is running the other is down - if they aren't both down at the same time. Though I don't miss all the extra work I had to do on the Xerox products we had before, 90 percent of the time (until we got an Iridesse) I was able to keep the sucker going. That took lots of learning from the techs when they came in and from second level support.

I hope someone comes up with a solution or else this thing is going back where it came from - the pits of hell. LOL

 

The class of the Fiery you got for each unit makes a huge difference. On the C6085, did you get the IC-313 or the IC-315? For your C7090, did you get the IC-318L or the IC-319?

The IC-315 and IC-319 are the more robust models that have double the processing power and are recommended for customers doing variable data.

 

On the C6085 we have the 313; on the C7090 we have the 318L. Until recently the C6085 Fiery wasn't doing too bad except we did have to reload software or do a clean install I think about 6 months ago. I let my boss know and will see what can be done to remedy this.

Will we be able to use our paper catalogs, workflows and job presets if we upgrade or do we have to start from scratch?

 

There is a significant price difference to upgrade the controllers which is why most people avoid it, but it's definitely worth it if you do a lot of VDP.
You can export your existing catalogs and workflows to import on to new controllers:
Exporting Paper Catalogs: https://help.efi.com/cws/6.0/en-us/GUID-DEE38FC8-EB93-41E9-AD21-24E4B333AE2A.html
Exporting workflows: https://help.efi.com/jobflow/2.3/en-us/GUID-5A9F33B7-2295-48C6-94D6-8EBE89306C56.html

 

We also have been having jobs stick in the Printing queue even though they are done and they don't show up in the Fiery log. If you delete them then it won't let you release other jobs without a big fight - (Reboot, etc). Is it possible this is related to the less than ideal Fiery models we have?

 

That doesn't sound normal for either model of a Fiery controller. Even though the machine is brand new to you, they were built months or even years ago and have been sitting in a KM warehouse before you get it. I would suggest checking if there are any updates that need to be installed on the Fiery. Just like your home PC, they need updates to fix bugs like this. Instructions for updates can be found here.

 

We had two 7100's and KMBS could not get the copiers to maintain color - every three days they would come out to work on the copiers. They worked on this for 1 1/2 years and KMBS brought in personal for Japan to work on this but they could not fix. I ask KMBS to replace the copiers 4 times and also was told by service KMBS does not guarantee color on their copiers. After we switched out the copiers for Ricoh's on the day of install on the Ricoh's KMBS showed up and said they would be happy to replace the equipment if I cancel the new contract (the day of install). I am more than happy with the Ricoh's - we only see service about every two or three weeks now. I think I have to many copiers now since I had to have three copiers just to make sure one was always running.
(2) - 7100's and (1) - 6085. I still have the 6085 since it did not cause me any trouble.