Epson 3800 wear and tear

[wcwest]

I'll start this discussion by saying I've been very happy with my Epson 3800 and ImagePrint 7 setup. However, it is now at my local Epson authorized service center. It quit feeding paper. Over the last few months I've printed about 200 prints on Moab Entrada paper (8x10 and 17x22) and 600 prints on Moab Lasal cards for a client that specified these papers. In talking with one of the service techs, I was told the paper used can cause premature wear on the feed rollers since Moab Entrada, in sheet form, and Lasal card stock is a double sided paper and thus the back of the sheet is not as smooth as non-double sided paper, thus the wear on the feed mechanism.

Has anyone had similar experience or can confirm the issue with specific papers causing wear. This is not meant to be a thread on feed issues with the 3800 as mine has worked flawlessly for two years ( after a warranty sensor replacement in the beginning). My question only relates to issues with wear caused by paper choice.

[dgberg]

You mention 800 prints in several months. How many prints have you run through this printer?  The 800 a month is considered heavy usage.  I have the 7900 and 3800. Since Christmas I have printed 171 prints on my 7900 which is a fair amount. My educated guess is total usage has more to do with it then the type of paper. Others that have used this paper product may have some useful input for you. You may be  just wearing it out. If you print that much I would expect certain parts will need repaired or replaced.

[madmanchan]

I am guessing that feeding lots of Entrada or other cotton papers will leave lots of cotton dust on the rollers which then prevents sheets from feeding properly. I have heard of similar issues happening before. In those cases, a solution was to use a bit of alcohol on a swab and to clean the rollers carefully.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

I am guessing that feeding lots of Entrada or other cotton papers will leave lots of cotton dust on the rollers which then prevents sheets from feeding properly. I have heard of similar issues happening before. In those cases, a solution was to use a bit of alcohol on a swab and to clean the rollers carefully.

My old Epson 2200 used to have problems with double-sided paper, which I used to make calendars. After running twenty or so sheets through, the feed rollers always had a hard time gripping the paper. Cleaning the rollers as Eric Chan suggests always brought it right back. The double-sided papers I used were Epson and Ilford. I suspect some of the coating on the second side rubs off on the lower rollers causing them to lose traction. So do try the roller-cleaning if you get the problem again.


Eric M.

P.S. My new 3800 has not had any double-sided paper through it yet. So far I have found Eric Chan's Notes and FAQs about the 3800 to make ImagePrint completely unnecessary (for the 2200 it was essential).

[wcwest]

Eric Chan and EricM,

Thanks for the replies. I'll have the tech show me what needs to be cleaned with alcohol when I pick up the printer. ImagePrint is a carryover from my 2200 days. I experiment with different papers and I've become addicted to it and the instant availability to the profiles. The ability to recall a print job is also nice. I print for someone who is selling prints so reprints are a snap. Eric Chan, do you have any experience or stats on maintenance issues as they relate to number of prints run through the 3800?

[Wayne Fox]

We fight this problem with our 4800/4880's using Moab papers.  The rollers will pick up residue from the coating of the paper and over time will have a problem feeding it ... the back rollers of these printers don't handle this very well so these double sided papers seem to cause more problems than others.

for occasional use alcohol might be OK, but alcohol does dry out the rubber.  We use rubber roller rejuvenator to clean ours with pretty good results.

For smaller printers such as the 3800, you can try using special cleaning sheets. Red River Paper sells them. The problem with all of these printers is it can be very hard to get to the rollers to clean them.  Thus the sheets may be helpful.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

We fight this problem with our 4800/4880's using Moab papers.  The rollers will pick up residue from the coating of the paper and over time will have a problem feeding it ... the back rollers of these printers don't handle this very well so these double sided papers seem to cause more problems than others.

for occasional use alcohol might be OK, but alcohol does dry out the rubber.  We use rubber roller rejuvenator to clean ours with pretty good results.

For smaller printers such as the 3800, you can try using special cleaning sheets. Red River Paper sells them. The problem with all of these printers is it can be very hard to get to the rollers to clean them.  Thus the sheets may be helpful.

Thanks for the tip, Wayne. I shall get some of the cleaning sheets so I can be prepared before the problem arises.

[wcwest]

Picked up my printer yesterday after cleaning by the service center. They cleaned the rollers with a rubber revitalizer and tested. Brought it home and printed 25 prints before it failed to feed. They are now going to replace the ASF. Cost will be $68 plus labor. This printer has 1,100 prints on it which they said wasn't particularly high (600 on Moab Lasal card stock and the balance on Moab Entrada). They said the printer wasn't particularly dirty from the rag paper except for the wear on the rollers from the back side of the paper. Looks like if I use Moab Entrada in the future, I'll be buying rolls (single sided) and cutting them into sheets. I don't plan on printing on the Lasal stock in the future.