Problem printing large sheets on an Epson 3800

[Peter Mellis]

I'm printing on 17 X 25 sheets of Inkpress Matte 60 (10 mil) and am running into a situation where the printer feeds the paper through in one straight pass, without printing. The first time this happened, I took the paper out, reloaded it and it printed several sheets before I had to go through the same exercise again. Same thing happened again tonight, except this time I only got it to print once before I got tired of playing around with it and gave up. Both times, I ran test prints on a smaller size of the same paper (8 1/2 X 10) first, without any problems. The larger sheets are flat (no curl at the edge); settings are correct. Image size is 16 X 24; printing with Qimage.

I've been running the printer for about 9-10 months without any issues, but have not printed on paper larger than 13 X 19 until now. I might have missed it, but I can't find anything in the manual regarding this problem and it's too late to call Epson. Has anyone else run into this?

[Wayne Fox]

I'm printing on 17 X 25 sheets of Inkpress Matte 60 (10 mil) and am running into a situation where the printer feeds the paper through in one straight pass, without printing. The first time this happened, I took the paper out, reloaded it and it printed several sheets before I had to go through the same exercise again. Same thing happened again tonight, except this time I only got it to print once before I got tired of playing around with it and gave up. Both times, I ran test prints on a smaller size of the same paper (8 1/2 X 10) first, without any problems. The larger sheets are flat (no curl at the edge); settings are correct. Image size is 16 X 24; printing with Qimage.

I've been running the printer for about 9-10 months without any issues, but have not printed on paper larger than 13 X 19 until now. I might have missed it, but I can't find anything in the manual regarding this problem and it's too late to call Epson. Has anyone else run into this?

This sounds like a misfeed error.  Sometimes it is caused by build up on the rollers making them slippery so the paper doesn't feed accurately.  This is more common if you use a lot of matt papers.  We've had problems with 3800's and 4800's using Moab Entrada paper.  Same symptom ... paper just moves straight through.

 Red River paper sells some cleaning sheets you can feed through which seems to help.  I've never tried to clean a 3800, but if you can get to some of the rollers I would recommend rubber roller rejuvenator, not alcohol to clean them.

[Deep]

I'm printing on 17 X 25 sheets of Inkpress Matte 60 (10 mil) and am running into a situation where the printer feeds the paper through in one straight pass, without printing. The first time this happened, I took the paper out, reloaded it and it printed several sheets before I had to go through the same exercise again. Same thing happened again tonight, except this time I only got it to print once before I got tired of playing around with it and gave up. Both times, I ran test prints on a smaller size of the same paper (8 1/2 X 10) first, without any problems. The larger sheets are flat (no curl at the edge); settings are correct. Image size is 16 X 24; printing with Qimage.

I've been running the printer for about 9-10 months without any issues, but have not printed on paper larger than 13 X 19 until now. I might have missed it, but I can't find anything in the manual regarding this problem and it's too late to call Epson. Has anyone else run into this?

I've struck this sort of problem from day one with my 3800 and it's always been eratic.  In some cases, I tape a leader on and compensate the dimensions before I print.  With other papers, a little bit of pressure on the paper as it feeds seems to work.  The 3800 seems designed to work with Epson sheets and nothing else.  I will have to try that cleaning idea mentioned above.

Don.

[Peter Mellis]

Got it working. The solution was to load one sheet at a time (auto feed as before) and make sure that the leading edge was near enough to the rollers to grab across the entire width. The problem was occurring when I had a batch of paper in the tray;I assume that the leading edge was too far back, probably because of the weight of the paper. Fortunately I don't expect to print at this size very often;now I have to be sure to remember the eccentricity. The prints look great.

Thanks for the replies.

[AaronPhotog]

You can also put the paper in the sheet feeder (not the rear feeder), one sheet at a time such that the leading edge is straight and near the back, and then hit the rectangular feed button on the machine.  The printer will then bring the paper into the machine to the starting point and then wait for your print command.  This is the only way I print large sheets with my 3800.  Another thing I do differently with large sheets is to carefully reach under and support the leading edge as it emerges, so it stays relatively straight until it is past the first joint of the print catcher so it won't buckle on its way out.  If you have an issue with scratches, such as with glossy papers, spray water in a light mist on the back of the paper first, then let it dry until it's almost flat and load it as above.  The extra moisture in the back of the paper will counter the tendency of the paper to buckle upward (and scratch on the mysterious internal sharp edges) when the ink hits the front surface.  This whole procedure is the only way I can successfully print on 17"x25" Harman Gloss Al.

Good luck and aloha,