Firmware update stopped connection to server

I hate when you think you have fixed a machine but realise that you have created a seperate major problem.
I had a Konica Bizhub C308 that was reportedly skewing and blurring scans.Skewing scans is a common problem and easily fixed by realigning the Document Feeder. While I was doing that I had a quick look at the firmware and saw that it was running version G00-54. That is really old and probably explains the blurred scans. G00-54 was notorious for scan quality problems so I loaded the latest firmware I had which is GC2-R9. No more scanning issues.

So I am about to leave, feeling good about a job well done, when the secretary says "Um, I can't print".

So I am wondering how updating firmware now prevents printing. I hopped on a computer and had a look at the print queue and see that it is on a remote server, is full of jobs and is reporting that the printer is in error. As a quick test I installed a new printer on the local computer and am able to print ok. Next step is to call the IT support for the remote server and let them look at the server. After they do the same tests as me they determine that it is a server side issue and they will fix it. I am still highly suspicious of the firmware update. So I call around the other techs to see if they have had this issue. The finale guy I called remembered an E-mail from a couple of years ago alerting to a problem with an old firmware. Auto Selective IP Address Filtering is turned on by default. 

So while the IT guys are messing around I have a look at the IP settings and see that the IP filtering has been turned on. This means that the machine is filtering out traffic from the remote server but still accepting traffic from the local network. I turned the setting off and the machine starts printing.

I let the IT guys take the credit for fixing the problem rather than admitting that I had caused it.

No A4R

Here is an actual conversation I just had:

Customer: The printer says we don't have paper in it when we are printing booklets.

Me: You need to have A4R paper loaded in the copier to print booklets.

Customer: We don't have any A4R paper only A4. Where can we buy some?

Colour copier refusing to print in colour

I have been called to a Bizhub C554e that won't print in colour. On my way here I was thinking that it must be either a driver error or a documents printing defaults problem. However when I arrived I was shown the machine and it clearly has a message that no colour printing is available. 

This can happen if the copier is out of a colour toner or one of the imaging drums or developing units is far past its end of life. Except we turn this setting off for all new copiers we install.

So I checked the toner levels and the unit life values and they are all OK but when I select full colour for a copy the machine pops open a window to tell me that some units are past their end of life. The weird thing is that the machine won't tell me which units. The window is blank. 
Since this seems to be a firmware problem I forced an unexpected cold restart (turned it off then on again) and now the copier will allow colour printing. So it is corrupted data in the memory somewhere. I don't know how this happened and have no way of knowing how to do it again but the machine is running an older firmware so I'll update it.
While the firmware was being prepared and then loading onto the machine I had a look around the OEMs support site and also Google to see if this is a common problem but found nothing. So I'll call this a first and hopefully it is also a last as well.

C-2557 caused by a filter

I had a worrying call about a Bizhub 362 that was getting C-2557 errors. A C-2557 error on a Konica Minolta copier is caused by the Toner Concentration Ratio (TCR) sensor in the black developer developer unit reading too high. The TCR sensor reads how much toner is in the developing unit and allows the machine to control the toner level by adding toner. But if the level is too high the copier can't easily remove the toner from the developer mix and so an error is generated. Sometimes the high reading is actually caused by too much toner in the developing unit but usually by old developer mix or a faulty sensor causing a bad reading.
However the machine I am looking at doesn't have any of those things wrong with it. How do I know? Because I changed the developing unit only a month ago. Also the error only occurs during longish print runs (50 pages) and if the machine is allowed to sit for a few minutes and turned off and on again it will work fine until another long print run is started.
I went into the service menu and had a look at the TCR sensor values and they seemed normal and then did an F8 just to be sure. No good.
While waiting for the F8 to finish I went and had a look at the Konica tech bulletins for this model and found an interesting bulletin all about this very problem. The Konica boffins mention that if the ozone filter is blocked it can cause the error. So I pulled the back off the machine and pulled the filter out and sure enough it was full of dust. I vacuumed it out and the other filters while I was in there and put the machine back together. I gave it a test and no more errors!
It seems that the restricted air flow through the filter was causing the imaging unit to overheat during longer prints and then the TCR sensor would start giving higher readings until it failed.
So just because the filters are hard to get to doesn't mean that you should ignore them. Clean your filters!

C-2255 after IU replacememt

I had a slight problem after changing the colour imaging units (IU) in a Bizhub C754e. The 3 IU had reached the end of their lives so I pulled them out and put a new set in. The machine then displayed that an internal error had occurred and rebooted itself twice. Still failing the machine displayed a C-2255 error and gave up. I pulled up my list of trouble codes for these machines on my phone and had a look but this code was not on this list!

Don't panic yet.

I have a list of trouble codes for the C364e on my phone as well and the code is there. Developing unit motor failing to turn. Obviously one of the new imaging units had a problem with its developing unit that was causing the drive to lock up. Not the first time I had seen this so still no need to panic.

I started from the left and pulled the yellow IU and used my pliers to give the developing drive coupling a turn clockwise on the back of the IU. It was jammed.

Sometimes the developing powder in the unit can settle in transport and jam the augers inside the unit. Giving the unit a few taps on the side while turning the coupling quickly freed it up and I stuck the unit back in. I pulled the other two out but they felt ok and went straight back into the machine. I then went through the gradation adjustments without any more problems.

I will point out though that if you have this problem you need to be careful not to shake up or spill any developer out of the new unit as you will not be able to use it and it will need to be replaced. Also be careful not to turn the coupling to hard or it can break. But don't worry if you do as you have a spare on the old imaging unit that you just took out. And always turn the dev unit drive in the correct direction.

Also someone had played around with the date on this copier so now it shows the image unit life counter start dates as being in 2012. Not a problem but may confuse the next tech who comes to look at it and will wonder why the image units were changed 3 years before the machine was even manufactured.

Blank page removal not working

I was given a quick fix for a scanner problem just now that is interesting. There is a feature on most copiers called blank page removal. While most users have never heard of it it is pretty obvious. When copying or scanning if the machine detects that a page has nothing on it (a blank page) then the machine has the option to remove that page to save paper or scanned file size.

Why would you copy a blank page? Double sided scanning mostely. If you scan two sheets that contain three pages so the last side is blank then you don't want a PDF file with a fourth blank image. Selecting blank page removal solves this. 

However we have a had a couple of machines with DF-701 dual scan document feeders that won't do this blank page removal. The DF-701 has a Contact Image Scanner built in so it can scan the back side of the page at the same time that the front side is scanned and thus doubling scanning speeds. However some of these CIS units don't calibrate correctly and pick up a shadow on all pages and reports that the page is not blank. The shadow does not show on any scans or copies but prevents the bank page removal from working.

I am sure a firmware update will come along to fix this but until then I was given a work around. If you go into the service mode and turn off CIS calibration under system 2 then the blank page removal will work fine. Just remember to turn the copier off and on after changing the setting.

Original left on glass part 2

Not long after my last post about dirt on the scanner glass causing the copier to constantly detect A3 size paper on the glass I got a call about a machine constantly detecting A4 on the glass. The machine is a Bizhub C364e that I had recently replaced a board in and the problem had occurred repeatedly since that repair. 

Since the last thing to happen to the copier was the board replacement I first had another look at that board to see if a connector was loose. I pulled the copier out away from the wall and took the rear covers off to have a look but found nothing wrong. I tested the copier before putting it back together and could no longer get it to detect A4 when there wasn't one on the glass. Yay, fixed. I put the covers back on and pushed it back into place and tested it again and the problem was back. Hmmmm.

As in my previous post the copier looks for an original on the glass when the ADF is lowered. With the last problem it was the original length sensor that was detecting something that wasn't there. This machine was using the scanner CCD to detect something that isn't there. Testing different combinations of A4, A4R and A3  showed me that the problem was towards the front of the scanner because it couldn't tell the difference between A4 and A4R. The copier was seeing something at the front of the glass that it was interpreting as an A4 length piece of paper.

The problem only occurs when the machine is against the wall so I pulled it out away from the wall and tried again. No problem. I have an idea. I look at the carpet for divots left by the copiers castors and found none. This is really nice carpet and the machine has not left a mark on it since it was installed. This also means that I don't know where the machine was exactly positioned when installed. Aha!

When I had the original problem I moved the machine back against the wall and a little to the right away from a shredder that was there. I thought it was a little close and there was space for it to be moved so I did. When I pushed the copier back 10cm to the left closer to the shredder the original detection problem went away. So the position of the copier was causing the problem. Why?

With the copier 10cm to the right the scanner mirrors are directly underneath a set of ceiling lights and when the ADF is lowered the scanner "sees" the light and is interpreting it as light reflected off a piece of paper. A few cm in any direction puts the mirrors out from under the light and the scanner cannot see it.

So remember: Position, Position, Position! If the scanner is detecting something that isn't there try moving the copier a little.