Designjet Z Series — Service Manual 1-48
Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems
Pinchwheel Marks
Pinchwheel marks are caused by the pressure of the Pinch Roller on the
paper before printing the image. These are vertical marks that go through
the entire plot and are more or less visible depending on the contents of the
plot.
Corrective Action
1 The cause of the Pinchwheel marks may be the environmental conditions.
Check that the humidity and temperature are within specifications for both
the printer and the paper.
2 If the printer is a Z2100/Z3100/Z3100ps, install the new Rubber Pinchwheel
Kit. The new Pinchwheels are made of rubber material, greatly improving
printer performance and eliminating Pinchwheel marks.
Rear Tray Marks
Rear Tray Marks are vertical marks that appear when using thick sheet
media and loading it with the rear tray path. Although they appear similar
to pinchwheel marks, they are not the same and can be diagnosed:
Rear tray marks are 3 cm wide. Pinchwheel marks are 1.5 cm wide.
Rear tray marks are 4-10 cm apart. Pinchwheel marks only 1 cm apart.
The texture of a rear tray mark is very irregular, whereas pinchwheel
marks are more consistent.
For a 24 inch plot, you will see 1-5 rear tray marks. For a 44 inch plot,
you will see 1-9 rear tray marks. If you see more marks than that, it is
likely that they are pinchwheel marks.
Corrective Action
1 Load the media using the roll path instead of the rear tray path. Use the
black hub of the spindle to align the sheet. Even if you use the roll path, you
The new Rubber Pinchwheel Kit (for the Z2100/Z3100/
Z3100ps printers) can be ordered using Part Number Q5669-
67060. For the relevant removal and installation procedures,
see page 6-201.
The Z3200 series already uses rubber pinchwheels, so this
solution does not apply to the Z3200 series.
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