TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN

BULLETIN NUMBER: D081/D082 – 013 REISSUE  01/19/2012

APPLICABLE MODEL:
GESTETNER - MP C6501/MP C7501
LANIER – LD365c/LD375c
RICOH - MP C6501SP/MP C7501SP
SAVIN – C9065/C9075

SUBJECT: TONER SCATTERING/DROPPING INSIDE THE MACHINE

SYMPTOM:
 Toner may scatter inside the machine and stick to the areas shown below under low-temperature, low-
humidity conditions and/or high color ratio (more than 30K) condition.
(1) Behind Front Door (2) Exhaust Duct (3) Paper Transfer Area

(4) D2 D3 Lever (5) Sponge Seal (6) Gap between Charge Roller and Drum

Toner builds up between roller and drum

(7) Development Unit (8) Development Unit (Trough Area)



Copyright © 2011 RICOH Americas Corporation. All rights reserved. Page 1 of 4

 Tech Service Bulletin No. D081/D082 – 013 REISSUE 

CAUSE:
When used under the following conditions, the machine supplies more toner to the Development Unit, which
increases the concentration of toner in developer.
• Low temperature, low humidity
• High copy/print volume
 • High color ratio (Color APV: more than 30K)

NOTE: It has been found that toner scattering occurs before the target PM interval (150K) if Color APV is
more than 30K.

SOLUTION:
 During Machine Installation:
In case the field engineer already has the customer usage information such as color APV (more than 30K),
change the Vtref value in SP3004 to 1.6V for each colors during the machine installation to prevent the toner
scattering/drop occurrence in machine usage.

After Machine Installation:

Do the following if the symptom occurs.

1. Install Engine firmware ver. 1.06:06 or newer.

 IMPORTANT:
1. Make sure that you update the Engine firmware to ver. 1.06:06 or newer before you perform the
following procedure. If you change the value of SP3004 on a machine using Engine firmware
older than ver. 1.06:06, a malfunction will occur.
2. PM is recommended based on the PM table. Developer has to be replaced based on PM interval
(450K) to prevent this issue.

2. Clean the following parts/areas (Numbers correspond to the photos on page 1):
- Paper Transfer Area (#3)
- Sponge Seal (#5)
- Development Unit (#7) *See IMPORTANT below.
- Gap between charge Roller and Drum (#6)

IMPORTANT: Be sure to vacuum off the built-up toner from the Development Unit in the area outlined in red.
Otherwise, toner will drop on the ITB and image problems may occur.

IMPORTANT: If steps 3 through 9 below are not performed, changing SP3004 will have no effect on the
toner scattering.

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Tech Service Bulletin No. D081/D082 – 013 REISSUE 

3. Print out solid images for each color (K, M, C, Y) and confirm that diagonal bands do not occur.
NOTE: Diagonal bands cannot be fixed with SP3004.

4. Check the SC History and confirm that SC3XX and SC4XX have not occurred.
NOTE: If SC3XX or SC4XX has occurred, other types of image problems may occur.

5. Make sure that the results of SP3802 (TD Sn Init OK?) show: “1,1,1,1”.

6. Make sure that the results of SP3812 (DevSetup Execute) show: “1,1,1,1”.

7. Make sure that the results of SP3815 (Developer Fill: Disp Result) show: “1,1,1,1”.

8. Make sure that the results of SP3821-001 (ProCon OK?) show: “10,10,10,10”.

9. Make sure that the value of SP3561 (Tnr Density) is 8.5wt% or higher.
NOTE: If SP3561 is below this value, changing SP3004 may only have a slight effect on the toner
scattering.

SP3561 Dev gamma: Disp/Set

-027 Tnr Density: K
-028 Tnr Density: M
-029 Tnr Density: C
-030 Tnr Density: Y

10. Using SP3004, set the Vtref value to 2.0V for the affected toner color(s).

SP3004 Vtref: Disp/Set Default Value

-005 Lower: K 1.3V
-006 Lower: C 1.3V
-007 Lower: M 1.3V
-008 Lower: Y 1.3V

NOTE: When the Vtref value is increased, the image density may decrease. This is because the higher
the Vtref value, the lower the toner density limitation value.

Table. Vtref vs. toner density limitation (estimated):

Toner density
Vtref (V)
limitation value (%)
2.08 8.0
1.82 8.5
1.56 9.0
1.30 (default) 9.5 (default)

11. Print out 100 A4-sized sheets (or 50 A3-sized sheets).

NOTE: This is to stabilize the toner concentration.

12. If the image density is lower than the acceptable level, set SP3004 to a value between 1.9 and 1.5 for
the affected toner color(s).

13. Repeat steps 11 and 12 until the image density is acceptable.

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 Tech Service Bulletin No. D081/D082 – 013 REISSUE 

 ADDITIONAL REQUIRED ACTION:

Toner scattering may occur before the PM interval (150K) if the color APV is 30K or more, which is over the
targeted usage condition (12K – 20K). Since there is no technical solution in this case, cleaning the
Development Unit earlier than PM interval (150K) is only the solution.

Recommended cleaning interval:

• Every 2 or 3 service visits (between 75K and 100K as total copy/print volume)
• Interval may vary depending on the actual machine use condition (color APV).
Please check the machine use condition and toner scattering level at the trough area of the
Development Unit, and decide the cleaning interval.
(Please refer to the following pictures for your reference.)

Doctor Blade

Entrance Seal

Dev Roller

PCU

Trough area

Transport Screw

Toner dropping Normal (no toner dropping)

If the amount of toner accumulated on the Even if the machine is used under the normal
trough area is as shown above, toner drop condition (in targeted color APV and
starts appearing or has already appeared. environmental condition), toner scatters and
accumulates on the trough area as shown above.
If you find a similar level of toner accumulation, it
is time to clean the Development Unit.

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