Error 6C10 on Canon

I described in another post that inkjet printers use some kind of absorbent pads at the bottom of the printhead assembly when it is at parade rest. Canon printers (Mp 550, IP 4600, MP 110, MP 630, MP 3600 and MP 640 etc) display error code 6C10 when these absorbers are saturated and need to be replaced.

Best way to get rid of error 6c10 is to replace the absorbers, but if you prefer to reset it without doing so (in case of an emergency of course), you need to press “Power” and “Resume/Cancel” buttons in a particular sequence. Here it is:

Turn off the printer by pressing Power button (don’t disconnect it from the power source).

Resume button is marked with a triangle in circle, press and hold it then press and hold Power button. Printer will turn on.  Do not release both button for at least 5 seconds. Now liberate the resume button then press it for two times. Release all the buttons. Now you are going to reset the absorber count. Press the resume button for 4 times then complete the process by clicking the power button again.

Reset procedure will only work if ink absorbers are not saturated. In case they are oversaturated, they must be replaced.

C2557 in Konica Minolta Bizhub Develop

There are two main types of photocopier machines; mono component and dual component. Mono-component copiers need no developer while dual component use a magnetic powder called developer to complete the copy process. Toner is mixed up with the developer and later on transferred to the drum. Almost all dual component photocopiers use a reference level to control the amount of toner in the developing unit. Failure to maintain the required amount of toner in developer may result in poor copy quality or ghosting. Konica Minolta photocopiers display error code C2557 whenever a problem is detected in developer: toner ratio. Most likely this error will be displayed if toner bottle is empty. Konica Minolta recommends changing developer and imaging unit simultaneously in Bizhub 250, Bizhub 350 etc; if you replace only developer and not the drum it may display error C2557. Solution is simple, open right side cover of the machine. Door open message will display. Take drum unit out of the machine. Now enter to the service mode; press Utility/counter key, touch “Check details” on the LCD display, press “Stop-0-0-Stop-0-1”. Enter password 00000000 (eight Zeros), touch “End”. Select “Counter” and clear the life count of developer and PC (select than press C button). Now return the drum units to the machine, close right side door, touch Functions than F8 from tech rep main menu and press Start key. Start key will begin to blink and will turn into green when process is complete. Restart the machine. Alternately you can change the toner reference level manually to approx 180. This may increase toner amount in developer, so be careful while trying this method.

The ABCs of Screenprinting

Legend has it that a contemporary admirer of Michelangelo's work with marble stated a question to the effect of: "how do you make such a beautiful statue out of a piece of marble?" Reportedly,Michelangelo answered to the effect of, "It's easy. I just take away the parts of marble that don't belong there."

Fast forward a number of centuries and reduce a dimension to 2-D. This would classically describe what a craftsman does in silk screening. At the very base of the model a craftsman takes a frame and catches a fine mesh typically made of a synthetic material. This mesh encased frame has attached with a pattern utilizing a thin-film material preventing Ink from passing through the mesh. Therefore, anywhere the thin-film is not the ink may pass through to the target material.

At a high-level, this explains the silkscreen printing process. If that was all there was to it, anyone with an eye for art could wield an X-Acto knife in the thin-film to create a pretty pattern.

Screen printing was first discovered in China around about 1000 AD. It didn't gain any real traction until the 18th century in Europe when silk became more available. Silk is strong yet can be very thin. That is probably why it is often referred to as silk screening. In the USA, it became popular in art circles when Andy Warhol created hit depiction of Marilyn Monroe.

I suspect the saying, "the devil is in the details" may well have been first uttered by a silkscreen printer. The bedeviling points come from the sheer number of options in classical silkscreen printing. As you may have seen in other articles here, 'Ink' very vague and nebulous term. We have already reviewed 'ink' run through an HP printer to 'print' replacement human bones. That research has successfully grown human kidney by printing with human cells. Considering this, it is little wonder that the 'ink' used in silkscreen printing can and does vary wildly.

For example I have a heavy cotton black sweatshirt. The 'ink' is specialized in several ways. The pigment had some sort of material that expanded when heated. This gave the graphics a 3-D relief. Further, the visible light pigments had a chemical added at the time of manufacture so the graphic would absorb light, and 'glow-in-the-dark'. The graphic is some frogs. Trust me, it really amazes a child under the age of five to see 3-D glowing frogs on my sweatshirt ;).

Screen printing has a lot more to do with our daily lives than clothing and curtains. Everything from the balloons to billboards, decals to medical devices use screen printing. Even circuit boards, and solar cells are created in this fashion.

Today, we're beginning to see actual electronic circuits that are printed in this fashion.

Whether it be an old-fashioned flat screen, a cylinder or a rotary press, these are often analog methodologies. Generally speaking, an analog technique is more expensive to set up, with a great return on investment. If you are doing a larger number of units. Let's contrast this to digital screen-printing.

In digital screen-printing, we can go back to our old friends the Pizeo-electric way as created by HP, or the bubble jet method with Canon as the creator.

Because the pigment must go through a print head, it cannot pack the density the analog methods can. If one was to want to print on the aforementioned black sweatshirt, it would require laying down a white base before the colored pigments.

You are carrying a serious advantage when doing digital screen printing for: prototyping, one offs and short runs. More than a couple of entrepreneurs have made the 10K to $200,000 investment to print, direct to garment. You can find them at carnivals, kiosk's in malls, or small retail storefronts. 

Printing a human kidney

Perhaps I'm being presumptuous and I am going to assume you have read some of my research on the technology, care and feeding of your printer. If so, you are already familiar with the fact that the print head is the heart of your printer.

Delving into our previous material. You know that the print head while an ambiguous part of daily life is actually an amazing piece of technology that delivers a spot of "ink" smaller than the diameter of a human hair.

If you have not read some of the other articles here, you may wonder why I put the word ink, in quotation marks. It is because the print head can and does deliver "ink" that is a bit more specialized than the stuff you're putting in your printer without a second thought.

Consider these examples. Using a specialized ink in combination with a specialized transfer paper, the printheads can take an image from your screen and print to the transfer paper in reverse. Transfer paper is then taped down to a specialized piece of glass, or ceramic, such as a tile or coffee mug.

The specialized glass or ceramic actually has a clear coating, not unlike a good solid lacquer finish. However, the finish when heated to a high temperature becomes semi permeable. When combined with pressure, the ink is forced through the now permeable finish, thereby transferring a full-color image. Once the finish cools and becomes solid again. Even to the point of being top rack dishwasher safe!

Another variation of specialized inks are sometimes referred to as 'museum quality'. The printhead delivers these inks to an acid-free paper. The ink itself is UV resistant and highly stable, typically guaranteeing about 100 years before deterioration. The end result is faithful reproductions of rare artwork can be displayed at many points of the earth, simultaneously.

Arguably, a glass trophy with full-color graphics, or a full-color promotional coffee mug is healthy for the ego. And believe it or not, the printhead is responsible for literally saving lives.

At a TED conference in March 2011 Surgeon Anthony Atala showed the audience a standard HP printer printing a human bone, which was then implanted in a patient in need of a new one. I would call that amazing, however his revealing that they're working on a sort of a giant flatbed scanner that would operate while the patient is lying flat on a bed. And their game plan is to scan an injured area, and then 'print' a repair directly onto the human body.

There is no concern about tissue rejection because the "ink" is human cells that have been grown using the patient's own cell structure. Lest you think this is some sci-fi idea, in this slightly under 17 min. presentation, a young man (Luke Massella) came on stage to tell the audience how his life was changed 10 years ago when he received a manufactured bladder.

The surgeon revealed a striking fact that 90% of people waiting for an organ transplant are looking for a new kidney. While still in prototype, Dr. Atala demonstrates live the printing of a life kidney, in less than eight hours.

Let me assure you, this is not some perverse joke. It would be unkind to make jokes about human suffering. Here is the link of the video so you can see for yourself. If English is not your strong suit, subtitles are available in 24 languages.

The Print Head – Demystified

One of the better disguised modern marvels of our day is the ink jet printer. Without giving it much thought, we spit out words and graphics in a glorious display of color and black. Considering the fact that each bit of ink is deposited as a drop smaller than the width of a human hair, it becomes a little more understandable that occasionally they don't perform as we would like.

How the printhead actually works depends on your technology choice. Cannon likes the idea known as bubble jet technology. This uses a small resistor to heat up the ink creating thermal expansion so that a 'bubble' of ink is displaced. The Hewlett-Packard concept is to expand a piezo-electric crystal to pump a small amount of ink through the printhead nozzle, then pulling more ink from the reservoir when the piezo contracts.

Of the two technologies, the Hewlett-Packard approach is more common due to the fact a wider variety of ink types can be used. This can range from what you're probably used to using or specialty inks for dye sublimation to food. Yes, there are printers for decorating cakes with icing!

Depending on design requirements the printhead may be integrated with the tank of ink or may be either a permanent or semi permanent part of the printer body. The former option carries with it a higher cost since the printhead is disposed of when the ink reservoir is empty. The latter option can be expensive if the printhead is accidentally damaged. Some high-volume HP printers use a hybrid model of the two choices.

Clogging

The most common issue with inkjet printheads is clogging. This is because the liquid carrying the pigment evaporates leaving behind the solid pigment, much like a clogged drain. There are several steps you can take to minimize a clogging issue. It is considered best practice to allow a printer to shut down using the power off button. This cycles the printer so that the print head(s) are parked on rubber seals to minimize evaporation of the carrier. Infrequently used ink based printers should be cycled with a test page. Sooner or later you'll experience a clogged printhead. The quickest attempted fix is to run a cleaning cycle. Should that fail, a solvent appropriate to your ink may be required. If you printhead is of the integrated (disposable) variety, it may be less hassle to simply replace the assembly.

Alignment

Today is the rare inkjet printer that is mono color. Photo printers are equipped with four or more different colored pigments, each with the printhead containing dozens or even hundreds of micro-nozzles arranged in a horizontal and vertical axis. Large changes in temperature may impact nozzle alignment. Follow your manufacturers instructions if you are experiencing registration errors. Typically, this means printing out a test page with alignment patterns. Via the printers menu settings you select by the numbered output the most accurate alignment.

Storage

Ink should be stored at a temperature of approximately 70°F/20°C. Ink cartridges with integrated printheads should be stored in an upright position, never on their side. Following these two instructions, it is possible to attain a shelflife of upwards of two years. Storage of an inkjet printer requires that the ink cartridges be removed. Failure to do so typically renders the printer permanently nonfunctional. When storing an ink cartridge that has already been used, place it in a small plastic bag, squeezing out as much air as you can. Unless you're using a specialty ink, some folks put a small piece of wet sponge inside the plastic bag. Again, follow the procedure of storing upright.

The Printhead of Tomorrow

Ink-based printing is poised for a glorious future. Hewlett-Packard engineers have determined a laser printer cannot go faster than 60 pages a minute or about one page second. The challenge lies in the physics. In the last stage of the circular laser print process, the tiny pieces of iron coated like a M&M candy with plastic is transferred to the paper and squished using heat and pressure with two silicon rollers. This process is called fusing. The iconic engineering firm has determined an 8/2x11/A4 piece of paper cannot complete the fusing process faster than a page a second. The New York Times was HP's first 'guinea pig' for a new type of high-speed printing process. The printhead looks more like a precision water sprinkling hose as you might use in the garden. Unlike ink-based printing of today, which relies on evaporation, the new full-color print technology has a second printhead. The process is not unlike a two-part epoxy process. Part A is sprayed down, followed by a Part B chemical from a separate printhead. This causes a chemical reaction, and voilà, instant drying. In fact some of the self-serve photo kiosks you find in the store are using this technology.

Color Standardization

No doubt we are living in a rapidly changing world. Each day, a new technology hit the screen to make our lives better. Before some centuries, printing press was considered just like a typewriter to print only some limited characters, but nowadays situation has been changed. Now they are used to print a wide range of documents including newspapers, books, advertisements, magazines, high quality pictures and much more. International Standard Organization has set standard colors to standardize the printing process all over the globe. Standardized color is the color that is output under the conditions stipulated in the international standard ISO 12647-2. Amongst other subjects, compliance is required for solid density and dot-gain. A printing company achieves correct results with standardized color when it follows the standard. The ISO one standard color specification includes:

1. SWOP (Specifications for Web Offset Publications) for USA

2. Euro standard Color for Europe

3. 3DAP for Australia. Later version now based on ISO 12647-2

4. Japan Color for Japan

International Standards:

·         ISO 3664 Graphic technology and Photography

·         ISO 12646 Graphic Technology- Display for color proofing- Characteristics and viewing conditions.

·         ISO12642-1 Input data for characterization of 4-color process printing - - Part 1: Initial data set

·         ISO 12647-2 Process control for the manufacture of half-tone color separation, proof and production prints – Part 2: Offset lithographic process

·         ISO15930-4 Prepress digital data exchange using PDF – Part 4:Completed exchange of CMYK and spot color printing data using PDF 1.4(PDF/X-1a)

·         ISO 15930-6 Prepress digital data exchange using PDF –Part 6: Complete exchange of printing data suitable for color-managed workflows using PDF 1.4 (PDF/X-3)

National Standards:

National standards are set by each participating country. Sometimes there are more than one standard in a country. Typically these standards are set for coated stock, uncoated stock, newspapers, magazines, web- fed printing and sheet-fed printing etc.

Solid Black Line on Printed Page

One of the most common problem in photocopiers and printers is "solid black line on printed pages". The reasons behind this issue can be so different but you may follow some easy steps to fix this problem yourself before calling for technical support.
First of all have a brief look inside the printer. If it is dirty (paper dust, toner etc) just clean it well. You may like to use an air blower to accomplish this task. If you got a photocopier, clean the scanning glass surface with a wet cloth. Some copier machines have two glasses (big and a small one in case the copier has auto document feeder). Don't forget to clean the small glass lying under the ADF paper path.
If your laser printer is printing black solid lines continuously than most probably its drum has gone and need to be replaced. Rarely a dirty corona wire or charge roller also cause this problem. Since modern printers have all these components in one package so you need not to be worried about which of these parts is defective. Just take a breath and purchase whole drum unit (somtimes called an "imaging unit").

Non original toners are cost effective but since they are not always fully compatible with printers, their particles may reside on the fixing rollers making a thin layer of toner which finally results in black solid line on printed pages.

In inkjet printers a faulty print head causes solid black line. Fortunately most of the printer manufacturers provide some kind of utilities to clean the print head. If it doesn't work replace the print head.

Spot Color

Spot color is one of the two most popular types of inks used in desktop publishing and off-set printing, the other one being process color. Spot color inks, also known as solid color inks, are pre-mixed; unlike process colors in which four basic inks are used to produce different colors. Learn more about the differences between the two types of inks and other aspects of spot color printing from the following sections.

Defining Spot Color

Spot colors can be defined as the colors that require their own specific inks for printing or publishing. In other words, spot color can be defined as a method of printing in which each color is printed with its own ink. These inks are available in the form of plates and each plate can be used to print a specific color only. Non-standard specialty inks, including metallic, varnish, fluorescent and hand-mixed inks are used to generate spot colors. You can have better understanding of this printing method by comparing it with process color.

Spot Color vs. Process Color

In very general words, each spot color requires a specific pre-mixed ink, whereas, process color inks are generated using four basic inks: cyan, magenta, yellow and key. Popularly referred to as CMYK, process color inks can be used to create all possible colors for printing and publishing.

A number of factors must be considered while preferring spot color over process color. In common practices, printing where up to three colors are to be used; it is favorable to prefer spot colors. However, printing more number of colors using spot color inks may be an expensive affair. Suppose you wish to print 15 different colors on a document. This will require you to have 15 different plates if you prefer spot colors. Using process color in such situations will save the cost.

However, the accurate color matching produces excellent printing results using spot colors. Big company logos, phone directories and professional publications that require fewer colors are the best examples of the spot color applications.

Spot Color Standards

A number of spot color standards are in use in the printing industry, the most popular being PANTONE. The Pantone Matching System is not only used in printing, but also in the industries that manufacture fabrics, plastics and paints. Besides, there are many other popular standards for spot colors. Toyo is another well-known system prepared in Japan that provides spot color inks in America, Europe and Asia. DIC color guide is also commonly used as standard for desktop publishing. ANPA is another spot color standard worth mentioning and it is popular for newspaper publishing. GCMI for package printing and HKS for coated as well as uncoated papers too are widely used.

Pantone Matching System

Provided by the leading Pantone Inc., the Pantone Matching System (PMS) is the most popular spot color standard used across printing industries. There are nearly 1,000 pre-defined spot colors that can be obtained by mixing basic Pantone colors. Each basic color is recognized with a unique PMS number. The Pantone Color Chart is referred to by the printers to choose the basic colors and to use them in required percentages. The system goes a step further to allow the production of special colors like fluorescents and metallic.

Spot Color in Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator has special provision for using spot colors with or without process colors. Color swatches are the tools used in the software to spot colors at desired places in a document. The Swatch Color Library file contains spot color swatches that can be used on swatch palettes to produce different types of effects. Spot color to spot color gradients and spot color to process color gradients are two good examples of such effects. Raster effects using multiple spot colors and combinations of spot and process colors too can be obtained.

Spot Color in Photoshop

Photoshop is popular software that uses spot colors by creating spot channels. A spot channel defines the area that must be printed with a specific spot color. The area to be filled with spot color is selected and New Spot Channel on channel palette is used to choose the desired color. Spot color separations can be created using Photoshop and are designated by the designers.

Spot Color in CorelDraw

CorelDraw has Pantone Library that contains unlimited spot colors. Note that spot colors in the software are represented by a small white box with a black dot. Tinting, shading, fading and many other effects can be achieved with the use of spot colors that promise excellent printing outputs. Going further, CorelDraw also allows custom mixing of different spot colors to further extend their variety.

ISO 15930-4 for Exchange of CMYK and Spot Colors

The International Color Consortium (ICC) created color management systems that are universally accepted across different operating system and software platforms. The ISO 15930-4 graphic technology standard makes references to the ICC profile that defines complete exchange of CMYK and spot colors. The digital data exchange makes use of PDF 1.4 (PDF/X-1a) in the graphic technology for the dissemination of CMYK and spot colors in different combinations.

Creating Spot Color Tints

As mentioned earlier, a number of effects can be obtained using spot colors, tinting being one of them. Tints are created when a lighter tone of a spot color is required for printing. Creating spot color tints is possible by mixing a spot color ink with another ink of matching color. FreeHand is one popular tool that can be used in this direction. The tool has a library that contains spot colors and other types of colors. The printer makes use of a desired spot color and mixes it with a matching color to generate tints.

Spot Lamination

The final finishing step to spot color printing is lamination that enhances the durability of the printed job. Special spot lamination machines are offered by different manufacturers from all over the world. Remember that spot lamination requires separate lithographic films for different spots.

Problems in Spot Colors

The main issue with using spot colors is that it may prove to be expensive if you wish to use more than three spot colors. Another problem with spot colors is that they might not produce desired results with certain media like catalogs. To print company logo on catalogs, you may have to first convert it into CMYK format. Moreover, there are some spot colors that are hard to be matched perfectly with their process color counterparts. Going further, only a vector-based file could be used to print spot color logos. Pixel-based images usually produce less desired results with these colors.

Spot colors are desirable when you wish to achieve more uniform coating of ink and more consistent coloring. If you are concerned about better branding of your printing jobs, don’t give a second thought to using spot colors even if they cost higher.