Digital BW, The Print

Clayton,
Thanks for the details.  If you are not seeing any banding, then I can
easily understand the desire to use the standard feed.
By abuse, I am talking about the rollers slipping while attempting to feed
the paper.  Over time, they will lose some of their friction, making feeding
progressively more error prone.  Possibly the 2400 is less susceptible than
the 2200 in this regard; time will tell.  Having a CompUSA protection plan
probably eliminates this worry as well.

On the R200, I find that in addition to your 1/16 space suggestion, pushing
the bottom edge of the paper back against the support helps, and in some
cases eliminates the need for the nudge.  It surprised me when I found that
by accident, as it’s almost opposite of the slight bend and nudge method
that I also use.

Best regards,
John Moody

-----Original Message-----
From: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of Clayton
Jones
Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2006 10:56 AM
To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Digital BW] Re: Museo 2, 2400 basic settings question

Hello John,

>I would be concerned about increased microbanding, and general
>abuse to the feed mechanism with that procedure.  Is manual
>feeding such a pain, that those concerns are outweighed, or do
>you not see any microbanding difference in the output?

I have not seen any banding of any sort.  I'm not sure how you can
attach the word "abuse" to the procedure I described.  If you read
carefully what I wrote you'll see that I'm not saying to shove the
paper down it's throat.  My observation is that thin papers are bent
slightly by the initial mechanism which moves the paper forward into
the jaws of the grabber.  The thick papers don't have that flexibility
and simply don't get moved forward enough to where the grabber can get
ahold of it.

I found that putting a slight bend in the paper puts it in a position
that is similar to a thinner paper in it's bent state.  In papers up
to 250 and 270 gsm that is usually all that's required.  Anything
heavier needs a slight nudge just to get it moving.  Most of the time
all that's required is the weight of a finger on the paper, without
any push at all.  All it needs is to move slightly forward and the
grabber then pulls it in.

Only with the real thick papers is a slight nudge required.  They
don't seem to be able to slip past the angled edge of the smooth white
piece of plastic which lowers to allow the paper to pass.  The nudge
is just enough to get it past that point.

I also think that it's more difficult to abuse these new paper
feeders as they seem to have a built in protection mechanism.  The
2200 is prone to failure here, and I noticed something very different
with the 2400 (and my R200).  It rejects any sheet that doesn't feed
properly and passes it out the front.  I think this is a protection
mechanism, and it's probably more difficult to cause damage.

This is obvious because if you push the paper too hard, or too far in,
it will be rejected and passed through.  It won't allow you to force
it in.  The only thing that works is to get the paper in the correct
position and then the grabber will pull it in.  With a bit of
experience one can get a feel for just the right amount of pressure.

Putting a small amount of space (1/16") between the paper and the
fence is also very helpful.  If you watch closely you can see that the
grabber twists the paper slightly, like a very brief twitch.  A tight
fence seems to prevent this twist and the grabber rejects it and
passes it through.


Regards,
Clayton


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