i950 Tractor Marks

Hi,

I just got a Canon i950 and am noticing slight vertical "tractor marks" when looking at a printout. The most obvious is about 1 inch from the right edge, meaning that the marks are being created on the left side of the printer. I see the paper feeder "wheels" that are at the paper exit path and these are apparantly what is causing this. I am noticing this on Epson Glossy paper, since it is thicker and the surface is probably "softer" than the Canon Matte Photo paper. It seems noticable of one particular pair of wheels.

I also have a Canon s9000, and do not have this problem. I've printed a number test sheets, with solid darker colors blocks, and the marks appear on the i950 but not on the s9000. I've modified the paper "type" settings, which obviously don't have any difference on the pressure of the paper feeder wheels, which seems to be the problem to me. My Paper selector lever is set to the left.

Anyone else experience this with the i950. I doubt there is a user adjustment for the paper feeder wheels.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I still have time to exchange the printer.

Thanks a lot,
Bob

Following up to my above note. I realize the i950 is quite a bit faster than the s9000, so the paper is exiting faster out of the printer and the ink, especially on a glossy paper, isn't as dry maybe as it is when exiting out of the s9000. And this could be one of the factors in the marks showing from a tractor wheel in contact with ink that is not dried enough. However if it was totally because of that, then I would have tractor marks from most or all of the tractor feeder wheels. But that's not the case. It seems at least one set of wheel is pressing harder on the surface of the printed sheet.

When I was printing with the supplied Canon PPP (4x6), I noticed some feed marks too. It was only one spot near the right, about the middle of the print. I didn't think much about it until I noticed them gone when using the Office Depot paper. Only difference is the OD paper is 8 1/2 x 11, and has a lighter feel.

I've not seen any since, and figured it was either just gettign "worked in" or the paper size/weight.

Try a different paper, see if it happens again.

Vendra

I had this problem too.. For me, it was just a matter of finding the right settings for the right paper....

The cause was when the ink was still too wet when it hit the guides. For the Epson paper, I simply use the setting for Glossy Photo Paper and that seems to work pretty good. I have also used the settings for Glossy Photo Film, but that slows down printing.

Doug

graphics22 said:

Hi,

I just got a Canon i950 and am noticing slight vertical "tractor
marks" when looking at a printout. The most obvious is about 1
inch from the right edge, meaning that the marks are being created
on the left side of the printer. I see the paper feeder "wheels"
that are at the paper exit path and these are apparantly what is
causing this. I am noticing this on Epson Glossy paper, since it
is thicker and the surface is probably "softer" than the Canon
Matte Photo paper. It seems noticable of one particular pair of
wheels.

I also have a Canon s9000, and do not have this problem. I've
printed a number test sheets, with solid darker colors blocks, and
the marks appear on the i950 but not on the s9000. I've modified
the paper "type" settings, which obviously don't have any
difference on the pressure of the paper feeder wheels, which seems
to be the problem to me. My Paper selector lever is set to the
left.

Anyone else experience this with the i950. I doubt there is a user
adjustment for the paper feeder wheels.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I still have time to
exchange the printer.

Thanks a lot,
Bob

Click to expand...

Doug_1200c said:

I had this problem too.. For me, it was just a matter of finding
the right settings for the right paper....

The cause was when the ink was still too wet when it hit the
guides. For the Epson paper, I simply use the setting for Glossy
Photo Paper and that seems to work pretty good. I have also used
the settings for Glossy Photo Film, but that slows down printing.

Doug

Click to expand...

Doug...thanks for your input. I had experimented with the various paper settings for the Epson paper even before noticing the marks. I had written on the test printouts what the setting was for each. I examined them and it seems they all still have that one noticable pair (about 1/16 apart) tractor marks on that one pair which is on the left side of the printer. It seems liike maybe this particular set has more pressure on the paper than the others. I'm not sure. But thanks agagin for your input.

Bob

My first 8.5x11 borderless on PPPro had similar marks on top left. It is about 1/4 inch from the top left edge and about 3 inches long. That would mean the last part of the printing process or exit. It is barely noticeable and probably not under glass but still a little bothersome. Not sure what to do.

Anyone else experience this? By the way, I went and purchased Canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy and did a test print. Did not see the marks. Seems on the i950, maybe because it is faster than the S9000, the paper is not drying fast enough by the time it gets to the feeder exit tractor wheels.

But what I guess is bothering me is that these marks are NOT made by all of the wheels. In fact, it seems like only one pair is the main culprit. More pressure from these wheels???

All I know is I have never seen these marks using this paper and my S9000.

I would hate to go through the hassle of returning this printer to get another and have the same issue, or worse.

Thanks again for any input.

Bob

I've not noticed any roller marks on my prints. I use Epson PGPP and Matte, and Canon papers.

graphics22 said:

Anyone else experience this? By the way, I went and purchased
Canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy and did a test print. Did not see
the marks. Seems on the i950, maybe because it is faster than the
S9000, the paper is not drying fast enough by the time it gets to
the feeder exit tractor wheels.

But what I guess is bothering me is that these marks are NOT made
by all of the wheels. In fact, it seems like only one pair is the
main culprit. More pressure from these wheels???

All I know is I have never seen these marks using this paper and my
S9000.

I would hate to go through the hassle of returning this printer to
get another and have the same issue, or worse.

Thanks again for any input.

Bob

Click to expand...

I've got this too (marks from one set of wheels only, using photo paper plus glossy). Only just got the printer and done a couple of prints though, so it may come out in the wash as the wheels bed in - I'll report back after I've done some more printing.

Anyone thought to contact Canon Support about this? I haven't even sent the warranty card back yet .

graphics22 said:

Anyone else experience this?

Click to expand...

Hi

The marks shouldn't be speed related. The i950 is actually a touch slower that the S900, and due to the reduced droplet size it should lay down slightly less ink so drying time should be similar or better.

I had the same thing on my i950 and resolved it simply by lifting the carriage the tractor wheels are mounted on a few times. It's spring loaded to maintain a little pressure and pushing it up and down a few times seemed to solve the problem.

Hope that helps
DuncR

alFR said:

• I'll report back after I've done some more printing.

Anyone thought to contact Canon Support about this? I haven't even
sent the warranty card back yet .

graphics22 said:

Anyone else experience this?

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

I am about to buy a printer should I pay the extra for the i950 or get the s900 and if so why

thanks Craig

DuncR said:

The marks shouldn't be speed related. The i950 is actually a touch
slower that the S900, and due to the reduced droplet size it should
lay down slightly less ink so drying time should be similar or
better.

I had the same thing on my i950 and resolved it simply by lifting
the carriage the tractor wheels are mounted on a few times. It's
spring loaded to maintain a little pressure and pushing it up and
down a few times seemed to solve the problem.

Hope that helps
DuncR

alFR said:

• I'll report back after I've done some more printing.

Anyone thought to contact Canon Support about this? I haven't even
sent the warranty card back yet .

graphics22 said:

Anyone else experience this?

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Craig

Get the i950. It's better in that it uses a 2 picoliter droplet instead of 4 picoliter. This means smoother tonal changes and an overall noticeably better print. Should also lead to slightly lower ink consumption, though this is probably marginal. Pretty sure the i950 is cheaper too!

It is only very slightly slower than an s900 - maybe an extra 5s for a full bleed A4 page at top res. We're still talking very fast though - a minute and a bit for A4!

DuncR

Craig said:

thanks Craig

DuncR said:

The marks shouldn't be speed related. The i950 is actually a touch
slower that the S900, and due to the reduced droplet size it should
lay down slightly less ink so drying time should be similar or
better.

I had the same thing on my i950 and resolved it simply by lifting
the carriage the tractor wheels are mounted on a few times. It's
spring loaded to maintain a little pressure and pushing it up and
down a few times seemed to solve the problem.

Hope that helps
DuncR

alFR said:

• I'll report back after I've done some more printing.

Anyone thought to contact Canon Support about this? I haven't even
sent the warranty card back yet .

graphics22 said:

Anyone else experience this?

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Craig - should clarify - I think the RRP of the i950 is lower, but stockists will be clearing their s900's so it's street price may currently be lower than the i950.

DuncR said:

Get the i950. It's better in that it uses a 2 picoliter droplet
instead of 4 picoliter. This means smoother tonal changes and an
overall noticeably better print. Should also lead to slightly lower
ink consumption, though this is probably marginal. Pretty sure the
i950 is cheaper too!

It is only very slightly slower than an s900 - maybe an extra 5s
for a full bleed A4 page at top res. We're still talking very fast
though - a minute and a bit for A4!

DuncR

Craig said:

thanks Craig

DuncR said:

The marks shouldn't be speed related. The i950 is actually a touch
slower that the S900, and due to the reduced droplet size it should
lay down slightly less ink so drying time should be similar or
better.

I had the same thing on my i950 and resolved it simply by lifting
the carriage the tractor wheels are mounted on a few times. It's
spring loaded to maintain a little pressure and pushing it up and
down a few times seemed to solve the problem.

Hope that helps
DuncR

alFR said:

• I'll report back after I've done some more printing.

Anyone thought to contact Canon Support about this? I haven't even
sent the warranty card back yet .

graphics22 said:

Anyone else experience this?

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

DuncR said:

Hi

The marks shouldn't be speed related. The i950 is actually a touch
slower that the S900, and due to the reduced droplet size it should
lay down slightly less ink so drying time should be similar or
better.

I had the same thing on my i950 and resolved it simply by lifting
the carriage the tractor wheels are mounted on a few times. It's
spring loaded to maintain a little pressure and pushing it up and
down a few times seemed to solve the problem.

Hope that helps
DuncR

Click to expand...

Hi....Yes I did this too the other day as far as moving the spring loaded tractor wheel carraige up and down. I figured this may loosen up the tension that the wheels are putting on the rubber rollers and paper underneath. I will be experimenting a little more. The S9000 I also have does NOT have a spring loaded tractor wheel carriage. I checked that the other day. It's pretty much stationary.

Maybe after a "break in" period, these marks would dissapate on the Epson paper that I'm having this issue with since I would imagine the spring loaded mechanism will give some. Again, as I mentioned above in one of my posts, I purchased the Canon Photo Plus Glossy and printed with no signs of the marks. So, it seems to me that with the Epson Glossy, the ink is not as dry, OR, there is more ink laid down, thus the wheel marks on exiting the printer. This paper is thinner than the Canon PPG so it's not a thickness issue.

But, as I stated before, I have been using this Epson Glossy paper for a year now with my S9000, with no problems.

I'd like to buy something once and have no problems. (Wait a minute, that WAS the case with the S9000!) Not ONE problem in a year. Perfect prints every time.

Bob

Lets not forget there is a paper thickness adjustment on the i950. Mine was set to thinnest so I adjusted to middle for PPPlus and Pro. Haven't printed yet -- will report later. Thought a reminder of this may be helpful.

R Stacy said:

Lets not forget there is a paper thickness adjustment on the i950.
Mine was set to thinnest so I adjusted to middle for PPPlus and
Pro. Haven't printed yet -- will report later. Thought a reminder
of this may be helpful.

Click to expand...

Yup....I tried different thickness settings. Didn't seem to make a difference on the Espon Glossy. For some reason on this paper, even though it's thinner than the Canon, the marks are there in some spots. All I can think of is the ink is not totally dry with the Epson paper and/or a couple of the tractor wheels have a little more tension than others even though they are on the same spring loaded bar.