Piezography BW ­ Paper Feeding issues
Please report errors or omissions to Bill Bergh - bill@cone-editions.com

There are several problems related to paper feeding issues that make printing more difficult than it should be.  These problems are specific to each printer type.

PAPER FEEDING ISSUES:
1 - Epson 3000 PAPER PATHWAYS.
2 - SMALLER DESKTOP PRINTERS (1160, 1200 ETC.).

1 - Epson 3000 paper pathways - The Epson 3000 has three paper pathways. 
1.1 - THE REAR BOTTOM MANUAL FEED SLOT (THE TRACTOR FEED PAPER SLOT)
1.2 - THE TOP REAR MANUAL FEED SLOT.
1.3 - THE FRONT LOADING AUTOSHEET LOADER.
1.4 - TYPICAL PROBLEMS

Consult the Epson Printer manual to learn more about these slots. 

PROCEDURE:
1.1 - THE REAR MANUAL FEED SLOT
We recommend that you feed the thicker art type papers through the rear manual feed slot.  This slot is intended primarily for the tractor feed, but it provides a straight through path for the paper and the paper is not bent in anyway as it travels through the printer.  This leads to a bit of confusion until you actually try it out.

We recommend removing the roll paper holder in order to gain better access to the tractor feed slot. The roll paper holder clips in and can be removed by pulling firmly. The actual tractor feeds are not used in this process.  There is a lever on the top of the printer to engage the tractor feed mechanism.  Leave this lever in the sheet feed position. 

We use the movable tractor guides as a place to rest the paper .  Place a sheet of paper  above the tractor feeds and feed the paper firmly into the printer from the rear until it reaches the stop. At that point, you will have one second before the auto paper sensor detects the paper and pulls the paper in.  During that second, you need to feel if the paper is straight or if it was inserted at an angle.  If you feel you made a mistake - press the LOAD/EJECT button on the control panel and try again.  With experience you will develop a feel for loading the paper in this manner.

1.2 - THE TOP REAR MANUAL FEED SLOT.
This paper pathway is less tricky for loading paper.  The main problem with this method is that the paper is bent in a 45 degree arc. After the paper is pushed through the slot - it feeds into the same place in the printer that it would have been fed using the REAR MANUAL FEED SLOT. So why bother to bend the paper?  Another problem with this method is that the slot is thin and many of the thicker papers are hard to force down through the slot far enough to engage the auto paper sensor.

1.3 - THE FRONT LOADING AUTOSHEET LOADER.
This pathway is best reserved for papers that are lightweight such as the matte and gloss inkjet papers.  The paper needs to be loaded print side down as the paper is bent 180 degrees and comes back out the same way it went in.

1.4 - TYPICAL PROBLEMS
The Epson 3000 is the last printer to have the old style rubber platen (similar to an old typewriter).  The newer printers all have a smooth steel shaft that is covered by a very thin textured rubbery coating.

The 3000 often has banding issues that are associated with printing on the thicker papers.  These may be caused by paper slippage. 

PROCEDURE:
In this case, it is best to try out all three paper pathways.  Many users can print very successfully using one of the pathways.  The one that works the best may not be your first choice, but you cannot argue with success.  Choose the paper pathway that prints the best.

Another annoying problem with the 3000 is that often the print will skew to the side when it is printing.  This results in a print that is not square (or a rectangle) but ends up a parallelogram. 

PROCEDURE:
This may have been caused by manually misfeeding the paper. If so, practice feeding the paper on a used sheet, pressing the LOAD/EJECT button on the control panel to eject the sheet. Watch the paper eject from the rear of the printer and see if it travels straight through the printer. This skewed printing problem can also be caused by a misadjusted platen (the big rubber roller) that advances the paper through the machine.  Epson is supposed to adjust the gap on both ends of the platen so that the tension is equal all the way across.  There is nothing in software that can stop or compensate for this, it is a hardware problem, that will require a trip to the Epson Repair Depot to fix.

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2 - Smaller desktop printers (1160, 1200 etc.).
The smaller desktop printers do a much better job pulling the thicker art papers through and printing a nice square image compared to the Epson 3000.  They only have an angled auto sheet feeder so there is no choice of paper feed paths, and the paper will be bent in a slight arc as it is pulled through.

The main annoyance with these printers is the autosheet feed paper sensor.  These printers are adjusted to avoid feeding 2 sheets of thin paper accidentally.  When we try to put the thicker art papers through the autosheet feeder, the paper sensor is fooled and ejects the paper.  Trying to put multiple sheets of thick paper often results in a paper ejection.

PROCEDURE:
Fortunately there is a good cheap fix for this that works.  Cut a 3/16 thick piece of foam core or cardboard to the size of your paper.  Place this under the paper in the angled paper tray.  This acts like a stack of paper, and helps the printer to grab just one of the thicker sheets on top.  It is too thick for the printer to pull in - which avoids the problem with a stack of thick papers mentioned above.

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