Ricoh D124 Operating and maintenance manual

D124
DETAILED
DESCRIPTIONS
MANUAL

Detailed Descriptions i D124
D124
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. OVERVIEW....................................................................................... 1
1.1 GENERAL......................................................................................................1
1.1.1 CONFIGURATION................................................................................1
1.1.2 FEATURES...........................................................................................2
1.1.3 COMPARISON TO D093/D094............................................................3
D124 and D093/D094 Compared.............................................................3
1.1.4 SIMILARITIES WITH PREVIOUS MACHINES.....................................4
Horizontal Carriage Movement During Printing........................................4
Vertical Paper Feed..................................................................................5
Maintenance Unit.....................................................................................6
Ink Supply ................................................................................................7
Waste Ink Collection.................................................................................8
DRESS Sensor ........................................................................................9
1.1.5 SOME UNIQUE FEATURES OF D124...............................................10
Main Machine Stand and Scanner Stand...............................................10
Front Cover Switches.............................................................................10
Ink Level Detection.................................................................................11
Cutter .....................................................................................................11
Paper Feed Control................................................................................12
Improved Productivity.............................................................................13
1.2 GENERAL LAYOUT ....................................................................................14
1.3 MAIN UNIT LAYOUT ...................................................................................16
1.4 MOTORS, CLUTCHES, AIR RELEASE SOLENOID...................................18
1.5 SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM..............................................................................21
1.6 ORIGINAL PATH, PAPER PATH SENSORS..............................................22
1.7 GENERAL OPERATION SEQUENCE.........................................................26
1.7.1 1 POWER ON.....................................................................................26
1.7.2 2 SCANNING......................................................................................27
1.7.3 3 PAPER FEED..................................................................................28
1.7.4 4 PRINTING........................................................................................30
1.7.5 5 CUTTING.........................................................................................32
1.7.6 6 PAPER EXIT AND JOB END...........................................................33
1.8 SERVICE PRECAUTIONS ..........................................................................34
1.8.1 HANDLING ROLLERS........................................................................34
1.8.2 PERMANENT (PAINT-LOCKED) SCREWS.......................................35
Main Frame Screws ...............................................................................35
Right Plate Screws.................................................................................35
Maintenance Unit Base Screws .............................................................36
Solenoid Bracket Screw.........................................................................37
Main Carriage Screws............................................................................37
Platen Plate Guide Rod Screws.............................................................38

D124 ii Detailed Descriptions
Sensor and Temperature/Humidity Sensor Bracket...............................38
1.9 PM PARTS...................................................................................................39
1.9.1 PM PARTS TABLE.............................................................................39
PM Parts and Estimated Service Life.....................................................39
2. SCANNER UNIT............................................................................. 40
2.1 SCANNER LAYOUT....................................................................................40
2.1.1 SIDE VIEW .........................................................................................40
2.1.2 FRONT VIEW .....................................................................................42
2.2 ORIGINAL WIDTH DETECTION .................................................................43
2.3 SCANNING..................................................................................................45
2.3.1 ORIGINAL FEED, EXIT SEQUENCE .................................................45
2.3.2 AUTO IMAGE DENSITY CORRECTION............................................46
2.3.3 SCANNING AREA..............................................................................47
2.3.4 SCAN MAGNIFICATION CORRECTION ...........................................48
2.4 ORIGINAL DRIVE MECHANISM.................................................................49
2.4.1 SCANNING MOTOR, ROLLERS........................................................49
2.4.2 ORIGINAL FEED SPEED...................................................................50
Black-and-White Standard for Copying..................................................51
Black-and-White Standard for Scan to File ............................................51
2.5 SCANNING MECHANISM...........................................................................52
2.5.1 CIS STRUCTURE...............................................................................52
2.5.2 PRINTED IMAGE................................................................................53
2.6 LONG ORIGINAL OR SPECIAL ORIGINAL WITH CARRIER SHEET........54
3. IMAGE PROCESSING ................................................................... 55
3.1 IMAGE FLOW..............................................................................................55
3.1.1 COPY JOB IMAGE DATA FLOW .......................................................55
3.1.2 SCAN JOB IMAGE DATA FLOW .......................................................56
3.1.3 PRINT JOB IMAGE DATA FLOW.......................................................56
3.2 COPY MODE IMAGE PROCESSING..........................................................57
3.3 PRINT MODE IMAGE PROCESSING.........................................................59
3.4 COPY RESOLUTION: COPY JOBS AND PRINT JOBS..............................60
3.4.1 COPY JOBS .......................................................................................60
3.4.2 PRINT JOBS.......................................................................................61
3.5 IMAGE TROUBLESHOOTING ....................................................................63
Internal Test Patterns.............................................................................63
IPU Test Patterns...................................................................................63
4. PAPER FEED AND EXIT ............................................................... 64
4.1 OVERVIEW..................................................................................................64
4.2 ROLL UNIT OPERATION............................................................................65
4.2.1 GENERAL OPERATION OF ROLL FEEDER UNITS.........................65
4.2.2 ROLL FEED MECHANISM.................................................................66
4.2.3 INITIALIZING THE FIRST PAPER ROLL...........................................67
4.2.4 INITIALIZING THE SECOND PAPER ROLL ......................................71
4.2.5 ROLL REWINDING FOR REMOVAL..................................................72
From the registration standby position: ..................................................72
From the paper standby position:...........................................................73

Detailed Descriptions iii D124
4.2.6 ROLL END..........................................................................................74
4.3 MAIN UNIT PAPER FEED...........................................................................75
4.3.1 REGISTRATION ROLLER, EXIT ROLLER ........................................75
4.3.2 VERTICAL FEED MECHANISM.........................................................76
4.4 REMAINING PAPER DETECTION..............................................................78
5-Step Operation Panel Display.............................................................80
4.5 PAPER TRANSPORT FAN..........................................................................81
4.5.1 GENERAL OPERATION.....................................................................81
4.5.2 TRANSPORT FAN DUTY ADJUSTMENT..........................................82
4.5.3 NORMAL PAPER, RECYCLED PAPER.............................................84
4.5.4 TRANSLUCENT PAPER ....................................................................84
4.6 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PAPER FEED SEQUENCE .......................86
4.6.1 PAPER FEED LAYOUT......................................................................86
4.6.2 OPERATION SEQUENCE WHEN THE FIRST ROLL IS SET............87
4.6.3 PAPER SKEW CORRECTION...........................................................88
4.6.4 OPERATION SEQUENCE WHEN THE SECOND ROLL IS SET.......91
4.7 CUTTING.....................................................................................................92
4.8 BYPASS FEED............................................................................................93
5. INK SUPPLY................................................................................... 95
5.1 OVERVIEW..................................................................................................95
5.2 INK CARTRIDGE.........................................................................................97
5.3 INK SUPPLY MECHANISM.........................................................................99
5.4 CONTROLLING INK SUPPLY TO THE SUB TANKS................................101
5.4.1 THE OCFS SYSTEM........................................................................101
5.4.2 CONTROLLING INK SUPPLY DURING PRINTING.........................103
5.4.3 AIR DETECTION AND AIR PURGING.............................................103
5.4.4 AIR PURGE MECHANISM ...............................................................104
5.4.5 AFTER AIR PURGING .....................................................................105
6. PRINTING..................................................................................... 106
6.1 PRINTING DRIVE MECHANISM...............................................................106
6.2 CARRIAGE UNIT.......................................................................................107
6.3 PRINT HEAD UNIT....................................................................................110
6.4 PRINT HEAD.............................................................................................112
6.5 DRESS SENSOR ......................................................................................113
6.6 TEMPERATURE MONITORING................................................................116
6.7 PRINT HEAD HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT......................................................118
6.7.1 HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT MECHANISM ............................................118
6.7.2 RAISING AND LOWERING THE PRINT HEADS.............................119
6.8 MAINTENANCE UNIT................................................................................122
6.8.1 OVERVIEW ......................................................................................122
6.8.2 CAPPING/UNCAPPING ...................................................................123
K1 Print Head Uncapping/Capping.......................................................123
K2, C, YM Print Head Uncapping/Capping...........................................124
6.8.3 PRINT HEAD CLEANING CYCLE....................................................126
Step 2: Raising the Suction Cap ..........................................................127
Step 3: Suction.....................................................................................128
Step 4: Scraping and Wiping................................................................129

D124 iv Detailed Descriptions
6.8.4 MANUAL PRINT HEAD CLEANING AND FLUSHING .....................130
6.8.5 AUTOMATIC DOWNTIME CLEANING.............................................130
Maintenance Cycles Based on Idle Time.............................................131
Approximate Times Required for Cleaning...........................................131
6.8.6 AUTOMATIC MIST CLEANING........................................................132
6.9 WASTE INK COLLECTION .......................................................................133
6.9.1 INK COLLECTOR TANK ..................................................................134
6.9.2 RIGHT INK SUMP ............................................................................136
6.9.3 LEFT INK SUMP...............................................................................137
7. PRINT HEAD CLEANING AND ADJUSTMENT ......................... 138
7.1 MAINTENANCE MENU ADJUSTMENTS..................................................138
7.2 NOZZLE CHECK, CLEAN AND FLUSH PRINT HEADS...........................140
7.2.1 NOZZLE CHECK..............................................................................140
7.2.2 CLEAN PRINT HEADS.....................................................................142
7.2.3 FLUSH PRINT HEADS.....................................................................145
7.2.4 WHEN PRINTING CANNOT BE RESTORED… ..............................146
7.3 AUTO ADJUST HEAD POSITION.............................................................147
7.4 MANUAL ADJUST HEAD POSITION........................................................150
7.5 ADJUST PAPER FEED .............................................................................153
7.6 ADJUST PRINT POSITION.......................................................................156
8. ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS .................................................... 158
8.1 BOARD LAYOUT.......................................................................................158
8.1.1 SIB....................................................................................................158
8.1.2 OPERATION PANEL BOARDS (INSIDE OPERATION PANEL)......159
8.1.3 STANDARD BOARDS (REAR).........................................................160
8.1.4 OPTION BOARDS (REAR)...............................................................161
8.1.5 MCU, IPU..........................................................................................162
8.1.6 PSU ..................................................................................................163
8.1.7 GW CONTROLLER BOARD ............................................................164
8.2 DESCRIPTION OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS...................................165

Detailed Descriptions 1 D124
1. OVERVIEW
1.1 GENERAL
This section is a quick summary of the external components of the D124. More details
are provided in later sections of this document.
1.1.1 CONFIGURATION
Six units comprise the machine.
No.
Unit
Operation panel
/Scanner unit
Main u
nit
Roll Unit 1 (standard)
Roll Unit 2 (option)
Exit stacker

D124 2 Detailed Descriptions
1.1.2 FEATURES
Operation panel. A full color wide VGA operation panel display.
The angle of the operation panel can be adjusted to reduce glare on the LCD
panel.
A [Home] button has been added so the operator can easily return to the Home
Screen at any time.
Five function keys are available on the left side can be assigned for a desired
function.
The SD card/USB card slots are placed on the right side of the operation
panel.
Scan-to-media, Media-to-Print.SD card or USB clip memory. One SD card slot and
one USB memory slot is provided on the right side of the operation panel.
Warm-up time. Short warm-up time: less than 40 sec. at 23°C (73.4°F).
Roll feed. Two roll feed units (one standard, one option), and manual bypass feed are
possible. A paper holding lever is provided on the right side of the machine allows
loading cut sheets for copying and printing.
Security. Standard HDD overwrite and encryption functions for security are provided.

Detailed Descriptions 3 D124
1.1.3 COMPARISON TO D093/D094
The D124 is a wide-format inkjet printer that incorporates the design of the
D093/D094 scanner unit. Here is a brief summary of the features of the D124 and
D093/D094.
D124 and D093/D094 Compared
Item
D124
D093/D094
CIS
5 staggered units 5 staggered units
Color scanning
Yes Yes
Controller
GW+ GW
Copying/printing
Ink Jet Technology Electrostatic-photo
HDD overwrite/encryption
Yes (Std.) Yes (Std.)
Languages
20 Languages 18 Languages
Media to
print Yes (Std.) No
Memory (Standar
d) 3GB + 250GB HDD 1GB + 160GB HDD
(With Scanner Option)
2GB + 160GB HDD
PDF batch print
Yes
Yes
Printer
function Standard Option
Rear
original output Yes Yes
SDK
Yes
Yes (With Printer Option
）
Scan to media
Yes (Std.) Yes (Option)
Scanning Speed (600
dpi) 80 mm/sec (B/W)
26.7 mm/sec (FC) 80 mm/sec (B/W) 26.7 mm/sec (FC)
Scanning function
Standard Option

D124 4 Detailed Descriptions
1.1.4 SIMILARITIES WITH PREVIOUS MACHINES
The designs of the following components are nearly identical to those of earlier Ricoh
inkjet printers. These features will be immediately recognizable to service technicians
who are familiar with servicing the smaller inkjet copiers and printers.
Horizontal Carriage Movement During Printing
Ahorizontal motor (1) and long drive belt drive (2) move the carriage unit (3)
mounted on a guide rod (4) left and right over the surface of the paper during
printing. Normally, the machine prints on the right to left pass only, but
bi-directional printing (laying down ink on both passes left and right) is also
possible.
The operation of the horizontal motor is controlled by a long horizontal encoder
strip (5) stretched across the width of the main unit.
Ahorizontal encoder sensor (6) mounted on the back of the carriage unit reads the
codes on the strip to control operation of the motor and carriage unit as the
carriage unit moves left and right.
Occasionally, the carriage is moved all the way to the right so that the main ink
level sensors (7) can read the actuators of the ink sub tanks on the carriage, which
monitor the ink levels.

Detailed Descriptions 5 D124
Vertical Paper Feed
Avertical feed motor (1) and drive belt (2) rotate the registration roller (3) and exit
roller (4) to feed paper in the paper path. The diameter of the exit roller is slightly
larger than the diameter of the registration roller. This keeps the paper slightly
stretched to prevent buckling.
The operation of the vertical motor is controlled by a vertical encoder wheel (5)
mounted on the left side of the machine in front of the vertical feed motor.
Avertical encoder sensor (6) bracketing the edge of the vertical encoder wheel
reads the codes on the edge of the wheel as it rotates to control vertical paper
feed.
The vertical encoder HP sensor (7) stops the motor when the wheel reaches the
home position at the end of a job.

D124 6 Detailed Descriptions
Maintenance Unit
The maintenance unit on the right side of the machine cleans the print heads.
There are two motors in the maintenance unit: the maintenance motor and the
maintenance lift motor.
The maintenance motor (1) raises the suction cap (K1 unit head/cap) (2) that
cleans the print heads, raises the rubber scraper (3), moves the wipers (4) and
drives the suction pump (5).
The maintenance lift motor (6) raises the three print head caps (K2, C, YM unit
heads/caps) (7) that protect the print heads from drying out and slides the
cleaning unit (8) forward and backward.
The maintenance lift motor and the sliding cleaning unit is a new mechanism.

Detailed Descriptions 7 D124
Ink Supply
The ink supply unit (1) on the right side of the machine holds four ink cartridges
(KCMY).
Each cartridge has an ID chip (2). The ID chips attached to each ink cartridge
keeps an accurate count of the amount of ink remaining in each sub tank in the
carriage unit.
The CCB (Cartridge Control Board) (3) of each cartridge is the contact point
between the ink cartridge and the ink supply unit. This signals the machine that
the ink cartridge is installed correctly.
An ink pump motor (4) rotates a cam (5) against the side of the flexible ink supply
tube (6). The alternate pressure and release of the cam against the tube form
enough suction to draw ink from the ink cartridge.
The ink is pumped through the tube and into the ink sub tank in the print head unit
(7), which is mounted in the carriage unit (8).
There are four short ink supply tubes (one for each cartridge) between the ink
cartridge port and the ink pumps. The black tube splits into two supply tubes, one
for K1 and one for K2, bringing the total number of tubes to 5 with one ink pump
for each of the five tubes.
An ink end sensor (9) and a small cylinder (10) with a floating impeller comprise
the ink end mechanism. When ink runs out, the suction in the tube with no ink in it

D124 8 Detailed Descriptions
moves the impeller, activates the sensor, and signals ink out.
The ink out mechanism ensures that the ink is completely used up before the ink
end alert is triggered.
Waste Ink Collection
A waste ink collector tank (1), mounted on the right side of the machine below the
maintenance unit (2), collects the ink removed from the print heads by the
maintenance unit during print head cleaning. The ink collector tank has an ID chip
that keeps a count, and will signal when the tank is full and needs to be replaced.
Aright ink sump (3), mounted behind the waste ink collector, catches waste ink
that is scraped from the surfaces of the heads during print head cleaning by the
maintenance unit.
Aleft ink sump (4) on the left side of the machine collects ink that is vented from
the print heads occasionally during printing to prime the print heads and prevent
them from clogging.

Detailed Descriptions 9 D124
DRESS Sensor
The DRESS (Direct Realization Edge Scanning Sensor) sensor is mounted on the left
side of the carriage unit (shown above with the left cover the carriage unit removed). It
performs these functions:
Paper width detection. The sensor checks the right and left edges of the paper
on the platen to check the size of the paper.
Image registration. Detects the leading edge, right edge, and left edge of the
paper so the machine can position the image on the paper.
Skew correction. Checks and corrects skew at the right edge of the paper. If the
edge is skewed more than ±10 mm, the machine rewinds the paper onto the roll.
Dot position correction (color registration). The carriage moves across the
paper during printing, so the ink drops cannot fall vertically. The readings of the
DRESS sensor are used to adjust the timing of the piezo-electric elements in the
print heads that release the ink. Timing is adjusted for the height of the carriage
(and print heads), paper thickness, speed of the carriage, and print mode
(uni-directional or bi-directional).

D124 10 Detailed Descriptions
1.1.5 SOME UNIQUE FEATURES OF D124
Here is a summary of some new features.
Main Machine Stand and Scanner Stand
The scanner unit and main unit are mounted on separate stands.
Front Cover Switches
The front cover (1) can be raised to remove paper jams and to load paper for
bypass feeding.
The left front cover switch (2) and right front cover switch (3) are push-switches
that detect when the front cover is raised and lowered.
The guide pins on either end of the front cover are set in tracks which guide the

Detailed Descriptions 11 D124
cover into the correct closed position. The front cover track switch (4) (a
push-switch) has been added to ensure that these guide pins are inserted
correctly into the left and right track.
The machine cannot operate until the front cover is down and all three of these
switches are closed.
Ink Level Detection
An OCFS (On Carriage Fill Sensor) system constantly monitors the ink level of each
sub tank for each color.
Cutter
A one-direction cutter cuts roll paper from right to left and returns to the right side of
the machine after cutting below the paper, without interfering with paper feed.

D124 12 Detailed Descriptions
Paper Feed Control
The DSP control (Digital Signal Processing) system controls paper feed with encoder
wheels. It assures accurate roll paper feed and constantly monitors the amount of
paper remaining on the rolls.
Encoder sensor 1 [1]. Counts rotations of the roll feed motor. This pulse count is
used to measure the operation time of the roll feed motor.
Encoder sensor 2 [2].Counts the rotations of the edge roll core which vary
depending on how much paper remains on the roll. (The number of rotations
increases as the diameter of the paper roll decreases.) This pulse count is used in
a calculation to determine how much paper remains on the roll.

Detailed Descriptions 13 D124
Improved Productivity
During black-and-white printing [A], only the K1 print head (1) and K2 print head (2)
are used. These black print heads are offset so they can cover a wider band with
black ink. This increases printing speed because a wider band can be covered with
one pass in a black-and-white print. During color printing [B], the K2 (3), C (4), and
YM (5) print heads are used. The band is narrower because the forward sitting K1
print head is not used.

D124 14 Detailed Descriptions
1.2 GENERAL LAYOUT