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  1. I'm trying to print covers on my Epson R200 which I just got. I've been successfully and happily printing covers on my HP Photosmart 7660 since May, and simply got tired of having to replace the cartridges every 3 refills- and I wanted to print onto DVDR media, so I bought the R200...

    I've been printing my covers on glossy photo paper, they look amazing btw. 8) But a new problem has come up.... The beginning of the paper feeds no problem- but at the end of the print, just before the end of the sheet of paper, the print head catches the corners of the paper, skews the paper over a bit, and the printer continues to print- so the image is all screwed up and shifted see the picture below



    you can see from the picture, the bottom corners of the paper have ink on them from rubbing against the print head, and you can clearly see on the top two pages, how the paper shifts while printing and skews the image. the top most page even bled off the edge at once point.

    This never happened on the HP- and I'm guessing its because of the way the HP feeds the paper from the bottom- where the Epson feeds from the back. This is unacceptable, I desperately need a fix for this- What I've been doing is pushing (folding) the back corners of the paper down so they wont catch, thats obviously not working too well.

    This can't be the accepted norm for this printer- I mean, DVD Covers are one thing, but if I were printing PHOTO's --- C'mon!
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  2. Member lifesajrny's Avatar
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    Return the printer
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  3. Originally Posted by lifesajrny
    Return the printer
    No. This happens after you print some CDs/DVDs. You need to go into the printer menu and do a paper feed/eject of about five sheets. You need to do this to clean the rollers and whatnot.
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  4. Member p_l's Avatar
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    Man, that's exactly what's happening to me right now as I type these words. I'll try your suggestion. I gotta say, these ?%$/&??% printers are more high-maintenance than a Ferrari or a girlfriend who's a model.
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  5. You may be trying to print past the "acceptable" print area that the printer can print on. As I recall HP printers usually had a larger "print area." The print area is usually defined as the size of the paper less anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the edge of the paper. The print program should be telling you that when it looks at the print driver that you may be printing outside the print area.

    Try printing the covers on a 8.5 x 14 inch paper.

    If not, return the printer
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  6. Member tonyiws's Avatar
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    I had that problem when I tried to print to the edge of regular paper. I haven't had any issues since I started using a heavier paper. The paper I am using is International Paper, JetPrintPhoto, Imaging & Photo Paper, Matte, Medium Weight Paper, 7 mil, 138g/m2. I get it at Wal-Mart 100 sheets for $9.97.
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  7. The paper I'm using is 10 mil photo paper... with paper backing and everything... its high gloss photo paper, 10 mil thick!

    I dont think its the printing of DVD's, since I dont have printables yet- I've printed 1 as a test... the rest of the "disc" I've printed have been printing sheets of labels. I still have about a spindle of non-printables, so I'm waiting until I run out before I order any printables.

    Admittedly the photo paper I'm using does curl just a tad, but I'm sure it curls in the same manner when I printed it on my HP... And I've printed at least 300+ covers and photo's on my HP using this exact same paper. Its the Photo glossy paper from Fry's Electronics- The one they run on sale for 99¢ a pack from time to time.
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  8. oops... I meant to add- I never had an issue with the paper skewing in the HP.
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  9. It happens because the printer doesn't secure the front edge of the paper before it starts printing. Anything that comes too close to the edge has the possibility to catch like that. I have to slightly roll the front edge on my paper downward so it curls down instead of up. This problem is usually most common with thin stock, like some DVD Insert papers like the multi-flip brand.
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  10. So this is just a design flaw in the printer's paper path? I was afraid of that. That is a major disapointment.
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  11. personally I'd say yes, to me it is a design flaw. Others may disagree. It may be because this printer is able to do borderless prints. Its designed so it doesn't have to secure the edge before it prints. Unfortunately such good ideas seldom ever work exactly like they should.
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  12. I know some people are going to read this and take it the wrong way BUT: My HP Photosmart 7660 also prints Borderless upto 8.5x11, and like I said, I've printed hundreds of these pages. Either dvd covers, photo's, etc... and the HP does NOT catch the corners, skew the image or put ink on the corners like this epson r200 does (see the photo above and look at the corners). Like I said, for dvd covers its no big deal- but when I print a 8x10 or 8.5x11 photo I want it as close to perfect as I can get it.

    The paper in question may not be the best, but it prints just fine in the HP, and I'm getting the above results with the epson- almost every time. VERY DISAPOINTED. Especially since I just purchased a continuous ink setup for this thing too

    I have noticed that the Epson print head is farther away from the back rollers which hold and guide the paper than the HP's... I guess this is the main reason why this happens, as it page feeds through the printer its being held only by the part in the front (exit) slot, and not the back (loading) slot, but the fact that the head catches... well, unacceptable.

    I took a couple of sheets of this paper to Fry's and did a few test prints on a R300M display model (the one with the card reader) and sure enough, it caught the back corners EXACTLY like mine does, so that rules out the possibility of it being an isolated case with my printer. Its obviously a design flaw in the paper path.
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  13. its a fault with the roller setup,ive had teh same problem and just had my epson repaired,looks like new insides for it,the guy on the phone knew it was roller problems and told me to pop it into my local repair centre,and its just been couriered here about 3 days ago.phone them up and get it repaired.
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    Sounds like the paper might be the culprit. It may not be compatible with the Epson. I have never had this occur with my R300 when I use IBM or Epson paper, but I have had some bad luck with "off" brands.
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  15. And the paper might just be the problem, but here is the point. IMO Paper should be universal, as far as feeding is concerned. Now the image ON the paper, thats another story- we can go into the differences of hot ink jet bubbles (canon) vs piezo cold ink technology (epson & hp), etc.etc.etc... but these issues will reflect how the image looks on the paper after its printed. The discussion here is why does the print head catch and graze against the corners of the paper while its being printed... take a good look at the photo in the first message of this thread, you can clearly see the corners have ink on them on both ends where the head passes over the paper, and on the top most two pages you can clearly see where the print head skewed the paper itself off course a bit and the printer continued to print and the image is skewed over a bit. Regardless of rather the paper is $25 a sheet or 2.5¢ a sheet, the paper should NEVER come into contact with the print head- plain and simple.

    I will contact Epson and see what they say, maybe this is a known issue and they have a fix
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    Every manufacturer has their own "formula" for their paper, ie different coatings for printing, different textures due to manufacturing processes or pulp size, thickness, etc. These all play a role in how well a paper performs in certain printers. You could print 500 reems of a certain paper in "printer x" and it will work fine, but for some reason it will jam in "printer y." I agree that paper shoud be universal, however it has been my experience that this is not always the case. Part of the problem with the Epsons is that the paper has to go through a curved pathway before it gets to the print head. This can lead to corners curling, which is what I suspect is happening in your case, possibly because the paper is pretty thick. (I believe you said 10 mil) Try something on the order of 4-5 mil and see if it still happens.
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  17. A curled pathway... are you kidding. The HP's feed from the bottom! So the paper has to make a 180* turn upside down before its printed on, and the corners of the same paper have never caught like this.

    Not to argue, but the formula for paper is true, but that should not and does not play a part in how paper feeds through a printer... They all use a rubber roller guide of some kind- the issue here (imo) is the roller guides are too far back, and do not suffiently hold the last edge of the paper before its printed on by the print head, causing this problem. I was back at Fry's today, where the print came from and saw and talked to the epson rep who was there (demo weekend I guess), he said there is no reason the paper should do that, and for me to try and clean the rollers first, then if that doesnt fix it, exchange the printer
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  18. Member p_l's Avatar
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    Paper in the HP gets curled down, whereas paper in the Epson gets curled up, which may explain why it's catching. But I agree that all paper should work in all printers. Anything less is unacceptable.
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  19. Member Skith's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by magellan
    Every manufacturer has their own "formula" for their paper, ie different coatings for printing, different textures due to manufacturing processes or pulp size, thickness, etc. These all play a role in how well a paper performs in certain printers. You could print 500 reems of a certain paper in "printer x" and it will work fine, but for some reason it will jam in "printer y." I agree that paper shoud be universal, however it has been my experience that this is not always the case. Part of the problem with the Epsons is that the paper has to go through a curved pathway before it gets to the print head. This can lead to corners curling, which is what I suspect is happening in your case, possibly because the paper is pretty thick. (I believe you said 10 mil) Try something on the order of 4-5 mil and see if it still happens.
    Not just the formula/coating on the paper, but the type of ink used. Another thing to try, is switch the printer's paper setting. Certain papers may not hold a lot of ink well, and thus curl. Changing the paper type setting in the printer driver can "fool" the printer into placing less ink (and may even improve image quality).

    In short, it is a design flaw, but not just in the printer, but ink and paper as well. I am sure there are also papers that do not work well with HP printers. Please do not take this as an "attack" on your opinion. I would just like you to keep an open mind, it would be a shame to mark any printer (or other hardware) as junk, based on a single bad experience.

    Good Luck!
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  20. I've had this happen with Epson photo papers. I don't think the paper has a whole lot to do with it. The thinner the paper the easier it curls, but brand is irrelevant on this particular matter.
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  21. Member tonyiws's Avatar
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    Has anybody else had this issue?
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    Thanks to p_l for elaborating on my previous post about the paper pathway. I think this could be part of problem. Again, I agree that paper should be paper, and it should work in any printer, but sadly this in not always the case. Look at some of the compatability issues people have with different brands of DVD-Rs used in certain burners. Just like media, paper comes in many different qualities, and it could just be that paper/printer combo doesn't work. I'm not trying to be an apologist for Epson because I have a number of issues with my R300 that have been discussed by others elsewhere in this forum, but overall I think it is a pretty good printer. I would have thought it was just your printer, but it surprised me when you said the one at the store did the same thing. That's what leads me to believe it could be the paper...my opinion....
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  23. I value everyones opinion, and I thank everyone for chiming in

    I'm not defending the paper, or either of the printer manufactures, and on the flip side- I'm not comdemning either of them either. I personally like the Epson and my HP. Both have strong points and weak points. Regardless of who's to blame in this instance, printer or paper- the bottom line is the results are unacceptable.

    Now the trick is to find a solution. Admittedly I have only been able to try the R300M, since I was able to take in my paper and a XD card and print a photo on the display, and the exact same thing happend. Now- that leads me to believe that YES, the paper curls too much. Is it the ink? I doubt it, but that could be a problem? BUT: The fact that a printer, as mainstream as an EPSON printer is catching the corners OF ANY MANUFACTURES PAPER and causing the results above- is just plain stupid.

    I'm sure there are less tech savvy people around buying and using these printers... and for example lets say they love only KODAK papers, so they'll buy an EPSON printer but they don't know the output of any manufactures printer is a combination of printer, ink and media all designed and formulated to work together, and that the drivers for said printer and calibrated for specific media's and ink (ie: epson wants you to only use epson inks and papers).. Now we all know that, because we all have big brains around here however- Joe Schmoe doesn't know that, so he buys the epson printer, and uses only KODAK papers exclusively, because KODAK = the picture people . Now, because of this combination Joe's experiencing this corner catching nightmare. So what does he do? He goes back to the store and the kid working there exchanges his printer and sells him an HP which doesnt do this. He prints to his hearts content, and loves HP and never looks at another EPSON for as long as he lives.

    Does this make EPSON a bad printer? NO. it does not, however it does make the guys in R&D and the guys in ENGINEERING over at Epson potato heads because they obviously built this thing with a flaw in the printers paper path, which causes the head to catch on corners of paper that MIGHT and does curl when its sitting in the hopper of their printers. And if they live in more humid conditions like South Florida- well... Those poor people are just plain screwed!
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    Please keep us posted if you find a solution. There are a lot of us R200 and R300 users on this forum. I hope it's a fairly isolated incident and not a problem that develops and gets worse over time, otherwise a bunch of us are screwed.

    Good luck!!
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  25. This might be a rant- but here's the update. So I go into Fry's electronics, where I bought my R200 from, which is a Refurb btw, also I bought the extended 2 year warranty from Fry's, since they told me I could exchange the printer within that time if I ever had a problem with it, and if that printer wasn't in stock or made anymore- I'd get the upgrade free of charge.

    So the day I'm there, the EPSON REP is there- so I talk to the epson rep and explain to him whats going on. He says could be the paper, could be the printer. He asked me if I bought the warranty, I told him YES, he told me to bring the printer back and "we'll make you happy". OK FINE. So I called the next day (yesterday), and talked to a sales guy at Fry's. Explained to him exactly what was going on- he told me sounds like the printer has issues- and since I have the warranty I should return it for exchange, they are currently out of stock on Refurbs, so I'd get a new in the box unit. I boxed up my printer walked into Fry's and proceeded to the service counter... Well, they have a completely different take on the situation. I brought in samples of what the printer does (the same ones from the picture above). The service guy tells me I've got 1 single option: Send the printer in to epson for repair which takes 6 to 8 weeks. I explained to him I had the exchange warranty plus I needed the printer before christmas since I was printing pictures and such on it. He walked away talked to the powers that be, comes back and explains there is NO "exchange" warranty on printers PERIOD at any price, only a repair warranty and its replaced if and ONLY if its NOT repairable- but thats after its been sent back to the vendor for repair but tells me I now have a second option- I can return the printer for the $69 I paid for it, and pay the $30 difference and get a new one, or wait until they get more refurbs in and exchange it for free, or send this one into epson (6-8 weeks) and get a "loaner" to use in the meantime, but he never could tell me exactly what I'd get as a loaner So at this point I'm standing there befuddled and confused. Explaining to him thats not how the warranty was sold to me, they said this and that, yadda yadda yadda... I told him to hold my printer for a few minutes while I tracked down the guy who sold me the warranty.

    I walked over to the printer area, and talked to the manager guy, who know's me (or at least knows I shop there 3+ times a week! ) I tell him the deal, I get to the part about the "exchange warranty" I bought on the printer, and he stops me dead in my tracks... No warranty they sell is an EXCHANGE warranty, the only thing that is exchanged are SCANNERS and HAND HELDS (PDA's, Ipods, etc? I guess? ) So there I stand again, dumb founded. He tells me he'll give me a loaner to use while Service sends out my printer back to Epson, but again he wont tell me exactly what they'll give me for a loaner . I might have been able to get another R200? I dunno- I never got that far. I told him I talked to someone on the phone and they said Fry's would exchange it for a new one- He wanted to know who said such a thing so he could talk to them about lying to customers! I told him what the Epson rep said, he told me the Epson rep has no authority there and has no business telling customers anything about store policy.

    So whats the bottom line through all this? I got my printer back, walked out extremely annoyed that I had been lied to about the so called warranty I got, vented mainly on the poor service guy that the warranty is sold as one thing, until you come in to use it, then its explained as quite another. He agreed with me that the printer shouldn't skew the paper, but offered little else. When I walked back in the house, my wife told me I was stupid for not returning the refurb and buying the new in box one, so I might do that after all. I dunno....
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  26. just checked up on this topic,and like i said,you should have gotten it repaired/replaced from the start.its a roller setup flaw.pretty much a design flaw,that here in the uk they were more than willing to fix it and deliver it back to me,free,within my warranty.

    its not the paper......

    only other option you had was to "curl" the paper downwards,so when it comes out its flat.
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  27. When I had this problem it turned out to be simply that I did not extend fully the tray that catches the paper on my R300. The weight of the paper pulled the paper out too soon. Kind of like if you grabbed the paper and pulled lightly as it was finishing.
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  28. looking at the jpeg of the problem,its the rollers.there "off",causing the clipping of the paper.
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