When printing, the first page gets folded twice, horizontally. Quite nicely, but useless for work. The rest of the pages print normally. How can I correct this? There are no error messages other than paper jam from the first (folded) paper. Have checked inside the machine and all the rollers roll, nothing seems excessively worn; there are no bits of flotsam blocking things.
I kept digging until I found some helpful, lucky people that stumbled across a solution. The cost of doing the repair yourself is about $1 for superglue.
I detailed the repair in my blog: http://dlburkhart.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!5BA5F950B86A8BE5!182.entry.
I don't know if that URL will work as a permanent link. So, just in case, the same information is on my business web site on the Tech Tips page: http://www.BurkhartTech.com/Tips.html.
I hope to have helped.
If anyone can use a custom web site, I can really use the work. I left work a couple of years ago to be a stay-at-home dad and to try to start up a web site business. Things started out okay. But the economy soured, all of my business dried up, and now I can't find full time employment.
I don't know why I didn't just copy and paste it here to begin with:
While the source of this problem is rather a chore to get to, it is super easy to fix. To fix the problem, locate part SL4 (identified in your owner's manual), locate the black cushioning pad on the part, and glue it back into position. Right now you are thinking, "That's it?!" Yes, that's it. Now, onto the step-by-step instructions.
InstructionsRemove the back panel from the printer (a lot of screws).
Locate the lower-left circuit board and remove it.
This is the most difficult step. But, part SL4 will be behind the top of this board. So while completely removing this board may not be necessery, at least find a way to move it out of the way. Locate part SL4 and remove it.
Part SL4 is the bronze colored part with black fabric and two wires, one black and one red, coming out of it.Detach the spring and remove the lever from part SL4.
Glue and reposition the black cushioning pad.
The proper position for this pad will be flush with the top of the similar sized tab on the bracket. After the glue dries put it all back together.
Details
First, I am a computer technician, not a printer technician. So take some of these observations with a grain of salt.
From what I can tell, when the paper is fed from the bottom tray, it passes thru two motorized roller sections, in particular. Between these two roller sections, the moment the paper is in grasp of the second roller section, a device (part SL4) temporarily stops the first roller section. This happens for probably only a fraction of a second. But, I don't really know. Anyway, this action appears to be crucial in ensuring the paper is tight while transitioning the paper between to two sections. I believe that either this action is not starting soon enough or is failing altogether, resulting in the paper being forced into the second roller section too fast or too soon, and ultimately causing the paper to be folded. 
Figure 1
The device I referred to is part SL4 in the service manual (see Figure 1). And this is how this part works. It has a lever on it that works like a sea-saw. A solenoid (an electromagnet) on one end of the lever (or sea-saw) is activated, pulling down that end. When this happens the other end of the lever extends out and jams a gear, effectively stopping it. It sounds crude, I know. But, unlike our political process, at least it makes sense. Anyway, while part SL4 is at rest, a spring keeps the jamming end of the lever out of the way, allowing the first roller section to move freely.
Attached to the bracket (or frame) of part SL4 is a tiny, little, square, black pad. This pad appears to be some sort of cushion or spacer between the bracket and the lever in it's resting position. I'm not really sure what the pad is actually for. But, when it's in proper position, it seems to have the affect of positioning the lever slightly closer to the solenoid.
What I understand to be a cause for the paper folding problem on this printer is that this pad eventually slips out of position. This pad is held into position by some kind of cheap glue. The glue has either gotten too old and is beginning to liquefy or has never solidified properly. Perhaps this causes the timing to be off just enough to fold the paper. Or it could be causing the solenoid to fail altogether. I could speculate all day. But securing the pad back into position fixes the problem. I used superglue.
I was only getting one fold in my paper. But others have reported getting two folds. For those with two folds, perhaps the pad has come completely off. Or perhaps the first roller section is slightly faster. But, since there is at least one other similar part, part SL5, that seems to be serving the same purpose, check the pad on that part as well while you're in there. It is located just above part SL4.
By the way, does everyone know that for this printer you can simply replace a fuse in the oil roller to extend it's life at least 2 or 3 times? I'm sure you do. Just checking.
Update
The following quotation is from a forum entry dated 2006 from someone identifying himself as "Caveman". He is obviously more of an electronics technician and seems to know what he's talking about. It explains what the black pad is for and a way to identify and fix a separate problem with the same type of remedy:
"The following solenoids SL4 (Transport roller solenoid) and SL5 (Timing roller solenoid) have a small square pad which insulates one part of the solenoid from [the other]. Over time these small pads move and electrical insulation is lost. This causes specific problems depending on which solenoid is involved.
"A faulty pad on the timing roller solenoid causes printing to start half way down the page. If the faulty pad problem happens on the transport roller solenoid this results in the paper being folded [and/or] concertina'd."
If your printer starts printing halfway down the page, do the same repair for part SL5. While the symptom is very different, part SL5 is identical to and has the same remedy as part SL4. Part SL5 is located behind the upper circuit board on the back of the printer and is much easier to get to.
This forum may not support inserting pictures. Attempting to insert Figure 1 again:
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I tried solution 2 on my 2300DL that was also folding the paper. For a while It was only doing it on the first sheet but today it started doing it on every sheet. My daughter was trying to print out an assignment and we didn't manage to get it to print without the folds even though we tried several times.
Even though solution #2 was for a 2200 I thought I would give it a try. There were sure lots of screws involved and I took off most of the left mother board connections as well so I could get it out of the way. Also I removed the left side panel. It was small and only required me to remove two extra screws. Removing this side panel gave me that little extra room I needed to operate. I then unscrewed the plate behind the motherboard and there was a solenoid there so I removed it and checked it out. The little felt pad discussed in the solution was intact but I noticed that it had compressed a little over time. The only reason I could tell is that it overhung the place where it impacted slightly so that part was still the original thickness.
I ended up cutting a small piece of duct tape to exactly the same size using an x-acto knife and then stuck it right on top of the felt. I then reassembled everything.
The first page came out even worse but it is now printing perfectly again. I'm thinking the solenoid may of had to adjust on the first page as it sticks in the gear assembly. I only just fixed it tonight so I can't say how it will perform over time but I couldn't get a single page to print earlier without the folding and now it is printing perfect so I'm optimistic.
I found the same thing, following Burkhart's solution and wrapped a few layers of duct tape round the mating piece of bracket, to reduce the clearance to the pad. This worked too. But I still have a problem with the print starting part way (variable distances) down the page, which I guess is a feed roller timing problem.
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Having same problem, getting worse all the time. Sad I just bought and installed new toners.. grrrrr
I have a magicolor 2300DL that was experiencing this problem and solved it today. I replaced the Transport Unit. It cost $85.36 plus freight plus tax, just short of $100 for delivery to my Northern CA location. This suggestion was made by Konica Minolta. I had them email me the service manual to save the labor cost. It took me 10 hours total. The disassembly procedures are on pages 96-97, 100-102 and 108-109. I found them to be misleading and some corrections were needed to page 97. No. 1 required removing 3 screws, No. 2 required removing 4 screws (2 large in the rear and 2 small near the front), No. 6 required removing 6 screws and No. 9 required required removing 6 screws because 3 were previously removed by No. 1. No. 9 required removing the Drum Cartridge to get to one of these 6 screws. Do not touch or allow bright light to contact the green surface of the Drum Cartridge. On page 109, I added step 10A, Remove the left side cover (3 screws). There are 4 plastic clips also holding this cover on, so be careful not to snap them off when pulling the panel off. This step was necessary to allow 3 screws to be reached in Step 11. In Step 11, the diagram is misleading. There are 2 long screws holding a fan. Mark the orientation of this fan. The fan wires lace through a plastic clip. You must thread the two circuit board connectors through this Controller Box and 2 screws to the Master Board (PWB-A) go into this Controller Box. The Transport Unit has 2 connectors, a white one that goes to PJ12 and a blue one that goes to PJ13. Getting the Master Board connectors labeled and out of the way was the most time consuming part of the project. I added steps 13A, Remove Right-side door cover and step 13B, Remove Right-side rear cover to give additional lateral spacing to remove and replace the transport unit. Step 14 is misleading as there are way more than 10 screws involved in freeing the Transport Unit. There are actually just 4 each on the front and rear, 2 long brass ones and 2 short silver ones on each side. The diagram on the rear shows 5 screws, but there is only 4. The top one in the diagram is not there. The front side is more complicated. There are 2 clips with screws that must be removed, plus 1 screw for a bracket which hides one of the 4 main screws to the Transport Unit. To get this bracket off, requires loosening two large screws on the Drum Cartridge holder (black plastic), then sliding it out far enough to unclasp the bracket. The right side door is connected to the Transport Unit by a strap. So, add one more step 14A, Transfer the nut to this strap screw from the old Transport Unit to the new one. This nut will probably be missing from the new Transport Unit. Reverse the disassembly order to put everything back together. Test it and you will have saved a bunch of money in labor cost.
Here is my contribution at www.fixyourownprinter.com to the published fix of the printer malfunction described above!
Hi anonymous, this was a really great contribution!
How long did it take to identify the reason for this tricky malfunction??
I just had made up my mind to throw this ******* printer into the trash when I stumbled across Your fault-report on the web. Minolta Service asked me to sent the bulky printer into their repair center instead of giving me that usefull advise! In my service manual the relevant solenoids are the SL3 (synchronizing roller) and SL2 (transport roller) and they are both located in the transportunit which has to be disassembled. I just covered the taps and the counter part on the solenoid with some nylon tape so that they cannot stick together by the altered glue and everything works perfect again now!
If I can help out someone who is lacking the service manual please drop me a mail and I will sent You the relevant pdf-document!
Kind regards
Gerhard
Can you send me the service manual to '[email protected]'.
I am experiencing the same problem and am having a problem finding the solenoids you are referring to.
Thanks
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I took my entire 2300DL apart, took out the drum (be sure not to touch the green roller and put the drum in a dark place!). Then I blew the entire printer out with air. There was a ton of toner inside the printer so I used a small toothbrush and cleaned all the cogs and wheels I could see with the toothbrush, blew them all off again and used a VERY TINY AMOUNT of sewing machine oil on the wheels and the moving parts where they rub plastic to plastic, put it all back together. The very first print folded with the single fold, the next one did the accordion thing, But all prints after that have printed perfectly.
This is an update to DLBurkhart's link.
A correction to what SL4 does, Its the Belt cleaner Separation solenoid, not Transport Roller Solenoid.
Heres the list as follows.
SL1 Manual Feed Paper Take-Up Solenoid
SL2 Transport Solenoid
SL3 Synchronizing Roller Solenoid
SL4 Belt Cleaner Separation Solenoid
SL5 Second Image Transfer Roller Pressure Contact Solenoid
SL6 Fusing paper Loop Solenoid
Those are straight out of the Service Manual
Hopefully the size is readable. Otherwise the Service manual is readily available online. Refer to pages 38,39
Many cheap papers are only finished on one side. The **** will often have an arrow on which way to place in unit. If not try fliping paper over, and try. Next try reversing the paper in the feed tray. Laser paper is produce with zero to very little dust, as compared to ink jet or typing paper. a good 20#, or 60#offset (24#) with often help also. Humidity can also penetrate the top sheet by being absorbed into the paper, and causing irregularities. Finally some lasers, and copiers drive systems work better with a rougher finished paper, as apposed to a slick paper that drive tires slip on.
I have a KONICAL MINOLTA 2300DL, i have found a simple FIX:
Unscrew the BACK of the printer and find the Main Engine & the white Rolling Bearings.
Just Spray generously some lubricant or grease on it.
Put back the cover,
The printer no longer make paper Jam neither Paper FOLD
I have the Same problem with the same model. I have not had time to dig into this on the QMS, but usually as far as my experience with HP and other laser printers it usually turns out to be and electronics failure. These printers rely heavily on timing and when one of the many feed stages fail a page can hit a roller that has not be given the ok to feed. This causes the page to pause while the other roller continues to push. This jam up folds over on itself thus causing almost perfect folds. The out of sync feed roller then decides to feed after the fact and wahla. Magic origami. With Hp we used to replace a feed assembly and you be back in business. These thing are quite complex and probably cheaper to replace than to fix. However I dont like to lose battles like this so I will eventually post what I find for you.
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Figure 1
The device I referred to is part SL4 in the service manual (see Figure 1). And this is how this part works. It has a lever on it that works like a sea-saw. A solenoid (an electromagnet) on one end of the lever (or sea-saw) is activated, pulling down that end. When this happens the other end of the lever extends out and jams a gear, effectively stopping it. It sounds crude, I know. But, unlike our political process, at least it makes sense. Anyway, while part SL4 is at rest, a spring keeps the jamming end of the lever out of the way, allowing the first roller section to move freely.
Attached to the bracket (or frame) of part SL4 is a tiny, little, square, black pad. This pad appears to be some sort of cushion or spacer between the bracket and the lever in it's resting position. I'm not really sure what the pad is actually for. But, when it's in proper position, it seems to have the affect of positioning the lever slightly closer to the solenoid.
What I understand to be a cause for the paper folding problem on this printer is that this pad eventually slips out of position. This pad is held into position by some kind of cheap glue. The glue has either gotten too old and is beginning to liquefy or has never solidified properly. Perhaps this causes the timing to be off just enough to fold the paper. Or it could be causing the solenoid to fail altogether. I could speculate all day. But securing the pad back into position fixes the problem. I used superglue.
I was only getting one fold in my paper. But others have reported getting two folds. For those with two folds, perhaps the pad has come completely off. Or perhaps the first roller section is slightly faster. But, since there is at least one other similar part, part SL5, that seems to be serving the same purpose, check the pad on that part as well while you're in there. It is located just above part SL4.
By the way, does everyone know that for this printer you can simply replace a fuse in the oil roller to extend it's life at least 2 or 3 times? I'm sure you do. Just checking.
Update
The following quotation is from a forum entry dated 2006 from someone identifying himself as "Caveman". He is obviously more of an electronics technician and seems to know what he's talking about. It explains what the black pad is for and a way to identify and fix a separate problem with the same type of remedy:
"The following solenoids SL4 (Transport roller solenoid) and SL5 (Timing roller solenoid) have a small square pad which insulates one part of the solenoid from [the other]. Over time these small pads move and electrical insulation is lost. This causes specific problems depending on which solenoid is involved.
"A faulty pad on the timing roller solenoid causes printing to start half way down the page. If the faulty pad problem happens on the transport roller solenoid this results in the paper being folded [and/or] concertina'd."
If your printer starts printing halfway down the page, do the same repair for part SL5. While the symptom is very different, part SL5 is identical to and has the same remedy as part SL4. Part SL5 is located behind the upper circuit board on the back of the printer and is much easier to get to.
I have the same problem: paper gets folded about 1/3 of the way down. Often the first sheet comes out with printing misaligned and the 2nd sheet comes out folded. After that, the printer runs fine.
I had the same problem which started months ago so I would just print the first page twice. But lately all the papers come folded like you described. I am using the right kind of paper and my printer is for personal use and well maintained. I am this close to giving up and buying a new printer too, because I don't want to spring more money for new rollers, particularly now that I know that this is not an isolated problem and that many others are experiencing the same. Needless to say I WILL NOT be buying another Konica Minolta, their Customer Service is useless.
CAN ANYBODY RECOMMEND A GOOD PRINTER FOR PERSONAL USE? I like to print pictures and cards. Is it better a Laser or the other kind?
Thanks for your input, I wish I had found this website before. Kat
I am in the same situation as a previous post, recently purchased three new cartridges, and getting very impatient with trying to fix. More frustrating is finding a place in Ft. Lauderdale area to take it to. I am at my last straw before I consider it a lost. Personal use, very low print count.
I have exactly the same problem..a very neat fold about 4cm down from the top of the page on every first print. One work-around that works on mine is to turn on the printer, and use the control panel buttons to print a test page. It'll come out folded, and i get a message to insert more paper. When I do, it reprints the test page and stays OK until turned off. Hardly desirable behaviour!
I tried DLBurfkhart's suggestion, (and I even found the solenoid - behind the plate the control board mounts on if you want to go looking), but the model he's talking about is the 2200 : even looks different to the 2300, though I guess there's lots in common. Anyway the pad was intact and in-situ.
Another clue is that even using the workaround I describe above, the successful pages all come out with a series of subtle concertina-ish folds.
With the price of colour lasers plumetting, it's only the conservationist and tinkerer in me that has me still trying to find a solution!!
Same Problem – A perfect fold about 4cm in from the front end.
Magicolor 2350en (Low use)
Ours is definitely BEFORE the ink cartridges, as the print is over the fold. Don't know if this is the same for everyone though.
Rk,
Are you using paper designed for laser printers? How many pages has your printer printed (available in the menu). I've heard of the paper type causing problems, and the rollers accumulating gummy residue over time.
-gary
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