My Epson Stylus Photo 750 was making the "pizza cutter" pattern in several places across the page. This was occurring on some cheap photo paper as well as on Epsons new photo paper, which was lighter in weight. Calling Epson tech support only yielded one suggestion that didn't work, setting the print driver to "photo quality ink jet paper" vs "photo" paper.

If you don't know what this is, it's a pattern produced by Epsons upper exit roller assembly, which are made of tiny metal wheels that have a lot of sharp points on them. The points help to keep the paper tracking strait, but unfortunately in some printers, leave a "pizza cutter" pattern lengthwise on the paper (especially thick photo paper) as it exits the printer.

The solution was to shim the bar up to a point where the wheels were no longer making the marks on the page. Follow the steps below: 1) Turn the printer off, remove the printer cable, and unplug the printer. Move it to where you have easy access to both sides. Remove the rear paper support.

2) Remove the four screws that hold the cover on. There are two in the rear (next to the paper tray guides), and two under the front cover. Remove the cover (you will have to pick it up and move it to the rear of the printer to clear the remaining paper tray feed area.

3) Loosen the two screws that hold the bar in place. Back them almost all the way out, but don't remove them. I learned the hard way how difficult it is to get them out of the printer if you drop one.

4) Remove one screw and place two or three washers (stacked) between the bar and the printer frame. Replace the screw and start to thread it in, but don't tighten it up. Do the same thing on the other side. Once you have both sides shimmed and the screws in place, line the bar up with the tabs on the frame and tighten them up. If you can't get the bar to mate with the tabs, it is too high and a shim should be removed.

5) At this point, the pinwheels should not be touching the lower rubber feed wheels. Don't replace the cover just yet. Re-connect the printer and test it. If there are no pizza cutter marks and the paper feeds completely through, your done. Replace the cover and happy printing!

6) If the paper DOESN'T feed completely though, you must lower the bar. If the pizza cutter pattern is still there and the paper feed was ok, try a thicker shim. Experiment with different types of washers to find the right shim thickness for your printer.

If the bar is too high and the paper doesn't feed through, the printer might be pulled back into the printer.

Components I used were bought a Lowe's Home Improvement stores, brass #4 flat washers. I had also purchased some #4 nylon flat washers that were two different thickness to experiment with. I used 3 of the brass flat washers under each side of the bar.

One last note... I will not be liable or responsible for any damage to your printer. Take great care if you choose to perform this. The above procedure may void your Epson warranty. I'm not responsible for that either.

-- Dale R Dankulich (dalerd01@earthlink.net), October 11, 1999

Answers

Subject:Epson stylus photo 750 : perforated lines

i had same problem but using photo glossy paper lying on a stack of cheap inkjet paper with creases. Putting decent quality paper underneath the actual photo print medium cured the problem

-- Nigel Craig (ncraig@globalnet.co.uk), November 10, 1999.