Hi there,
I have a Xerox Docucolor 7000AP. We have been using 80# Finch Digital Cover for business cards, among other things. For the most part, that stock has been fine for what we've been using it for. When we have to print a large solid, though, it's atrocious. It's very mottled looking. When we print the same card on Xerox's paper, it looks like we think it should. The price of Xerox's paper is 40% higher.

I'm wondering, is there anything we can do to get the solids to print nicer on our current stock, or, does anyone have any suggestions for paper on this machine (if you can just provide me with a name, I'll research the price). And yes, I know, the obvious solution is to use Xerox's paper, but I'd like to pay less, and I also don't want to give them the satisfaction.

Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thank you.

P.S. As far as trying to get the solid to print better on our current stock, we've tried, to no avail:
Saturating the sheet
Switching between the different weight modes (Single weight vs. All weights)
Switching between coated and uncoated ink calls
Holding our tongue out of the left side of our mouth instead of the right side

Check out Xerox's Recommended Materials List (RML) which should point you to the papers that will work.

Also, ask your paper suppliers for similar stocks to Xerox's, they should be able to help you find the similar ones.

The reason it isn't working well is because the stock can't hold a consistent charge across the sheet, probably due to its clay content, which causes the mottle.

Unless I missed something, you can't control the transfer current unless you are service trained, so nothing you can do but try different papers. Xerox probably won't help much since their paper runs fine.

Thanks! I didn't think there was much I could do to get a better image on the sheet, but I thought I'd ask first.

On your screen on the 7000AP go into Access, user tools, custom paper settings (second tab) there you can change the second BTB settings, I have had a little luck with that on my 8000AP. More than likely it is just your stock, like Patrick said or the finish is too rough. Try Hammermill 100lb color color copy cover, it has a nice smooth finish and produces great solids on my 8000AP. I have run into this with a few "digital" sheets that are inexpensive. The only thing digital is the word on the wrapper. Don't get too caught up in having to use Xerox paper, they don't own a mill. For coated I have used Futura but have now switched to Nekoosa premium digital coated. Hammermill still makes the nicest un-coated sheet that I have come across as of yet, Boise High Def is a close second but they don't have 100lb cover yet.

Good luck!

That'd be true if Finch Digital came in a wrapper. It comes in an unsealed box. So much for keeping the moisture content. We have long used regular Finch for our offset presses so the transition was a natural one, but I couldn't help but laugh at the fact they don't wrap their 'digital' sheet.

I will try some of the papers you suggested. Thanks a bunch!