Trimax TX40: high film veil, two sheets wasted on calibration at every startup
What happened
As reported in the case, at every startup the printer spent two sheets of film on density calibration and flagged error 631 — high film veil (excessive background fog on the printed image).
What was checked
- Checked the film expiry date — the engineers found stock reported as 2021-dated, long past its expiry.
- Checked the thermal drum temperature for possible over-temperature.
Cause
The engineers found that expired film was producing the high veil; a somewhat high thermal drum temperature may also have contributed, but this was not confirmed.
The cause is probable and was not fully confirmed.
What was done
The proposed approach was to use up the expired film first; if the veil persisted, to correct the thermal drum temperature. Any such change was to be made only from a saved configuration backup, per the manufacturer's service documentation, with density calibration repeated afterwards. The outcome in this case is probable, not confirmed.
Safety
Before returning the printer to clinical use, verify print density with the manufacturer's density (sensitometry) test after any film or temperature change, and do not print diagnostic images on expired film.
Lesson: Before adjusting any printer parameters, check the consumable first — an expired film is the most common cause of print-density faults.
Covered in the course: Medical Imagers and Film Printers — Level 2: Fault-Finding →
Written from an anonymised case shared by service engineers. It is not a manufacturer instruction and grants no authorisation. Independent note; names are trademarks of their owners.