Hi Walker - thanks for this suggestion. I have the leader paper hang out the back over a table edge, still getting tracks. But after your pointer about the location of the star wheels, I ran another sheet (leader + Pictorico) through and watched the guide wheels with a flashlight. The wheels, what looks like two or three sets of them, are at the front, near the exit point of the printout, and downstream of the printer head. The bars that hold the tracking wheels drop down soon after the sheet begins to go past the printer head track. I have tried attaching a front sheet too, a ‘leader’ leader, in the hope that the weight of the leading sheet would hold the film down and away from the star wheels, but that too does not work and leaves a mark. Each star wheel is on a spring-spindle, so pressure applies regardless of distance from the exit rollers.
I am now deep into the service manual and trying to figure out how to disable the drop-down of the whole tracking bar, or even if/how I can actually remove the star wheels.
I’d welcome any other pointers.