3.2m UV Hybrid Tracking Nightmare ("Banana" Effect)

[ArtdeVett]

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice regarding media tracking issues on a 3.2m (10.5 ft) UV hybrid printer. We’ve had the machine for six months, and since day one, we haven’t been able to resolve a severe "banana" effect (bowing) on roll media.

The Issue: When printing full-width rolls (3.2m), the media bows significantly. This makes finishing on our flatbed cutter (iEcho) impossible because the print is curved, and the cut lines don't match up. We are seeing a deviation/skew of nearly 1 cm (0.4 inches) over a 3-meter (10 ft) run. Important: This issue does not occur with rigid media or narrower rolls (up to 1.5m / 60 inches) – those track perfectly.

Vendor/Service Response: Tech support claims that "this is normal for hybrids." They suggested adjusting the vacuum zones (which we tried extensively with no results). Their final "solution" was suggesting we buy a dedicated roll-to-roll printer, which is an incredibly unprofessional response given the investment we made in this hybrid.

The Context: It's a mid-range machine from what we thought was a reputable vendor. We want to resolve this because a working machine means full production for us and consistent ink sales for them. Right now, we are limited to narrow rolls or flatbed work only.

My Question: Has anyone experienced this level of bowing on UV hybrids? Is it possible to fix this tracking geometry, or is this actually a known design flaw in 3.2m hybrids?
The machine is a Flora X330H

Photos showing the scale of the problem are linked below: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1wANh2u_D7CRrtUeCGuKqklaCxu4U7WLh&usp=drive_fs

 

[netsol]

If the manufacturer says this is “normal” , you know they have already used every trick they know to resolve it.
is it possible to add more registration marks, so the cutter can track the error?
format & send as 3 narrower jobs adjacent to each other, with no banana effect?
then contour cut the whole thing?

I am sure your speed would go all to hell…

 

[Ewan yu]

Telling you to buy a separate R2R is basically admitting the machine has design limits.....

 

[netsol]

Telling you to buy a separate R2R is basically admitting the machine has design limits.....

i am sure it does.
every piece of equipment has design limitations.

the manufacturer has access to more resources than we do , so i am skeptical of finding a fix

 

[flyplainsdrifta]

The only thing that ever helped us with tracking on a hybrid flatbed UV with tracking was getting it on to a core on the other side, and making sure your tension is even when its pulling thru the printer. Other than that, on wider stuff, id double check your belt, if you have one, on the vacuum holes on the edges of the belt. usually those are the first to clog on the hybrids and can potentially lead to the material pulling to one side. Otherwise, yeah its the main reason we expanded our printers to adding a 3.2 R2R. Too much wasted material and time due to tracking. If your volume is high enough on prints that large, it may be worth looking into some used 3m printers to handle that long term. It sucks, but that sort of tracking is typical on hybrids like that in my experience. Trust me i know its frustrating.

 

[victor bogdanov]

You can get a 3.2 meter Chinese printer, 2 epson I3200 heads for 20k installed in USA with USA support/techs. Will print banners great. Friend got a kingjet a few months ago, printing good

 

[Ewan yu]

Do you know exactly how much it cost? Was it exactly $20000?

 

[victor bogdanov]

Do you know exactly how much it cost? Was it exactly $20000?

Around 18k but this is with a local kingjet tech installing and support. kingjet has a warehouse in Houston. Buying directly from China would be closer to 10k I think but would have to do install yourself.

This is an unbelievable deal either way compared to any other 3.2m printer you can buy in the USA, I think cheapest is Mutoh at around $40K and then you are looking at $100k+ at other brands

 

[cornholio]

Run the media centered on the belt with the lowest possible vacuum. The problem is the rollers have a bigger diameter in the middle, than on the outside. This helps keeping the belt centered.

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Got an old Sinocolor 3.2M solvent that we've converted to UV for $1200 on the used market. Heavy rolls take some power to get tracking right. Main thing is avoiding material buckling, and that can mean needing a powered roll handling system or more powerful motors on the roll holder.

 

[Ewan yu]

$15,800, with four I3200 printheads. The quality is better than Kingjet. It’s a very popular machine in the Chinese sign industry, with a big installed base and a low failure rate. The downside is that support is online only, but if you’re willing to get your hands dirty, the value for money is hard to beat.

 

[Ewan yu]

Labor is really expensive in the US