Advice on installing NEW PARTS on SP300V?

[geckophoto]

OK, I have all my new parts in from ordering. New print heads, dampers, wipers, scraper for the wipers, spit sponge and a new set of OEM inks coming in too. I took out off my OLD print heads to try and soak/clean back to life but the black is dead...so just putting in all new parts.

First, should I put all the new parts on but install the old heads back on as I have seen on video that before you put in your new heads you need to change the rank numbers? I can put the old heads back on with all the old parts and then start the service mode of replacing the sponge/wipers/damper/heads etc...is there a best order to install the parts or just do them all at once?

When I put new dampers in do I need to do anything or will the machine fill them up during the setup/cleaning?

Is it ok to hook up the new heads without putting in any cleaning/flushing fluid before hooking them to the dampers?

When I have all the new parts installed I will need to print my nozzle check and see where it's all at, this is where I may need some help adjusting the heads, any recommendations?

And what should I NOT do just as a precaution for my information?

Thanks!

 

[geckophoto]

OH, one last question, should I just put in all the old parts and the NEW inks and run a few hard cleanings to get the new inks going in the lines? The previous inks are 6-8 months old since last used and not OEM. I don't want to clog up the new print heads with old/bad inks?

 

[C5 Service&Repair]

I'd have a certified tech come help you out. ....I'm available btw

 

[Terry01]

(Terry)<<<Sits back and opens a big bag of popcorn. I cant wait to see what the community is going to tell you..
This is going to be good...

 

[Terry01]

OneDrive
Use this..same as the 300 for setting up your heads and calibrating the machine..

 

[Rogar]

Are you prints beginning to lack vibrant color? It might be time to change your cap tops.

 

[geckophoto]

Well I got all my parts installed, new wipers/scraper/spit sponge/dampers/cap tops and two new print heads.

With some reading I was able to figure this all out and get into the service mode to perform all the steps. I had an issue with the yellow printing and figured out the ribbon cable was bent on one prong on the edge when I put it in the head, so just straightened it out and it worked!

I aligned the heads and got good patterns verticle/horizontal/bias etc, printed a report and saw I could clear the old data too. All test patterns look good as new! Now time to install software and do some real printing.

All the YouTube videos helped as well as the service manual but I had to think about some things in it as they do not explain it all for the average person.

So I bought the machine for $400 and have about $1400 in new parts and OEM inks to start new. Almost was going to call a tech but opted to do it myself and it really is not complicated!

First image is when I put in K/C head and got running then did the other one. Last image is both installed and aligned.

 

[rjssigns]

Great job on the rebuild.

 

[geckophoto]

Now I'm printing and trying to figure out a computer to use, I have an old version of versaworks, 1.20. Have it installed on a newer computer but don't have the printer profile installed off the other disk, it tells me to quit all apps and try to install it again (I'm not a windows person). I was able to run Versaworks and have it print a test print, looks like ink came out a bit heavy on the print/wet/thick and kind of mottled in the solid areas, I think it may be a profile issue? But I did get it to print some eps files/clip art and also the same thing, tried to set media to Generic Vinyl I. Same efffect....any tips? I"ll post a pic shortly of it...at least it's printing sharp text and nice colors!

 

[geckophoto]

Here are heavy ink/mottled images.

 

[Terry01]

Here are heavy ink/mottled images.

Turn your heat up to 45 on platten..you are pooling your ink. You will also need digital media to get better results.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Usually when you see ink saturation like that it could be a couple things. The heat settings are too low, the material is defective or the profile is wrong for that media. Usually it's heat settings but it's not unheard of to just have a bad roll of vinyl or even a partially defective roll. Do a little trial and error with the profiles and see if one works better than the other. If you try multiple profiles and it pools up no matter what, I would suspect bad media. If you change the media and it still prints like that you may have environmental issues or even bad/old ink.

 

[geckophoto]

Can anyone tell me what version software I can use on this sp300-v printer? I have a computer with windows 10 and versaworks version 1.2 disk. Can I buy the latest versions software to run this?

 

[geckophoto]

Well turning on the heater helped a lot! I thought it was on but it wasn't....Looks perfect...I"m still having issues with the software version 1.2 on a windows 10 system, get it to print some but can't change a lot of settings/print quality or even scroll down to see all the preview window info. Tried to contour cut today and just nothing cut. So I found a new version of software on Ebay and bought it, 5.5, the seller said it would work on my SP300V. I'll wait till the software arrives and try it and get to printing if so!

Should I turn the printer on each day like I see other people do to keep print heads moist/clean? Is it good enough to just power it on and run a small print each day or how often should I do a cleaning on the head with the control panel button?

 

[Terry01]

Well turning on the heater helped a lot! I thought it was on but it wasn't....Looks perfect...I"m still having issues with the software version 1.2 on a windows 10 system, get it to print some but can't change a lot of settings/print quality or even scroll down to see all the preview window info. Tried to contour cut today and just nothing cut. So I found a new version of software on Ebay and bought it, 5.5, the seller said it would work on my SP300V. I'll wait till the software arrives and try it and get to printing if so!

Should I turn the printer on each day like I see other people do to keep print heads moist/clean? Is it good enough to just power it on and run a small print each day or how often should I do a cleaning on the head with the control panel button?

Roland VersaWorks 4.8 Download - Roland VersaWorks.exe
Just noticed on that link too..dont touch those download managers..hover over the one 3rd down that says download..not free download

 

[Terry01]

Just power it down on the panel and leave power turn on to the machine..The auto clean cycle will take care of the rest.
Doesn't hurt to run a strip of all colors and a test print every couple of days if the machine is not in use much

 

[player]

Good work on the referb. The test prints has a slight sway to it, I think that means the head alignment is slightly off.

 

[LFC911]

If you get Roland VW to start, you should be able to go to Edit>Preferences>Roland@RNet and have it check for updates. You may have to restart VW for it to automatically check.