CYAN all over my prints !

[autoexebat]

For the life of me I can't figure this out , I just installed a new cap top ( Roland VS-300i ) . I did a manual cleaning and that hasn't helped . I'm thinking maybe this could be the issue with my black / grey / white gradients turning pink .. but I can't be sure .

Anyone have any ideas for this ?

 

[Solventinkjet]

Did the issue happen before you replaced the cap top or did it start after? I have been fixing these machines for almost 10 years and have never seen that pattern. It seems to me that it would be an electrical issue. You could do a data swap to see if the issue is happening in the head itself or deeper in the machine. My bet is a bad head, cable and/or main board.

 

[autoexebat]

I can't recall if the issue was before the cap top replacement . I replaced the cap top hoping it would help with my pink / grey gradient issue. I checked some prints from a few months back and I dont see any Cyan in those prints.

Not sure how to do a data swap , can you guide me a little more please ?

 

[Solventinkjet]

Unplug the machine, hit both power buttons a couple times and wait 15 minutes before doing any of this.

To do a data swap you swap the cables at the print head from one head to the other. So basically the Black and Cyan head will get the Yellow and Magenta signal and vice versa. You keep the cables plugged in to the slider board and only swap the cables at the head. Then print something that has a lot of white space. If any color other than Cyan starts printing that pattern in the white space, something is wrong deeper in the machine. If the Cyan continues to print the same pattern, the head is fried. The print will look very bad because the colors and alignments will be way off. You are just looking for that pattern.

 

[autoexebat]

I only have 1 print head on the VS300i

 

[Solventinkjet]

Woops, I thought it said SP300i. In that case, you can't do a cable swap. I would start by checking the cables for damage, ink splatter and/or corrosion. If they have any of that, replace them. Re-seating the cables may fix the issue as well so checking them may fix the issue. Unfortunately it could be the head. Did you change the brand of ink recently? If so, the ink could cause the issue and or a bulk system that is new could be malfunctioning. I would also clean the encoder strip just to rule it out.

 

[autoexebat]

Thanks I will try the encoder strip , they printer was bought brand new in late 2014 and I only use it for a hobby so it doesn't have a ton of wear and tear on it .

Cleaned encoder strip , That didn't help .

 

[autoexebat]

Does anyone else have a clue of what this could be ? I'm in a desperate need of this being fixed .. Cyan is all over the place , even in my yellows .

 

[autoexebat]

Nobody here has any ideas ?

 

[WalkerP]

Does the output color in those spaces read 0,0,0,0 in your RIP? Need to make sure it's not a data-in issue.
Does it spit the cyan when you do a nozzle pattern test print?

 

[autoexebat]

I haven't checked the rip data but I will look. I always print the same files over and over. Everything I print is in vector format. Yes the print test comes out the way it's supposed to.

 

[autoexebat]

Does anyone else have a clue ? I can't imagine I'm the only one who has had this issue

 

[Papajo]

If your prints are turning pink then your cyan head is probably plugged from the inside. In that case you'll have a cyan haze on the left and right sides of your cyan prints, the more dense cyan you'll print, the more haze will show. If you print a square of 100% cyan centered on a white medium, you should see cyan traces on both sides. The problem won't show on the nozzle check to the untrained eye and happens generally with certain brands of third party inks (Bordeaux ?). The solution is to replace the head and if you don't want the problem to show up again, change the ink as well.

Haze may also show if the heads are in high position on a static charged medium, especially when working at high speeds, but in that case it won't be of a specific color.