dampers only half full?

[AUTO-FX]

could somebody please look at the picture and tell me - are my dampers supposed to be full, or filled to the center of the cross marks?
(falcon outdoor jr.)
my output is a little light and grainey and i'm trying to evaluate. Nozzle test isnt horrendous, but seems to show nothing missing. i put a wedge under the carts, and i also ran a fill cycle and a multitude of cleaning cycles.any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[tomence]

As far as i know they should be half full.

 

[bayshorecreations]

supposed to be half full.

 

[AUTO-FX]

hmm. that's what i was afraid of. i'm thinking "ink starvation" and when i saw the dampers only half full i said bingo. but , as i watch it print, they remain consistently at half. man, i dont get it. prints perfectly yet look at the coverage? like 720 is 360 !I'll tell ya, I struggle with this printer on EVERY job to get desirable results, with a fair amount of success, but this is getting old.

 

[bayshorecreations]

Looks like either heat setting problem or a profile problem to me.
What is your heater set at and what media are you printing on?
I have a fair amount of fighting with mine also, dont get discouraged.
My next printer is going to be a Summa. No liquid ink issues at all with them.

 

[AUTO-FX]

it does look like a profile issue in the picture but that isnt the best picture either. i'll put up another. i tried reprinting some decals with known good profiles and output and compared them with samples i saved. they arent nearly as nice. not even acceptable.

 

[signage]

What dose your nozzle check look like?

 

[MikePro]

how old are the dampers? ink starvation could also occur if your damper screens are clogged. they're inexpensive enough to simply swap out as a test, if you've got no other ideas.

bad batch of ink, rare but never out of the equation either... as its happened to me before with 3rd party inks. I can only assume this was my issue when it started happening shortly after changing ink cartridges. I had heard on these forums that it was a possibility so I decided to run a flush and put in new, OEM, cartridges. Everything turned out great! Except I still don't know for sure whether it was the flush or the new ink that cured it... but regardless of the answer, it never hurts to start from scratch sometimes

 

[tomence]

It's a Falcon Jr man that's what the problem is. I was never able to fix mine i did everything that needed to be done and still haven't printed anything that is acceptable by me. I used to have a converted Roland FJ which i sold now this printer was printing way better, you couldn't tell if the print came from a Roland XC540 or converted printer.

 

[Wraps ink]

Auto, Im having the same problems and replaced alot of parts in my machine I had some techs tell me the head starvation was from the new cartridges from mutoh...I have tried just about everything...I know its very frustrating...I have two machines and its doing it on both...nozzle checks look ok but the print quality sucks or drops nozzles

 

[AUTO-FX]

Signage, the nozzle check ( shown above) is okay - just "weak". I have a nozzle check print from when i purchased the printer, so I do have something to compare it to. I bought this pre-owned machine last feb. so i dont know how long since anything has been replaced. I will replace the dampers and see if that helps.
Regarding the ink carts, i put small self adhesive felt pads at the cartridge bay openings to make for a snug fit. Has there also been a change to the ink itself or is it just the cartridge housing that is a problem? I am leary of non-OEM ink, but....if I need to switch I will. Best brand suggestions? Thanks guys!

 

[MikePro]

stick with OEM, you won't get a "better" result from 3rd party...
i was meaning the other way around, that switching back to OEM just may clear things up.