DX4 printhead replacement

[Lelle]

Hello guys! i'm about to replace a Dx4 printhead on my XC-540. I'm wondering if there is a more economical way to fill the new printhead with ink. The manual specifies that i should follow the following steps ( i attached a picture so you can see the step i mean) by removing the ink cartridges and plug in cleaning cartridges. Do you know an other way to get ink trhough the new head?

Thanks for taking you time to answer, i appreciate it a lot <3

 

[Solventinkjet]

I normally tell people to skip that part. Don't empty the machine at all. The people who engineered the machine wrote the manual before anyone ever worked on them in the field so they went over board. When I take the dampers off the head I usually pat the bottom with a paper towel to absorb the tiny amount of ink that is present. If you are changing the dampers, when you disconnect the ink line the ink will naturally recede back towards the cartridge but sometimes a few drops will come out and I just catch them with the paper towel. I literally just hold the paper towel in my hand and use it to take the nut off and that catches the ink. Put the new damper on and then move to the next one. Once the head is installed and everything is back together, run a normal cleaning cycle and the heads will fill.

 

[Lelle]

Thanks for taking the time again Vander J! I thought the new printhead could result damage if i did the cleaning without having any ink on it.
Do you also skip the group head pump up in the beginning of the printhead installation? (i attached a picture bellow)

Have a nice day!

 

[woolly]

Do you also skip the group head pump up in the beginning of the printhead installation? (i attached a picture bellow) YES

other tips
enter the new head rank before switching off the machine to dismantle
number the cables before removing, dont skimp new dampers and capping
when the old head is out make sure the head adjustment carrier is free and not stuck with old ink so you can adjust position of the shinny new head.
sometimes the ink returns up the pipe a long way and may need a light pull with a syringe to bring it back

 

[FrankW]

When pull off the dampers, take care not to press on the side with the transparent film ... than it could happen that you press ink out of the damper. Pull it as vertical as possible ... the little connectors at the manifold of the head likes to break if put tension on them (doesn't matter if you replace dampers and head).

Instead of letting the machine fill the head with ink (1 Pump = 4 ink channels), I do that with a syringe at the cap top tube (1 cap top = 2 ink channels). I use standard 20ml syringes (picture attached), saves a lot of ink. I have done a lot of DX4 head replacements (I do roland service), and this works fine. And it is an easy way to make more diagnostics: you will check with a syringe faster and easier if there is any other issue like a clogged cap top tube, a worn out cap top seal what let you pull air instead of ink and so on. At the end, let the ink sit for a few minutes before doing a nozzle test.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Normally I just do 1 or 2 strong cleanings to refill the machine. The post above this one has some good info though. I normally only fill with a syringe if I am only refilling 1 or 2 channels but just run strong cleanings when I need to fill all. Pump up will also fill the print heads but it can waste ink.

 

[FrankW]

The name at Rolands is „powerful cleaning“. „Strong“ is Mutoh

 

[Solventinkjet]

The name at Rolands is „powerful cleaning“. „Strong“ is Mutoh

I work on Mimaki and Mutoh printers almost 90% of the time and they both use strong. Old habits!