Encad NovaJet Pro 600e problem: ejects media after init?

[Ken42]

Hi all,

I'm new here - found this place as one of the last likely to have people with Encad NovaJet knowledge, and I'm hoping someone can help me troubleshoot. . .

My printer recently started having a couple of intermittent problems. Once in a while, it would unload (backward-feed) the media just after initialization (power-on), and would only recover if I cycled power off/on. Then I had a few cases where it didn't dectect any media or detected the wrong width when loading new media.

This week, it quit detecting media completely and during initialization the carriage would move erratically, and then it gave an error message: Internal ERROR "Paper Sensor Failure".

I replaced the paper sensor and the erratic carriage movement went away, and the error message went away. But it ALWAYS unloads any media right after initialization. If there is no media loaded, it just keeps backward-feeding the rollers indefinitely, or until I go into the Feed Media Menu. Then it quits trying to unload, and will respond to Forward or Backward media feed buttons. But the carriage stays out at the same spot it normally goes to at the end of initialization / media detection, and won't come back with Access Cartridge or Reset buttons. And it won't respond to media being fed (although I can manually load with the Forward media button). . . basically it's stuck except that it responds to *some* menu buttons.

Any ideas how to diagnose? I've reseated every cable and connector I can find internally.

Thanks!
Ken

 

[Border]

Sounds like there might be a problem with the Front media sensor not telling it to stop backing up?

 

[Techman]

i have the same encad. But since it has never given me any trouble ?i could not accurately give you any advice..

 

[OldPaint]

i have 736, and during my introduction........to my new toy, i had a similar incident. i apperently did something to cause it to do the media unload backwords......some how i got it workin again nomally.
find the sensors, make sure they is no ink on them. i also hada similar problem when feeding a piece of already DARK PRINTED ON material...........seems the sensors dont see anything except WHITE.
I HAD SHUT IT DOWN, UNPLUGED IT....for an hour or so................mighta cleared the que....

 

[Ken42]

Thanks Border, Techman, OldPaint for the quick replies!

I can only find a carriage-mounted paper sensor, an auto-load sensor, and the two feed sensors that monitor the roll feed and take-up (and the encoder sensor but that isn't related to paper). I couldn't find a "front media sensor" - the printer seems to use the carriage-mounted paper sensor to find the front-edge of the media in addition to sensing the width of the media. In case it makes any difference, I get the same problem with the auto-load sensor unplugged from the MPCB.

I'll pull the auto-load sensor out, clean it and make sure it doesn't look damaged. Interestingly, all these troubles started about the same time as I was testing some prints on "already DARK PRINTED ON material" just like OldPaint described! I've had it unplugged overnight so no luck un-confusing it like OldPaint's 736 (my 600e has a longer memory? ;-).

I'm thinking maybe it's not a hardware error, so if cleaning sensors doesn't resolve it, maybe reloading the BIOS or doing a "Clear NVRAM" will undo the "dark-media-confusion" problem??? Any advice on that being a good or bad idea is appreciated!

Thanks!
Ken

 

[OldPaint]

RESET ALL THE SETTING BACK TO DEFAULT....................or open up and remove, and reinstall same ram stick......

 

[Ken42]

Resetting everything to default didn't help. Removing/reinstalling memory didn't help. But. . .

I gave "Clear NVRAM" a try, and that fixed it at least temporarily. The problem came back when I tried to load media again. The media I'm playing with at the moment is very thin - almost like tissue paper - so maybe that's part of the problem. Although I'm sticking to white media for now since I'm suspecting the already-printed-dark-media as the cause.

At least now I know that Clear NVRAM won't cause the end of the world, so I'll try a few different things and hopefully can get back to "normal" with the Clear. I'll try some standard media & tests next to make sure everything that should work will work. If that works and then I have problems again when going to thin and/or dark media, I'll figure that's the problem and maybe not the printer.

Anyone have experience (success???) with printing on dark and/or very-thin media on an Encad NovaJet? How about on some other 60"-wide printer? Recommendations for something that will handle very-thin (dark isn't as important) are appreciated!

Thanks,
Ken

 

[LavelleSign]

I had a novajet 736, worst piece of crap ever, I actually lettered the top of the service panel and put "THE HEADACHE". that will cost you more in eff up reprints and sometimes the head with fire little dots of ink you don't want. invest in a roland or send it out.

 

[Ken42]

Hi Lavelle,

A Roland would be serious overkill for my application. A little more detail. . .

* 300 dpi is sufficient
* "draft" quality is sufficient
* color accuracy only needs to be roughly in the ballpark
* very few fills, and not a problem if they look a little uneven or weak
* occasional stray dots would only rarely be cause for reprint
* MTBF and MTTR need not be in the "mission critical" range
* in-house is a must-have
* good paper handling on thin stock is a must-have
* cheap parts availability is a must-have
* simple design - something I can service & repair 100% myself - is a must-have

When I add these up, an Encad seems like a reasonable conclusion.

Got any low-end recommendations?

Thanks,
Ken

 

[Techman]

I run my old 600E encad all the time. Most important is that this machine is paid for...

It does a reasonable job for plenty of work. I just did a restaurant complete make over using this old Encad 600E. This included table tops, a 4x12 wall mural, menu boards, photos of food, window decals. and door decals.

I also just did a a pair of trailer panels for a parade, two internal banners for a store, another internal banner for another place.

Often times photo quality work just is not as good looking as a lower resolution print. I use this old encad every chance i get. Ink is very low cost. Cartridges are extremely low cost. Parts are very low cost. It does good work.

Finally, I have no problems running this old machine. It has never failed me in any way. Even the cartridge warranty is unbeatable. What more could I ask for.

 

[Ken42]

Hi Techman,

My 600e is paid for too: Cash, cheap, for a little bit of a fixer-upper - needed new ink lines, a new belt, a few new quick-connects, and of course new cartridges. And most recently a new paper sensor. In all, I could still easily sell it for less than the $ I have in it, but I'm figuring my time spent is the price of learning. ;-)

If I had a 300 dpi, 60"-wide blueprint printer that could do some occasional bits of 4-color, and handle thin media nicely, all for very cheap, that would be perfect. In other words, even the 600e is overkill for my needs, but I can't find anything cheaper that does only what I need. In fact, even if I didn't need color or gray-scale at all, I haven't seen a 60"-wide B/W for less than the 600e cost me.

In the past two years, it seems like parts are becoming easier to get and cheaper, rather than the other way around (like I had expected). My newest set of carts are from some place in China that is making them with clear plastic outer casing, so I no longer have to guess how much ink is in the cart if I have trouble priming.

Sounds like my best option is going to be to work out the remaining bugs in my 600e (and/or my knowlege, since it may be that the printer is fine at this point).

Thanks,
Ken

 

[OldPaint]

i got a encad 736, freind of techmans, found it on ebay. he bought his 736 from techman. i had to drive to atlanta ga to pick it up, but the price i paid for it................was bout the same as the gas i spent to pick it up))))))))
i put 3 new carts in it, and its been workin fine since then. for all the printing i need done, this is perfect.
yea would luv to have a roland, but dont belive i want the same payment as i do for my truck, for something i cant drive everyday.

 

[Ken42]

I haven't fully resolved this yet, but found a posting on another site offering "support". They said I need a new mainboard (surprise: they sell refurb Encad parts) and quoted me $800 + shipping to repair mine (ha!).

I know I've seen used/working/pulls and probably even refurbs of these on eBay for MUCH less, although currently no Pro 600e MPCB. Global has them for $150. But this got me wondering just which parts are unique to a Pro 600e versus the other NovaJet XXX ("Pro" or otherwise) or even say a NovaJet 60e? I've heard of people "converting" a 4-cart NovaJet to an 8-cart (e.g., 850) - not something I plan to attempt, but it would be interesting to know which combinations of Carriage Board models + MPCB models + Ancillary electronics + Physical form factor = working configuration.

Ken

 

[graphixtogo]

This is not a very professional fix/workaround, but my Pro 42e started doing the same thing and out of frustration, when the media started feeding backwards, I manually shoved the printhead to the right and the media stopped unloading and it finished the initiation process and then printed correctly. I can replicate this outcome everytime I load media in the machine. Not sure what it means, but it got the machine working and as far as I know, no adverse effects on the machine. YMMV

 

[Raulrdz]

This is not a very professional fix/workaround, but my Pro 42e started doing the same thing and out of frustration, when the media started feeding backwards, I manually shoved the printhead to the right and the media stopped unloading and it finished the initiation process and then printed correctly. I can replicate this outcome everytime I load media in the machine. Not sure what it means, but it got the machine working and as far as I know, no adverse effects on the machine. YMMV

I had the same problem with my 600E and did the same thing, just shoved the printhead to the right and solved the problem. They are great low cost machines, but I got tired of the cartridges always drying up, so I bought a Canon IPF 8000s. I still have the 600E, I thinking about selling it for parts, if any one is interested.

 

[SE SignSupply]

I haven't fully resolved this yet, but found a posting on another site offering "support". They said I need a new mainboard (surprise: they sell refurb Encad parts) and quoted me $800 + shipping to repair mine (ha!).

I know I've seen used/working/pulls and probably even refurbs of these on eBay for MUCH less, although currently no Pro 600e MPCB. Global has them for $150. But this got me wondering just which parts are unique to a Pro 600e versus the other NovaJet XXX ("Pro" or otherwise) or even say a NovaJet 60e? I've heard of people "converting" a 4-cart NovaJet to an 8-cart (e.g., 850) - not something I plan to attempt, but it would be interesting to know which combinations of Carriage Board models + MPCB models + Ancillary electronics + Physical form factor = working configuration.

Ken

http://cgi.ebay.com/Two-2-60-Encad-...QQptZLHQ5fDefaultDomainQ5f0QQsalenotsupported

 

[Ken42]

I had the same problem with my 600E and did the same thing, just shoved the printhead to the right and solved the problem.

Graphix, Raul,

Same solution worked for me! I'm having the problem less often now anyway (no idea why not though!).

Thanks, EVERYONE, for the help!

Ken

 

[Anubisbgd]

encad 600e PRO

Hi,
Do you have driver for ENCAD 600e Pro?
I need driver Encad Ink 1.17.0.0?

Anubisbgd

anubisbgd@aol.com

thanks

 

[qualitekp2]

Resetting everything to default didn't help. Removing/reinstalling memory didn't help. But. . .

I gave "Clear NVRAM" a try, and that fixed it at least temporarily. The problem came back when I tried to load media again. The media I'm playing with at the moment is very thin - almost like tissue paper - so maybe that's part of the problem. Although I'm sticking to white media for now since I'm suspecting the already-printed-dark-media as the cause.

At least now I know that Clear NVRAM won't cause the end of the world, so I'll try a few different things and hopefully can get back to "normal" with the Clear. I'll try some standard media & tests next to make sure everything that should work will work. If that works and then I have problems again when going to thin and/or dark media, I'll figure that's the problem and maybe not the printer.

Anyone have experience (success???) with printing on dark and/or very-thin media on an Encad NovaJet? How about on some other 60"-wide printer? Recommendations for something that will handle very-thin (dark isn't as important) are appreciated!

Thanks,
Ken

Does anyone know how to clear the NVRAM on the Encad 850. I can't find it in my manual. Thanks.

 

[Techman]

i would guess its the same for all the encads.