Help...Roland SP-540V won't print any yellow or magenta

[Signs4Realtors]

After printing 20 signs with yellow and magenta, I left for a week long vacation only to come back and not be able to print any yellow or magenta. black and cyan print great, but not even a crop of yellow or magenta. I was told it was either a bad head fuse or bad head (both colors are on the same head). Does anybody know how to check the fuse (maybe I can take the good fuse in the black/cyan head and test it out in the yellow/magenta slot)??? If this doesn't work, it is probably a new head which is expensive. Thanks!

 

[Gino]

Try a few cleanings. It sounds more as if your lines dried up.... or whatever the technical term is for that. You need to suck your ink back up through and plain printing doesn't do that.

I'm sure someone here can explain it better than me, but all we've ever done is put it through one or two clean cycles and if that doesn't do it... a heavy cleaning cycle. Then if that doesn't do it, then you can start to panic a little more.

 

[Signs4Realtors]

I've pressed/held the "cleaning" button on the control panel a bunch of times to try to flush out the lines, but the test print from the control panel and from versaworks still only prints black/cyan. Is there another "cleaning" process (heavy cleaning) that I can run and if so how? Thanks!

 

[artbot]

did you do a data ribbon swap with the working head? only do this if you know how to keep the ribbons in proper (non frying order). if you do it correctly, which is simple, the printer is none the wiser. and it will prove if your head is dead or your slider board is dead, or neither.

 

[KetchikanSignpro]

there is a heavy cleaning mode under head cleaning in the menu. You might also try a system clean

 

[Signs4Realtors]

Just did the heavy cleaning mode under head menu, but no luck. Not sure how to change the ribbons?

 

[artbot]

data swap

keep in mind that this diagram is for a jv3 160sp. if you are at all confused about transposing this diagnostic tool to a different slider board, ask around first. it's not difficult, obviously, but should be done properly.

(this diagram is for a machine with four dx4 heads.) diagnosis goes as follows. if the data is the issue, than you can put different data into that head. the printer will know nothing of the position of the print head. the color will print a half inch off of its normal position because it is now printing to the wrong x/y coordinate on your substrate.

not only will it show if you have a bad head, or bad slider board. but also prove if you have bad cables, etc. basically use the process of elimination to isolate the issue.

the fact that you used so much of that head and it printed fine up until the next morning is suspect of something not data related. when you pull ink through the head via the cap/tube beneath the head. do you get even gentle flow? or a more solid difficult pull, unlike the head that is printing?
when doing your head cleans, is there the proper amount of latent ink sitting in the cap as usually seen? i'd suggest a damper swap, but the fact that both colors are gone negates a possible ink supply issue.

 

[nsgraphics]

If it is magenta and yellow together, sounds like Cap or pump(only if you got the old type), but most possibly cap.

 

[artbot]

@nsgraphics is right about the vacuum supply being suspect. just as you can do data swaps, and damper swaps to diagnose, you can do a pump tube swap as well. trade lines at the pumps and have your black cyan pump line hooked up to your magenta yellow and vice versa. do a head clean and observe if you get some different results.

 

[Leo Orizaba]

my Roland vs 540 was working very good until it calls for a new cartridge, we put in a new one then stop putting out magenta.is it possible that the printing head stops working?HELP?