JV3 Printing crooked

[BOXOFIDEAS]

Hi guys, I've had a Mimaki jv3 160s for quite a while and I never had or saw the problem I'm facing. The printing is good quality, but is slanted. Colors, quality is good, but is really crooked on the material. Has anybody have seen the same problem?
Please help.

 

[J Hill Designs]

is it 'stairstepping' to the left or right, or is your media just in crooked?

 

[MikePro]

pics or it never happened.
p.s. greetings from Wisconsin! shy of an expensive tech visit, you've definitely come to the right place to diagnose printing issues.

 

[BOXOFIDEAS]

It's stairstepping. I double checked the material and the material is aligned perfectly, so it's not a media issue. I'm printing a test right now, so as soon as I have a picture I'll post it.

 

[J Hill Designs]

If it stairsteps, its likely your encoder strip and/or sensor need cleaning

 

[gabagoo]

I so want to see a picture of this.....

 

[BOXOFIDEAS]

I measured the printing and it's about 1/4 of an inch crooked.
I also added a picture of the banner, but it's hard to see the problem since the printing quality is good. It's just crooked.

 

[BOXOFIDEAS]

How can I clean the sensor or the encoder strip?

 

[Snydo]

Did you double check the file....or maybe try printing with a different profile, it's either your RIP or encoder strip I would hazard to guess. Best of luck.

I cleaned our jv3 encoder strip with a 3/1 water/isopropyl mix on a lint free rag, be very delicate, and wait a while before plugging it back in(like 30 minutes). Oh and discharge the power button several times after you initially unplug it.

 

[MikePro]

(*edited: always power-down & discharge your printer's power, like you would a computer, before messing with the inner-workings nearby/of electrical components.)

the encoder sensor is held on by a single gold phillips screw on the backside of the carriage visible behind the dampers and to the right of the head height adjustment bar. it cups the encoder strip and lifts-out easily once the screw is removed.
two lenses, one on each side of the sensor, look for anything obstructing the light passing from one side to the other.
(loose connections & proper seating of the sensor should also be considered.)

currently digging through old threads, as I know you're not the first to have a slant/step problem and i'm curious if this was even an encoder issue.

edited: found another thread regarding a step issue. unknown resolution, boards/capacitors/encoder sensor was suspect.
definitely start by checking the encoder strip/sensor, as it is the lesser of potential evils

 

[BOXOFIDEAS]

Did you double check the file....or maybe try printing with a different profile, it's either your RIP or encoder strip I would hazard to guess. Best of luck.

I cleaned our jv3 encoder strip with a 3/1 water/isopropyl mix on a lint free rag, be very delicate, and wait a while before plugging it back in(like 30 minutes). Oh and discharge the power button several times after you initially unplug it.

I've used 2 different profiles and the same result. I'll clean the encoder strip first thing in the morning and I'll be really careful making sure the printer is off.
thank you for everyone's help

 

[MikePro]

also noted, that media does drift over long runs depending on how square you load the material and/or secure to take-up reel, but I'll take your word for it that the material itself isn't drifting

 

[AnaM]

Did you solve this? Having the same issue with Mimaki UJF 3042 MKii EX