Mimaki JFX200 Head Height / Bed Leveling Issue

[CreativeCreative]

Hey guys,

I'm looking for a little guidance here.

We got a JFX200 a few months ago, and ever since we haven't been able to get consistent prints on the bed.

When we do a head height check across the bed, it's all over the place. I've had multiple techs in from the distributor we purchased it from.
Basically, they're saying it's "within spec", which of course I'm not happy with.

You can see prints from the bottom right (head height at zero) and the same print on the bottom left, bidirectional.

We mapped multiple points on the bed a few days ago, tech came in today, and tweaked the bed. (Mimaki Head Height.jpg).
Here are the before and after results. ("This is Garbage", tech's notes).

This is our first large format flatbed, so I'm not sure what the expectations are as far as bed leveling.
I have a friend with the EX, and he's at 0.1 all across.

My next step is to go directly to Mimaki. Just looking for some insight if any of you guys have had this issue.

Thanks.

 

[Pauly]

are the head hight numbers in mm?

What are their tolerances?

But yeah, That's not acceptable.

 

[CreativeCreative]

Hey Pauly,

Yeah they're in mm.

Those are not a full mm, basically right now there's a 1/2 mm difference between the front & back of the bed (it was 1mm before).
The print head gap is 1.5mm.

I've been trying to get an answer on the tolerances, no real answer.

 

[jasonx]

Why can't they just level the bed?

 

[CreativeCreative]

Jason, that was my first thought, it seemed simple enough.

They keep trying, and it gets a little better each time.

But all I keep hearing is "within spec".

 

[Pauly]

brand new or used?

If it's new, id be battling them to fix it as that is not acceptable.

If it's used, there could be some damage on the bed?

Hopefully someone can get you the tolerances, that print quality is not acceptable.

 

[CreativeCreative]

Thanks Pauly.

It's brand new. If it was used, I would deal with it...but in this case, it's quite annoying.

 

[Pauly]

Thanks Pauly.

It's brand new. If it was used, I would deal with it...but in this case, it's quite annoying.

Have you paid the remainder? have they closed the install?

At the end of the day, the printer should print sharp all over the bed. It's not installed properly and they know it.
Take it up with your dealer, or straight to mimaki.

Worse case, consumer affairs? whatever your equivalent is in the states.

 

[Solventinkjet]

There is an adjustment in the service menu called, "Table Adjust" that measures the table with the head gap pin in 6 different positions. The official Mimaki spec is no greater than 0.4 mm difference between any adjacent measurement up, down, or diagonal. I usually get it as close to 0.0 as possible but it's near impossible to get 0s at all points. The fact that the tech measured 12 different positions is odd.

When the tech was adjusting the table, was he adjusting the 4 feet of the machine or were they messing around under the table? At install you should be able to get the machine in spec only adjusting the feet. The adjustments near the bottom of the table are done at the factory and should never need to be adjusted except in extreme cases. Also, the head carriage and gap pin need to be calibrated before leveling the table in order to get accurate readings.

Why can't they just level the bed?

With this machine it's usually pretty straight forward to level the machine. Once in a while though you get an install where the ground is super uneven and hitting that 0.4mm tolerance can be tough.

 

[CreativeCreative]

Thank you sir.

I didn't see the tech use that Table Adjust feature when they were setting up, but maybe I missed it. I'm going to bring it up.
Those measurements were all done by us, they didn't really go over that part with us during setting up.
I asked if the table was leveled (I put a level on certain parts) and they said it was.

They've adjusted the feet (ground is not super even), and last time they were here (I wasn't) I believe they adjust that back area with screws.
I asked about calibration on the pin/carriage itself, and I didn't get a real answer.

I opened a case with Mimaki, let's see how that goes.

Thanks again.

 

[The ADA Guy]

Did you ever get any answers? I have gone back and forth with them about this with zero help. My table will be .3 - .4mm off but I get the same "spec" BS from them.

 

[Pauly]

Just want to put it out there -
If a machine is within tolerance, you have no leg to stand on.
They set their standards to where they believe is the manufacturing minimum/maximum level for adequate operation of the machine.

Note that mimaki is an entry level machine, so tolerances vs an Oce/Canon flatbed would be different or then so a SwissQprint.

That being said, to the OP, I don't think 0.4 mm will cause that much deflection. If anything there's another issue causing it. For example, Oce use a digital mapping for the bed to compensate for unevenness across the bed. If that's done incorrectly, it can cause issues like that. We had a similar issue when we first got ours, it turned out there was a step missed from the mapping method causing an odd issue.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Did you ever get any answers? I have gone back and forth with them about this with zero help. My table will be .3 - .4mm off but I get the same "spec" BS from them.

If you're within .4mm and you're having quality issues, something else has to be happening. I've seen customers move a machine to a different building and not level it and it still prints great. What's your symptoms?

 

[Antony]

Hi Pauly

the head reference is 2mm and you can printing 4 pts. but it depends of the media. the maximum is 4mm but you lose quality.. what is the problem you have???

 

[CreativeCreative]

Did you ever get any answers? I have gone back and forth with them about this with zero help. My table will be .3 - .4mm off but I get the same "spec" BS from them.

The techs came back and tweaked it a few more times.

As is it right now, we're at .3mm difference in some spots. We ran some tests, fine text, registration marks, etc.
I couldn't tell much of a difference, we're running with no noticeable issues so far.

Are you having any issues with print quality?

 

[Pauly]

The techs came back and tweaked it a few more times.

As is it right now, we're at .3mm difference in some spots. We ran some tests, fine text, registration marks, etc.
I couldn't tell much of a difference, we're running with no noticeable issues so far.

Are you having any issues with print quality?

Are you still getting quality issues?

 

[CreativeCreative]

Are you still getting quality issues?

Hey Pauly,

Nothing noticeable so far, fingers crossed...

All in all, we're pretty happy with it. I have a UCJV300 as well, solid too (for the price).

 

[MelloImagingTechnologies]

Who is your dealer for this?
If it takes several visits to properly install a printer, I’m sure you all want to know who this is.

 

[The ADA Guy]

The techs came back and tweaked it a few more times.

As is it right now, we're at .3mm difference in some spots. We ran some tests, fine text, registration marks, etc.
I couldn't tell much of a difference, we're running with no noticeable issues so far.

Are you having any issues with print quality?

Actually the biggest issue is when we are printing full sheets of acm and getting head strikes. I have measured the table all around to find the highest spots which helps. I still cross my damn fingers when my employee is running one.