Mimaki JV3 - half cyan missing on test print

[Jesse_gvi]

I did a test print today that got progressively worse with cleaning/soaking. Now there is only a faint trace of cyan on the left portion of the test.
When I watch the pump at the back there is some cyan that flows, but it takes considerably longer to appear than the other colors.
The dampers look full of ink and there is ink at the capping station just like the other colors. I switched the carts around (they're both on "1", but still a bunch of ink left), and still the same test pattern.

 

[Jesse_gvi]

A little more info, just in case -- the dampers were all replaced at the beginning of this year, along with the black printhead and capping station.

 

[WrapperX]

look like an empty damper. Try a couple of ink fill ups. Check the ink cartridge. sometimes those empty without telling the printer - a faulty cartridge trigger clip.

 

[artbot]

looks like that side is vapor locked. you can alway do a damper swap to see if there's a restriction at that damper. ...also, try just pulling a vacuum at the waste line. might be a quick fix.

 

[WrapperX]

looks like that side is vapor locked. you can alway do a damper swap to see if there's a restriction at that damper. ...also, try just pulling a vacuum at the waste line. might be a quick fix.

How many times have we given this advice to other users?? :ROFLMAO:

 

[Jesse_gvi]

I can't believe how dumb I am. I've read that advice many times and looking back I should have just tried that first. For some reason I overcomplicated this and I got it into my head that there was an electronic issue, especially since the cyan on the left side was not totally missing. It printed sort of a ghost of the test print.

Anyway, pulling through to the pump with a syringe worked, so I guess I'll put the carriage back together now.

 

[WrapperX]

I can't believe how dumb I am. I've read that advice many times and looking back I should have just tried that first. For some reason I overcomplicated this and I got it into my head that there was an electronic issue, especially since the cyan on the left side was not totally missing. It printed sort of a ghost of the test print.

Anyway, pulling through to the pump with a syringe worked, so I guess I'll put the carriage back together now.

These things happen. I've done it more then once - seen this and panic "OH CRAP - what's wrong NOW!?" Then I take a minute. Think about it, look at it and usually it comes to me. And after you see this a couple of times you get used to checking that first.

 

[Jesse_gvi]

So why would this happen all of a sudden? Air in the carts? I've only had to pull the lines when replacing dampers.

 

[WrapperX]

I've had it happen when an Ink cartridge runs out with out warning the printer. Basically the line runs dry and the damper empties. I've also had it happen when changing out dampers and during a printhead replacement. But mostly if and when a cartridge runs out.

 

[Jesse_gvi]

Okay, so it's happened a couple times again. The entire left half of the cyan and now part of the left halves of black and yellow. Cyan and black are still on "1" with ink sloshing around, and the yellow I just put in this morning, so they're at "9". Fill Up Ink fixes all but the cyan. I do a pull right above the pump on the cyan tube, which fixes it for about half a foot of printing, then it goes back out again.

Is it normal to hear dripping in the waste bottle after I plug the cyan tube back into the pump? I assume it should be like holding your finger over the top of a straw, keeping any liquid suspended. Air leak? But why those three colors all on just the left side of the test?

 

[WrapperX]

Hmmmm - Bad capping station? Bad dampers and/or printhead manifold?

And No there shouldn't be a constant flow of ink from the line to the waste. I would bet there's a leak somewhere.

 

[Jesse_gvi]

I ordered dampers and manifold/damper o-rings, so I'll have to check those areas when I get those in.

To clarify -- it isn't a continuous flow. I'm not hearing it right now, for instance. I'm just guessing all the ink that was between the cap and where I drew from was emptying out. Would this mean the leak is at the (5 month old) capping station? But then why all of a sudden and why just the left side of those three colors?

 

[WrapperX]

If your capping station was just changed out 5 months ago - it is unlikly that it's that. When were the dampers changed? Manifolds don't normally go bad but they can get clogged and dried out which will stop any ink from flowing. The hard suction you do on the tubes by the pump basically fills the head with ink - and then when that ink is gone then it empties. So if you pull and it fills and then runs out quickly then I would say it's probably something above the head itself which only leaves the dampers and the manifolds on the head.

 

[Jesse_gvi]

We changed the black printhead, all the dampers and the capping station at the same time.

 

[WrapperX]

Well - Then I would bet it's the manifolds. Which kinda sucks cause the manifolds are attached to the print heads which means you have pull the heads to take off the manifolds and put new ones on. Then you gotta do the alignments as if you changed the print head.

Unless someone out there has a "neater" way of doing it?

 

[artbot]

if it's the left half of all the heads... i'd guess that you can assume that the absorb point is off for your caps. there's been a lot of "missing sides" if heads lately... strange.

as far as all these missing sides, with any single color just swap dampers within that color. running CMYKx2, for cyan swap line 5 then 6 to 6 then 5 at the head to see if the issue jumps to the right side of the head.

 

[WrapperX]

if it's the left half of all the heads... i'd guess that you can assume that the absorb point is off for your caps. there's been a lot of "missing sides" if heads lately... strange.

as far as all these missing sides, with any single color just swap dampers within that color. running CMYKx2, for cyan swap line 5 then 6 to 6 then 5 at the head to see if the issue jumps to the right side of the head.

This will isolate it if its at the dampers or at the manifolds.

 

[Jesse_gvi]

I'll try that tomorrow morning.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Jesse_gvi]

Okay, I swapped the cyan dampers and the problem migrated to the right side, which is good news as far as the head is concerned.

When I took the dampers off I noticed that the manifold on the bad side was a little crusty, which might be air in contact with the ink at that area. Hopefully this is just a crappy set of dampers, since they were all replaced at the same time.

How do you know when the pump is going? Would it get weaker and weaker or just stop altogether? I'm still getting ink flow with the other colors, and "fill up ink" does correct the black and yellow partial dropouts.

 

[signage]

Have you made sure the head is sealing against the captop good?