Mutoh 1204 printhead

[US Pro Signs]

i am interested in buying a mutoh 1204 value jet and the seller siad the lines and print head need to be cleaned and there is nothing else wrong with it. he ran a test print of the color chart and it actually printed until i stopped it with a few smears here and there. does this mean this print head is ok and just needs to be cleaned? is there a chance it can be broken? i dont want to spend another $4k on a $8k printer ill have to pay $2k to repair. any input would be great. thanks.

 

[SignosaurusRex]

Those "smears" could be nothing more than some fuzz/crud caught under the print head. A good pic of the test print pattern would be helpful.
Raising the print head and releasing it to a free position (unparked) will give you enough space to shine a light underneath of the head to see if there is any fuzz/crud that may be lodged underneath the head, and causing the smears. If no fuzz/crud is located, the smears cold be a result of excessive heat that is casing the media to buckle or other issues.
As of Nov. 1st, The cost of parts for the 1204 went up considerably. Printhead, Manifold, Dampers and O-rings are gonna run $3,800.00 for parts alone from Mutoh. Maintenance station is around $665 +/-. The machine itself, "as-is", is worth $4,000. as a trade-in toward the new 52" VJ1324 until the end of 2014.

 

[Techman]

that's it, get rid of the old machines by charging huge prices for parts..

 

[SignosaurusRex]

that's it, get rid of the old machines by charging huge prices for parts..

That's pretty much what the Mutoh tech said.

 

[MagnetStew]

On my older Mutoh's I hardly buy parts from Mutoh anymore. There are a lot of 3rd party parts out there that do the job just fine. I get most from dgpartsmall.com. FYI.