Mutoh 1604 Ink/head problem

[MAXX]

hi everybody,
first of all, i 'm a newbe in this forum, also in LFP, and i would like to say HELLO FROM GERMANY.
so i'm sorry for my broken english, i try to describe my question as good, as i can.

i bought a used VJ 1604 with very less operation-hours. the machine is from a local dealer, but he is more specialist at sublimation-machines.
the machine is completly renewed and it got new tubes, printhead, and so on, because it was an experimental machine for prototype-inks (but without success)
my first printings are fine, i print on ORAJET 3551 glossy vinyl.
yesterday, i had a strange black stripe inside my print, but i thoght, it could be a data-error, or something.
today i had exacliy the same stripe on the last quater of my print and i sended the job again, this time without this issue.
but the color went wrong! after a noozle-check, i recognized, that Y ar totally missed and the other noozles have missing parts in the checking-print.
i cleaned the wiper and have done the cleaning-process, but it don't changes something

is it possible, that the head touched the medium? if you look at the attached pic, it looks like...?
but how can it be? i had no ripples or something during the printjob!

my second question is:
in case of shut down the printer (for the weekend, as an example), the auto-cleaning process could be made?
my dealer says, even if i shut off the machine, the cleaning-process is implemented but i have to plugged in the power-cable. (sure thing!)

in the last two weeks, i had days without to work on the 1604, but i dont heard any cleaning-operation, or something?
the interval is adjusted to every 6 hours.

how often i have to do the cleaning process, to avoid to dry up the head?

i hope, my questions are understandable...

THX

MAXX

 

[jiarby]

That is a text book head strike. The media buckled up and the head hits it as it goes back & forth.

You have to fix whatever is causing the media to buckle... play with heat setting, and maybe it is loaded slightly crooked. An unlevel pickup roller can do it too.

The printhead:
A headstrike can kill nozzles. Do a nozzle check, then maybe a cleaning or two to clean you the clogged nozzles.

If you have lost a whole color you may have a bad damper, inkline, or just a maintenance station. Yellow is very hard to see on the white vinyl. I would check again. Print a green block of 100% Y & 100% C .... if it is green then you are fine. If it is blue then you are in trouble.

My understanding is that if the printer is OFF then you will not get the cleaning cycles. The interval for cleaning is set in the maintence mode menu (has been posted here before). once every 12 hrs is probably enough.

 

[MAXX]

hi jiarby,
thx for fast answering.
thats probably F*****G bad?

i run the printjob with the correct ICC-profile from ORAFOL. temrature of platen, heater and colormanagement are set by profile.

how easy is it, to ruin the printhead this way? im really pissed off! i only had made 4m² of printing maximum!

i m affraid, that i damaged the head, because of the sudden degradation of quality
yellow is definitly not shown on noozle-check teststripe.
if i print yellow only 100%, i get yellow, but with stripes ;(

cyan, magenta and black are also incomplete in noozle-test.
as i wrote, cleaning-process 6 times, also in "hard condition" dont change anything!

can i cleaning the printhead/noozles by hand with alcohol or something?
i dont want to change the head for 1200 euros, if i can rescue it through cleaning by hand and i have a small hope, that the noozles only clogged...
i dont think, that my dealer will do it by warranty, probably he will trying to clean it manually...
in this case, is there a help, where i get instuctions to clean in manually?

thx
MAXX

 

[heyskull]

MAXX

I have a VJ1604 same as yours.

1)DO NOT TOUCH THE PRINT HEAD!!!!!

2) DO NOT PANIC....

First thing you need to do is soak the head (don't use alcohol!).
This will clean the blocked nozzeles after the head strike.

Get one of the cleaning cartridges and drain some of the cleaning fluid out of it.
Place a piece of lint free cloth in the capping station about the same size as the grid and soak with the cleaning fluid, park the head at the low position, turn off and leave for about 2 hours or even longer.

Switch back on and remove cloth out of capping station.
Do 1 or 2 light cleans and you should be back printing!

You have a heat issue which is causing the head strikes and this needs to be adjusted on the profile.
This needs done before you print anything as this will keep doing this and will eventually damage the print head.
Without knowing what RIP you are using I cannot help.
Unless like me you are running Wasatch and then I can.

SC

 

[jiarby]

yep, probably a good 15-20 minute soak followed by a heavy cleaning or two will recover all the clogged nozzles. I have have had headstrikes worse than yours and recovered perfectly.

stripes in the blocks means dropped nozzles./

 

[MAXX]

hey,
thx for the answers!
today i tryed to clean the head again with the implemented routine about 3487 times and it seems to work now!
so i will order the cleaning-fluid immidiently for comming issues.

but i cant find out, what the problem is with the buckles. even when i start the machine, (no heater is on) the vinyl buckles sometimes, however i try to adjust the roll.


how do you handle it with weekends and the autocleaning-function?
if it is correct, that the machine dont clean by itself in "OFF" modus, you have to leave it on, right?
is there a standby-modus? if yes, how can i adjust it? i cant find any functions in the pannel..
if i pull the media-lever up,(you have to do it) the vans starting her anoying sound.

sorry for this stupid questions, but the manual is a joke!
i tryed also, to find out, what "head fan" means! there is no explanation in manual!

last question is:
can anyone say something about the consumption of ink?
i worked on a roland sp 540 before. the versa-works shows you, how much ink you will need in a printjob. (it was very less!)
i would like to know, what i have to calculate per m², if i have a fullscreen printjob with 720dpi

is there a software for the 1604, that can calculate ink-consumption like versa-works?

 

[eastboundpartners]

Few reasons for vinyl buckles to get head strikes

Incorrect heat setting. Heat is set to high can deform the plastic media or banner. Printing banner using vinyl heat setting can cause banner to buckle.

After all correct heat setting or non-heat, vinyl buckles sometime if the vinyl is bad a quality from supplier. The vinyl itself is old (sit in warehouse for too long) and/or adhesive is bad. Happens before when i got those cheap vinyl from ebay or non branded vinyl from china. Use only good quality stuff!

Happens also when vinyl roll is not aligned properly, the media will start slanting and creates buckle for head strike.

Make sure the vacuum is turned on. Adjusting vac setting high/low can sometime reduce buckle on some media.

Change the print head clearance to high to avoid head strike.