Mutoh XpertJet 1641SR – Media cockling!

[PanFastic]

Good day folks. Regards from Switzerland. I'm sign maker and vehicle graphics specialist with over 25 years experience.

I have purchased a new Mutoh XpertJet 1641SR.

Same workshop. Same vinyl. Metamark MD3, MD5, Arlon SLX. Same conditions in my workshop.

1) I used the new settings that came with the printer – Media cockling happens and the head hits the vinyl.

2) I copied the temperature setting from the old Mutoh 1624x – Media cockling happens and the head hits the vinyl.

3) Vacuum in on extra high, I turned off the pre-heater and platen – better results but I cannot rely on the printer for a long print. Media cockling happens and the head hits the vinyl.

Tons of waste and reprints! Very frustrating!

Mutoh know about the problem. They redesigned and installed additional parts to prevent media cockling on the new models. My model apparently has that – but I honestly hate the printer. I cannot rely on it.

Do you have this printer? Has this happened to you? Have you solved this media cockling problem?

Please join the conversation. TIA

 

[PanFastic]

Anyone? All I need to know if other users are happy with their Mutoh XpertJet 1641SR.

 

[rjssigns]

Could be the media. I run a 1624x but may have some insight. My 1624x had issues with a new roll of 13oz banner. Exact same material I've been using for years. It would print about two feet then smear. I took to unwinding a big loop of banner behind the printer. Worked a treat. Not sure what the issue was but after 15 or so feet I can load conventionally.
Same thing happened with the wrap material we've been using for years. After the first 15 or 20 feet it runs like a champ.

One thing I notice with the latest roll of cast vinyl is the ridiculous amount of static on the fresh roll. It actually pulled itself to the rear of the printer and stuck there.
I'm super fussy about temp and maintaining correct humidity levels in the print area. So I don't think it was that but who knows.
Banner and cast had the same issues right out of the gate. After babysitting the first bits of both rolls they run fine.

If I keep having this issue with new rolls I'm going to set up anti-static measures.

 

[PanFastic]

Could be the media. I run a 1624x but may have some insight. My 1624x had issues with a new roll of 13oz banner. Exact same material I've been using for years. It would print about two feet then smear. I took to unwinding a big loop of banner behind the printer. Worked a treat. Not sure what the issue was but after 15 or so feet I can load conventionally.
Same thing happened with the wrap material we've been using for years. After the first 15 or 20 feet it runs like a champ.

One thing I notice with the latest roll of cast vinyl is the ridiculous amount of static on the fresh roll. It actually pulled itself to the rear of the printer and stuck there.
I'm super fussy about temp and maintaining correct humidity levels in the print area. So I don't think it was that but who knows.
Banner and cast had the same issues right out of the gate. After babysitting the first bits of both rolls they run fine.

If I keep having this issue with new rolls I'm going to set up anti-static measures.

Thank you for your message.
At the moment I don't know what to do.
I also have a broken ValueJet1624x (needs new head) next to the XpertJet 1641SR.
The 1624x has given me piece of mind for 5 years. When I start print, the print is done. 1, 20, 40 meters in a row, no problem.
I cannot get this piece of mind printing from the XpertJet 1641SR.

 

[heyskull]

Thank you for your message.
At the moment I don't know what to do.
I also have a broken ValueJet1624x (needs new head) next to the XpertJet 1641SR.
The 1624x has given me piece of mind for 5 years. When I start print, the print is done. 1, 20, 40 meters in a row, no problem.
I cannot get this piece of mind printing from the XpertJet 1641SR.

Have you managed to get any proper media profiles for this machine.
I am having a headache and issues with some of the ones I have tried.
Very limited on profiles for this machine.

SC

 

[PanFastic]

Have you managed to get any proper media profiles for this machine.
I am having a headache and issues with some of the ones I have tried.
Very limited on profiles for this machine.

SC

I use FlexiPRINT SE Mutoh Edition. I have plenty profiles. I cannot fix the media cockling. Today I switched off all heaters. I managed to print 2 meter print without the head hitting the vinyl pocket.

 

[heyskull]

Are they specific profiles or ICC ones?

Thanks
SC3

 

[PanFastic]

Are they specific profiles or ICC ones?

Thanks
SC3

I don't know the answer of that question as I don't understand it / I'm not knowledgeable enough on these maters. I just made you a screenshot of what I have, it says ICC, so I'm guessing the answer is ICC.

 

[heyskull]

I don't know the answer of that question as I don't understand it / I'm not knowledgeable enough on these maters. I just made you a screenshot of what I have, it says ICC, so I'm guessing the answer is ICC.




View attachment 155628

I think I have these ones already.
They are ICC ones.

SC

 

[Proofread People]

Good day folks. Regards from Switzerland. I'm sign maker and vehicle graphics specialist with over 25 years experience.

I have purchased a new Mutoh XpertJet 1641SR.

Same workshop. Same vinyl. Metamark MD3, MD5, Arlon SLX. Same conditions in my workshop.

1) I used the new settings that came with the printer – Media cockling happens and the head hits the vinyl.

2) I copied the temperature setting from the old Mutoh 1624x – Media cockling happens and the head hits the vinyl.

3) Vacuum in on extra high, I turned off the pre-heater and platen – better results but I cannot rely on the printer for a long print. Media cockling happens and the head hits the vinyl.

Tons of waste and reprints! Very frustrating!

Mutoh know about the problem. They redesigned and installed additional parts to prevent media cockling on the new models. My model apparently has that – but I honestly hate the printer. I cannot rely on it.

Do you have this printer? Has this happened to you? Have you solved this media cockling problem?

Please join the conversation. TIA

I had issues with paper headstriking and a tech recommended lowering the vacuum because a high setting can put too much tension on the material and prevents it from moving pass the heater. So I lowered the vacuum and it worked! Worth a try. The name of the game to balance is: temperature, amount of ink laid down and speed. Good luck!

 

[Ben Rabinoff]

Anyone? All I need to know if other users are happy with their Mutoh XpertJet 1641SR.

Hello. We purchased this same printer and have numerous issues with it… we especially had issues with head strikes on media that was cockling. We have tried everything from changing media, changing heat settings, changing vacuum settings and more and nothing has helped.

We did discover that the media is coming off the rollers when loaded. Basically you can hear and see the flange rollers you insert on both side of the media core sliding out as the media spins. You can also notice that this causes the metal torque piece on the right holder of the machine to eventually scrape against the inserted flange roller. There is even a warning on the back of the machine about this issue.

Problem is that there is not way to keep the flange rollers inside the core and the best response we have gotten from our vendor is to use duct tape inside the cores to hold the rollers in which is insane to me.

We wanted to test to see if the media cockling was due to the media actually coming off/out of the rollers.

We unspooled a good amount of media and let it drape off the back of the machine. We then disengaged the the media and re-engaged it so that it would lay flat. We ran a print and it printed perfectly… basically this showed that if the media was not being pulled from the roll and instead printed as though it was a sheet of a media that seemed to solve the issue.

I have a feeling that Mutoh really messed up with this machines design all around and they are avoiding helping anyone because they know they made some poor designs choices. Just my opinion but getting this machine to work consistently well is rather difficult. Flexi is also a HUGE issue and buggy. There is a reason that Mutoh now uses Vertalith rather than Flexi.

Let me know if you found any solutions and where you are with your printer.

 

[PanFastic]

Hi Ben,

I couldn't agree more with everything you wrote. Looks like Mutoh has instructed all their reps NOT TO HELP with the issue, they are silent.

The only way I'm able to do and to operate without head touching media and ruining print is to print with heat settings 30/30/30. Even with this, I still get the occasional strike.

 

[S2S]

I have 3 1624x...1 1604 before...out of service now...no problems...but mutoh..if your listening...this should be addressed...as I do not think a 4th is in the future from reading this...not good news from a printer that has been so reliable since the 1604...not impressed

 

[JenHess]

Hello. We purchased this same printer and have numerous issues with it… we especially had issues with head strikes on media that was cockling. We have tried everything from changing media, changing heat settings, changing vacuum settings and more and nothing has helped.

We did discover that the media is coming off the rollers when loaded. Basically you can hear and see the flange rollers you insert on both side of the media core sliding out as the media spins. You can also notice that this causes the metal torque piece on the right holder of the machine to eventually scrape against the inserted flange roller. There is even a warning on the back of the machine about this issue.

Problem is that there is not way to keep the flange rollers inside the core and the best response we have gotten from our vendor is to use duct tape inside the cores to hold the rollers in which is insane to me.

We wanted to test to see if the media cockling was due to the media actually coming off/out of the rollers.

We unspooled a good amount of media and let it drape off the back of the machine. We then disengaged the the media and re-engaged it so that it would lay flat. We ran a print and it printed perfectly… basically this showed that if the media was not being pulled from the roll and instead printed as though it was a sheet of a media that seemed to solve the issue.

I have a feeling that Mutoh really messed up with this machines design all around and they are avoiding helping anyone because they know they made some poor designs choices. Just my opinion but getting this machine to work consistently well is rather difficult. Flexi is also a HUGE issue and buggy. There is a reason that Mutoh now uses Vertalith rather than Flexi.

Let me know if you found any solutions and where you are with your printer.

We have had the same issue with the flanges slipping out of the media roll after a while (use to work fine but after time the flanges began to ware out and not hold as tight anymore). At first we were tapping around the end to avoid this (did not work the best and a hassle). We later took about a 2"metal pipe with a diameter a little bigger than the bar holding the media roll, had a hole drilled in the side of it for a thumb screw and slide it on the bar and tighten the screw, see pictures attached. This works great and not had issues with it slipping off since.

 

[PanFastic]

Mutoh is on the case finally. There is an additional part that will be installed on my printer to get rid of media cockling. Will keep you posted if this solves the problem.

 

[Adam White]

Good day folks. Regards from Switzerland. I'm sign maker and vehicle graphics specialist with over 25 years experience.

I have purchased a new Mutoh XpertJet 1641SR.

Same workshop. Same vinyl. Metamark MD3, MD5, Arlon SLX. Same conditions in my workshop.

1) I used the new settings that came with the printer – Media cockling happens and the head hits the vinyl.

2) I copied the temperature setting from the old Mutoh 1624x – Media cockling happens and the head hits the vinyl.

3) Vacuum in on extra high, I turned off the pre-heater and platen – better results but I cannot rely on the printer for a long print. Media cockling happens and the head hits the vinyl.

Tons of waste and reprints! Very frustrating!

Mutoh know about the problem. They redesigned and installed additional parts to prevent media cockling on the new models. My model apparently has that – but I honestly hate the printer. I cannot rely on it.

Do you have this printer? Has this happened to you? Have you solved this media cockling problem?

Please join the conversation. TIA

Running 1641SR Xpert Jet - I'm having the same issues. I'm running Avery Dennison matte graphic film. For about the 1st foot or so the media "cockles" in the middle. To avoid this I run a pre feed of about 1.5 feet that seems to keep the media more flat. Also experiencing cockling on the ends of the media. Especially the left end. This causes the print head to hit it. Very annoying. Never happened on my old 1624x Value Jet.

 

[Proofread People]

Sounds frustrating. I have had issues with paper and non paper backed window perf. Although not the same printer or media as what you are using, I discovered having the vacuum set too high hinders the material from moving through, media heats up too much and warps boom headstrike. Took me a while to find sweet spot but decreased temp and vacuum setting.

 

[PanFastic]

Mutoh Germany sent engineers to install a part that will help with the problem. What looks like a 10 euros aluminium profile was installed by Mutoh engineers in order to fix the media cockling. Nothing happen. This additional part did not fix the media cockling. PLUS, now it is difficult to load media as media hits this newly installed aluminium profile. I'm super angry and disappointing, this is my 3rd Mutoh printer. Appalling treatment and arrogance by main Mutoh representatives. AVOID at all cost.

Running 1641SR Xpert Jet - I'm having the same issues. I'm running Avery Dennison matte graphic film. For about the 1st foot or so the media "cockles" in the middle. To avoid this I run a pre feed of about 1.5 feet that seems to keep the media more flat. Also experiencing cockling on the ends of the media. Especially the left end. This causes the print head to hit it. Very annoying. Never happened on my old 1624x Value Jet.

 

[PanFastic]

Running 1641SR Xpert Jet - I'm having the same issues. I'm running Avery Dennison matte graphic film. For about the 1st foot or so the media "cockles" in the middle. To avoid this I run a pre feed of about 1.5 feet that seems to keep the media more flat. Also experiencing cockling on the ends of the media. Especially the left end. This causes the print head to hit it. Very annoying. Never happened on my old 1624x Value Jet.

They know their printer is faulty.
That's why few month later they launched their PRO version.
They keep saying that the problem is the temperature in the room.
The fact is, they have a printer not fit for purpose.
The photo bellow shows that the problem has nothing to do with the temperature in the room. Its their shitty product.
One night I had an urgent job. I was getting lots of head strikes. I did this solution as on the photo bellow and guess what, no media cockling.
They take up system / feed system is under-engineered. Mutoh support is just the same as the feed system, shitty.

 

[PanFastic]

Hello. We purchased this same printer and have numerous issues with it… we especially had issues with head strikes on media that was cockling. We have tried everything from changing media, changing heat settings, changing vacuum settings and more and nothing has helped.

We did discover that the media is coming off the rollers when loaded. Basically you can hear and see the flange rollers you insert on both side of the media core sliding out as the media spins. You can also notice that this causes the metal torque piece on the right holder of the machine to eventually scrape against the inserted flange roller. There is even a warning on the back of the machine about this issue.

Problem is that there is not way to keep the flange rollers inside the core and the best response we have gotten from our vendor is to use duct tape inside the cores to hold the rollers in which is insane to me.

We wanted to test to see if the media cockling was due to the media actually coming off/out of the rollers.

We unspooled a good amount of media and let it drape off the back of the machine. We then disengaged the the media and re-engaged it so that it would lay flat. We ran a print and it printed perfectly… basically this showed that if the media was not being pulled from the roll and instead printed as though it was a sheet of a media that seemed to solve the issue.

I have a feeling that Mutoh really messed up with this machines design all around and they are avoiding helping anyone because they know they made some poor designs choices. Just my opinion but getting this machine to work consistently well is rather difficult. Flexi is also a HUGE issue and buggy. There is a reason that Mutoh now uses Vertalith rather than Flexi.

Let me know if you found any solutions and where you are with your printer.

Dear Ben,

Any solutions on your end?