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print test help..

graphix

New Member
Hi, I have a roland sp540 every time i do a med clean it gets worse,,what do i have going on i am clueless as to what i am looking at...Thanks
 

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sfr table hockey

New Member
Easiest first thing to check is that the drain lines are not plugged. Looks like one side is fine but the Black Cyan are the trouble.

Which order are the photos? 1-4 as in after each cleaning.

If one side has a plugged drain line then the heads won't clear and can drop off even more.

Doing a head soak and cleaning on the outer perimeter of the head in case the head had too much crud on the edges and not letting the wiper clear it off propper.
 

graphix

New Member
thanks how do i fill the capping station with fluid and then park and let heads soak....i really dont use this machine once every 3 months...i can see where it would set to long....
 

sfr table hockey

New Member
If you have cleaning fluid the first thing I would do is flush the drain lines to make sure they are clear.

You should be able to remove the white tube line that runs to the captop from the pump. If you have a syringe you can even just force air (from the end of the line that connected to the captop) through the line. You would feel a bit of pressure in the syringe if the line is blocked. If it is blocked then use some solution to force into the line and be careful for the pressure and back spray when removing the syringe.

If you know the lines were already clear than are you seeing ink going into the drain bottle from each line. May take a couple cleanings to get ink through the drain lines again.

If you do a cleaning and watch the captops when the heads move away from them, is there ink pooling in the captops? If so does the pooling go away shortly after the heads move. If this is so there may be a blockage that is not drawing and clearing the ink propper.

Now for adding cleaning fluid to the captop, you should be able to put in (using a syringe) just enough to fill to the top of the rubber on the captop. Parking the heads over them will wick into the heads and hopefully flush or soften debre.

I tend not to like doing a soak as the clear lines under the head (on my CJ printer) get ink in the lines and then they block and plug. Not sure if your printer has those lines but if there is another set of clear lines, they should be free from blockage.

Instead of a head soak I take a clean swab and put cleaning fluid on it and gently push up under the head (DO NOT RUB JUST PUSH UP) rubbing can damage the head. By pushing up you force some fluid into the head and this has unblocked nosles when I have had problem, and if regular cleanings have not helped.

After either the head soak or the swab push, do a couple cleaning cycles and another test print.
 

graphix

New Member
how hard do you shove up with the soaked cleaning tip. and do you press two three times or once?
Thanks for replying...
 

sfr table hockey

New Member
First of all what is the results of the drain lines and the other things first.

Using the swab under the head won't help unless the drain lines are clear. Also report back on the pooling or not in the captops.

Now if you do press the swab under the head (on a scale of 1-10 and 1 being soft ) I would say about a 3 or 4. If the swab is too wet you would want something under the area so you don't get fluid all over or on something that should not get wet. I would press up a couple times, filp the swab over and repeat. Flush the swab out and do again. Then the cleaning cycle but if the drain lines are plugged the pump won't do its thing.
 

graphix

New Member
cleaned head with swab

Ok i neglect for a long time to manually clean this machine...when i did the ink was globbed on wipers and the wiper plex clean plate this stuff was gelled bad..but anyway the print test is not going well with the black..i have shoved cleaning fluid in the head with no better results..i have not tried to clean my lines yet (the next step along with a head soak)..my question is how do you know when your head is done...with what i got with print test i printed 2x2 inch squares that looked ok but with these nozzles bad what effects does it have? Thanks
 

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graphix

New Member
First of all what is the results of the drain lines and the other things first.

Using the swab under the head won't help unless the drain lines are clear. Also report back on the pooling or not in the captops.

Now if you do press the swab under the head (on a scale of 1-10 and 1 being soft ) I would say about a 3 or 4. If the swab is too wet you would want something under the area so you don't get fluid all over or on something that should not get wet. I would press up a couple times, filp the swab over and repeat. Flush the swab out and do again. Then the cleaning cycle but if the drain lines are plugged the pump won't do its thing.
ok i am gonna take the front off to get to the lines but i am unsure of how move the heads and park them back into the cap station...thanks
 

graphix

New Member
First of all what is the results of the drain lines and the other things first.

Using the swab under the head won't help unless the drain lines are clear. Also report back on the pooling or not in the captops.

Now if you do press the swab under the head (on a scale of 1-10 and 1 being soft ) I would say about a 3 or 4. If the swab is too wet you would want something under the area so you don't get fluid all over or on something that should not get wet. I would press up a couple times, filp the swab over and repeat. Flush the swab out and do again. Then the cleaning cycle but if the drain lines are plugged the pump won't do its thing.
Ok took front cover off removed drain line from pump shot air through it with syringe no restrictions...put drain line back on....held the cover switch
in and preformed a clean but all i did was....took suction line off pump clamped it closed..filled black cap station up wit fluid and hit enter it parked then i shut it off and put cover on.....now i am wondering where the two heads y together if my fluid that is flooded in black cap station will drain down in level and tend to equal out in the other line..Maybe i should have soaked both heads? is it bad to leave the suction line off the pump over night? Thanks
 

sfr table hockey

New Member
I have the older Roland printer so I am trying to figure out what your pump lines do compared to mine.

On my printer I can just remove the pump line from the captop (front side) and from there I can force cleaning fluid through the tube which goes through the pump and into the drain bottle. I assume you did similar to tell that the line was clear to the drain bottle. Whatever the tube is that drains from the captops to the drain bottle is, that is the line that should be clear from blockage, not just from the pump to the drain but through the pump all the way to the drain bottle.

As far as removing a tube from the pump, as long as the cleaning fluid does not drain out of the cap top that is the main thing. There should not be an issue with the pump line with things powered off and unplugged. The newer printers and yours would come on and do a cleaning cycle as long as the main power was not turned off. That would not be good with the line off the pump.

Another sp 540 owner may need to give some input here.

When you did do cleaning cycles, were you able to see ink spit out of both drain lines into the bottle. This tells for sure if ink is being drawn into the drain bottle.
 

sfr table hockey

New Member
my question is how do you know when your head is done...with what i got with print test i printed 2x2 inch squares that looked ok but with these nozzles bad what effects does it have? Thanks

Most times unless your heads hit something they can have a perfect test print but still be at the end of their life. I had one head that the black started to band and no matter what I did it never stopped until the head was replaced. The test print was still perfect.

You should be able to see the shot count in the menu some place and the manual should say how many billion shots a head should last. If you are close that is one way to know it might be the head.

The way yours looks, it could be cleared up with some cleaning.

Overspray may be another sign of a bad head.
 

graphix

New Member
Most times unless your heads hit something they can have a perfect test print but still be at the end of their life. I had one head that the black started to band and no matter what I did it never stopped until the head was replaced. The test print was still perfect.

You should be able to see the shot count in the menu some place and the manual should say how many billion shots a head should last. If you are close that is one way to know it might be the head.

The way yours looks, it could be cleared up with some cleaning.

Overspray may be another sign of a bad head.
4 yrs old and on my third set of carts which most of the ink it went done the drain....like to know were to read what it actually done in 4 years ..i know minimal....
 

graphix

New Member
i tell you if i get it straightend up that 5 min.maintance will be no problem i mean i was gumed up on wipers wiper cleaner and that sponge pad to the left looks rough i dont have one to replace.... it was pitiful looking!!!
proabally need dampers where it may be gummed up in them...i need to buy a kit...
 

sfr table hockey

New Member
Do you have the service manual?

In the old Rolands the info on history is in the service menu. I would think it should be similar in yours.

If you want send me a PM with your email or phone#.

With a premium subsciption you should be able to get it on this site.
 
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graphix

New Member
Do you have the service manual?

In the old Rolands the info on history is in the service menu. I would think it should be similar in yours.

If you want send me a PM with your email or phone#.

With a premium subsciption you should be able to get it on this site.
thanks i have a service manual for a sp300 dunno if they are same..
 
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