Printhead Roland SP 300i

[kelly r]

Hi. I thought I would get some advice here before I replace anything. It’s only been a year that I replaced the printhead and it looks like I need a new one already. I use Roland eco solvent inks and all parts are always from Roland. I did several different cleans including a few manual cleans. I used a syringe to pull some black ink through and no change. I am now doing a head soak as I type this. I don’t think I am missing any nozzles. This seems to happen way too often. I’ve read to use eco solvent 2 inks. I did ask my tech and he said no. Any help or advice would be great. I always made sure to print something weekly. They are so delicate I may just push on with this one til I can’t. I did notice the last two times I replaced heads they always had ink around them. More than I remember in the past.
Tia

 

[Zoogee World]

You have a bunch of deflection there. Looks like you may have had a head strike recently? As far as I know, that printer can only use Eco-Sol Max inks.

What kind of issues is it giving you? These machines love to be used and aren't meant to sit around. If you aren't using it much, you should at least do a weekly maintenance on it and do a manual cleaning.

 

[kelly r]

I would not have know there was a problem if I didn’t print the test. I see where it may be a bit fuzzy. I do recall a couple marks on the vinyl. Why does the other head never show issues? It would hit vinyl as well? Can I save it or is it scratched? I don’t work it like I should.

 

[Jim Hancock]

What you are seeing is very common on the black channel on the DX4 heads in the early Rolands. The carbon black pigment in the ink causes this issue, just the way it is. What you can do to minimize or eliminate this is, as Zoogee World said, is to print more often and do frequent physical head and cap maintenance. For your current situation, you can lightly scrub the bottom of the head with a swab and cleaning solution, followed by an overnight head soak on the black head. You will need to clip off the cap line for that head and fill the cap brimming full with cleaning solution and park the head.

 

[kelly r]

What you are seeing is very common on the black channel on the DX4 heads in the early Rolands. The carbon black pigment in the ink causes this issue, just the way it is. What you can do to minimize or eliminate this is, as Zoogee World said, is to print more often and do frequent physical head and cap maintenance. For your current situation, you can lightly scrub the bottom of the head with a swab and cleaning solution, followed by an overnight head soak on the black head. You will need to clip off the cap line for that head and fill the cap brimming full with cleaning solution and park the head.

Yes I have done all that, soaked the heads and lightly cleaned the bottom of the head. No change. I will clean it more, etc. So
manual clean once a week and a do a powerful clean once a week? Test print how often? Thanks

 

[SGC]

I’ve read that using the JetBest Max dupe helps alleviate the black issues of OEM Max.

 

[Roland Certified Tech]

Roland brand ESL3 BLACK ink is NO GOOD, period.
Unless you print a ton of black using the 100% black swatch (not composite black) and shake your black ink at least weekly, the black will fail within a year and look exactly like your picture.
Try a 3rd party black, say from STS or the like.

Replacement Ink for Roland Eco-Sol MAX ESL3 – 220ml | STS Inks

220ml replacement for Roland Eco-Sol MAX ESL3—OEM color match, no flushing needed, low odor, and Plug & Play for SolJet and VersaCAMM printers.

www.stsinks.com