Printing Help SP540V

[CARBONCHARGER]

Hello everyone,

I hope you can help me. I have an older style Rolland SP540V (network cable type) we make mainly stickers on it. Of late our black test prints are coming out a bit dodgy like the photo.

I’ve done a lot of research and there seems to be so many different causes. I’ve also added a photo of the crop marks do you think this is a static issue? As well as this for some reason although my test print as you can see it pretty good for the magenta cyan and yellow, my reds and blues are coming out a bit liney? And the black is definitely misfiring quite a bit? I print in high res all the time.

Any help would be great as I’m a bit stumped. Thanks again.

 

[hand851]

Suggest over night nozzle wash, in the morning after you remove clamp one (1) power clean , also make sure you have did a good manual clean. Do a test print if no improvement you need a new head.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5b5x9blvnn4ts6p/Roland Nozzle Soak.mp4?dl=0

 

[CARBONCHARGER]

Suggest over night nozzle wash, in the morning after you remove clamp one (1) power clean , also make sure you have did a good manual clean. Do a test print if no improvement you need a new head.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5b5x9blvnn4ts6p/Roland Nozzle Soak.mp4?dl=0

Thanks a lot! I’ll give it a go!

 

[rjssigns]

When is the last time you cleaned the encoder strip? I owned the same printer and a dirty encoder strip would cause the "fuzzies" like you're seeing. Go for the easy stuff first.

 

[CARBONCHARGER]

When is the last time you cleaned the encoder strip? I owned the same printer and a dirty encoder strip would cause the "fuzzies" like you're seeing. Go for the easy stuff first.

I thought that could be the case gave it a clean but still no luck! (Maybe I should buy a new strip and sensor? Are they hard to replace?) thanks again everyone

 

[rjssigns]

I thought that could be the case gave it a clean but still no luck! (Maybe I should buy a new strip and sensor? Are they hard to replace?) thanks again everyone

Strip is cheap and easy to replace. If you've never changed yours you can flip it over. It rides so deep in the track that only the top half is exposed.
If you want to replace I bought a generic strip for less than $10. IIRC you need one that is 180LPI. Helps to have a second set of hands when replacing. Encoder board is also easy to replace.
Just have to make sure you get it lined up where the strip is dead center. The strip and board are consumable items.

 

[CARBONCHARGER]

Strip is cheap and easy to replace. If you've never changed yours you can flip it over. It rides so deep in the track that only the top half is exposed.
If you want to replace I bought a generic strip for less than $10. IIRC you need one that is 180LPI. Helps to have a second set of hands when replacing. Encoder board is also easy to replace.
Just have to make sure you get it lined up where the strip is dead center. The strip and board are consumable items.

Thank you very much I’ll give the head a soak tonight and order an encoder strip too! What’re every bodies thoughts on static eliminators?

 

[phototec]

Strip is cheap and easy to replace. If you've never changed yours you can flip it over. It rides so deep in the track that only the top half is exposed.
If you want to replace I bought a generic strip for less than $10. IIRC you need one that is 180LPI. Helps to have a second set of hands when replacing. Encoder board is also easy to replace.
Just have to make sure you get it lined up where the strip is dead center. The strip and board are consumable items.

I see that the encoder strip has a spring on the left side, how hard is it to replace, meaning do you have to align it in the EXACT position when installing a new one?

Are there any alignment procedures to do after replacement?

Do you know of any videos showing the procedure?

Thanks

 

[rjssigns]

I see that the encoder strip has a spring on the left side, how hard is it to replace, meaning do you have to align it in the EXACT position when installing a new one?

Are there any alignment procedures to do after replacement?

Do you know of any videos showing the procedure?

Thanks

No videos that I know of. No need to align it in the exact position either. Two calibrations in the service menu take care of letting the printer know where things are.

I took the clear cover and top cover off the printer so I had no access issues. When I replaced it I laid the old strip as a template over the new strip. This made sure the holes were in the right place and the length was correct. Other than that it's a very simple install but I recommend a second set of hands when installing the new strip. That way you don't run the risk of marring the new one. Strip self aligns once you hook up the spring.

After installation you'll have to run two calibrations from the service menu. It's only been a year since I've had my Roland and can't remember what they're called. I think one is limit initialization.

Hope this helps.

 

[CARBONCHARGER]

Heads currently undergoing an overnight soak, awaiting delivery for encoder strip and sensor, I think this’ll be some time though. Fingers crossed this sorts the head! Thanks everyone!

 

[Main]

Hope this can help

 

[CARBONCHARGER]

Hope this can help

Thanks a lot! Changed the cable the fuzziness is definitely better, the encoder sensor that came unfortunately didn’t light up when I plugged it in so I’m guessing it’s a dud

 

[Jim Hancock]

If you changed the encoder sensor, be sure its position is so the encoder strip is centered in the gap in the sensor or it will eventually be damaged. I don't think the encoder sensor lights, but I could be wrong.

A good test is to run the fill test in service mode. This prints each color at 720x720 bidirectional. Look for streaking or banding while each color prints. Also look at both edges of each color, looking for any overspray or streaking.

The nozzle test print is like your car idling, the fill test is like going out on the highway at speed and shows you how each color channel is printing under load...