Printing Help

[rsub1]

Hello everyone. I was wondering if anybody on here could give me some words of advice. I have just started working for a new company and we supply clothing for the martial art industry. We have now decided to buy our own Roland RS-640 Sublimation Printer. I have zero experience with printers as I came in to the business primarily for the graphics side.

From installation the printer seemed to work fine and we actually produced some very nice products. After a while I encountered a few problems with what I believe is called nozzle drop out? The yellow was not printing properly due to air in the system. This was fixed buy an engineer and the problem was gone. In the end we actually had to replace the Yellow printer head.

I have now started to notice that when I print large areas of Black I get what I think is called banding? All the other colours seem to be fined but I can’t seem to understand why the Black is slightly banding? When I do a nozzle test the print is ok but there are two block areas within the test that are ever so slightly faded??? Almost as if the ink isn’t getting through properly. (See picture)

The printer is in top condition and I clean it every week like I have been advised and shown. The environment I work on a ground floor building that is not air conditioned and ranges between 10-19 degrees. (Pretty Cold I winter) I have been using some plug-in heaters to try and raise the temperature. Do you think this could be causing any problems with the printer?
One concern I have is that in the mornings and at times when the printer is left without printing for a few minutes the sublimation paper seems to crinkle/warp and rise is certain parts. In order to stop the Printer heads from contacting the paper I usually have to pull the paper roll till it is flat again. I try to avoid this at all costs but sometimes it is unavoidable and the head just touch the paper. It can even happen during printing when the heads go back for a clean and the paper is just sitting there. (Not to common)
If anybody has experienced any similar problems or may have some answers I would really appreciate your help. Like I say this is a whole new game and I know I have a lot to learn in the world of printing. Just to add I am certain the engineers checked and changed the dampers so I don’t think the problem lies here. We also don’t use Roland ink and we have just modified some other branded bottles (cut hole in the top and placed a bung inside the cap) to fit the system.

Thanks again, I have a lot of respect for the people on these forums as they give up their time to help others.

Thanks

 

[dcurtisroland]

Hello everyone. I was wondering if anybody on here could give me some words of advice. I have just started working for a new company and we supply clothing for the martial art industry. We have now decided to buy our own Roland RS-640 Sublimation Printer. I have zero experience with printers as I came in to the business primarily for the graphics side.

From installation the printer seemed to work fine and we actually produced some very nice products. After a while I encountered a few problems with what I believe is called nozzle drop out? The yellow was not printing properly due to air in the system. This was fixed buy an engineer and the problem was gone. In the end we actually had to replace the Yellow printer head.

I have now started to notice that when I print large areas of Black I get what I think is called banding? All the other colours seem to be fined but I can’t seem to understand why the Black is slightly banding? When I do a nozzle test the print is ok but there are two block areas within the test that are ever so slightly faded??? Almost as if the ink isn’t getting through properly. (See picture)

The printer is in top condition and I clean it every week like I have been advised and shown. The environment I work on a ground floor building that is not air conditioned and ranges between 10-19 degrees. (Pretty Cold I winter) I have been using some plug-in heaters to try and raise the temperature. Do you think this could be causing any problems with the printer?
One concern I have is that in the mornings and at times when the printer is left without printing for a few minutes the sublimation paper seems to crinkle/warp and rise is certain parts. In order to stop the Printer heads from contacting the paper I usually have to pull the paper roll till it is flat again. I try to avoid this at all costs but sometimes it is unavoidable and the head just touch the paper. It can even happen during printing when the heads go back for a clean and the paper is just sitting there. (Not to common)
If anybody has experienced any similar problems or may have some answers I would really appreciate your help. Like I say this is a whole new game and I know I have a lot to learn in the world of printing. Just to add I am certain the engineers checked and changed the dampers so I don’t think the problem lies here. We also don’t use Roland ink and we have just modified some other branded bottles (cut hole in the top and placed a bung inside the cap) to fit the system.

Thanks again, I have a lot of respect for the people on these forums as they give up their time to help others.

Thanks

The printhead touching the paper is a serious problem. that's called a head strike and will definitely lead to dropout. You shouldn't have any heaters or dryers on if you're printing dye sub so make sure the temperatures are shut off in the heater config on the control panel.

We have a number of recorded webinars that can help you get up to speed since you're new to Roland. Just punch in the serial number of the machine to get into the recorded archive.

www.rolanddga.com/webinars

-Dana

 

[rsub1]

The printhead touching the paper is a serious problem. that's called a head strike and will definitely lead to dropout. You shouldn't have any heaters or dryers on if you're printing dye sub so make sure the temperatures are shut off in the heater config on the control panel.

We have a number of recorded webinars that can help you get up to speed since you're new to Roland. Just punch in the serial number of the machine to get into the recorded archive.

www.rolanddga.com/webinars

-Dana

Hi Dana,

Thanks for the Reply. I am really starting to believe that the head is actually damaged (Replacement on the way). The problem I have is that the paper is all crinkled up in the morning when I come in, so I basically I just pull it through until the paper is flat again, but when i turn it on and the head moves across for measuring? the paper is sometimes slightly warps again. I think the heat from the printer is causing this but i am finding it hard to stop. I was told that sublimation needed heat to dry the ink? It currently runs at around 37 degrees. The room I work in can be very cold, is this a problem for the printer? That is why i have taken the precautions to heat the room a little. Thanks for the webinars link, I will most surly have a look at them.

Really appreciate your help.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Hi Dana,

Thanks for the Reply. I am really starting to believe that the head is actually damaged (Replacement on the way). The problem I have is that the paper is all crinkled up in the morning when I come in, so I basically I just pull it through until the paper is flat again, but when i turn it on and the head moves across for measuring? the paper is sometimes slightly warps again. I think the heat from the printer is causing this but i am finding it hard to stop. I was told that sublimation needed heat to dry the ink? It currently runs at around 37 degrees. The room I work in can be very cold, is this a problem for the printer? That is why i have taken the precautions to heat the room a little. Thanks for the webinars link, I will most surly have a look at them.

Really appreciate your help.

You don't want heat while it's printing on the paper. Heat is used during the imprinting process. Now for solvent inks, I think it would be a different story, but not for sublimation inks.