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Opinion Roland sp 540i printhead

F

Fernando Santos

New Member
Hello Guys,
I have bought a roland sp540i that was stored almost 2 years.

It didn't fired anything, and with some cleanings I got something.
The black isn't good enough.
I have banding and fumes.

I changed, dampers, wipers, manifold.
I didn't try to adjust nothing in the setup.

I will leave some photos, and if you can give me your opinion to the next step.

I am a newbie, and I am sorry if my English isn't the best, I'm from Portugal.

Thanks in advance.

IMG_20201001_151902

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IMG_20201001_151840

IMG_20200821_132656

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IMG_20201001_151831

IMG_20201001_151831

 
F

Fernando Santos

New Member
That's what I tough.
Isn't anything more that I can try?

Do you think that trying to recover the black printhead is a waste of time?
 
balstestrat

balstestrat

Problem Solver
Most likely it is waste of time. You can remove it and try to clean it with ultrasonic and flushing liquid but probably it will not recover good enough.
 
J

Jim Hancock

Old School Technician
Epson heads are rather fragile internally and ultrasonic cleaning has a tendency to damage them unless you are using a system that is designed specifically for that purpose, such as the Print Doctor system, and even that system is only marginally successful on Epson heads, and it is a very expensive system. Typical consumer systems, like jewelry cleaners, operate at a frequency that resonates with the internal crystal structure in the head and has a tendency to damage that structure.

I see also a blank section across all the heads. Have you looked at the bottom of all the heads to see if there is any damage?
 
F

Fernando Santos

New Member
Jim Hancock said:
Epson heads are rather fragile internally and ultrasonic cleaning has a tendency to damage them unless you are using a system that is designed specifically for that purpose, such as the Print Doctor system, and even that system is only marginally successful on Epson heads, and it is a very expensive system. Typical consumer systems, like jewelry cleaners, operate at a frequency that resonates with the internal crystal structure in the head and has a tendency to damage that structure.

I see also a blank section across all the heads. Have you looked at the bottom of all the heads to see if there is any damage?
Click to expand...

Hey,

Yes I didn't anything that indicates damage.
And the yellow and magenta print doesn't show printing any banding or other problems.

I think I have to replace the black / blue head and go from there.
What do you think?
 
N

netsol

Active Member
Jim Hancock said:
Epson heads are rather fragile internally and ultrasonic cleaning has a tendency to damage them unless you are using a system that is designed specifically for that purpose, such as the Print Doctor system, and even that system is only marginally successful on Epson heads, and it is a very expensive system. Typical consumer systems, like jewelry cleaners, operate at a frequency that resonates with the internal crystal structure in the head and has a tendency to damage that structure.

I see also a blank section across all the heads. Have you looked at the bottom of all the heads to see if there is any damage?
Click to expand...


Jim
my impression has always been that the print head dr satisfies the "first do no harm" requirement, if you are very careful and meticulous
unfortunately it only clears the rather low bar of providing heads good enough to sell on ebay.

has your experience been better?

i have been tempted several times, to purchase one, but friends "in the business" tell me that it was a great disappointment. once again, if you were REALLY careful, you might try doing periodic maintenance on your own, good head to extend head life
 
J

Jim Hancock

Old School Technician
Netsol,

I had the top end model and primarily cleaned Ricoh Gen 5 heads used in InkCups UV printers. Success rate was around 30% in recovery, but UV ink is tough and Ricoh Gen 5 heads are robust. My success with the few Epson heads I did was only a marginal improvement and usually worse then when I started. Even the manufacturer stated Epson heads were the most difficult to salvage without damage. The ultrasonic was set at a frequency that didn't damage most heads and you also had power level adjustment on the ultrasonic. A nicely constructed machine doing a difficult job. Success really depends upon both the structure of the head and the amount and type of ink to be removed. As to ROI, my machine was around 5K, but we were going through 2-3 heads a week (at $1200 each) due to poor UV shielding and overall design, even with manual print head cleaning by the operators every 2 hours, so it was worth it to us. I would only purchase one if I was offering it as a service, or if I was in a scenario like my last job, where there was a high volume of external printhead cleaning needed due to circumstances.
 
N

netsol

Active Member
i have, in the past, purchased a couple "refurbished heads" on ebay (mostly heads that are no longer available new)
with mixed results.
isn't this kind of like buying strawberries, or milk?
even if the head cleaned up perfectly, doesn't it have to go right into a machine and get run daily, if you expect really acceptable results?
i have always been of the opinion that you can't purchase a refurbished head "for inventory"
 
J

Jim Hancock

Old School Technician
For me, getting a refurb head would be the choice only if a new one was was no longer available. Plus one doesn't know how well the refurb cleaning was done. Any ink that wasn't removed during the cleaning process may end up drying inside the head, with resulting permanent nozzle loss. Also, if I was doing this with my own heads (for inventory) I would leave the ink manufacturers flush solution in the heads for storage purposes.
 
N

netsol

Active Member
Jim Hancock said:
For me, getting a refurb head would be the choice only if a new one was was no longer available. Plus one doesn't know how well the refurb cleaning was done. Any ink that wasn't removed during the cleaning process may end up drying inside the head, with resulting permanent nozzle loss. Also, if I was doing this with my own heads (for inventory) I would leave the ink manufacturers flush solution in the heads for storage purposes.
Click to expand...


yes, only as a alternative to parting out the machine.
 
F

Fernando Santos

New Member
Jim Hancock said:
Definitely need to change the C/K head. Can you post a pic of the latest test print to show what the M/Y head looks like?
Click to expand...
HI Jim,

Here is the last test print.
I will change the B/C head.
Is it simple?
Do I need to calibrate or update some data?
I am interest in order from digiprint for 428€, do you have any feedback?
They stated that is a original Epson part.

Thanks for the help
 

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J

Jim Hancock

Old School Technician
If the last posted pic is the most recent, I'm still concerned about head damage. Can you take a clear well light pic of the bottom of the print heads please?
You will need to do alignments with new print heads.
Which Digiprint, as there are several, some OK, others not so much. Perhaps a link to the printhead?
 
F

Fernando Santos

New Member
Jim Hancock said:
If the last posted pic is the most recent, I'm still concerned about head damage. Can you take a clear well light pic of the bottom of the print heads please?
You will need to do alignments with new print heads.
Which Digiprint, as there are several, some OK, others not so much. Perhaps a link to the printhead?
Click to expand...
Hey here is the link https://www.digiprint-supplies.com/en/epson-dx4-solvent-pphep10so
I will take that photo.
I have have ordered, the captops, manifolds and dampers from there.
8 am in Europe they ship from Germany.
 
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