S30670 Horrible blotches in prints

[subarutex]

Hey all... I've attached some pictures to show a weird blotchyness we are getting on certain colors.

Blotches always run vertical on the print, and vary in length, severity, and location.

Been happening for several months. We've been round and round with the Epson support center, finally had them out to replace the Head, Damper, Cyan cartridge under warranty (in our 11th month). Still happening. Like, didn't come back... literally first print on the machine was a problem color test print and it did it, with the D1 tech here.

Epson only replaced the head because of the banding they saw in the green/blue color. Not because of the blotchyness. They are adamant it is not their issue.

Epson says its a profile issue. However we've seen it on multiple profiles.
D1 Tech says its material. We've seen it happen on our mainstay Avery stuff (3303, 2105, 1005ez) as well as on a sample roll of 3M IJ180.

Issue only happens on certain colors, although I swear it is getting more prevalent...

We have sent a problem file to another shop that runs the same setup as us (Flexi Cloud, S30) and that test print also had some of the same issue, although not nearly as bad.

Given a comment in a thread here, I just spent an hour taking all the teflon pinch rollers out and cleaning them and re-installing. Same issue.

Ideas?

 

[Bly]

Looks like the vinyl is tunneling up.
Try turning the heat down a bit or the vacuum up if you can.

 

[subarutex]

Looks like the vinyl is tunneling up.
Try turning the heat down a bit or the vacuum up if you can.

I have tried adjusting the temp down, but have not tried more vacuum.

Vinyl looks glass smooth coming through when it does this... Definitely feeds/runs vinyl better than our old HP9000 which would skew and get ripples all over the place.

 

[Snydo]

Do you have the Teflon rollers? they are not original, at least not with our 30670. I had a similar issue 18 months ago which is when they swapped out the original black or dark grey rubber rollers for the lighter grey Teflon ones. Solved my issue immediately. Good luck.

 

[subarutex]

Do you have the Teflon rollers? they are not original, at least not with our 30670. I had a similar issue 18 months ago which is when they swapped out the original black or dark grey rubber rollers for the lighter grey Teflon ones. Solved my issue immediately. Good luck.

My rollers are a bright white, and a very slick plastic like substance. Assumed they were Teflon, but maybe not. Definitely not a rubber....

Normally they have some grey smudges here and there, but I just went through and cleaned them this morning. I was hopeful the grey smudges were part of the problem, but it didn't change much.

 

[Snydo]

My rollers are a bright white, and a very slick plastic like substance. Assumed they were Teflon, but maybe not. Definitely not a rubber....

Normally they have some grey smudges here and there, but I just went through and cleaned them this morning. I was hopeful the grey smudges were part of the problem, but it didn't change much.

Wierd, mine are light grey but definately teflon, yours look teflon for sure....I would see if you can get Epson to ship you a new set of rollers. My prints looked exactly like yours.

 

[P Wagner]

To the OP:

Is this print defect always visible in the scan direction as the media sits on the printer (direction of carriage travel)?

 

[Rydaddy]

I agree that it looks to be related to the media tunneling. Which in my experience has been just as much a media quality issue as a heat issue.... And certainly could be a combination of both. Can you duplicate that same issue on the 1005ezrs? With it fully taped up and temps in the 35 to 40 range?

EDIT: OOPS. Please confirm - which direction is your media traveling in your images?

 

[subarutex]

To the OP:

Is this print defect always visible in the scan direction as the media sits on the printer (direction of carriage travel)?

I agree that it looks to be related to the media tunneling. Which in my experience has been just as much a media quality issue as a heat issue.... And certainly could be a combination of both. Can you duplicate that same issue on the 1005ezrs? With it fully taped up and temps in the 35 to 40 range?

EDIT: OOPS. Please confirm - which direction is your media traveling in your images?

Print defect always runs perpendicular to carriage travel.

I've experienced the defects in 1005ezrs, IJ180Cv3, MPI 3303, and MPI 2105. I've had it do it on small untaped/untensioned prints, I have also had it happen on prints in the middle of a big queue of prints that is taped/tensioned on the takeup.

My normal temps for most material is 38, 38, 50. On some materials I run a slightly lower drying temp, but usually not lower than 45. I've tried slightly lower temps, but nothing lower than 35, 35, 40 as a troubleshooting measure.

I was pretty set on it being an Avery vinyl issue after D1 came out and replaced the Head & Damper. But then a couple days later I ran a print on a sample roll of IJ180Cv3 and it did it pretty badly.

 

[a77]

Does it always happen in the same areas? I.e. is it always a slight ripple between the same pinch rollers?
You said the vinyl looks like glass, but it does look like media ripples. Shame the Epson tech has no input. If Epson tells you it's media, get a sample of whatever they suggest and show that it still happens to make them act on this.

BTW, I believe I have the newer (newest) set of pinch rollers, got them a few months ago as I was having problems with the original as Snydo mentioned. Mine are bright white.

 

[P Wagner]

This is generally referred to as Vertical Banding. It can be a bit difficult to diagnose, but here are the more typical causes of the artifact on various machines:

1. Media that is not laying flat on the printer platen in specific areas will often times result in this defect. Pinch roller assemblies can occasionally cause this.
2. Temperature settings that cause physical deformation of the media in the print zone can be a cause.
3. Vacuum settings that are set too high or low can cause this.
4. Some halftone algorithms can exacerbate this, though it is pretty rare for this to be a principal cause.

Things that are not related to this, for the most part:

1. Ink train - printheads, dampers, captops etc.
2. File related problems.
3. Phase of the moon.

 

[Rydaddy]

To OP. Does the S30 have different options for head-height? We have the S70670 and it has three different height options. I am curious if the issue is more or less prevalent based on what height the head is at.

Note: I too am a firm believer that the 'phase of the moon' can make a huge difference. Sad as that may sound...