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SP-540 No ink during test print

snowmancanada

New Member
Hey guys, I just purchased a used SP-540v and transfered it home. I plugged it in and ran a test print and hardly any ink came out. The machine did a clean by itself when i first turned it on. The printer sat for 3 days. It printed perfectly right before I purchased. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
 

InkjetAuction

New Member
Moving a printer...

Hmmm...

The safest way to move a printer (any significant distance) is to remove the ink from the system via a "pump up"... or a "head wash" which flushes cleaning solution through the system then empties it. Transporting an inked-up printer any significant distance will risk leaks inside the machine. Also, since the ink system is gravity based, tipping an inked machine may cause some leakage inside the machine.

A specific factor with moving the SP-series (or any Roland printer where the cap tops are raised/lowered via an elevator) is that the bumping around during transportation can lower the captops just enough that they no longer seal the heads. I find that it's a good measure to use the manual captop tool (affectionately known as the crack pipe) to add just a hair of tightening before a move. Having an machine uncapped for a few days can be a problem.

Now with all that said... all you probably need is to prime your system. Try a couple of Medium cleans (stay away from powerful cleans). If you don't see ANY results, then you probably have to use a syringe to pull some ink through your system. If you are not experienced, then I suggest getting the help of an experience operator or qualified service tech. If you are experienced and need some guidance, please PM me and I will assist.

(There is a slight possibility that you had ink leakage inside the head carriage and blew the heads. If you see ZERO nozzles firing after pulling ink through the heads, then you probably have serious problems)

~E
 

snowmancanada

New Member
Well I tried the medium cleaning and still nothing. It looks like no ink is getting to the heads. The ink tubes leading to the head are empty. I'm a little nervous that usually when you do a test print its four lines (4 colors) but when i did it this time all the lines were overlapping with hardly any color. I also noticed when I put a sheet of vinyl in (approx 20" wide) the sheet scan still said 49.3"...... :banghead:

Any more suggestions for the next step? I'm pretty new at this but I think if explained I could try the syringe procedure.
 

snowmancanada

New Member
I took a pic of my test print.. I can't get a roland tech to visit until next week. I'm scared the my machine is messed up good! I find it weird that all colors tried to print on the same line. The total width was about 2 inches.

Offsite pic replaced. Please observe our rules on photo posting.
 

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Mark83

New Member
I took a pic of my test print.. I can't get a roland tech to visit until next week. I'm scared the my machine is messed up good! I find it weird that all colors tried to print on the same line. The total width was about 2 inches.

Offsite pic replaced. Please observe our rules on photo posting.

Well I tried the medium cleaning and still nothing. It looks like no ink is getting to the heads. The ink tubes leading to the head are empty. I'm a little nervous that usually when you do a test print its four lines (4 colors) but when i did it this time all the lines were overlapping with hardly any color. I also noticed when I put a sheet of vinyl in (approx 20" wide) the sheet scan still said 49.3"...... :banghead:

Any more suggestions for the next step? I'm pretty new at this but I think if explained I could try the syringe procedure.
 

Mark83

New Member
Hi, just new here. Is this issue been solved? Coz I've got the same situation right now. Anyone there has the knowledge to solve this,please share your blessings. Thanks in advance. God bless
 

Terry01

New Member
Hi, just new here. Is this issue been solved? Coz I've got the same situation right now. Anyone there has the knowledge to solve this,please share your blessings. Thanks in advance. God bless
Remove the cover in front of the pump and suck some ink through the capping station with with a syringe. Make sure your dampers are full and no air in the lines..God hates printers too, cos he has never worked them.
 

Mark83

New Member
Remove the cover in front of the pump and suck some ink through the capping station with with a syringe. Make sure your dampers are full and no air in the lines..God hates printers too, cos he has never worked them.
Hahaha,. Thanks for your response, what if there are bubbles after I have sucked it? What might be the possible cause?
 

Terry01

New Member
Hahaha,. Thanks for your response, what if there are bubbles after I have sucked it? What might be the possible cause?
Airleaks cause bubbles, but when a printer is disturbed or transported, the inks run back to the cartridges.. 100 mills of ink between the cartridge and the heads on a 540. make sure you suck at least that much on each line.. best to remove the dampers and suck the ink to them with a syringe first...suppose I should say check you have plenty of ink in cartridges first
 
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