SP300i - Black/Cyan Printhead Issue (w/Pic)

[siklidkid]

We were having minor alignment issues with the K side of our C/K printhead. I think you call them nozzles or jets. Anyway we had a few the were staggered/distributed unevenly. CMY jets are distributed are perfectly.

So a guy came out, said the K side of the printhead was scratched and supposedly replaced it and while better, still not perfect, like the CYM jets.

Well it's worse now.

Is this something we can fix on our end? It seems damaged?

 

[artbot]

i'd bet slightly toward that being diverted/clogged nozzles. a scratch will usually produce much more strange printing anomalies. do a head soak and some head cleans... make sure to be constantly keeping each test pattern in chronological order so you can monitor progress. if these missing lines start darting around or coming in and out, you will know that you don't have a scratched head. because a scratch can't heal itself. remember that if the head did crash, it can be impregnated with fibers during the damage. that requires cleaning that solvent's don't solve. but start the the soaks.

 

[siklidkid]

artbot, what concerns me is that they aren't actually missing. They are distributed unevenly.

I did a heavy clean and the results were the same.

If the consensus is a head soak, does anyone have instructions on this process?

 

[siklidkid]

*bump*

Since I didn't get many replies, I did a search *brilliant*, which I should have done in the first place.

I found the EXACT same pic I posted in a number of threads. An issue with the black print head seem relatively common.

I'm pretty certain the nozzles are clogged. We just had the head replaced under warranty with zero head strikes since.

So I did the following:

1. Routine manual cleaning as per the Roland manual
2. Wiped down the encoder strip
3. Head soak as follows​

a. Shut the machine down and opened her up
b. Pinched the drain tubes shut
c. Filled the caps with cleaning solution and placed pieces of coffee filters on
top of the caps and added a little more solution.
d. Moved the printheads back over the capping station to engage.
e. Soak
​

Is the soak I performed above correct?
Again, I am almost certain they are clogged, should I soak longer?

I don't want to do more than a soak at this point, since we are still under warranty, I do not want to jeopardize voiding it.

Thanks

 

[Ragnabrok]

If the machine/head is under warranty, and cleaning does not fix the deflecting nozzles, get your tech to replace the head. It's rare for a head to go irreparably bad early, but it happens.

 

[InkjetAuction]

Deflection

What you are seeing is a severe deflection of the nozzles on the black side of the head. It's basically a partial nozzle clog causing the ink to shoot out at an angle instead of straight down. This will usually manifest itself as an overspray and may also cause some banding.

Regular cleaning will not remedy your issue.

Like the above poster stated, it's very unusual for a new head to fail that fast. However if it's been less than 90 days since the replacement of the head, it may be covered under the Roland spare parts warranty (regardless of whether or not the entire machine is covered under warranty). This of course assumes that a NEW Roland-brand head and OEM ink was used -- not a used or aftermarket head or ink.

Give your Roland dealer/tech a call and start asking questions.

~E

 

[siklidkid]

Thanks.

The head was replaced with a new one last month.

Im only in the shop a couple days a week. Our machine might go a day, two days max, without printing.

We also had a ridiculous heat wave here in SoCal during that time. No AC at the shop, I certain that didn't help. I read black ink is more dense and can fowl a head quicker, so that would make sense.

While idle, the machine cleans itself, right?
Should I maintain more routine cleaning procedure.

For example, Do medium cleans if the machine hasn't been used in a day. And a super clean once a week.

 

[guillermo]

also, looking a the picture, it is the same problem I have for a couple of years, but did not want to replace the head, instead I changed to a new ink, good quality $45.00 for 500 ml, and guess what?, it cleaned the print head, now my test print is very normal, all the lines are straight.