The mother of all overspray!!!

[artbot]

long story (skip below line for short version)

recently i decided to put my jv3 160sp in CMYKx2 mode. i needed to change out the #4 head (it was a proxy head. running dormant). i mostly print from the black channel. so i bought a new head, installed the old black head in the yellow #4 position. and put the new head in the black #1 position.

i have changed a lot of heads. done it about 50 times over the last 12 years. but never a brand new $825 dx4 (done plenty of refurbed dx4's). so i was painfully cautious. like handling a nuclear bomb as not to mess the head up in any way. turned off on front, off on back, unplugged, pressed front button four times. even went barefoot and kept left hand grounded to the platen. electrostatic damage to the head during install is an impossibility at this point.

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put in the new head. the test print was fine except for one or two nozzles that seemed to be coming and going. i figure that would clear up as soon as the head got some use. it was late, turned off the printer. would finish the next day.

Morning: i decide to do the allignment and callibrations to the heads. i wasn't able to yesterday because i had to convert the printer back to a roll feed printer from a flatbed.

i entered the head id#. and just to see how out of alignment the head was i printed a file. there was overspray everywhere coming from the black. i then ran a grayscale print that only used the black head. the odd thing is that the head does fine when printing dark colors. but when printing blacks at low values (20's) the over spray is very very bad.

i then did a data swap to see if there was something wrong with the slider or main board. the print came out fine printing at the #2 magenta. see the attachment. it's a grayscale/black data only file going to the magenta head.

i figured maybe the printer has sat too long and the black ink might be bad? so i did a damper swap. magenta ink oversprayed wildly at the black #1 print head.

has anyone seen anything like this? the overspray is insane. and from a brand new head. test print is sharp. callibration prints are perfect. only happens in light coverage.

my worst fears of installing a brand new head have come true. i think i have a bad head with no warranty!

 

[artbot]

bump.... sorry about the novel.

has anyone seen overspray like this before? especially from a brand new head?

 

[Mainframe]

How about removing the head & reinstalling it "just in case" Maybe it would be a hail Marry but I would try it, actually if I had the same problem I would post about it & hope you saw the post-so if you are stumped I am guessing this is a bad one, good luck

 

[radiohead223]

i've never seen one that bad straight from the box.... it does seem like a bad head and there isn't much else to point the finger at

hopefully a tech guy that installs them all the time might read this and have seen it before

 

[kffernandez]

out of the box, original dx4 heads are supposed to be pretty much perfect. did you do anything else out of the ordinary to the head before putting the new head in? like flush it with solution? some people like doing that. personally, i prefer not to do anything to it.

did you put in new dampers along with your new head? i've had problems before of loose ink clogging my new head bec i didn't replace my old dampers.

personally, if it's a brand new head - the head would be the last thing i'd suspect. for now, i'm leaning more towards it being an ink issue.

kelly

 

[tsopis]

I had the same problem and when i changed head data cables, problem disappeared.

 

[artbot]

i did put the recommended amount of solution in the head (straight butyl carbitol) ...wouldn't suggest putting in cleaning solution. that would be too hot to mix with the water based suspension in the head. carbitol is miscible in water.

it has brand new dampers to it.

to see if it was the ink, i ran a damper/line with pure butyl carbitol (i have an auxiliary cart with straight solution in it). it did the same overspray (and with magenta during a damper swap) yet magenta prints fine from it's #2 head. so that took out the ink issue option. still the same issue.

i too figured that these heads were "tested" before being shipped by epson. the only thing i can figure out is maybe when the do a test, they fire off some really sharp pattern. the head prints very fine solid black detail (calibration patterns, test prints, etc). but when needing to print a fine mist it freaks out completely.

 

[artbot]

@tsopis that is the only thing i haven't done is use a different cable. i will try that before heading off to bed. data swaps prove that the data is fine. but they don't prove that the cable is fine.

 

[kffernandez]

could it be possible that they got the voltage ratings wrong for this one? ie head rank details? as far as i understand it, the point of the head ranks is to be able to fine tune the head's ability to spray varying amounts of ink.

hmmm.. or could it be that there are still some remnants of butyl carbitol inside your head that's messing with your test print?


kelly

 

[artbot]

don't think so. the head prints crisply when blasting black ink. possibly the variable dot portion of the head's function is off.

as far as the head rank, it can make up for very minor (almost indistinguishable) changes in print quality. the carbitol is very very friendly with triangle ink. turns it to pure silk. the most compatible cleaning solution i've found yet.

really appreciate all the replies. i've been down for two weeks and my buyer is getting frustrated and orders are piling up while money is "piling down".

 

[kffernandez]

so far, none of us has yet to be much of a help. but if it was me in your shoes, i usually like to throw ideas around - in case i miss anything.

re the carbitol, i wasn't questioning its compatibility with your ink at all. i was just thinking about the possibility that since it's quite fine, it might still be stuck in the nozzle walls somehow - and could be interfering with the firing, especially for very small dots. have you tried basic cleans and/or syringe suctions in order to let ink run through?
another theory is that your wiper isn't cleaning the heads properly. causing some leftover ink to interfere with low force nozzle shots.

kelly

 

[SE SignSupply]

I would say the head is bad.

I have seen a new printhead with a perfect nozzle check do something similar. During alignments you should be able to see what drop size is not working correctly. For me, it was on a black head using Eco-UV ink. During alignments the DT3 drop size was spraying everywhere. All other drop sizes looked fine and aligned fine. I aligned it the best I could and told the customer to call me after they had some time to print. Sure enough, a few weeks later the problem moved to all drop sizes and the head was replaced.

Ryan

 

[artbot]

thanks everyone for all the info. i'm thinking se signsupply is describing exactly what is going on here. the supplier i bought it from asked for me to send it back so they could test it. i'm cleaning up an old clogged head hoping i can get it working while waiting for a response. ...the head has been shipped back.

 

[MikePro]

aye, sounds like the same issues I had on my jv3 when i first started posting on these forums. Spent forever trying to find a way to fix it before finally learning how to install a new one.

best of luck gettin' it back up n' running!

 

[radiohead223]

keep us posted to as what ends up being the cause.... always good to learn what causes different issues

 

[artbot]

grrrr.... got the old dirty head looking good after about 50 ultrasonic baths. and

beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep **_ _ _ _ _ _

that's mimaki speak for ahhhhh shit. :[

i'm about to start writing apology letters to customers.

 

[MikePro]

data cables in correct order?

 

[artbot]

yup. i'm figuring it might have still been wet in some cranny from all the cleaning.

 

[kffernandez]

i burned a few heads and a headboard bec of my attempts at ultrasonic cleaning. hehe.

 

[npcsignworx]

Artbot did you ever sort this issue? I'm now having the same problem. Two new heads in a row....