Need Help This banding has stumped me. s80600

[mim]

The banding starts happening after about 2' of printing and continues to worsen the longer the print goes. I've manually cleaned, auto clean, done the feed adjustments and head adjustments both manual and auto.. I think it's something beyond my grasp and I'm wondering what the next step should be?

The most concerning thing to me is the feed adjustment print that I included in the pics. What is going on there?

 

[SignDesignLady]

When my machine did that and showed the skipping in the calibration print, it was a signal that the head needed to be changed. I only print in CMYK but my calibration print looked just like yours. I tried all the things you did, and had to get a tech out to change the head. Do you have a good tech support person to contact for your machine? If yes, email them the photos and they can probably clue you in as to what the next steps need to be.

 

[Precision]

What is the make and model of your printer. I would say you have a bad print head. Depending on your make and model will determine the expense to replace it.

 

[unmateria]

Dont have time now... But that looks totally like printhead cables, i doubt it is printhead since theres not a single reflection. If u have been messing with cables, check connectors are clean and to be sure, replace the cables

 

[IndySignPro]

How old is your machine? Mine did this after 6 months, took 3 months to actually get fixed. Prints would start perfect and then after about 18 inches or so the banding would start and get worse as it went. Start the print over and it would be fine for the first 18 inches and start over again. They replaced almost $10k in parts before it was fixed. All internal motor and calibration issues. There was no settings I could change to fix it. The 3rd repair they replaced so many parts we don't know which one was the actual issue. Has worked perfectly ever since.

 

[mim]

Thanks everyone. To answer some questions...

Its an Epson s80600 S-Series
The machine is about a year and a half old
I haven't been messing with the cables but none seem to be loose, I'll look into replacing them since that would probably cost less than a new print head.

I managed to get an acceptable looking media alignment test after running Auto Head Maintenance a few times but I doubt it's going to last.

I think I know the answer to this question, but what could cause damage to the print head to make it break in this way?

 

[unmateria]

If u didnt touched the cables/printhead... nothing (if your machine is grounded properly). Those cables are just garbage... But is a great business for Epson...

Be extremely carefull sitting them... Ensure pins of the connectors are over the correct pad in the cable... And try to do that in 1 attempt... If you have 5 attempts, u can have serious problems again.

 

[jfiscus]

You have more than a few bad nozzles in your test print. Do you know how to clean your printer properly? (serious question, not a jab at you)
If the capping station and head isn't clean-clean you will have sealing issues start to have print issues like this. These missing nozzles may be the cause of the weird calibration prints and the calibration issues. Cleaning a printer that has white ink and silver ink is harder to do every time than one with just regular color pigments, so maybe take a few more minutes each time you go over it to be sure all the buildup is off the head and capping station. Clean the material guides well also.

We've also had more issues with vinyl the cheaper it is. We primarily run 3M cast vinyl here, and our printers are calibrated to that, but we do have projects where they are short term and the customer wants cheap vinyl, and see banding and other issues when running it occaisionally.

 

[jfiscus]

If this printer is a few years old and those nozzles are unrecoverable, then it might be one of the heads going out. Try running it in single head mode to isolate which head it is. You can also try a CMYK-only profile to see if it is one of the CMYK heads or one of the "additional color" heads going bad.

If you have a D1 tech come out to replace a head, be sure YOU mark which head is bad so they replace the correct one. We had them come out to replace a head once and the tech replaced the incorrect head... ended up ruining the printer by the time they sorted it all out.

 

[mim]

You have more than a few bad nozzles in your test print. Do you know how to clean your printer properly? (serious question, not a jab at you)
If the capping station and head isn't clean-clean you will have sealing issues start to have print issues like this. These missing nozzles may be the cause of the weird calibration prints and the calibration issues. Cleaning a printer that has white ink and silver ink is harder to do every time than one with just regular color pigments, so maybe take a few more minutes each time you go over it to be sure all the buildup is off the head and capping station. Clean the material guides well also.

We've also had more issues with vinyl the cheaper it is. We primarily run 3M cast vinyl here, and our printers are calibrated to that, but we do have projects where they are short term and the customer wants cheap vinyl, and see banding and other issues when running it occaisionally.

I mean... I think I'm cleaning it correctly? Hahaha but now I'm curious. For the heads I dab the cleaning solution on until all the gunk has loosened up, then wet a new swab and clean it all off. For the caps first I go in with fine pointed tweezers and remove any debris (I actually do this on the head too if needed) and larger globs and then use cleaning solution on a swab to go around the outside/lightly on the top. I'm posting this from memory so hopefully I'm not forgetting anything. I do this once a week at least.

If you have any recommendations please let me know!

I should also mention that I can achieve a good nozzle test but only after running cleanings and doing a manual clean. Those nozzles seem to be the trouble area though, because they keep reappearing after I think I got 'em.

 

[netsol]

If this printer is a few years old and those nozzles are unrecoverable, then it might be one of the heads going out. Try running it in single head mode to isolate which head it is. You can also try a CMYK-only profile to see if it is one of the CMYK heads or one of the "additional color" heads going bad.

If you have a D1 tech come out to replace a head, be sure YOU mark which head is bad so they replace the correct one. We had them come out to replace a head once and the tech replaced the incorrect head... ended up ruining the printer by the time they sorted it all out.

much like the. horror stories of the surgeon, amputating the wrong leg.

it happens, since the OTHER head will not be perfect either

 

[jcskikus]

In many cases, the head is most likely failing. You clean it and get a good nozzle check, but then the head begins to clog when it hasn't being purged after only a few minutes into a print. A DX-7 is about $2.4k and installation [if you do not know how to do this yourself]. The Epson S80600 is worth it. What can be done with that printer is amazing. It's almost 100% Pantone color spot-on, making it a powerhouse.

 

[IndySignPro]

I mean... I think I'm cleaning it correctly? Hahaha but now I'm curious. For the heads I dab the cleaning solution on until all the gunk has loosened up, then wet a new swab and clean it all off. For the caps first I go in with fine pointed tweezers and remove any debris (I actually do this on the head too if needed) and larger globs and then use cleaning solution on a swab to go around the outside/lightly on the top. I'm posting this from memory so hopefully I'm not forgetting anything. I do this once a week at least.

If you have any recommendations please let me know!

I should also mention that I can achieve a good nozzle test but only after running cleanings and doing a manual clean. Those nozzles seem to be the trouble area though, because they keep reappearing after I think I got 'em.

Are you using Epson Original Inks? What is your average daily run time? We run 6-8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I was told by service to NEVER touch the surface of a print head with anything, swab or otherwise. Clean around the edge, but never the surface. We run ours 40+ hours a week, manually clean 2-3 times a week. I can't say that I have EVER had anything, let alone large globs, that require tweezers. Sounds like there is something wrong with your fabric wiper unit. The surface of the head should always be clean if this is aligned and functioning properly, only should have build up around the head.

 

[cmoist]

We just purchased a used S80600 and went through similar issues. We had a few missing nozzles - not enough that I thought it would matter, but it did. It got a little better printing at higher pass counts, but in the end, we replaced heads and now it's perfect.

 

[ADVANCED DISPLAY]

Ok so when you replaced the heads, anyone who has, did you pay to have them replaced by technicians or did you buy the head and do it yourself? My manager and I usually are pretty handy and have done maintenance on our HP 360, as well as our EFI raster flatbed but, I don't want to fuck this up and my S80600 needs a new printhead. The quote to have it done though all in was like $5 grand...... They quoted replacing both even though I only need the one but I figure at the least, having a tech in here and picking his brain on questions we've had since we got this thing would be of value. Thoughts?

 

[jfiscus]

Ok so when you replaced the heads, anyone who has, did you pay to have them replaced by technicians or did you buy the head and do it yourself? My manager and I usually are pretty handy and have done maintenance on our HP 360, as well as our EFI raster flatbed but, I don't want to **** this up and my S80600 needs a new printhead. The quote to have it done though all in was like $5 grand...... They quoted replacing both even though I only need the one but I figure at the least, having a tech in here and picking his brain on questions we've had since we got this thing would be of value. Thoughts?

Since you are in Ohio, call Trigon Imaging in Cincinnati and see what their cost is to come replace the head. They'll do it right and probably be a bit cheaper, although the heads aren't cheap no matter who you use as you/they can only buy them from D1 in the USA.

 

[cmoist]

Seconded. I use Trigon for all my service that's out of warranty. They did both heads, pump cap, belt, ink mark sensor, carriage sliders for around 6300 with labor. I do believe they charge regular price for parts.

 

[ADVANCED DISPLAY]

ok issue's resolved: I didn't use trigon I used whoever epson's recommendation was,BUT:

Replaced the heads (both) and the enclosure (not entirely sure what he called it) but after $4000 I have what amounts to a BRAND NEW printer. And I'm happier than a pig in shit lol

Seeing as I only paid $8grand for the printer initially, including shipping, after this maintenance expense I'm still getting a great value as this printers fricken sweet.