UCJV330 - Losing black nozzles mid print

[dinomaskot]

My UCJV330 starts losing black nozzles after couple of meters of printing and i get banding issues..
If i restart print, or do a soft clean everything goes back to normal..

Help please?

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

When the cut-out happens, stop the print and cancel the job and quickly print a nozzle check.

 

[dinomaskot]

When the cut-out happens, stop the print and cancel the job and quickly print a nozzle check.

Did that.. Head 1 - random black nozzles gone

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Have you run your media compensation patterns/calibration for that media? Looks more like stepping than nozzle drop. Could also be head calibration, but that doesn't usually drift if setup right by the installer. If the printer is moved, it can change.

 

[dinomaskot]

Hmm.. haven't done Feed Comp in a long time... Could try that..
I've had 2 really light head strikes in the past month.. maybe that has something to do?

Here is the print from other day (30m long) when i first noticed this.. at first it was all good, and then it gradually gets worse and worse.. here is the image.. (dont mind the color diff. its supposed to be like that)

Thanks a lot for helping out Smoke_Jaguar <3

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Definitely calibration of some sort, probably compensation. Thankfully it's pretty much automatic on the 330 series, just have to run it. If it fails to do auto, can use the old school patterns as well.

 

[dinomaskot]

Will try that.. Is it mandatory to use takeup or not?

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Should be good both ways

 

[Goatshaver]

I see it's on head one. Have any had any other black issues?
I have had several instances of my black channel of head 1 dropping out without any warning. I'd do a feed comp and it would drop out doing that and then a test print a few or none of the nozzles would show up and I'd have to soak the nozzles for 1-2x before they come back. Wondering if this might be a common issue that could be cropping up for these machines.

 

[dinomaskot]

Didn't experience any total dropouts... just losing nozzles as the print progresses..
I did all of the adjustments (Automatic feed/drop correction), printed 2m of vinyl and still got banding, and lost nozzles

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Could be a damper if I were to guess. Also, check for ink buildup on the nozzle plate. Lots of people just trust the wiper to do all the work, not bad to gently use a swab and some cleaning solution to wipe out any buildup on the head. Since the nozzles are recessed, a manual cleaning can work wonders for dropout. Just use proper fluids and a light touch, rotate to a fresh surface on the swab with each wipe.

 

[dinomaskot]

Gonna check that next.. Did the manual clean as well.. nozzles clear up after print.. seems like some sort of ink starvation more than clogging

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Since it's one head and not the other, and they share same ink valve, damper is my best guess.

 

[dinomaskot]

Thank you a lot. Really appreciate the help.
Will keep you posted as soon as I get/replace the damper. Hopefully it'll be under warranty..
Could you suggest some spare parts to get when I get the damper? Caps, more dampers, something else?

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

When doing dampers, caps are a good part that doesn't cost much to do in the process, same with waste ink pump.

 

[Goatshaver]

Thank you a lot. Really appreciate the help.
Will keep you posted as soon as I get/replace the damper. Hopefully it'll be under warranty..
Could you suggest some spare parts to get when I get the damper? Caps, more dampers, something else?

Hopefully you don't have to wait too long for parts. I had to wait almost 2 months for a set of caps to come in.

 

[Solventinkjet]

They consider dampers as a consumable a lot of the time but sometimes if you whine a little, they'll hook you up.

 

[louie]

Seems to me a damper problem. Make sure that every ink tube connections are fitted properly on top of the damper

 

[dinomaskot]

When doing dampers, caps are a good part that doesn't cost much to do in the process, same with waste ink pump.

Do you think i should just change this, or get them and keep them in stock for when i need them?
Thank you everyone for the feedback and support.. I'll keep you posted how this all unfolds

 

[White Haus]

Just out of curiosity, were heads in the standard/low position?