VG2-540 print head "weeping", leaking ink

[bayviewsignworks]

We've had our VG2-540 (with Orange) for about 5 months and this problem has been with it since it started up. Replaced dampers and cap for this head and tech, with Roland, have gone through every test they could think of. Typically we did not control the humidity but have since got it down to 45% with a dehumidifier and temp around 70ºF. Print test is excellent with no dropouts. Black and yellow tend to empty out of the head sometimes while printing; if it's not already weeping.

Usually just drips all over the place and makes a mess. Any suggestions would be helpful. Machine is under warranty and have contacted Roland and our local dealer.

 

[Jim Hancock]

Your tech needs to go through the printer and check all the ink line connections and tighten them. Also check any O rings. A tip from Roland on installing new dampers is to moisten the O rings with a bit of cleaning solution before installing them. This keeps the O ring from being deformed during installation and makes them easier to install, as well. It would appear you have a loose ink connection somewhere that is keeping the system from having air tight integrity.

 

[Otter-B Signs]

We've had our VG2-540 (with Orange) for about 5 months and this problem has been with it since it started up. Replaced dampers and cap for this head and tech, with Roland, have gone through every test they could think of. Typically we did not control the humidity but have since got it down to 45% with a dehumidifier and temp around 70ºF. Print test is excellent with no dropouts. Black and yellow tend to empty out of the head sometimes while printing; if it's not already weeping.

Usually just drips all over the place and makes a mess. Any suggestions would be helpful. Machine is under warranty and have contacted Roland and our local dealer.

Hi bayviewsignworks,
Did you find out what was causing the Black and Yellow to be leaking?

 

[Cosmo15]

I have the same exact problem with my TrueVis 540 Vg since I purchased it brand new in 2019 only difference is its with the magenta color. My local Roland Dealer has changed replaced the dampers twice and the print head itself and instructed me on how to do cap flushes and the problem is still here to this day! I dont think i will ever buy a Roland product again.

 

[highrolling24]

Bryce, try doing a damper fill. (No Tech Needed) If the start up sequence doesn't get you into damper fill mode, update your firmware.
To enter the Fill Damper Mode, you must power off the printer from the front control panel. Leave the power on in back and press and hold the [Pause] and [Enter] buttons while you power on from the front control panel.

Once the printer is in the Fill Damper mode, select the head group that you need to perform the damper fill on, then press the Enter Key to perform the damper fill. Your ink bags should be at least 50% full before starting this - you can return to your old ink bag afterwards to use up the rest of the ink in it. Make sure that your waste ink bottle is empty or nearly empty. Make sure that you do not remove any cartridges while the damper fill is being performed. If the printer stops with a cleaning error, make sure that you perform the Fill Damper again.

Perform the Damper Fill function twice, then turn off the printer and restart it normally (with no keys pressed while powering up). Perform a medium cleaning and then follow this with a test print to see if nozzle drop out is still occurring. Print normally and observe if the leaking/weeping ink issue is resolved.

Good Luck

Best Regards,

Joe House
Denco Sales Co.
888-336-8323






Here try this, its from another thread that I just did a simple search to find and seemed to work for this person, look up weeping or leaking vg2 and the thread will come up.

 

[Otter-B Signs]

We bought a brand new Roland VG-640 June 2016. In December 2016 it started leaking black ink [under warranty] ..... and still is! We have had almost everything done imaginable to it except having it completely pulled apart. It's had new one way valves, new cap tops, new pressure pumps and pressure control valves, new heads, upgraded firmware, new wiper motor, new servo board, more damper fills than I can remember. Had the system parameter initialised and wiped all information from the main board, then the Tech installed another companies parameter onto our printer - this worked for about 4 months without black ink pouring over everything. The Tech came back and reloaded the parameters again. After us grinding to a halt and not being able to print anything the Roland guy came up and had a look himself - this is now 6yrs after our first issue with black ink leaking. I think Roland has run out of things that can be replaced etc. The business that we bought the Roland from have been amazing and they came and picked it up last week and have lent us a Roland XR-640 Pro4 so we can at least get work out. It is so great to be able to print without having to stand in front of it with one finger hovering over the pause button in case black ink pours out. I don't think I ever want to see our machine again.
Has anyone else had the same issue and ongoing for so long?

kind regards,
Rebecca

 

[mami]

hi,
I have the same problem.
Now I'm very frustrated to the hole Roland and specially SG-540.

I tried to fill dumpers twice (at fromt panel: keep enter and pause down an press power on)
It did not help.
I have had to buy 1-2 print heads for the machine every year.
Roland says that the quarantee does not cover, because they think that paper has jammed and that has broken the print head.
If I ask official repairing firm to fix the print head it cost me every time 2000 € + vat. That is absolutelly too much.
We have at least 20 other expencive machines, but this is absolutelly the worst

We had no problems with the old model of Roland, but this SG-540 or its print head is absolutelly bad.

 

[Lunch]

The "Damper Fill" procedure worked to eliminate the head drip we were experiencing on our VG2-540, but when we re-started the machine after the damper fill, the ink fill lights began to flash for the orange and green inks, even though they were more than half full. Pulled and re-inserted those ink cartridges, it went through it's cleaning cycles and came up with a "service call 0400" message and we are no longer able to print white, green or orange. Rebooted, changed the Orange and Green inks, ran a heavy clean on the B heads and we were back up with the Green and orange, but the white is still a no go. Rebooted and the Orange and Green lights still flash, and the 0400 service call follows with the all lights flashing. Went through this several times and have the same issues. So now it sits powered down at this point. Very disappointed with this machine. We've had it for a little over a year and have had to replace 2 heads at 1,200 a pop, plus additional expenses. Now we're waiting on the rep to show up next week to replace another head. It prints nice, but not worth the headaches. Our old Roland was a solid work horse for years. It's why we stuck with Roland, but this one is way too temperamental for our shop. Also the ink consumption is about double what we were used to.

Curious to know from people who have this same machine, how often have you had to change the heads? Have a sinking feeling this is going to be an ongoing problem with the VG2-540.

 

[Otter-B Signs]

I'm hearing your frustration. Unfortunately replacing the print heads, doing all the 'Damper Fills' in the world did not fix our machine. Our Roland VG-640 was picked up at the beginning of June and still nobody knows what is wrong and how to fix it. So we are still using the borrowed machine.
Maybe it's something to do with the inner wiring or workings that cause these issues?

What you pay for these machines brand new, you expect it to work and to work properly!