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VJ-1624 Leftover ink in cartridges after Ink End message

bculbertson

New Member
I acquired a ValuJet-1624 about 18 months ago, but until recently had someone else in the shop doing all the wide format work. I've had Roland printers for years, this is my first Mutoh.

The issue I'm experiencing is that when I get an "Ink End" error, when I pull the old cartridge, it feels like it still has 20-25% ink remaining in the cartridge. Furthermore, the printer will do nothing more until I put in a new cartridge. I'm only using OEM MS31 440ml cartridges. Tonight, is the 3rd time I've encountered this over the past 3 or 4 weeks.

I suspect my wide format guy was just replacing the cartridges and never mentioned it happening. Given the price of ink, I feel like I'm throwing away a lot of money.

I would appreciate any insight or thoughts. I don't know if there is a setting I can adjust or if possibly there is a hardware or firmware problem. Currently the machine is running version 3.05 / 1.21.

I've searched this site, the Operators manual and even done Google searches and can find no references to this type of issue/problem.

I haven't called in a service tech yet because I wanted to see if I could find any information about what is happening before spending $150 to have a tech come in only to tell me this is normal for the Mutoh 1624.
 

Solventinkjet

DIY Printer Fixing Guide
If it's happening on all of the colors, this is usually a sign that your maintenance station isn't working at full capacity. The machine only estimates how much ink is used during printing and during cleanings. If the maintenance station isn't pulling as much ink down as the machine thinks it is, it still subtracts that ink from the card even if it wasn't pulled out. You might just need a new cap top and flush the pump tubes.

You can also contact your ink supplier and they can put in a warranty claim to Mutoh and they'll send you new cards to finish the ink in the cartridge. Just keep in mind that if you request new cards more than a couple times Mutoh will require that you replace the maintenance station before they send any more out.
 

bculbertson

New Member
If it's happening on all of the colors, this is usually a sign that your maintenance station isn't working at full capacity. The machine only estimates how much ink is used during printing and during cleanings. If the maintenance station isn't pulling as much ink down as the machine thinks it is, it still subtracts that ink from the card even if it wasn't pulled out. You might just need a new cap top and flush the pump tubes.

You can also contact your ink supplier and they can put in a warranty claim to Mutoh and they'll send you new cards to finish the ink in the cartridge. Just keep in mind that if you request new cards more than a couple times Mutoh will require that you replace the maintenance station before they send any more out.
Thanks very much for the insight. Looking at the installation video on Youtube, given it is identified as a 12-month maintenance update and that I've had the printer almost 2 years now, I'll give this a try. The information is much appreciated. I'll get this swapped out and hope that does the trick.
 
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