XC-540 Overspray! I Need Help!!!!

[Gforce1]

Hey all, we have had our XC-540 for just shy of 2 years and it has been an incredible machine! It works almost non-stop and it has never given us a second of grief until the last month or so. I am now getting overspray all the time. I have done multiple medium head cleans, manually soaked the heads with a swab and cleaning solution, pinched the cap drain lines after filling them with cleaning solution and left it for an hour and nothing has helped. It is not a static issue as it is in it's own room with no carpet and a humidifier running 24/7.

There is no dropout on any of the heads with a test print either, no visible marks on the heads at all and it is extremely clean. I will include 2 pictures, one of the overspray/streaking and one of the sponge where you can see that there is too much ink coming out by the looks of it. It seems to be most prominent on blue prints. I have an order for 1500 small stickers that I can't print because they are 90% blue and I need to figure this out first. If it is a head gone bad than so be it but how does a person even go about figuring out which one? Thanks for any help you guys can offer. I have read through some other posts but as I said aside from the overspray there are no other issues I can see too cause it.

 

[CustomRide]

just cause its in its own room with no carpet does not mean there is not static taking place when the media gets unrolled. Take some christmas tree garlin or however you say it or take several dryer sheets and tape it to the back of the printer and let it lightly touch the media right before it enters the printer.....we had this problem on and off when printing on thick clear....I take it you have tried multiple medias to make sure its not a bad roll right?

 

[Gforce1]

Different media makes no difference. The only reason I say static is not the issue is because of the massive overspray on the sponge area. Neither of our 300v's did that. Also aside from the humidifier I also have anti-static electronics spray that I use regularly and the problem also just appeared one day. It didn't really start and get gradually worse. And as I said it is much worse on prints using mainly cyan. Static, I would think, would cause similar issues on all colors?

 

[J Hill Designs]

do you use OEM inks, or recently switch up ink brands?

 

[LarryB]

More than likely it sounds like a head going bad. If you have been running the printer non stop for 2 years you may have a bad head. Even a bad head will have a good test print. Your Roland tech can run sample prints which can tell.
We have had our printer for 4 years and run it every day and had to start replacing heads at 2-3 years. Best printer I've ever owned hands down.

 

[CS-SignSupply]

How did ink get on the bottom of the cut head cover? Have you ever had any heads replaced? Could be open head... Head strike lately?

 

[CS-SignSupply]

Does the problem vary in different print modes/resolutions? Try to run at High Quality and compare to that of Standard.

 

[WDP]

Bad media or your heat isn't cranked up enuff

 

[Gforce1]

Haha, wow, a lot of responses at once. I will try to go through these all! Thanks to all that are helping out. It's greatly appreciated!

do you use OEM inks, or recently switch up ink brands?

We have been using Red Giant inks for about 6 months (honestly I have been wondering about this myself) I noticed no drop in print quality, color, etc. but maybe it's just different enough to cause head issues? I know lots of people on here use it with great results also so who knows........

More than likely it sounds like a head going bad. If you have been running the printer non stop for 2 years you may have a bad head. Even a bad head will have a good test print. Your Roland tech can run sample prints which can tell.

Honestly, there are no tech's around here that I would trust to look at this thing. We have had a Roland printer in some form for 8 years and in that time there was only one guy I found that actually knew the machines and he moved 3 provinces away now. I have gotten into the service mode and printed off history reports and test prints so if someone can tell me what to look for or would like to see I can upload them as well.

How did ink get on the bottom of the cut head cover? Have you ever had any heads replaced? Could be open head... Head strike lately?

I believe that was just an accidental swipe from a swab during a cleaning. All original heads and no head strikes for well over a year. I believe only once before.

Does the problem vary in different print modes/resolutions? Try to run at High Quality and compare to that of Standard.

No change based on quality settings.....

 

[Gforce1]

Bad media or your heat isn't cranked up enuff

It makes no difference what media is used from low end calendered to high end wrapping cast. Heat settings have not been changed from before. That is what has me stumped. Nothing has changed since we first got it.....If anyone can tell me what needs to be checked in the service mode for signs of a bad head I would appreciate it!

 

[CS-SignSupply]

While in Service Mode, Print your Bias, Vertical, Horizontal and Bi-Di patterns...

Another thing you might try is to swap the ribbon cables on the Cyan head with the next head over... (power off and unplug printer first).

This might tell you if it is the head or something else electrical in the system.

I am surprised Artbot has not commented yet... he seems very knowledgeable.

 

[CarNate69]

This is a bad head. As for which one, I am guessing the cyan head, but getting into service mode and doing the vertical, horizontal, and bi directional adjustments will tell you. If these colors aren't printing right in these tests, it will help you narrow down which head is going bad.

The head has worn out and doesn't know where to spray. Our xc-540 did the same thing and the only thing that stopped it was changing the head.

It looks like when we replaced ours, ours was the Black head. I don't remember why I came to this conclusion, but it fixed it.

You also need to replace your cap tops - have you done this in the past couple of years?

 

[Gforce1]

This is a bad head. As for which one, I am guessing the cyan head, but getting into service mode and doing the vertical, horizontal, and bi directional adjustments will tell you. If these colors aren't printing right in these tests, it will help you narrow down which head is going bad.

The head has worn out and doesn't know where to spray. Our xc-540 did the same thing and the only thing that stopped it was changing the head.

It looks like when we replaced ours, ours was the Black head. I don't remember why I came to this conclusion, but it fixed it.

You also need to replace your cap tops - have you done this in the past couple of years?

Cap tops were just replaced 2 weeks ago! I figured it was probably a head as, like I mentioned, this thing doesn't stop! Great printers!!

 

[cdiesel]

Do the tests like the others have mentioned. If it's the head, you'll know for sure immediately.
Post up the results of the bi-di test.

 

[Gforce1]

Ok, here are a few scans from the tests. If anyone needs to see something else please just let me know! On a side note do most of you have your head height set high or low on the XC's for vinyl?

 

[Tim Kingston]

Does the problem vary in different print modes/resolutions? Try to run at High Quality and compare to that of Standard.

Hi,
I was wondering why you asked. I also have some over spray issues but the printer SJ640 prints perfect on high quality. I have anti static cords in place. Thanks, Tim.

 

[CarNate69]

NONE OF THESE PROBLEMS ARE RELATED TO STATIC. STATIC IS A TOTAL MYTH in 99% of cases!!! These printers are MADE to perform in these type of environments.

I don't see anything wrong with the test prints, but the resolution isn't very high on the scan, so I can't see them as nice as I would like to.

 

[Jack Knight1979]

Agreed with stickercutter.

This is a failing head. They go every couple of years. Dropped nozzles and over spray are signs of weak firing. IE burned out head.

 

[Sticky Signs]

Although I don't think this is your issue, have you tried cleaning the encoder strip? It's probably not that, but it doesn't hurt to clean it. Also, have you tried slowing the head speed down to see if that makes any difference.
Sorry, I've had my xc540 for 3 years and I rarely have any problems with it (knock on wood) so my trouble shooting and maintenance experience on this machine is limited.

Did you know that you can buy a warranty at any time? I bought one last year after my factory warranty ran out. It's already paid for itself.

All Graphic Supplies should be able to set you up with the warranty and or a tech.

Good luck

 

[CarNate69]

Slowing the head speed down will do nothing. If the printer has been printing fine for 2 years like this, it's an obvious problem with the printer, not a problem with any configuration.

Head speed, heat and static, are all huge myths on this board that I never understand people recommending when there is a suddenly a problem with a printer.