Need Help Roland XR-640 wont print at all

[SignifiedGraphics]

Recently bought a roland XR-640 that had been sitting for a few months due to last owner buying the latest model. It was stored in unfavorable conditions being that the carriage was in the center of track and not in capping station. I recently bought all new maintenance parts (wiper, felt, cleaning solution) and did the recommended maintenance along with powerful cleaning to try and get ink flowing to no avail. Looked closer at cap station and they were dry along with alittle ink dried on heads. I'm suspecting dried heads to be the culprit due to it working before storage. Both print heads won't print a test print and im hoping I can possibly save the heads. If anyone has any advice on what I should do or can try to save what I have that would be great. Thanks in advance

 

[Lucid]

I don't know anything about this model, but I have a Compress UV 1200 printer that uses epson print heads. If I have a print head with nozzles I suspect are plugged, I'll manually push flush through the head with a syringe. It requires taking the print head out. Before doing that I would look and see if there are any instructions on how to do that for your specific print head. I'll warn you it rarely fixes clogged nozzles, and even if it does, you don't have much life left in the head anyway. It will tell you if that's your problem though. With the way your machine was stored, you almost certainly have to replace the heads. You should consider print heads a consumable component. The life depends on your machine and how well you take care of the head.

If you get literally nothing when your do a nozzle check, you could have a fuse blown on one of the boards. I've had this happen in the past, but I don't know where that is on your machine. You would need to check the manual.

 

[Joe House]

A few months with the heads properly capped would probably be a challenge, but with head soaking and cleanings you might get the heads to clear up some. If the heads were uncapped for a couple of months, you've probably got a boat anchor. Those heads are fragile and won't take a lot of forceful fluid movement. Whatever you do be gentle. I would start with running cleaning fluid through the lines till it runs clear there. If you get that cleared up, then take the heads out and soak them in cleaning fluid. The trick is to pull cleaning fluid up from the bottom to the top where the dampers sit with a syringe - all the while making sure that you don't get any fluid on the electronics. Once you can pull cleaning fluid up through the manifold, you can try going the other direction. If you can get a good curtain of cleaning fluid coming out the bottom (remember to be gentle all the time) then you're ready to try loading up with ink and printing.

Good Luck.

 

[Lucid]

A few months with the heads properly capped would probably be a challenge, but with head soaking and cleanings you might get the heads to clear up some. If the heads were uncapped for a couple of months, you've probably got a boat anchor. Those heads are fragile and won't take a lot of forceful fluid movement. Whatever you do be gentle. I would start with running cleaning fluid through the lines till it runs clear there. If you get that cleared up, then take the heads out and soak them in cleaning fluid. The trick is to pull cleaning fluid up from the bottom to the top where the dampers sit with a syringe - all the while making sure that you don't get any fluid on the electronics. Once you can pull cleaning fluid up through the manifold, you can try going the other direction. If you can get a good curtain of cleaning fluid coming out the bottom (remember to be gentle all the time) then you're ready to try loading up with ink and printing.

Good Luck.

Yes, good emphasis on being gentle. I don't think he has much to lose with trying this because based on how it was stored they are probably shot.

 

[SignifiedGraphics]

Thank you guys for the replies. I will give this a shot and see what I can come up with. Hopefully the heads can be saved but if not I'll just replace them. Would any syringe work or do I need to get a tube as well to connect to the heads? Or would a head soak be better to do? Either way I'll definitely keep in mind to be gentle.

 

[Lucid]

Thank you guys for the replies. I will give this a shot and see what I can come up with. Hopefully the heads can be saved but if not I'll just replace them. Would any syringe work or do I need to get a tube as well to connect to the heads? Or would a head soak be better to do? Either way I'll definitely keep in mind to be gentle.

Start with the head soak because it's less aggressive. If that doesn't work, you should look to see if there are any instructions or tutorials on how to do the flush for your print head. For mine, I have a syringe and tube that came with the printer.

 

[SignifiedGraphics]

Start with the head soak because it's less aggressive. If that doesn't work, you should look to see if there are any instructions or tutorials on how to do the flush for your print head. For mine, I have a syringe and tube that came with the printer.

Ok I'll start with a head soak and If that doesn't work I'll try the flush method. I just ordered a syringe and tube from Amazon that should be here later on today. Also I did see someone doing the flush method on youtube with the same heads I have on my roland. In the meantime ill check to see if my cap top tubes arent clogged as well. I will post my results on here after the head soak/flush. Thanks again for the advice

 

[garyroy]

A properly running XR-640 is a monster workhorse. I have the model below that and have been running it for 12 years.
It's incredible to think that the previous owner would treat the machine like that. He should have at least kept it plugged in and did a head cleaning once a week.
Be VERY VERY careful who you order a printhead from. There are some vicious scammers on the internet. They will take your money and never ship the item!
I suggest buying from a reputable supplier from this website. Maybe even call them and talk to them We use Solventinkjet.com but there are others.
I believe that is a DX7 printhead. They are big heads and expensive and might require some skill to install and configure. If there is a good tech nearby you might want to
consider some help from him first time around.

Have you ever seen a brand-new radiator? How shiny and well aligned the fins are. If you touch the fins little too hard, they bend and you can't straighten them again.
Thats similar to a print head. Even too many heavy purge cleanings will "bend" the sensitive nozzles of the print head and shred them. Be careful.

Do you mind if we ask what you paid for it?

 

[SignifiedGraphics]

A properly running XR-640 is a monster workhorse. I have the model below that and have been running it for 12 years.
It's incredible to think that the previous owner would treat the machine like that. He should have at least kept it plugged in and did a head cleaning once a week.
Be VERY VERY careful who you order a printhead from. There are some vicious scammers on the internet. They will take your money and never ship the item!
I suggest buying from a reputable supplier from this website. Maybe even call them and talk to them We use Solventinkjet.com but there are others.
I believe that is a DX7 printhead. They are big heads and expensive and might require some skill to install and configure. If there is a good tech nearby you might want to
consider some help from him first time around.

Have you ever seen a brand-new radiator? How shiny and well aligned the fins are. If you touch the fins little too hard, they bend and you can't straighten them again.
Thats similar to a print head. Even too many heavy purge cleanings will "bend" the sensitive nozzles of the print head and shred them. Be careful.

Do you mind if we ask what you paid for

A properly running XR-640 is a monster workhorse. I have the model below that and have been running it for 12 years.
It's incredible to think that the previous owner would treat the machine like that. He should have at least kept it plugged in and did a head cleaning once a week.
Be VERY VERY careful who you order a printhead from. There are some vicious scammers on the internet. They will take your money and never ship the item!
I suggest buying from a reputable supplier from this website. Maybe even call them and talk to them We use Solventinkjet.com but there are others.
I believe that is a DX7 printhead. They are big heads and expensive and might require some skill to install and configure. If there is a good tech nearby you might want to
consider some help from him first time around.

Have you ever seen a brand-new radiator? How shiny and well aligned the fins are. If you touch the fins little too hard, they bend and you can't straighten them again.
Thats similar to a print head. Even too many heavy purge cleanings will "bend" the sensitive nozzles of the print head and shred them. Be careful.

Do you mind if we ask what you paid for it?

I've heard really good things about the XR-640. My Uncle was the last owner of this machine whom I bought it from and he has usually been on top of maintenance for the machine. Unfortunately it was one of his workers that shut it down mid print because the new machine came in. When it was shut down from main power it never returned to the capping station. Also I didn't know there was alot of scammers for the print heads. That's good information to know thank you. I seen the cost was something like $2,200 per print head if not more. The radiator analogy makes total sense. I know the nozzle size is microns small so I believe it to be sensitive. As far as what I paid for it. I got a really good deal since it was family but I only paid $1,200 for the roland XR-640 and a graphtec 64" plotter.

 

[garyroy]

At $1200, with a cutter, a very sweet deal. Wish I had an uncle like that,
Might be worth 2 new print heads professionally installed, I would if it were my machine.
As far as an employee who shuts a machine down mid print and leaves it like that, I would shut him down mid-day, then probably let him move on down the road (lol).
I hope it works out good for you. You've got some good equipment.

 

[SYYED SHAKEER]

You got a steal of a deal and believe you yourself can bring back this printer. Make contact with solventinkjet here on the site , they can guide you accordingly with purchases and advice. Let us know how it goes.