Versacamm SP-300i - ink drops on print?

[Grafaig]

Hello,

I am printing a banner on a canvas style vinyl banner material, and the printer leaves some 'drops' every now and then. Does anyone what causes these drops? The dryer is set to 50C and the print head is set to 45C. I am printing at 720 dpi as the image is not overly detailed. I am attaching a pic that shows the magenta drops on the image. When I printed a different banner last week, the background was medium green and the printer was leaving Cyan drops on the green background. At first, I thought it was the vinyl curling slightly, which 'tapped' the carriage and caused the ink to drop, or at least that was my theory. When printing this design, I held the vinyl down and applied a very slight pressure by pulling on the vinyl, gently, while being printed, to prevent the vinyl from curling, but with the Magenta drops, I guess that wasn't the issue after all.

Ideas?

Thanks!

 

[Terry01]

Do a couple of heavy head cleans. You possibly have one nozzle not spaying correctly and leaving ink on the face of the head. Ensure your cap station and wiper are clean.

 

[Grafaig]

Do a couple of heavy head cleans. You possibly have one nozzle not spaying correctly and leaving ink on the face of the head. Ensure your cap station and wiper are clean.

Thanks, I will give that a try.

 

[cornholio]

Check the heads and the area around for fiber attached. They can accumulate ink mist and when the drop gets too heavy, it falls down.
Next possibility could be condensation on the head. If the print zone temp is high and ambient cold, it happens. Reduce print zone temp to 37 Celsius.

 

[Grafaig]

Check the heads and the area around for fiber attached. They can accumulate ink mist and when the drop gets too heavy, it falls down.
Next possibility could be condensation on the head. If the print zone temp is high and ambient cold, it happens. Reduce print zone temp to 37 Celsius.

Will try that next and see if there is something stuck to the head. Regarding head temperatures, is there kind of a standard range for temperatures or do the temperatures changed based on the material. Also, where does one find the recommended values for temperature settings, both drying and head temps?

Thanks!

 

[Grafaig]

Do a couple of heavy head cleans. You possibly have one nozzle not spaying correctly and leaving ink on the face of the head. Ensure your cap station and wiper are clean.

Wipers were replaced recently but will check to see if something is attached to them. Caps should probably be replaced but last time I checked them out, they were still making good contact and looked pretty clean.

Thanks!

 

[cornholio]

For DX4 heads, i'd replace the captops every 12 months.(DX7 sooner)
Not dirt is the problem, it's deformation of the rubber lip.

 

[garyroy]

Take a look at this Magenta print head (see pic) we replaced on our VP-300i about 6 weeks ago. Zoom in.
We were getting red drops on our prints as well. We changed wipers, did manual cleanings, etc.
It would clear up only temporarily, but come back after 10 minutes or so, especially if there was heavy red in the print.
Winds up that somehow (?) maybe a head strike or something, when we removed the head we saw that the area around the head was bent.
That would accumulate ink and drip out from time to time. That might be your problem.

 

[Grafaig]

Take a look at this Magenta print head (see pic) we replaced on our VP-300i about 6 weeks ago. Zoom in.
We were getting red drops on our prints as well. We changed wipers, did manual cleanings, etc.
It would clear up only temporarily, but come back after 10 minutes or so, especially if there was heavy red in the print.
Winds up that somehow (?) maybe a head strike or something, when we removed the head we saw that the area around the head was bent.
That would accumulate ink and drip out from time to time. That might be your problem.

Thanks for the suggestion, will definitely have to take a look and see if the head has suffered a similar fate! Hopefully not but you never know.

Thanks!

 

[Grafaig]

For DX4 heads, i'd replace the captops every 12 months.(DX7 sooner)
Not dirt is the problem, it's deformation of the rubber lip.

Thanks! Will take a look and see the overall quality of the caps.

 

[Grafaig]

Check the heads and the area around for fiber attached. They can accumulate ink mist and when the drop gets too heavy, it falls down.
Next possibility could be condensation on the head. If the print zone temp is high and ambient cold, it happens. Reduce print zone temp to 37 Celsius.

This appeared to be the case! Checked the heads and noticed some very fine 'lint' on the heads. Did a good cleaning with a swab and carefully removed some lint with a pair of tweezers and printed another banner with no issues. Granted, one banner my not be enough to determine if this was resolved, but so far, it worked!

Thanks for your assistance - much appreciated!!