Question 3rd Party Gerber Solara IONx inks

[Johnny Riddle]

What wrong with the machine you have?

What wrong with the machine you have?

I'm Not sure if anything is wrong with the machine. I just bought it at a storage auction, they told me it was in storage for about 1 year. I'd have to add a 220 volt plug in my garage just to turn it on. But I really know nothing about this machine, so if I plug it in I still wouldn't know anything new. I do know a couple of the ink bags feel like they have ink inside. but I know all the lines are disconnected from them. I assume they cleaned it out before putting it in storage. It has several pages of daily logs with it.

 

[TimToad]

I'm Not sure if anything is wrong with the machine. I just bought it at a storage auction, they told me it was in storage for about 1 year. I'd have to add a 220 volt plug in my garage just to turn it on. But I really know nothing about this machine, so if I plug it in I still wouldn't know anything new. I do know a couple of the ink bags feel like they have ink inside. but I know all the lines are disconnected from them. I assume they cleaned it out before putting it in storage. It has several pages of daily logs with it.

Well, I suppose you could reverse the vacuums and turn it into a kick ass air hockey table. LOL

 

[Johnny Riddle]

LOL very expensive hockey table. I have a friend that in the printing business, I'll see if he can come check it out and see if it runs. I really don't want to run ink thru the thing since I don't have any cleaner. I just really want to sell the thing some where .

 

[TimToad]

LOL very expensive hockey table. I have a friend that in the printing business, I'll see if he can come check it out and see if it runs. I really don't want to run ink thru the thing since I don't have any cleaner. I just really want to sell the thing some where .

The printheads and circuit boards are probably the most valuable parts. Unfortunately, few people will buy the heads without seeing how many nozzles are out on them.

 

[Johnny Riddle]

ink is available from a company in china, or there is also a retrofit kit available to use the more standard uv ink. what would you like for your spare parts list?

Where can I get the retrofit kit ?
I did find the ink available in china , they says it's for the Gerber Uv flatbed.

 

[TimToad]

Where can I get the retrofit kit ?
I did find the ink available in china , they says it's for the Gerber Uv flatbed.

This company is located in Texas and is offering a plug n' play pouch of compatible ink for this machine.

https://cuantek-usa.com/

The chinese supplier was a pain to try and deal with. I tried getting them to send me a clear photo of the ingredient list off the ink pouch to compare to an OEM pouch and they wouldn't do it and then they have this weird pricing and shipping cost structure. Its $100 per pouch for the ink only, but if you buy only one pouch at a time it's like $200 for shipping/currency exchange. If you buy all four color pouches, the shipping is only $100 for all four combined, which is a great deal, but only if the ink is the correct formula and will work right.

 

[Gerberhackuv]

Cuantek ink is not yet ready for these machines. Tried it, but the current formula is for all the machines that have a higher uv heat wavelength.

Current ink supply for these machines without modifications is
Super image technologies in china
https://superimagetech.en.made-in-c...at-UV-Ink-Pouches-Gerber-Solara-Ink-Bags.html
i have a bag of the china ink and will test it as soon as i can get my vacuum error sorted with my machine.
someone mentioned another us supplier but i forget who it was.

this supplier sells a modification kit and a bulk ink setup for if the specialized ink supply dries up or if you want to convert it later.
https://lavaink.com/Inks-Parts/product/gerber-uv-ink/

 

[Gerberhackuv]

Superimage ink from china is just standard UV cure ink, wipes right off a test print while the other inks stay. the aftermarket ink manufactures assume that this UV ink is the same as all the other UV printers that cure with higher UV output. converting these machines look like the only option unless someone formulates the proper ink.

 

[TimToad]

Superimage ink from china is just standard UV cure ink, wipes right off a test print while the other inks stay. the aftermarket ink manufactures assume that this UV ink is the same as all the other UV printers that cure with higher UV output. converting these machines look like the only option unless someone formulates the proper ink.

So, what you've concluded is that the LAVAink conversion kit is the only way to keep running the printer?

Has anyone tried getting through to Konica Minolta to see if they are producing the same formula under another name or brand?

 

[Gerberhackuv]

I'm working on getting ink reformulated from superimage in China, the stuff they sent me was just the standard uv ink they produce and repackaged. They said to give them uv wavelength spec, so I am trying to get that information from the bulb manufacturer. I'm tempted to just go the lava ink route, or maybe rig up my own retrofit kit. If I could track down any more people that have these machines, it would be appropriate to put some pressure on gerber to fix the problems they created for alot of customers.

 

[TimToad]

I'm working on getting ink reformulated from superimage in China, the stuff they sent me was just the standard uv ink they produce and repackaged. They said to give them uv wavelength spec, so I am trying to get that information from the bulb manufacturer. I'm tempted to just go the lava ink route, or maybe rig up my own retrofit kit. If I could track down any more people that have these machines, it would be appropriate to put some pressure on gerber to fix the problems they created for alot of customers.

I seriously doubt GERBER is going to do anything for anyone. They've washed their hands of the machine and walked away.

I'm trying to figure out why Konica Minolta would take over producing the ink for them and then also just walk away, when they also manufacture the printheads. The printhead is used in multiple other brands of UV printers, so you'd think that there is an ongoing market for the ink. How I can help find out what the wavelength is on our lamps?

 

[TimToad]

I found this:

https://www.cureuv.com/products/ger...glxisPiWRj-wGsc1m6SBhunSzA5aTjKBoChx0QAvD_BwE

 

[Gerberhackuv]

GPHHA1905T6L/4p is my bulb part number, it's manufactured by a company called lightsource, they have specifications on similar bulbs but not this specific length and this changes the wavelength apparently. Another option is 2 use a UV wavelength detector and measure output when the machine is running.

 

[Gerberhackuv]

GPHHA1905T6L/4p is my bulb part number, it's manufactured by a company called lightsource, they have specifications on similar bulbs but not this specific length and this changes the wavelength apparently. Another option is 2 use a UV wavelength detector and measure output when the machine is running.

Having 2 bulbs may make a difference on the output Aswell.

 

[Gerberhackuv]

going to convert to an LED curing system, conversion should be fairly straight forward. the low wavelength uv ink is not a viable option.

 

[TimToad]

going to convert to an LED curing system, conversion should be fairly straight forward. the low wavelength uv ink is not a viable option.

We're just not sure we want to invest $3,000 in the conversion on a 10+ year old machine that has limited parts availability in other areas of the printer.

My contact at the ink company down in Texas working on it informed me a couple of weeks ago that they were close to fine tuning their formula and that a local sign company has an ION Solara with the original lamps and is working with them on testing.

We've stopped printing in order to preserve what ink we still have and keeping our fingers crossed that those folks figure it out. They seem to think its close and that they've been contacted by enough owners hoping to keep using their machines to make it worth the investment for them.

If you intend to make the conversion, do you have any OEM ink you'd be interested in selling?

 

[TimToad]

going to convert to an LED curing system, conversion should be fairly straight forward. the low wavelength uv ink is not a viable option.

I just received this message from the ink supplier in Texas.

 

[Gerberhackuv]

I just received this message from the ink supplier in Texas.

lol I also got the same message after I posted.. we will see, If the ink is going to be more expensive I may still convert the machine, I have less than $500 invested into it, so it may make sense for me to do it. I will try the texas ink if viable. may not be a good long term plan with only 1 suppler of ink though. we will see.

 

[TimToad]

lol I also got the same message after I posted.. we will see, If the ink is going to be more expensive I may still convert the machine, I have less than $500 invested into it, so it may make sense for me to do it. I will try the texas ink if viable. may not be a good long term plan with only 1 suppler of ink though. we will see.

I hear ya. We certainly don't have the ION included in even our medium range, let alone long range plans.

For the things it does well, we planned on using it until we were forced to sell it for scrap and parts. To those who do the ink conversion and know that the heads are a readily available part, it could augment someone's equipment setup. It's never been the backbone of our operation.

At half the price of the OEM ink, it's worth it to us to at least try the ink they come up with before giving up on the machine for good. Even if we milked it for another year or two before turning it into scrap, it would be worth it if the ink is compatible.

 

[stickerhed]

Actually, dAnyone need parts for this machine? I will be taking mine apart in the next few weeks, all parts work, except an ink pump. Email me with your needs. Doug@signaramajanesville.com

I don't know how to delete this post, but I took one last look at the printer before I started taking it apart and I was able to fix it, so it now runs again, so please hold off on the asking for parts