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An URGENT plea for help!

Vinylman

New Member
I need the help of someone here on this site:
Here I sit on a Sunday afternoon with a heavy heart, and a daunting task ahead of me.

Please bear with me as I attempt to bring you all up to speed and also to clarify how you might help if you feel so lead.

About 2 ½ years ago a friend of mine was diagnosed with colon cancer. His name is Mike. Mike is in his early 40's, has a wife and two sons ages 17, 21.
Not so dissimilar to many who frequent this forum.

After successful surgery and chemo treatments Mike was in remission.
Then a year and a half ago, during routine follow up with the doctors, they found that the cancer had come back and attacked Mikes liver.

Mike was a school teacher with one of the most remarkable gifts of reaching young teen kids, and role modeling Genuine Christian faith and living.
Mike has been a hard worker most of his adult life, and has built a small but steady wholesale digital printing business to assist his families finances while working full time in a small Christian school environment. Needless to say the extra money from Mikes wholesale banner printing business has been critical to his family.

Here is where the story shifts. After a valiant two year battle, six to seven months ago, I could see Mikes health was slipping away, and I approached he and his wife Sandy about how I might help them. Long story short I have been doing more and more of his printing projects for him as his health has slowly worsened.

This past Tuesday Mike and his wife flew to Philadelphia to have the Oncologists evaluate the last round of radiation, and how it has effected Mikes prognosis.
The news was NOT good.
Yesterday, Sandy called and asked for prayer. The doctors have sent Mike home to die. My heart aches right now, but this is not about me. It is about how, sometimes we are offered extraordinary opportunities to touch another persons life in a positive way. Mike has spent his life helping others, and now in some very small way I would like to help Mike and his family.

Here is where I need your help.

Mike has two digital printers that have not been used very much over the last several months, and as such, they will need maintenance in order that they can be sold to pay off notes that are hanging over the heads of my friend and his family.

One is a Mutoh PrismJet Extra SDMP38J
The other is a Roland SolJet SJ-600.

I have had some experience with the Roland printer { I rebuilt a CJ-500 about a year ago} but the Mutoh is foreign to me.

I have an almost new Mimaki, and so I have lost the everyday hands on skills necessary to effectively restore Mikes printers. I believe that with some outside help I can get these printers working correctly.

I began working on the Roland two weeks ago, and the print quality right now is way below average. I need to flush the entire system, and perhaps replace the print heads. I am not sure yet.

I want to get these machines flushed and cleaned, and prepared for sale. And I am well aware that until I can get these printers running within their capabilities that they are more of a liability to Mike and his family than they are an asset.
The family has no money, so I am willing to do all the maintenance work at no charge.

Where I could use your help, is having access to a knowledge base regarding how to get into the service modes on these two different printers, and any other help as to what steps and in what order to take so I can help my friend in his hour of need.

I will be glad to pay for any phone calls that are necessary to properly communicate back and forth with my questions, I just need the folks who have first hand knowledge { perhaps a trained tech} that would be able to help me do this correctly.
Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.

Respectfully,
Bob Cole
 
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SqueeGee

New Member
Bob,

I just wanted to let you know that I think you're being a very good friend to this man and his family. I don't know how to help as I just have a Mimaki also but at least this gives the thread a "bump".
 

Dave Drane

New Member
Sorry that I can't help, but I can offer my sympathy. What a terrible time to find out this awful news. May the new year be better and i hope your friend Mike is comfortable.
 

rwsignguy

New Member
we did some work on an older mutoh and roland and found the print systems to be very very similar, if you know roland you might know the other as well. The best way to learn is to rip it open. My prayers go out to your friend and his family as well. I wish I could be of more help.
 

astro8

New Member
Sorry to hear this, I don't mean to sound like a bastard, but they're drying up as you're waiting around for help that may never come. If you want to help this family find/download maintenance manuals (anyone got maintenance manuals for these printers??) and get reading, get to work, make a commitment to yourself and don't stop until they're fixed....(like I, or a dozen others reading this would do.)

Pretty hard walking someone through a printer rebuild over the phone...You can do it, you say you've rebuilt a printer before. You know these printers were working, it's not superbrain stuff, you can do it Bob, so just do it.
 

I-Style

New Member
Bob,
I just wanted to let you know that I think you're being a very good friend to this man and his family.I'm to new in the biz to help you then only thing i can offer is sympathy and wishing you success and all the best for 2010.

Frank
 

Vinylman

New Member
Thanks to each of you that have responded. I will take each suggestion, and apply them as best as possible. The work begins this morning as I will be going to Mikes studio to start the evaluation of the equipment.

A special thanks to miguelon.lizarraga.
I will give Randy @ Mutoh a call today, as soon as I find a phone number for him.
 

signage

New Member
One suggestion would be to place some cleaning solution for each ink set into the capping station to keep the jead wet while you wait for info!
 

Gino

Premium Subscriber
There is a new member here who joined after the '09 mixer in PA at our place. Ask for Dave Phillips. Here’s his contact info…


Graphic Resource Systems

dphilipps@thegrs.com

He’s a great guy and could possibly help you. His knowledge is extensive and he is a very nice human being.

Good Luck in what you're doing........... :thumb:
 

DrCAS

New Member
Dave Phillips is an awesome guy. I have bought equipment and software from hi for years. Very knowledgeable and a heck of a nice guy besides...
 

Vinylman

New Member
Thanks to those who have offered help!!

I may not be able to adequately express my gratitude to those who have offered help with this on going situation, but Mike and his family are being assisted in the best way possible by the efforts of those both on this board and the special people who have contacted me privately to give the added encouragement to continue this work.

THANK YOU so VERY MUCH!

And a SPECIAL Thank You to the person who has unselfishly given me access to a service manual that will be invaluable in my completing the necessary work on these machines. I know who you are, and so does God. We both are in deepest gratitude fro your extra special help.:thumb:

{ ]signage "One suggestion would be to place some cleaning solution for each ink set into the capping station to keep the head wet while you wait for info! "} I did this first thing this morning.

At this time, starting from no printable image, at this point the Roland is producing very decent quality prints. { being anal retentive I will not be satisfied till it is factory perfect} but tomorrow is a another day. I am going to buy and put in several fresh ink carts, and do a few small final adjustments.

Tomorrow I attack the Mutoh .
 

copythat

New Member
Thanks Gino

Graphic Resource Systems

dphilipps@thegrs.com

Dave is the right guy to ask for help. He is my Mutoh distributor. I can only offer my sympathy, and send a little funds over to GRS to help the cuase. Your a good man Bob.

Tommy
 
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Dave Philipps

New Member
Bob
I do not always get the chance to review the posts on Signs101, normally too busy and this is the reason for my delayed response to your request for help. Bob your situation certainly is a touching story and I would love to offer my companies’ assistance to help ease the problems for Mike and his family. You are a good man and great friend to Mike to take on what you are doing.
What I would like to offer is the following but before I do this I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the kind words of my friends, Gino (Wise Signs) Bruce (Dr CAS) and Tommy (Copythat) for their unsolicited compliments they gave to me. So thanks guys.
Now on to what I can do and will offer
1) We service the following printers
a. Seiko Colorpainter
b. HP 9000
c. Mimaki JV3
d. Mutoh Valuejet printers
2) We do not service Roland printers but it seems you already have the Roland under control if you do have any problems I have several reseller peers of mine that might be able to help, so let me know. The Mutoh PrismJet Extra is actually a product that Sign Warehouse sells and Mutoh private labels it for them.
3) So neither of these printers you are working on are models we currently service. However the mechanics of all printers are somewhat similar and you can call either one of our techs with any questions you may have and they may be able to offer some suggestions. I have spoken to both of them about this and they are aware you may be calling. I have listed their contact information below
a. Chris Philipps cphilipps@thegrs.com 973-808-8600 ext 116
b. Yuri Algarin yalgarin@thegrs.com 973-808-8600 ext 118
4) You should be able to reach either one by phone or e-mail. If you are unable to reach them you can call me directly and I will offer what assistance I can. My contact information is below.
a. Dave Philipps dphilipps@thegrs.com 973-808-8600 ext 112
b. Normally we would charge for tech support but for your situation on any of these calls to our technical support they will be free of charge.
5) I am not sure if you were able to contact Randy from Mutoh, so I am going to copy this information to Randy. His contact information is below.
a. Randy Anderson randerson@mutoh.com 480-968-7772 ext 237
6) I am also going to send an e-mail to Erik Gripp VP of Sign Warehouse and see what Erik may be able to do to help out.
I hope this helps and please offer my prayers to Mike and his family.
 

Vinylman

New Member
Just a brief but sad update.
I have been away from this thread for a number of days.

Sadly Mike lost to his battle with Cancer on Saturday Jan.2,2010.
He was one of the truest Christian men I have had the pleasure to know. For a man with NO public following, and from a small mid western town, to have 400+ people attend his funeral is a statement in its self as to the type of man that Mike Breidenstein was. It was my priviledge to know him and be available in his families hour of need.

My thanks to those who have offered and some who have already provided assistance.

I will no doubt be calling on some of you in the next few weeks to pick your collective brains as I try to finish the repair / restoration work on the two printers.
Right now my priority is attempting to fulfill the orders that have come in and to be whatever consolation I can to Sandi and the boys.

Again Thank You for your prayers and help.

Bob Cole
 
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