Arizona spitting on prints

[edcooleyar]

We’re 3 months new with the arizona 2380XTF and it’s been going well.

This week it started spitting on the prints. Happening on white floods and randomly on other colors. We print mostly photographs on acrylic and dibond so a spit ruins the piece. A magenta spit was preceded by a blocked nozzle, after the spit the rest of the print was clear. Nozzle checks are all clean. Canon thought it might be buildup on the carriage but happens right after cleaning.

Any idea on what might cause this?

 

[YouWantItWhen?!!]

We had the same problem with our 1380GT, I’m conviced it’s either media or static related


We printed certain jobs on PVC without problems for ages and then the customer decided they wanted to go “plastic free”. We started printing on coated board and got the same problems as you seem to have, wiped the printheads with flush, purged the the printheads, wiped the media with IPA cloths, still the spitting happened, exactly the same size and shape as your photo only it was yellow in our case.


I wiped underneath the anti static bar and bought a different make of uncoated board and the problem went away but I don’t know whether it was the anti static bar or the different media that solved the problem.

 

[rx7boy]

We had the same problem with our 1380GT, I’m conviced it’s either media or static related


We printed certain jobs on PVC without problems for ages and then the customer decided they wanted to go “plastic free”. We started printing on coated board and got the same problems as you seem to have, wiped the printheads with flush, purged the the printheads, wiped the media with IPA cloths, still the spitting happened, exactly the same size and shape as your photo only it was yellow in our case.


I wiped underneath the anti static bar and bought a different make of uncoated board and the problem went away but I don’t know whether it was the anti static bar or the different media that solved the problem.

We have an older Arizona 350 and has happened to us over the years as well. Our is from if the head picks up a slight piece of dust then the ink will form a droplet then it will spit on the media randomly until we pause it and visually look and see the micro spec of dust/ tiny hair or fuzz then just quickly swab it then back to printing again and all is good. Even though we have the anti static bar and have wiped all the media and visually inspected it.

Not sure if your is the same but sure looks like it. We just installed a new HP R Printer and are loving it so far. No more problems with static or ink spits at all that would ruin prints. We still have our Arizona though.

 

[Select Bulgaria Service]

So ...
The story with meniscus vacuum is the long.
I'm afraid that with help from here it may not work. If you are my client I will want to do some checks before I say what I think about this topic. Call someone with experience and tools from Canon. This machine should be under warranty. The problem is probably very small, but it is a vacuum. Can not see it.
Print on cheap material and see if a drop collects under any head. Pause and watch.

I will tell the colleague above (because I know all the latex) that yes ... there are no problems with the vacuum, but there are a number of others.
After 10 years, 2380 will work the same way. The latex will have disintegrated. I can write for hours.

 

[edcooleyar]

Thanks so much for the replies.

Rx7boy was right on. There was a piece of fiber stuck to the topside of the carriage tray hanging out slightly near the magenta head that was wicking ink until it dripped. I’m heading to Arizona tech school next week and just received access to the tech manual which diagnosed it perfectly as well.

We used to roll the acrylic with a silicone dust roller before printing and suspect that was creating extra static and contributing to the problem. We now wipe with antistatic solution and blow off the dust.

Last two days, no drops so fingers crossed.

 

[edcooleyar]

I will tell the colleague above (because I know all the latex) that yes ... there are no problems with the vacuum, but there are a number of others.
After 10 years, 2380 will work the same way. The latex will have disintegrated. I can write for hours.

We actually came close to buying the R2000 instead of the Arizona but there were just too many issues for us to be comfortable.

 

[rx7boy]

We actually came close to buying the R2000 instead of the Arizona but there were just too many issues for us to be comfortable.

Glad it helped you.

Yes I understand there will be issues with our r1000 also. We have had our other hp latex printers for going on 8 years now and they are still working fine, yes they have needed some tlc and parts over the years but no different than our Arizona. Still love Arizona's we just wanted the latex ink technology in a flatbed. So far it is awesome

 

[Pauly]

Thanks so much for the replies.

Rx7boy was right on. There was a piece of fiber stuck to the topside of the carriage tray hanging out slightly near the magenta head that was wicking ink until it dripped. I’m heading to Arizona tech school next week and just received access to the tech manual which diagnosed it perfectly as well.

We used to roll the acrylic with a silicone dust roller before printing and suspect that was creating extra static and contributing to the problem. We now wipe with antistatic solution and blow off the dust.

Last two days, no drops so fingers crossed.

As if that's not the first thing you check?
Every morning you should clean the undercarriage plate.
Any ink drop is generally the cause from static and dust/dirt getting caught on the print heads or undercarriage.

 

[White Haus]

We've had this happen too on our Arizona, and is always due to static causing dust/fibers to cling to the carriage.

Keep your humidity as high as possible (50+%) and visually inspect head area and sheet before each critical print.

 

[Select Bulgaria Service]

Glad it helped you.

Yes I understand there will be issues with our r1000 also. We have had our other hp latex printers for going on 8 years now and they are still working fine, yes they have needed some tlc and parts over the years but no different than our Arizona. Still love Arizona's we just wanted the latex ink technology in a flatbed. So far it is awesome

I'm not saying I don't like the way latex prints. On the contrary. But all this plastic and expensive kits for maintenance and service. All this replacement of filters and cleaning rolls, valves, hoses, etc. You can not buy only one spare part. You have to buy assy. They annoy me. You never know if you will print a whole roll of material or if a head will die. Distortions of temperature during drying, etc. The idea is good, but the implementation is aimed at making a lot of money for the manufacturer. That abrupt stop of consumables for the old models was also an amazing performance.
Nobody cares about the end user.
New firmware every month. I have tons of newsletters and technical bulletins. Wondering whether to read newsletters or work.
Not to mention that these thermal heads are obsolete. On top of that, they are Canon technology.
These spring contacts between the heads and the print headboards create tons of problems.
If you don't stop printing with Arizona, it will print better and better. I can't say that about latex.
On the other hand, when latex prints, it prints really wonderfully. The inks are water-based and have no odor. They are stretchable, etc.
If you keep the Arizona table free of dust and fibers, especially before printing (about five minutes to clean),
If you do the maintenance according to the documentation and print regularly, not every three days or a week ... You will print for years without any problems.
One of the most expensive things in the industry is a broken machine that doesn't produce. If you print one square a day - you will have problems and this printer is not for you.
It's a good idea to buy HP R series.
If you print one or more shifts a day - everything will be fine and the Arizona printer is your machine.
This is just my opinion, which I do not want everyone to agree with .

 

[EmilyAlice3]

We've had this happen too on our Arizona, and is always due to static causing dust/fibers to cling to the carriage.

Keep your humidity as high as possible (50+%) and visually inspect head area and sheet before each critical print.

My Acuity (Fuji branded Arizona) is located in an area very difficult to climate control. I run several different weights of polystyrene which loves static. I do two things when she starts spitting at me: 1 - clean the undercarriage with isopropyl alcohol 99% 2 - run an invisible vapor humidifier near my printer, but not too close. That seems to do the trick. For me, this is a frequent wintertime issue, but that's Ohio!

 

[edcooleyar]

My Acuity (Fuji branded Arizona) is located in an area very difficult to climate control. I run several different weights of polystyrene which loves static. I do two things when she starts spitting at me: 1 - clean the undercarriage with isopropyl alcohol 99% 2 - run an invisible vapor humidifier near my printer, but not too close. That seems to do the trick. For me, this is a frequent wintertime issue, but that's Ohio!

I know the humidity is a contributing issue. Fortunately we haven’t lost a print in a week. We’re looking into an environment control unit for the HVAC. Here in Arkansas it’s too humid in the summer for our sublimation process and too dry in winter for the inkjets.