Banding problem

[BigJerm]

*I posted this in the Roland section yesterday, but no reply, so trying here.

Roland SP-540i

Whenever I print a solid color background, I get these lighter colored bands about every 17", but the distance varies. Printing at Standard Quality in RVW. I've even tried converting the colored area to a bitmap (in CorelDraw), but that doesn't fix it. All test-prints are good, and all is clean; new wipers.

Any solutions?

I had the same issue not too long ago. The thing that worked for me was cleaning the crap out of the grit rollers. Use Isopropyl as it has no oil in it. After that, I performed a feed correction. Its on page 103 of the user manual. Here's a link in case you don't still have it.
http://support.rolanddga.com/docs/d...ces/manuals and guides/xc-540 user manual.pdf
Hope this helps you as it did me.

 

[DerbyCitySignGuy]

OK, I know some of you love to build on your knowledge of all things printing, so here’s one to chew on:

My rep/tech suggested that I try a different profile, and while I was skeptical that that’s where the problem lies, I tried it (Generic Vinyl 1) and while it was printing, I spooled off material from the roll at the back of the machine, and then immediately made a little mark with a Stabilo pencil on the edge of the roll right where it was printing, and sure enough that is exactly where a lighter line in the print was born! This confirms my prior suspicion about this possible correlation.

When I clasped the media flange to turn the roll, I could feel static electricity with my hand. So doesn’t this strongly suggest that static is the issue?


http://support.rolanddga.com/docs/documents/departments/technical services/manuals and guides/static suppression for roland printers.pdf

What are the conditions around your printer? Humidity around 50% and temperature around 70? Generally lines like you are experiencing aren't indicative of static. Static tends to create issues that aren't as localized and look more like severe overspray, as the static is literally drawing the ink droplets off of their intended target. I grabbed this image off of the web:

If it were static, you would see something similar to that or an overall discoloration or patches of the print where the color was inconsistent. A static charge to hold on just one small horizontal section of the media is highly unlikely (I won't say impossible, because we've all experience our share of weird stuff).

Did you have a strip of tape down the roll? Sometimes adhesives can remain on the roll and it can look like static or ink starvation. That might be a possibility (I kind of doubt that though).

 

[Jamie0075]

This happens continuously as you print or every time you start a new print?
I had this happen to me on my vp540 and it was tape residue that caused it but of course it only was the one time until that spot passed. Needless to say I don’t use tape when storing my vinyl anymore.

 

[graphix45]

Did you ever get this problem fixed? My printer (vs640) is doing the exact same thing. I'm also getting some banding when printing larger solid panels, mostly blues & purples.

 

[Colin]

It was a static issue. I bought & installed an anti-static flex-cord and it solved the problem.

 

[DerbyCitySignGuy]

It was a static issue. I bought & installed an anti-static flex-cord and it solved the problem.

Crazy! Glad you got it solved. Static is a weird one, normally it doesn't express like that.

 

[graphix45]

Where did you purchase it from?

 

[Colin]

McMaster-Carr.

1x 2805K2 Static Control Cord. 32' long

2x 5685K31 Encased Magnetic Disc with mounting hole

You simply put the string through the hole of the magnet, tie a knot & trim, then put it in place and do the same on the other magnet after pulling the appropriate amount of cord, so that it's a little taught. You want it to be touching or about 1/4" away from the media, after you've spooled off the media.
If & when you do need to spool off some media while it's printing, just do so slowly.

 

[mr-blue]

Hi Colin, did you put the cord at upper-side or at the backside of the media? Did you slow down printhead-movement oder media feed to minimize static?

 

[Colin]

Hi Colin, did you put the cord at upper-side or at the backside of the media? Did you slow down print-head movement or the media feed to minimize static?

The cord goes on the back (liner) side, and you need to adjust it slightly as the roll gets smaller. You set it so that it just touches the media, not too far away and not too firmly. This solved the problem I was having.