Black printing

[akfoy]

When we print the black ink does not have sharp lines. We have a Roland SP300i Versacamm. We have done multiple cleanings and it has improved but not completely go away. Any ideas? Thanks

 

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

More info. Printer mfg. , Model type. Pictures of test print. Do a head alignment.

 

[rjssigns]

Clean the encoder strip.

 

[Andy D]

I don't know Roland specifically but would think if it's just the black ink, your left-right adjustment
is off. If it's looks crisp when you print unidirectional then that pretty much confirms it.

 

[Bengrave]

We have a SP300v, and experience the same problem. When printing a nozzle check, it confirms that there are several nozzles that are out of whack or not firing at all - even after meticulous cleaning. I suspect a prior head strike that did it in, or just age. I had replaced the other head about 2 years ago, so this one is probably due now too. They are a consumable item (although expensive around $1000 for one head). Luckily we have two other Roland printers which get us by. Anything other than small text prints ok (but not great), so it's still somewhat useable now.

 

[Colin]

Because of the higher carbon content of the Black Roland ink, the K-heads are notorious for going south and needing replacement. I replaced one on my SP-540i just over a year ago, and after 6 months it started to fail. No help from Roland either. You could try printing at high quality, and slowing the head speed down from 760 to something like 300 for those jobs that need a cleaner edge or with small text. The newer machines have different heads (and likely a different ink), and so they don't seem to be suffering from this problem. Ka-ching Ka-ching.

 

[Vinyldog]

you can run the co-pec with your roland rep and they can tell you if the head is past it's dead-date, fires and strikes, but verify that it's not just poor artwork before anything.

 

[Colin]

you can run the co-pec with your roland rep and they can tell you if the head is past it's dead-date, fires and strikes, but verify that it's not just poor artwork before anything.

I recently tried that, and had a strange experience where the co-pec file I created would not attach to an email.

 

[truckgraphics]

Encoder Strip

Before you go spending money on the heads, try cleaning the encoder strip. Please do a search here on Signs 101 first, but I believe the strip should be cleaned with rubbing alcohol.

Our previous machine was an SP 300 and the encoder strip was the bane of our existence (though it is a really great machine).

True, the black heads seem to wear out, but you can compensate for that - for awhile - by changing your speed / quality / profile settings.

 

[Vinyldog]

If you search for Roland Black-head issues on here you'll find a few from me. I fought with the problem for about a year using all the remedy's mentioned plus some. I finally blew fuses on the MB following advise from a friend to unplug and re-plug all the ribbon cables.
In the end I think it was just an eight year old worn out head. Co-pec said it was way past expected useful life.