Black Specks On Film XC-540

[quikseps]

I have a new XC-540.....only half the original ink has been exhausted. Anyhow, I'm getting somewhat erratic "black specks" along the left edge of my vinyl....only within 1.5 inch or so from the left edge all of a sudden. The size of the specks are about 1 - 2 mm and have kind of a "spit" look to them.

Dealer said probably needs a cleaning so I checked...the areas around the print heads are immaculate and the wipers appear okay and not too dirty.

Any suggestions?

 

[cdiesel]

Is this happening during long print runs? If so, the XC has an option to perform periodic cleanings while printing. If not, it probably needs a cleaning. I'd just run a standard head cleaning on at least the black head, but probably just do them all as preventative maintenance.

 

[quikseps]

No...it started happening on a small run. 72 decals, 12 across 6 deep. All my jobs are like that....nothing long. I'll try a head cleaning, etc.

I just found it odd these spots only occur on the extreme left edge and nowhere else?

 

[cdiesel]

It's called drop-out, and i've only seen it when printing constantly all day (once). We don't have our set to clean periodically, as I think it would slow things way down and waste ink. Also, I don't think it's really necessary since I've only seen drop-out once.

 

[quikseps]

Well, if this drop-out continues with a brand new machine with hardly any use...the dealer will be dropping out a tech to make sure this machine is okay. LOL!

 

[Robert M]

Dust

I know you said that you cleaned the heads, but I would look again. I have seen machines with just a thin hair of dust stuck to the head. The dust collects the mist of ink as the head is being fired. Once it builds up to a drop it falls, most often on the left side when the head changes direction.

 

[cdiesel]

Well, drop out is normal when the heads are dirty. It should go away with a simple auto cleaning. When was the last time you manually cleaned the machine?

 

[customsticker]

YOu need to break one of the cleaning cartridges open and take a swab, dip it in, and go at it. The heads should SHINE silver and not be black at all. This includes around the bottom area of the head and around the outside edges. What it sounds like is the head is gunked up and needs a good manual cleaning with a swab. A dry swab almost never does it well enough for me, since the ink tends to dry in places making it hard to clean without being too harsh.

If you aren't quite sure what it looks like when its perfectly clean, its hard to know if you got it 100% clean.

 

[Jackpine]

I know you said that you cleaned the heads, but I would look again. I have seen machines with just a thin hair of dust stuck to the head. The dust collects the mist of ink as the head is being fired. Once it builds up to a drop it falls, most often on the left side when the head changes direction.

This is exactly what happens on my Mutoh. Keep the outside of the heads and the bottom outside edge clean and with regular head cleanings this will eliminate a lot of problems.