CJV30-130 Lose colours when head or cutter joint hits media

[chapmansigns]

I have had this happen more times than I can count. For some reason if the head or cutter joint strikes the media, I will lose the left side majenta, and sometimes magenta AND cyan...which happened this morning.

I did nozzle washes and cleanings galore, with no change.

It does eventually return, but in the meantime I have a machine down.

Does anyone know why this occurs, and if there is a quick fix. It ONLY happens when it strikes the media.

 

[Solventinkjet]

When the head strikes the media it clogs and damages the nozzles. Head strikes should be avoided at all costs. The reason magenta is the first to be affected is because it is on the leading edge of the head which hits media first and takes most of the brunt.

Media buckling is the major cause of head strikes. Usually the media buckles because the heat settings are too high. Your heat settings should be as hot as possible without any buckling. It takes some trial and error but is worth the effort. Turn the heat down and scroll the media through using the arrow keys on the panel until the media lays flat. You should also check your vacuum settings and turn them up all the way.

Use the media guides on the sides of the material. They are the flat metal pieces that slide on the platen. These protect the edge of the vinyl from sticking up and hitting the head.

Raise the head height to thick mode. Usually this is used for thicker materials but if you are having head strike issues and nothing above helps, this is the last resort. It can affect the quality though.

Make sure you are loading the material straight and the pinch rollers are spaced evenly. Unevenly loaded material will always buckle eventually. Poorly spaced pinch rollers cause the same issue.

 

[chapmansigns]

thank you, but I am not trying to avoid media strikes...That I know. Sometimes, things happen. It is not often...but it happens.

What I am trying to ascertain is quick print recovery.

The head should not be clogged, as it didn't hit the media, the cutter joint did.

 

[Solventinkjet]

As long as your maintenance station is in proper working order, a simple cleaning should recover the head and if not a nozzle wash should. If it doesn't, most likely the maintenance station is in bad shape.