Need Help Damper running out of ink in the middle of the print?

[czwalga]

I have a mutoh 1324. I recently replaced the head and dampers.

It's printing well, but sometimes in the middle of a larger print, one of the colors just stops printing. Like the damper ran out of ink. After a cleaning cycle which draws more ink, it goes back to printing fine again.


Any suggestions?

 

[Solventinkjet]

Check the ink lines above the dampers for air bubbles. If there are any, there is an air leak most likely around the damper area. Did you change the little white clips and o-rings along with the dampers or just the damper itself?

 

[hand851]

Replace the maintenance station. It's not sucking enough.

 

[czwalga]

Still having issues. Sometimes it prints great sometimes it doesn't. I think it only happens with black and magenta, but not 100% sure on that. Someone else normally is operating the printer. It's not the maintenance station, I dont believe, it's been replaced. We've went through hundreds of feet of vinyl. Itll print great for hours, some days you come in and it wont print right for a long time.

You can see in the pictures, it's just a hard stop of one of the colors. Since the colors are on two separate dampers, I would think that would rule a damper issue out?

Any more suggestions or if a service tech is needed. I've never called one? Are they pricey?

 

[czwalga]

So thinking about it, black and magenta are on the outside of the maintence station. It was brand new though. Is there adjustments, perhaps its not sealing properly to pull enough ink into the damper.

 

[Solventinkjet]

It's probably a bad damper. I would start there and change the o-rings out as well. Also, the maintenance station doesn't have any adjustments. If the screws all fit when you installed it, it should be in the proper position. You do want to make sure the head is in low mode when running cleanings though. Also just check under the head for anything that might be preventing the cap top from making a good seal with the head.

 

[rjssigns]

For me a hard stop on a color would indicate electrical. I've had dampers go bad, but the printer would still lay down some ink. Depending on the hours of "up time" I would check ribbon cables.

 

[czwalga]

It's probably a bad damper. I would start there and change the o-rings out as well. Also, the maintenance station doesn't have any adjustments. If the screws all fit when you installed it, it should be in the proper position. You do want to make sure the head is in low mode when running cleanings though. Also just check under the head for anything that might be preventing the cap top from making a good seal with the head.

I replaced the maintence station, still the same.


1. I used aftermarket dampers, the $8 ones, the mutoh ones are $80. Are there issues with these aftermarket ones?

2. In the service manual it says that you need to buy a $300 jig and pump cleaning solution into the damper before you replace it. Is this necessary? Any work around to this? Just pull cleaning solution into it with a syringe?

3. Should the dampers be 100% full of ink? Or just 1/2 or mostly, with air at the top.

 

[player]

I replaced the maintence station, still the same.


1. I used aftermarket dampers, the $8 ones, the mutoh ones are $80. Are there issues with these aftermarket ones?

2. In the service manual it says that you need to buy a $300 jig and pump cleaning solution into the damper before you replace it. Is this necessary? Any work around to this? Just pull cleaning solution into it with a syringe?

3. Should the dampers be 100% full of ink? Or just 1/2 or mostly, with air at the top.

I would ditch the cheap dampers and get the OEM.

 

[Solventinkjet]

I replaced the maintence station, still the same.


1. I used aftermarket dampers, the $8 ones, the mutoh ones are $80. Are there issues with these aftermarket ones?

2. In the service manual it says that you need to buy a $300 jig and pump cleaning solution into the damper before you replace it. Is this necessary? Any work around to this? Just pull cleaning solution into it with a syringe?

3. Should the dampers be 100% full of ink? Or just 1/2 or mostly, with air at the top.

Those after market dampers can be problematic. We have the OEM ones for $39.95.

I never flush a head before installing it and I have been installing head for over 10 years.

Dampers should be about half full.

 

[chrisphilipps]

It could be what Mutoh calls the Solenoid Tube Assembly. They are used primarily for ink up only. I have seen several of them fail and cause the head to starve. If you have the right diameter tubing you can completely by-pass them and test the printer.

 

[czwalga]

Those after market dampers can be problematic. We have the OEM ones for $39.95.

I never flush a head before installing it and I have been installing head for over 10 years.

Dampers should be about half full.

Ugh, somehow I didn't find those. Already ordered them.


Why are the cheap ones problematic, what problems have you seen with them?

 

[Solventinkjet]

Ugh, somehow I didn't find those. Already ordered them.


Why are the cheap ones problematic, what problems have you seen with them?

If you look at the mesh in the filter through a loupe, the OEM ones look like a sheet of metal with perfect microscopic circles poked through where the after market ones will look more like fabric. Also the after market ones tend to have sticky valves so they don't open properly when needed which can cause flow issues.

 

[czwalga]

Just a FYI it was the pos dampers. I'm surprised digiprint would sell them. When I bought them with the new head I didn't know any better.

Not sure why but they were always garbage..i just didn't know it. After the new head i spent hours creating a new profile to get the colors to look 'right'. Had to put down much more ink etc. As soon as I got the new dampers in, the profile i was using was waaay too much ink. Went right back to the profiles I was using with the old head and they were good again.

The new dampers were starving the head somehow, eventually some colors would just completely shut off.