Did I just buy a giant paperweight? Roland SP-300i

[R D]

Folks I’m just trying to get into printing. And I just bought a used SP-300i. The seller claimed this has been in use with no issues.

I’ve set it up and the test print looks quite bad. Picture below.

I ran multiple cleaning functions, did a head soak overnight. And did manual cleaning per the instructions and YouTube videos.

Are the print heads shot? Yellow isn’t showing hardly at all and the others have a lot of gaps.

did I get scammed? Are the print heads shot or is there some way to salvage this

https://ibb.co/BVKNsnM

 

[Z SIGNS]

I have always found that new cost less than used.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Usually the test print will look bad after moving. A few cleanings should get it back up and running if all the maintenance parts are working properly. I would take the waste bottle off and hold it below the tube while running a cleaning cycle. Ink should flow out fairly consistently while the pump is running. If you don't see any ink flow or just a few drops, either the cap tops are bad or the pump might be clogged. Wet down the cap tops with cleaning solution. It helps get the seal going. If that doesn't help, I would suspect the cap tops need to be changed or the pump is clogged.

Judging by the nozzle test, your yellow/magenta head will probably recover fairly easily. The black/cyan head is showing some pretty bad deflection in the black which might not recover as well as you would like.

 

[Jester1167]

Looks like you are getting cross-contamination in the Yellow and Magenta too. This happens when the sponge in the capping station swells up and touches the head. I could just be the lighting on the image as well.

 

[R D]

Thank you folks, this is helpful to know. I will see how the ink comes out during a cleaning cycle.

I may try putting in new cap tops as they don’t seem that expensive. Are there any specific brands to buy?

So on the black, is it likely that I’d need a new head to overcome the deflection issues?

You are correct on the yellow and magenta seeming to mix, I was wondering about that.

thank you all again

 

[Jester1167]

I ran a 540v and a Soljet 540 EX and the black brunt of the damage with head strikes causing deflected nozzles. I don't think we ever replaced any of the other heads. I believe yours has 2 heads, one with Black and Blue, and one with Magenta and Yellow.

If I had to guess, once you get all the nozzles cleaned up and firing you will get about 70% improvement on the deflections. As long as they aren't in one spot, it should be enough to get you by until you get through the learning curve.
If you aren't printing lots of small black text or real fine detail It shouldn't be too noticeable either. Try and live with it while you learn. Certain banner material and perforated vinyl used to buckle and cause us head strikes until they were dialed in. Pulling out a foot or so of the material and/or turning down the heat can help keep the media from buckling and causing head strikes.

 

[litewave]

In my mind...

No such thing as a Japanese paperweight.

Roland make great electronics.
The heads are Epsom so all good here.

I bet you solve it !

 

[Jim Hancock]

You are on the right track to replace the cap tops. Use Roland OEM only. Anything else, you are rolling the dice. Roland Cap Top | Solventinkjet.com
The black head may or may not come back.

Don't you know that all used printers are working without issues, lol? Buying a used printer is like buying a used car off the corner lot. Test the printer with files first.

You will find plenty of support here, but please remember to always post your results, as this lets us techs know if it worked and also helps others looking for solutions.
Hope you are doing OK with the storm out there.

 

[R D]

Thanks all, your guidance is very much appreciated.

I ran a cleaning cycle while holding the bottle - the ink did seem to come out pretty consistently and a decent amount. So I think the pump is good, thank the Lord.

I'm ordering cap tops from Solventinkjet - so I will provide an update once they arrive.

As far as the M & Y nozzles having so many gaps - is there anything else I should do in the meantime, or is it just a matter of time, letting the printer run it's cleaning cycles, and replacing the cap tops when they get here?

 

[netsol]

You are on the right track to replace the cap tops. Use Roland OEM only. Anything else, you are rolling the dice. Roland Cap Top | Solventinkjet.com
The black head may or may not come back.

Don't you know that all used printers are working without issues, lol? Buying a used printer is like buying a used car off the corner lot. Test the printer with files first.

You will find plenty of support here, but please remember to always post your results, as this lets us techs know if it worked and also helps others looking for solutions.
Hope you are doing OK with the storm out there.

Jim
a friend once said no one ever sells a used car because it is running so well. the same for printers

 

[balstestrat]

Jim
a friend once said no one ever sells a used car because it is running so well. the same for printers

I get your point and what you are saying but in reality there is. There's company cars that get replaced every 3 years, leasing, rental, people who just want to change to a new car every year etc.
There's nothing wrong with my car but I'm still looking to change it to a newer one.
Sorry, I just had to comment.

 

[mkmie]

Jim
a friend once said no one ever sells a used car because it is running so well. the same for printers

I don't agree with that. We just ordered a new Epson. One of the Rolands has to go to make room. The Rolands are great for what they are but we need faster newer technology.
For me, it's like Sophie's choice. Maybe I'll figure a way to keep them all.

 

[R D]

Folks, the new cap tops came in yesterday and I replaced them last night. It does definitely look better than it did before, though Black still seems to have a lot of deflections.
I’m going to try printing some Decals and stuff tomorrow to see what they look like.

Below is a test print I just ran

https://ibb.co/LYqcwnt

 

[rjssigns]

Rolands like any other solvent printer like to run. You will do more harm with idling than running them 8 hours a day. I would say do some fill tests and see if you get more nozzles to recover. Then run the wee out of it.
In the grand scheme if you can get more firing and it bands in bi-directional go uni-directional. Can cover up a lot of head issues. Slower than a glacier but you should be able to sell the prints.

I sold my SP540V almost two years ago. Had deflection in the CK head and missing nozzles. If you weren't putting your nose on the prints it looked fine. Banged through 6 full wrap kits and a lot of 4 mil during the summer before I sold it. No one complained. If it was for close up viewing I ran it in uni.

 

[Jim Hill]

My SP-300 V has many times had the exact same test print yours has and each time I brought it back to life.
Having the proper tools needed to fix your printer makes this easy.

If you have already tried a few cleanings, a head soak overnight, New cap tops and dampers the next step is to try very slowly pulling ink from the Y fittings just before the ink pump to see if you can pull the ink through the heads. Also take a paper clip and push it through the Y fitting just to make sure it is not blocked with tried ink.

If you try pulling ink, and it pulls very easy you have an air leak somewhere in the system.

Another test is to put some printer cleaning fluid in each cap top and see if it goes down the tube or if it just sits there.

Everything with these printers is about having no air leaks anywhere in the entire system from the ink cartridges to the drain tank.
It can be as simple as an O ring on a damper and many people keep changing the damper and never change the O rings or cut a small section of the tubing so that the O ring seats itself in a new spot on the tubing.

Harder things to fine are a hair line cracks in a manifold which again would suck air and not ink through it.

The good news all of these things can be fixed by someone who knows what to look for!

Jim Hancock is the right person to fix this problem because he has the right tools and spare parts and years of knowledge fixing these printers.

Jim Hill

 

[R D]

If you have already tried a few cleanings, a head soak overnight, New cap tops and dampers the next step is to try very slowly pulling ink from the Y fittings just before the ink pump to see if you can pull the ink through the heads. Also take a paper clip and push it through the Y fitting just to make sure it is not blocked with tried ink.

If you try pulling ink, and it pulls very easy you have an air leak somewhere in the system.

Another test is to put some printer cleaning fluid in each cap top and see if it goes down the tube or if it just sits there.

Many thanks, my friend. What do you use to try to pull ink through? Do you use a syringe or something of that nature?

I have put cleaning fluid on the cap tops, and it seems to go down the tubes, is this what it should be doing, or should it sit?

 

[Jim Hill]

Contact Solventinkjet at 303-733-6671 he sells a tampered syringe that fits into the bottom of the hoses under the cap tops just before the Y fitting where the two hoses come together.

This tampered syringe also fits into the bottom of the damper when you remove it so that you can pull ink into a new damper. Just pull very slowly and the ink will flow.

If you put cleaning solution in the cap tops without clamping the hoses under the cap tops, and it goes down the chances are the tubes are not blocked with dried ink, so you have eliminated one possible reason for the printer not working.

It's when you are doing a head soak that you clamp off the hoses first so that the cleaning solution sits and does not drain.

A big part of fixing these printers is finding the right tools to use for the job and always have plenty of different size hoses diameters along with dampers, cap tops, tiny o-rings for the damper hoses and a spare new manifold for the top of the heads.

Because a tiny air leak can cause major problems, and sometimes they are very hard to see or find on a manifold.

My experience comes from the trial and error method of fixing things on these printers.

There can be many problems but in my opinion air leaks are one of the biggest problems to find and fix.

Solventinkjet and Jim Hancock are both great people to know when your printer stops working.

Jim Hill