DX7 Printhead needed for Roland BN20 must be cheap please help as ive just smoked one from China and lost $1200 AKA £900

[adamfromayr]

Can anyone here help me im restoring 2 x BN20 printers and worked hard on them for 2 x weeks but had some issues with cables etc so changed the printhead many times and dampners almost had it working but had issues with Megenta so i opened up the $1200 Printhead to see why Magenta wasnt coming through

Checked the head to see if water could get through the head and the magenta wasnt

Dried it off

Installed it and smelt smoke, looked carefully seen smoke coming from the printhead

Unplugged the machine

Now i just got this printhead used $1200 2 x weeks ago and im already in a fair bit of debt as it is

So i went to open it up again and guess what the fragile used Impossible to repair cable snapped as seen in the pics

If i could cry i probably would!


Can anyone sell me a DX7 working printhead much cheaper?

Id really appreciate it

Adam P.S. I'd pay shipping and of course for a working DX7 printhead

 

[unmateria]

Most of china dx7 are fake bad reburbished dx7. They glue the front lasered plate in any position so no ink can drop lol see if they have 8 lines of nozzles. In my case they (2 printheads) had 6 lines. I fighted with them in PayPal until all money was returned

 

[damonCA21]

Ah nightmare ! As you have found out, the heads aren't supposed to be dismantled. Even if you could, there is nothing you can get to inside them to fix.

The problem with solvent heads is once they have had ink in them it is very risky getting a used one. If it has been properly flushed ( which can damage the head ) it may work, but if not the ink will dry in the tiny nozzles and block them, and there is very little chance of getting it running properly again.

If you can take a head off and fit it to another machine within 24 hours then it should be ok, but if its being posted and takes a week to get to you then its unlikely.
I think your only real option is to get a new head, and not a 'refurbished' one that is probably going to cause you more problems like this one has.

 

[adamfromayr]

I cant afford a new head im in a fair bit of debt just now

The one from China did work but it might be my fault as i was changing the heads around etc i had but for some reason no magenta was coming out after i changed cables etc again

So i opened it up to check all the nozzels and dampners

Then maybe fluid got into the wrong area and started to smoke!

We will just never know if the head was dogy or it was my fault

I cant even return it and i emailed the seller being honest with him

and he says $1100 for another one not even much cheaper!

 

[adamfromayr]

I cant say if its fake or not ive no experience but the guys feedback was great and also he sent a test video before sending it, and also i did have that printhead working but you can see the image where the cable has now snapped!

Lost $1200 but what did i gain from it?


Experience


Its easy for me to blame the China guy but i will never know if the head was a bit dodgy or it was down to me also i was very carefull but the cables i think were to blame for all this in the first place as i kept swapping bits around etc

Being 100% honest i dont really know if the head was on its last legs? or i simply $$$$$$$$$$$ UP

Anyone have a DX7 Head for sale cheap? xxx

 

[damonCA21]

The other problem with getting a used head is you don't know how many hours it has on it. They have a limited lifespan, so you could be buying one that has had very little use, or it could be one that is going to break within a month

And the seller may have sent a video, but you don't know it was of the actual head that was sent out...

 

[adamfromayr]

What can you do but $2000+ for a new one imagine that then that broke too

 

[netsol]

I cant say if its fake or not ive no experience but the guys feedback was great and also he sent a test video before sending it, and also i did have that printhead working but you can see the image where the cable has now snapped!

Lost $1200 but what did i gain from it?


Experience


Its easy for me to blame the China guy but i will never know if the head was a bit dodgy or it was down to me also i was very carefull but the cables i think were to blame for all this in the first place as i kept swapping bits around etc

Being 100% honest i dont really know if the head was on its last legs? or i simply $$$$$$$$$$$ UP

Anyone have a DX7 Head for sale cheap? xxx

What can you do but $2000+ for a new one imagine that then that broke too

didn't you previously say you had 2 machines, and that you suspected the head you were replacing was good?
if that is the case you can make arrangements to have SOMEONE REPUTABLE (like vlad, who developed the printhead doctor machines)
process your head.
don't misunderstand, these chinese companies that offier to "refurb" your head are not reputable, but, i would consider sending the previous printhead out

Print Head Doctor

Print Head Doctor is the set of hardware and chemicals capable of recovering clogged nozzles of solvent-based, UV and water-based print heads. The system utilizes the action of pre-heated chemicals pumped through a print head in both directions combined with ultrasonic vibrations.90% recovery...

digitalsigntech.net

if you call the number, during normal hours, they will allow you to speak to vlad, who developed the printhead doctor.
he will give you an honest opinion if it is worth sending your head in for refurbishing.
they do a lot of the flatbed printher heads, etc

one of the few people i would trust with this
we have a chinese knockoff of the printhead doctor & have had some success with it,

 

[damonCA21]

That is always the danger, but if fitted properly by someone with experience then you shouldn't have any problems ( not having a go at you, but as you can see it's not always as simple or cheap as it can seem getting these things working ! ).

TBH I have fitted a lot of heads as a tech over the years, and never had any that failed due to the fitting. It was always from natural wear, or something like a head strike or other problem years later.

One company I used to do service work for used to change their heads every 6 months as a service item, but their machines were printing constantly all day, so the cost of the heads was negligible compared to keeping the machines running.

This is one reason why you see BN20s come up for sale for spares or repair quite often as people don't want to change the heads themselves, and don't want to pay a tech to do it, or they just can't afford a new head so sell the printers on

 

[netsol]

That is always the danger, but if fitted properly by someone with experience then you shouldn't have any problems ( not having a go at you, but as you can see it's not always as simple or cheap as it can seem getting these things working ! ).

TBH I have fitted a lot of heads as a tech over the years, and never had any that failed due to the fitting. It was always from natural wear, or something like a head strike or other problem years later.

One company I used to do service work for used to change their heads every 6 months as a service item, but their machines were printing constantly all day, so the cost of the heads was negligible compared to keeping the machines running.

This is one reason why you see BN20s come up for sale for spares or repair quite often as people don't want to change the heads themselves, and don't want to pay a tech to do it, or they just can't afford a new head so sell the printers on

agreed
changing a printhead is routine, EXCEPT WHEN IT ISN'T

even people who have done this dozens will have one of these installs GO SIDEWAYS from time to time

i generally watch ebay/craigslist/offerup/facebook marketplace for whatever model i am looking for (we make out fairly well with the "make one good one out of two" routine.)

 

[adamfromayr]

I have learned loads from this

You know the side cable on BOTH my printheads i spotted a small rip? was it me? i dont know i just spotted it maybe that was one of the issues thats why it ripped so ewasily off i spotted it had a very minor tear on the head DX7 Internal cable!

Good news is i have ordered NEW encoder strips, DXY 30mm cables, wipers etc

Just need 1-2 newer heads now

Good news is i DID have both running okay so ive eliminated and changed everything and should now just be a case of installing the newer heads as soon as i have them

as everything else has been fixed, changed cleaned and repaired

Its a shame though ive lost 2 x potentially goods heads

Ive ruined 2 of them due to the thin cables at the sides of them and possibly frying it due to ink going to the top of the head area

 

[adamfromayr]

I have here 2 x used BN20 Machines and had 2 x heads

But i suspected 1-2 were bad, so i bought another 3rd one

The last one today was blowing the fuse on my main board

So i had no other option after carefully checking all my cables, connections and boards

I had to open up the 3rd last head

and guess what? it was drenched inside with White and yellow mix

I Sometimes wonder if the Chinese Dampeners are partially to blame for this, because top of the head DX7 was fairly dry but inside ink everywhere

I now have 7 x days to make sure these BN20 are super clean, Super DRY, And super new cables all attached carefully and filled with new genuine ink

BEFORE i have no option to get another DX7 refurbished from China as i dont and cant and wont pay £2000 for a new one

 

[damonCA21]

Before you buy that ask them how they clean the head before sending it. That test print could have been done days or weeks before they removed it from the printer, or may not even be from that head.

If it sits with solvent ink in it for a week its unlikely to work when it gets to you. Epson test print the heads with water based ink, then fill them with a special solution designed to stop them drying out while they are on the shelf. AFAIK the chinese don't do this.

 

[James Burke]

The oft-felt bitterness of a sweet deal....

JB

 

[cornholio]

Never use Chinese dampers on DX7 heads. I had one customer, who ordered those from Digiprint. When I saw them, I told the customer that it would be crazy to risk a 2k€ head by using these dampers. I told him to throw this trash away and installed the real ones that cost some 100 Euros each... (it's on a EJ with two DX7... it printed over 150'000 sqm already and keeps going)

 

[balstestrat]

This thread..... No actually 4 different threads about the same machine why??

Anyway how are you going to make your "7 x day" deadline ordering from china? You going to air express the head to you?
You say you have learned loads from this yet still going to order more china crap

I guess there's a reason why people say don't fix BN20, just get a new one. I can see why it makes sense.

 

[damonCA21]

There is nothing wrong with fixing one. A new one costs over £5700 in the UK, a head replacement if you can do it yourself would cost around £2000.

Yes you can get a used one cheap, but nearly all of these will need a new head anyway, so if you already have one it makes sense to repair it.

Part of the problem is because they are a 'budget' home machine ( compared to getting something like a 540 ), people buy them for a side hobby business or for occasional use as part of their main business, then if a head does go they realise they aren't making enough money from it to make it worthwhile fitting a new one. Particularly if they can't do it themselves, then they are looking more like £3000 for the repair.

Roland printers are generally very well made though, and if serviced properly will last for years so it makes sense to keep them running.

 

[adamfromayr]

Images speaks louder than words!

This thread..... No actually 4 different threads about the same machine why??

Anyway how are you going to make your "7 x day" deadline ordering from china? You going to air express the head to you?
You say you have learned loads from this yet still going to order more china crap

I guess there's a reason why people say don't fix BN20, just get a new one. I can see why it makes sense.

There is always someone who has to be cheeky on forums with a snide reply

 

[adamfromayr]

There is nothing wrong with fixing one. A new one costs over £5700 in the UK, a head replacement if you can do it yourself would cost around £2000.

Yes you can get a used one cheap, but nearly all of these will need a new head anyway, so if you already have one it makes sense to repair it.

Part of the problem is because they are a 'budget' home machine ( compared to getting something like a 540 ), people buy them for a side hobby business or for occasional use as part of their main business, then if a head does go they realise they aren't making enough money from it to make it worthwhile fitting a new one. Particularly if they can't do it themselves, then they are looking more like £3000 for the repair.

Roland printers are generally very well made though, and if serviced properly will last for years so it makes sense to keep them running.

Exactly Damom and i also must say im selling these Why spend £4k on 2 x new heads when im selling them?

Did i say i have a LEC-330 ? Thats Okay

That other guy can just keep his mouth shut if he has nothing good to say!

 

[adamfromayr]

P.S. When you have a NEW query/question you start a NEW Thread !

I was looking for a DX7 Head cheap ! and still am!

You dont post that in the same thread as something else i was trying to repair!