GS6000 Tracking

[ColesCreations]

Hi all.

Our GS tends to get head rubbing on semi long runs (6'+).

May be due to not straight loading, but any good tips on how to get it straight? I roll it tight, hold while closing the handle.

Got paper skew warning pretty much every time, and had to disable that.

It may be a warranty issue, I will talk to the dealer.

My gripes are: The media hanger in the back is flimsy, the take-up roller is not perfect either, as it slips on some rolls. (better now after I put some 1/4" nuts under the plastic to increase the inside diameter)

 

[astro8]

Sounds like paper skew where the take up reel isn't square and level and pulling media sideways as its rolling it up. There is an adjustment on the take up. Sit an empty core between the media and the printer as well, to keep some media from buckling as it enters the preheater area. I print 50m rolls of 1370mm-1520mm vinyl, 1600mm wide pvc banner with no problems. Just printed an 80m roll of 1370mm poster paper perfectly.

EDIT
Always use the full down position for the media lever...

 

[Donny7833]

Make sure your locking the supply core supports good and tight. If your not tightening it down, the roll can wander. There's also a tensioner on the side of each support (silver thing with 2 phillips screws), try engaging them if you haven't already. I've found this helps keep the material straight while loading and it doesn't seem to affect feed rate on most materials.

I agree with Astro, 1 always use full roller pressure and 2 if your take up isn't level it will cause the material to skew. Experiment with the leveling screw on the left side (non motor) to adjust the level. I messed with my machine for a few days before I got it perfect.

 

[GoodPeopleFlags]

We just got ours back in Oct so I don't know how much advice I can offer. I can tell you that I don't use the "High Secured" pinch roller setting and haven't had any problems with that. On banners, I always raise the print head. Sometimes I turn the 1st and 2nd heaters down a few. Now, yesterday we got in a roll of 38" banner material, same brand as we've been using. I kept getting head strikes, even after doing all of my regular precautions. I'm thinking that this particular roll is wound in such a way that it feeds in crooked. I got a paper skew error message out of no where. So, I started unrolling the material from the roll a little bit, just to keep it from pulling directly off the roll; basically gave it some slack. I had no problems after that.

I do agree that the roller-holder is awful. If you're a one-person shop, there would be no way to load a new roll alone.

 

[ColesCreations]

Thanks, guys. I've been off for a while...

Anyways, I'm missing some sort of indication to show if the media is straight, other than just tightening it on the roll. Our old Summa had a little piece of measuring tape in front and back, if both showed the same value, media is straight.

The "Media Skew" alarm is a nuisence, I disabled it, everything is better without it.

I think one of the reasons we got the buckling in the media, is it hits the sides of the roll holder, the area to keep it straight, and it works against its purpose; it pushes on the side of the media and causes it to warp. A skew is better... I think I will put in half an inch or so of roll core on each side, to keep the media free to wander a bit sidewards. We kut the sides of most things anyway.

Lower heat helps, but, in my opinion, the problem is more that there are not enough rollers to keep the media flat, and maybe some of the rollers (on our particular printer) may not be properly aligned, allowing the media to be pulled in towards the center, whereas buckling caused by too high temperature causes buckling along the entire width.

High head position causes lower print quality.. Defeating the purpose of buying new printer...