HELP! Lots of head strikes on 1324

[styleyouneed]

We just got the 1324 print cut set up yesterday. We ran some vinyl and it printed great. This morning i tried running a test banner for the shop and got a lot of head strikes. I reloaded the media and tried it again. Same problem. it prints about a foot then head strikes and ink streaks all through out the print.

Is there something i am doing wrong or a setting we need to change. We are running flexipro that came with the setup and have it set to glossy banner in the presets.

any help would be great, thanks in advance.

 

[styleyouneed]

i figured it out. I didn't realize there was a head height adjustment lever on the print head carriage.

 

[HDvinyl]

Tough lesson.

 

[GAC05]

1. Head height should be set to high for most banner material, check to see if it is (should be an orange lever right on the head carriage).

2. What are your heat settings for the banner?
You may have to turn them down a little to keep the banner from tunneling when it heats up (Cheap banner material does not like too much heat - turn down the pre and platen heaters - post won't matter).

3. The other thing that could be an issue is the feed and take-up.
The material needs to be loaded straight and then set square onto the take-up reel.
Look for waves in the material both on the back as it comes off the roll and also in the gap between the front heater and the dancer bar of the take-up.
If you see waves or wrinkles it can cause the tunneling under the print head.
Try running a banner without using the take-up (roll it up on the on the floor) if it works the either you are not getting the material mounted square on the take-up or your take-up reel needs to be squared up to the printer.

wayne k
guam usa

 

[pjfmeister]

Mutoh head strikes

I would recommend backing off the heat settings as well with banner material specifically the cheaper or thinner banners. Experiment using the lowest heat you can while still getting a good print.

 

[heyskull]

I have found also that some RIPs heat setting are too high for some banner material.
Turn the heat settings down in the RIP and run at high head height.

SC

 

[styleyouneed]

THANKS EVERYONE!

I figured out the head height lever right after my initial post. Then printed the banner to let it hit the floor to see if was a roller issue. Then i noticed the banner's cardboard inner roll stuck out about 1/4. When i taped the banner to the take up i had it right on the edge of that roll. So i printed a customer banner and taped it the same distance from the edge as the banner roll and BOOOOM worked like a champ. Heat i had at the lowest setting 86F on all three heaters.

It's funny the suggestions posted in here i ended up doing before i got a chance to check back here. Great minds think alike, it just took me a second to think, lol.

I must say i REALLY like this print and cut combo. We ran a bunch of garment size tag stickers, a couple 4' cut vinyl wall decals and a few banners. The printer prints beautifully on a 720/720 setting which will save me a **** ton of money. The cutter, once i got it figured out, was spot on, super fast and quiet compared to what we were running.