Signsforwhile
New Member
Are there instructions on this process anywhere? Can't seem to find anything online or the literature that came with the machine....
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How to remove print head ValueJet 1204?
- Thread starter Signsforwhile
- Start date
Signsforwhile
New Member
SE SignSupply
New Member
You need a service manual.
None of my business but I have to ask, why are you removing the printhead?
None of my business but I have to ask, why are you removing the printhead?
Signsforwhile
New Member
Well I'm having an issue with my capping station not getting a good seal. Nothing comes into the waste tank when I do a flush. The capping station looks fine and the ring around it is in good shape. So my next guess is that it's the underside of the head.......any other way to get to that besides removing it?
SE SignSupply
New Member
I would guess the problem is capping station related. Do you have any nozzles firing on the test pattern?
As far as the capping station goes, they are fairly touchy on a ValueJet. I have seen stations that look brand new that will not seal. How old is the the capping station?
As far as the capping station goes, they are fairly touchy on a ValueJet. I have seen stations that look brand new that will not seal. How old is the the capping station?
Signsforwhile
New Member
i have about 1 nozzle drop per color.
the capping station is almost 2 years old.
the capping station is almost 2 years old.
SE SignSupply
New Member
Sent you a PM, give me a call.
Signsforwhile
New Member
MS? what is the ms? how do I put cleaning solution into the Cap?
I need to run a couple of things yet, I'll call later probably. Thanks!!!
Jackpine
New Member
"MS? what is the ms? how do I put cleaning solution into the Cap?"
MS = maintenance station. In the Falcon it is the pump, cap and wiper assembly all in one unit. Use a syringe to put cleaning solution into the cap station with a lint free cloth and soak the heads. Then do a couple or cleanings to see if that helps. I think two years on a cap station is good.
MS = maintenance station. In the Falcon it is the pump, cap and wiper assembly all in one unit. Use a syringe to put cleaning solution into the cap station with a lint free cloth and soak the heads. Then do a couple or cleanings to see if that helps. I think two years on a cap station is good.
Biker Scout
New Member
You probably don't need a capping station. I can tell you why you aren't getting a good seal. Unless the rubber thing around the capping station is cracked or all gummed up. But I'm gonna assume you've cleaned it real nice and clean.
Two things... your print head isn't fully flat (parallel) with the printer surface. This can happen if you've has a series of head strikes or crashed into some media.
The only way you can tell if this is what happened is to take the side cover off and look at the print head over the platen. Obviously if it's off, unscrew the print head retaining thingy and carefully re-seat it.
You have to do this first because having the side panel off is important to the next part. Cleaning out the capping station and vacuum tubes.
What they mean by placing cleaning solution in the capping station is by taking a cleaning solution bladder out of the case and snipping off the corner so you can pour it out where the print head will park. Let it sit there for a while.
Chances are that your vacuum tubes are clogged with ink, and when you do a cleaning cycle it's not sucking anything through. Here's where you will find an Achellie's Heel of the 1204. There are two little black hoses that come off the bottom of the capping station. Actually 3, but two that go down into the pump and then into the collection tray. Those will probably have some hard ink inside them. Pull them off and carefully inspect them for cracks etc... get yourself some blunt tip syringes, denatured alcohol and some cups. Flush the tubes and squeeze them in between your fingers to loosen the ink that's formed little plugs inside there.
Next, I'm sure by now, you've seen the capping station is only held in by 2 screws, and you've probably removed it just to get at the tiny black hoses. Inspected it and cleaned it... well, keep it out, because you will now need to flush the clear double tube thingys. But here's that weak link I mentioned earlier... some guy got the bright idea to connect the tiny diameter black hoses to the larger diameter clear hoese with a male-male junction connector. Sounded like a good idea on the drawing board... but when you consider the hole diameter of the connector is smaller than that of the black tubes, and that a needle has a hard time fitting through the hole... well, that's when you wonder if the designer's ever actually bothered to use the machines for any length of time?
Also, of interest is that they didn't even bother to check inside/outside hose diameters when they designed the thing. If they did, they would have noticed that the black hoses fit inside the clear hoses so perfectly, and creates a tight vacuum seal, it's almost as if they might have known what they were doing! Methinks, they put the little blockage device in there to guarantee a service call. You can ditch the connector.
Anyway, back to the clear hose... don't pull too hard, because it loops around the pump. Flush the lines into the waste tank. reinstall the little black hoses into their correct locations. Replace the capping station.
Go ahead and run a couple of cleaning cycles with the side cover off until you know you are back 100%. Ink will flow!
Oh, you can probably remove the stupid little felt pad in the waste ink tray. You don't really need anything there. But I hear Maxipads work fine. I don't want to go down the pink isle myself, so I just let the ink dry up in the bottom of the waste tank.
You should have just saved yourself a print head and a capping station. And as an added bonus, you can clean it again should the need arise!
Good Luck!
Two things... your print head isn't fully flat (parallel) with the printer surface. This can happen if you've has a series of head strikes or crashed into some media.
The only way you can tell if this is what happened is to take the side cover off and look at the print head over the platen. Obviously if it's off, unscrew the print head retaining thingy and carefully re-seat it.
You have to do this first because having the side panel off is important to the next part. Cleaning out the capping station and vacuum tubes.
What they mean by placing cleaning solution in the capping station is by taking a cleaning solution bladder out of the case and snipping off the corner so you can pour it out where the print head will park. Let it sit there for a while.
Chances are that your vacuum tubes are clogged with ink, and when you do a cleaning cycle it's not sucking anything through. Here's where you will find an Achellie's Heel of the 1204. There are two little black hoses that come off the bottom of the capping station. Actually 3, but two that go down into the pump and then into the collection tray. Those will probably have some hard ink inside them. Pull them off and carefully inspect them for cracks etc... get yourself some blunt tip syringes, denatured alcohol and some cups. Flush the tubes and squeeze them in between your fingers to loosen the ink that's formed little plugs inside there.
Next, I'm sure by now, you've seen the capping station is only held in by 2 screws, and you've probably removed it just to get at the tiny black hoses. Inspected it and cleaned it... well, keep it out, because you will now need to flush the clear double tube thingys. But here's that weak link I mentioned earlier... some guy got the bright idea to connect the tiny diameter black hoses to the larger diameter clear hoese with a male-male junction connector. Sounded like a good idea on the drawing board... but when you consider the hole diameter of the connector is smaller than that of the black tubes, and that a needle has a hard time fitting through the hole... well, that's when you wonder if the designer's ever actually bothered to use the machines for any length of time?
Also, of interest is that they didn't even bother to check inside/outside hose diameters when they designed the thing. If they did, they would have noticed that the black hoses fit inside the clear hoses so perfectly, and creates a tight vacuum seal, it's almost as if they might have known what they were doing! Methinks, they put the little blockage device in there to guarantee a service call. You can ditch the connector.
Anyway, back to the clear hose... don't pull too hard, because it loops around the pump. Flush the lines into the waste tank. reinstall the little black hoses into their correct locations. Replace the capping station.
Go ahead and run a couple of cleaning cycles with the side cover off until you know you are back 100%. Ink will flow!
Oh, you can probably remove the stupid little felt pad in the waste ink tray. You don't really need anything there. But I hear Maxipads work fine. I don't want to go down the pink isle myself, so I just let the ink dry up in the bottom of the waste tank.
You should have just saved yourself a print head and a capping station. And as an added bonus, you can clean it again should the need arise!
Good Luck!
P
ProWraps™
Guest
lets back up a bit. if you are doing a flushing, then where is the fluid going? if its not going in your waste tank, then it should be spilling out of the printer chassis.
error checking is key. just like programing. if its not going in your waste tank, and its not flooding your printer, then there is not a flushing going on. so back the process up in the hardware.
Biker Scout
New Member
If the capping station isn't pulling a vacuum, then the fluid is going nowhere. What's worse, is that when you do an ink purge or a cleaning, it's taking ml's of fluid off of your smart cards, because it "thinks" X amount of ink is flowing when it's not.
Your cartridges will run out sooner, and there will still be lots of ink left.
Your cartridges will run out sooner, and there will still be lots of ink left.
Signsforwhile
New Member
ok im gonna go through this. see what happens
does it make sense that things have dried up? this machine is always running. it has never not printed for more than 2 days in a row....
Signsforwhile
New Member
PROGRESS
clear tubes coming out of the capping station were GUNKED up. pure snot came out of these when i cleaned them out. ran a cleaning cycle with the cover off and could see ink flowing through them now.
also, with the capping station out and the print head in place i was able to get under it which is the reason i wanted it out in the first place. there was a lot of build up around the head which i cleaned off.
ran a couple of more cleanings and all but 2 nozzles are firing now! huge improvement!
just waiting for one extra cleaning cartridge that will be here on monday since i ripped one open to use the fluid. i'll run a flush then and see what happens.
thanks for the help s101!
clear tubes coming out of the capping station were GUNKED up. pure snot came out of these when i cleaned them out. ran a cleaning cycle with the cover off and could see ink flowing through them now.
also, with the capping station out and the print head in place i was able to get under it which is the reason i wanted it out in the first place. there was a lot of build up around the head which i cleaned off.
ran a couple of more cleanings and all but 2 nozzles are firing now! huge improvement!
just waiting for one extra cleaning cartridge that will be here on monday since i ripped one open to use the fluid. i'll run a flush then and see what happens.
thanks for the help s101!
Mutoh 1204 printing issures
I am new to this Forum, and I hope somebody can help. I have a mutoh 1204, had a head strike at the end of march and things went downhill from there. I contacted SWhouse about the issue and did soaks and cleanings. I now have cartridges with plenty of ink that the machine is telling me are empty. prints went from bad to worse, tried to do strong cleanings before a print today and lost all Magenta in the prints. I have cleaned the tubes from capping station to the pump by 1st soaking the head repeatedly then allowing cleaning fluid to run through the capping station. I removed the capping station cleaned hoses w/syringe through pump and to waste station as I saw on this forum. When doing the cleaning I cannot see that colors of ink are going through the clear hoses to the waste tank. some fluid is running through.
I cannot see if the print head is hitting the capping station level or not. I can feel the pump working, but cannot ascertain that the ink is being pumped through. I keep seeing on this and other forums where I can draw ink through the hoses, but I am not sure where I would do this draw.
I am looking at buying one of those ultrasonic cleaning kits, but I am not sure if there is an easier/cheaper way. It seems the head may not be seating, if there is anybody who can assist with the alignment procedure, or any info on getting this machine printing to include removal of the head to clean it I sure would appreciate it.
Thanks
I am new to this Forum, and I hope somebody can help. I have a mutoh 1204, had a head strike at the end of march and things went downhill from there. I contacted SWhouse about the issue and did soaks and cleanings. I now have cartridges with plenty of ink that the machine is telling me are empty. prints went from bad to worse, tried to do strong cleanings before a print today and lost all Magenta in the prints. I have cleaned the tubes from capping station to the pump by 1st soaking the head repeatedly then allowing cleaning fluid to run through the capping station. I removed the capping station cleaned hoses w/syringe through pump and to waste station as I saw on this forum. When doing the cleaning I cannot see that colors of ink are going through the clear hoses to the waste tank. some fluid is running through.
I cannot see if the print head is hitting the capping station level or not. I can feel the pump working, but cannot ascertain that the ink is being pumped through. I keep seeing on this and other forums where I can draw ink through the hoses, but I am not sure where I would do this draw.
I am looking at buying one of those ultrasonic cleaning kits, but I am not sure if there is an easier/cheaper way. It seems the head may not be seating, if there is anybody who can assist with the alignment procedure, or any info on getting this machine printing to include removal of the head to clean it I sure would appreciate it.
Thanks