Materials won't lay flat

[toyrobot]

I'm using an SP-300 to print on various materials, including adhesive vinyl sign material, banner material etc. and as the material is fed into the machine, it develops small bumps that end up getting wiped over by the print heads, leaving streaks all over them. The machine has been checked by a tech, and his only answer to the problem was to replace the feed rollers, which has been done but the problem persists. It seems to me the vacuum should hold this stuff flat, but it doesn't even seem to be on, the tech however said it's working normally. Am I the only person having this problem? I can't find a mention of it anywhere else. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[astro8]

I'm not that familiar with the SP-300, but surely its heater/vacuum settings or material loaded not straight or I have seen the material roll holders at the back of the machine rubbing against the side of the viny roll and causing this...hopefully others on here with more experience with the Sp300 will pipe up with more suggestions....

 

[cajun312]

With banner material I unroll enough slack so that the printer is just pulling the material through not tugging on the heavy roll.

 

[petepaz]

i agree it is probably a vacuum/heater issue
also (not sure of the correct term)are you using the clips that slide next to the pinch rollers and if so maybe if you use the longer clips that also come with the machine maybe that will reduce the problem but don't sheet cut with them on the blade will hit them...bad
you do have a problem that needs to be corrected becasue that is not normal but maybe this might help you get some jobs out so you are not at a stand still

 

[toyrobot]

The material is usually getting these bumps and things before it gets to the heaters, so I don't think that's the issue. Should the vacuum be on while the machine is printing? The vacuum works, you can hear it, but it doesn't seem to pull the material down. It DOES pull it down while the machine is cutting. I've tried setting the vacuum on high, but it still seems like it pretty much shuts off as soon as the thing starts to print.

 

[ZsVinylInc]

I have a Roland SP-540V and I believe in VW in the preferences that there is a way for you to turn off VW settings and use the printer settings instead. Also I know from time to time I go into the menu panel and to the vacuum section and some times turn it from auto to 100% which will give you more vacuum power. Hope this helps.

 

[petepaz]

here is a freak thing to try
last time we had service on our machine it got left in service mode
and i had issues with my heater and vacuum
but when you turn the machine off and back on it resets it self
long shot but it is something easy to try

 

[toyrobot]

I've noticed that I can increase the amount of vacuum using the front panel controls on the printer, but the software just overrides it. In colorrip, there are only two settings available, normal and strong. I'm trying it with the setting on strong but it doesn't seem to make much difference, the vacuum is still very low,

 

[veloxgraphics]

Also i believe the pinch rollers are tapered to one side so as it feeds the media through, it puts tension on the media by pulling it outwards slightly.... if your rollers are worn out, or on backwards, it could have the opposite effect... pinching inward bunching up the media between the rollers.

my .02

 

[JoshLoring]

Try feeding enough material through until you can grab it by hand and keep tension on it. Start the print and continue to keep tension down and apart. If it solves your problem you need to reset the vacuum and heat settings to the reccomended manufacturer settings. If not it could be a roller issue.

 

[Pacific Coast Sign]

Check how much dirt, vinyl, etc... is stuck to the grit roll(s) that the pinch wheels lower to, if these are not clean your efforts are worthless. Yes, check the vaccum level, you can change this in the printer settings to MENU. The pinch wheels get flat spots on them, replace with the dots of ink (on the pinch wheels) to the outside.

 

[3dsignco]

Ours was due to humidity since I run a swamp cooler for shop Cooling. Since your in the east with higher humidity you mat want to try this.

Try turning down or off your preheater. Mid to higher temp level for your platten heater and dryer heater max. Had to create that profile for banners as it kept tunneling on me due to to much heat.

 

[Ken]

When this happens to me with my SP300, it is usually a case of the material not feeding off the roll correctly. Make sure the plastic rollers in the inner cardboard tube are well positioned in the tube. I am having a problem just now with a roll of Rite Media. I think it is wound too tight on the roll.
Seems I have to give some slack on the roll before it gets to the printhead.
Yes ,you can use your hands to pull the material tight to the platten. But that is a pain.
I sometimes use several spring clamps to apply a downward tension to the material.
Also, you should have about 8 inches or so of material hanging out the front before the print starts.
Cheers!
Ken

 

[toyrobot]

Thanks for the input everyone. Having checked everything over, the problem seems to be that the Colorip software overrides the vacuum setting on the printer, and even with it set on "strong" (there are only two choices in the software, normal and strong) the vacuum is just too low to do much good. I can't find any way to make it default to the printer setting, so I guess I just have to live with it like this.

 

[Bly]

Try lowering the heat.

 

[Ken B]

I jumped on here with a similar problem. Reducing the heat seemed to solve my problem. THANK YOU.

 

[Slamdunkpro]

Is the machine level?

Too much pre heat will make vinyl cockle.

After you load it try taking the brake off the feed roller

 

[woolly]

post no 12 is on the money for me.

as a by the way look at the outer 2 3 turns of the vinyl on the roll and see if they are 1 - 2mm wider than the rest of the roll.

woolly

 

[ocean502]

This happens a lot with banner material for me, I found letting out 6-8" in front weights it down enough.