Need Help Mimaki JV3 cleaning options

[GunnyJeeves]

Hi all,

I have a Mimaki JV3 and it had your typical driver issues...

Not just any 1394... a TI 1394...
Windows XP and the old rip... or Specific version driver, and different rip...

So finally as of tomorrow all this stuff comes in, but it took too long to collect it so... a head is clogged now.

One of my main plans was to buy extra empty cartridges to fill with cleaner.

Is this workable? (It's what I did with my DTG printer and it rocks!)

The idea is to swap to those cartridges out and load the "ink" if you know you won't print for a while.

So I will have a total of 16 cartridges (8 with ink... 8 with cleaning solution.)

Wish me luck!

 

[C5 Service&Repair]

While it's doable, I certainly wouldn't do it. Swapping your ink cartridges with cartridges filled with cleaning solution will just contaminate the ink that is in the lines with cleaning solution. Then when you want to print, your prints will be terrible because your heads are firing thinned out ink.
Instead, just allow the machine to do its typical cleanings on its own. Once youre ready to print again, put the heads into a head soak and power off the machine so the timer never expires and allow it to set overnight. Next day do a few normal cleanings and you should be fine.

 

[GunnyJeeves]

While it's doable, I certainly wouldn't do it. Swapping your ink cartridges with cartridges filled with cleaning solution will just contaminate the ink that is in the lines with cleaning solution. Then when you want to print, your prints will be terrible because your heads are firing thinned out ink.
Instead, just allow the machine to do its typical cleanings on its own. Once youre ready to print again, put the heads into a head soak and power off the machine so the timer never expires and allow it to set overnight. Next day do a few normal cleanings and you should be fine.

Ok. That's awesome!

Penalties on DTG are higher thanks to titanium in the white that kills heads, so it's still my preferred method there. (Worth the ink flush)

But soaking the heads is good.

Mimaki sells a Flush cleaning cartridge. Should I buy some of those? Best I understand though, they do the same thing I was describing. Without something like that I can't use all the different maintenance cleaning options in the printer. If I don't need any except ink based ones and manual cleans, that's different.

Thanks!

 

[MikePro]

cleaning/flush solution cartridges are for the system cleaning procedures. while it might work, as the cleaning solution is intended to be run through the lines/printheads, you still have the issue of them not having those little electronic chips that the printer reads as an ink cartridge/ink levels.
you COULD get the resettable chips or simply waste a chip from an actual ink cartridge, if that is your desire, but the printer won't let you operate it unless it "thinks" that it has all the regular ink cartridges inserted into the machine.

however, it would be extremely important that you know for certain that you aren't firing those printheads while running cleaning solution, as it is a sure path to printhead degradation.

also noted, that this use of cleaning solution shouldn't "contaminate" your inks: if you ever were to refill&run those lines/heads, you should follow the "fillupink" procedures to properly prime the ink lines/printheads with ink prior to printing.

 

[MikePro]

also noted, if you want to save a buck you can make your own cleaning solution if you have access to a chemical supplier.
search the forums for the exact recipe, as it has been nearly a decade since I've done it, but I made my own Acetone+Butyl Cellusolve mixes for like $10 vs. $100 per liter:
a "hotter mix" being heavier on the acetone (70/30?), for wiping printheads & capping station, while a "mild mix" was closer to 50/50(?) for flushing ink lines/printheads.

i used to refill my cleaning cartridges with my own mix, and flush/scrub the machine constantly without seeing so much $$$ go down the waste tank.

 

[Solventinkjet]

You will waste about 14mL per color every time you do this. That's 25% of a cartridge worth of ink. So depending on if you are using 3rd party inks or OEM you could be wasting about $20 - $31 worth of ink every time you do it. Not to mention the cleaning cartridges cost about $44 each and you will use a little less than half of it to do a full flush which comes out to $160 worth of cleaning solution. So you are looking at close to $200 and a lot of your time every time you do this. That will add up over time. If it's just a hobby, that's one thing but if you are looking to make money, throwing $200 down the drain is not the best business practice.

 

[Sign Shop Guy]

Hi all,

I have a Mimaki JV3 and it had your typical driver issues...

Not just any 1394... a TI 1394...
Windows XP and the old rip... or Specific version driver, and different rip...

So finally as of tomorrow all this stuff comes in, but it took too long to collect it so... a head is clogged now.

One of my main plans was to buy extra empty cartridges to fill with cleaner.

Is this workable? (It's what I did with my DTG printer and it rocks!)

The idea is to swap to those cartridges out and load the "ink" if you know you won't print for a while.

So I will have a total of 16 cartridges (8 with ink... 8 with cleaning solution.)

Wish me luck!

Anytime I know I'm not going to print for a while due to maintenance issues, I'll leave the heads in a the Nozzle Wash mode and shut the power off the machine so the head sits in the solution to avoid them from drying out or any clogging issues. When I turn the machine back on I'll run a normal cleaning and I'm back and running.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Anytime I know I'm not going to print for a while due to maintenance issues, I'll leave the heads in a the Nozzle Wash mode and shut the power off the machine so the head sits in the solution to avoid them from drying out or any clogging issues. When I turn the machine back on I'll run a normal cleaning and I'm back and running.

This could be better solution but I would also add to crimp your waste tubes when doing this. If you have a pump that is weak or a hole in the line anywhere, it can start to leak and create a siphon effect which will empty out all of the ink in that channel. It gets worse if you have a full waste take because the ink will end up on the floor if it overflows when you aren't watching it. I usually just bend the tubes and hold them in that position with tape.