Mimaki JV300-130 Cyan Nozzles Missing

[kirsmith]

Here I am again, to ask you all for you all to share your knowledge, because it seems I have none haha
My printer nozzles are always clogged. In particular, the Cyan. Head 1 the left cyan is almost never existent. Ive done nozzle washes, I've let the nozzles soak overnight with the shut off technique, I've done countless cleanings of all intensity levels.
After I do that the head 2 right Cyan always seems to be fussy for a few washes until it usually all comes back.
I have no idea how to use the Nozzle recovery. I don't quite understand. I have watched videos on it, but they're all missing not just 1 or 2. A new head is like 3000 at least and I doubt they will want to pay that, especially if it's something I can fix on my own.
First picture from RIGHT to LEFT is after an over night soak and then the test prints after a soft, normal, hard cleaning. The 2nd picture Right to Left is a Ultra and then a Soft cleaning.

 

[Adam Vreeke]

When was the last time you replaced your cap top?

 

[DL Signs]

Check for ink flow, if lines are empty or have air in them it's hard to get it back just by cleaning cycles. I've had my yellow lines go completely empty a couple of times when a cartridge went empty and didn't detect it. Fill ink can work, but I had to bleed it manually. If you have to do that, I do it without syringing, I just take the line off the damper, use a little container to catch the ink, have someone manually open the valve on the cartridges for the problem color, and watch for all air bubbles to run out, reattach to the damper and do the same to fill it. Gravity does a good job on those, and while you have the back cover off look at all the connection points for the ink lines to make sure none are leaking.

If you have ink in the line & no air, replace cap tops & dampers. Replace them all so you have even ink flow, if one is bad chances are the rest aren't far behind. Another thing to check is the lines to the pump/ waste tank, if you're soaking the heads they should be clear having all that cleaning solution run through them, but worth checking. Even if the head turns out to be bad, you'll still have to replace cap tops &, dampers anyway, so that'll already be done. Doing all the rest now just eliminates all other potential problems that could save you the cost of a head. Good luck.

We get most parts from SolventInkjet (a merchant member here), has a website to order from, usually has everything in stock, good support, and ships quick. https://www.solventinkjet.com/

 

[kirsmith]

Thanks for the replies you guys and it most likely is the caps&dampeners. There is a tech from the NDgraphics that did some trouble shooting with me and I did an ink fill on normal and hard and it fixed most except for the original Head 1 left nozzles. He said it was likely the dampeners so hopefully the company gets him to come up to service the machine because my previous work experience includes dog grooming and I'm not too sure how to fix an extremely expensive piece of equipment hahah
Also this poor machine hasn't had anyone service it in 3 years at least and it goes constant 9 hours a day 5 days a week since 2016

 

[DL Signs]

Also this poor machine hasn't had anyone service it in 3 years at least and it goes constant 9 hours a day 5 days a week since 2016

Yeah, that's not good... Best way to keep em' running good is regular maintenance and cleaning.

The dampers have filters in them, never changing them is akin to changing oil in your car and never replacing the filter... Eventually it's going to plug and not let anything through. SInce ink is sucked through the head frum below it, if head caps don't seal it draws air instead of ink causing drop-outs, and allowing heads to dry out even when they're capped. Hopefully they can get it going again without an expensive head replacement, although that's probably in the cards in the not too distant future if it's been running on the same heads for 6 years, properly maintained you can get 10-ish out of them. Once you get it running good, all printers require regular manual cleanings, changing of wipers, head caps & dampers according to schedule, doing the maintenance prevents a lot of problems.

 

[Dasdesignguy]

Not capping properly.

 

[Zoogee World]

My suggestion moving forward after you get those parts replaced is to run a normal cleaning every morning prior to using the printer, then doing a manual cleaning once a week. The manual should give you proper instructions on how to do this. You'll need some cleaning liquid and cleaning swabs, but it's worth the expense in the long run. I would also recommend replacing the cap tops every 6 months to a year. They aren't to hard to do and if you watch the tech do it, and have him show or explain, it shouldn't be a problem moving forward. That's how I started off.