Mutoh 1204 Not printing magenta

[AdamsG]

Hi,

I recently finished printing a 13' long wrap and just at the end it quit printing red. And now will not print red at all, I changed the cartridge after it quit, today I took the lines off just above the damper and pulled the ink up to them with a syringe, but still cannot get it to print any shade of red. Anyone else have this problem or know what I could do to fix it?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Kaiser]

Hi,

I recently finished printing a 13' long wrap and just at the end it quit printing red. And now will not print red at all, I changed the cartridge after it quit, today I took the lines off just above the damper and pulled the ink up to them with a syringe, but still cannot get it to print any shade of red. Anyone else have this problem or know what I could do to fix it?

Thanks in advance!

Many reasons for Ink Starvation. Was there air in the lines when you pulled on the ink? Are your heads clean? Try flushing them out with some solution and retry a test print. What about any obstructions from ink feed to heads? I usually add about 3 ml of flush in a Line with 2 fittings and bypass the ink to purge the solution. This usually feeds the solution through the lines until the heads. It takes a awhile but usually flushes out the system quite nicely. Are the secondary tanks clean? Clean them out and fill with filtered ink. Test print. What about filters, when last did you replace them?

 

[AdamsG]

Many reasons for Ink Starvation. Was there air in the lines when you pulled on the ink? Are your heads clean? Try flushing them out with some solution and retry a test print. What about any obstructions from ink feed to heads? I usually add about 3 ml of flush in a Line with 2 fittings and bypass the ink to purge the solution. This usually feeds the solution through the lines until the heads. It takes a awhile but usually flushes out the system quite nicely. Are the secondary tanks clean? Clean them out and fill with filtered ink. Test print. What about filters, when last did you replace them?

Yes there was air in the lines, I have never flushed my heads... how does a person do that? Not sure about any obstructions.. when I hooked up the syringe it didn't seem to take too long before I had ink coming. I haven't had much trouble with this printer at all so I don't know much about the insides of it. Not sure where the secondary tanks are, I'll do some checking on them. By filters do you mean the small one in the damper?, if so I haven't replaced them since it was new just shy of 2 years ago.

Thanks!

 

[Kaiser]

Firstly, replace the filters. You will have to eventually do that even if its to help with printhead lifespan. I make sure all my filters are replaced at least every trimester. We spend about 7$ each so it is quite hefty but it does save you alot of work and is good general maintenance for any printer. I dont know the inner workings of the Mutoh but almost all printers are the same whether roll to roll or flatbed etc. The basic setup or circuit is carved from the same tree. If there was air in the lines, try purging until you get a decent test print. Unfortunately our machine purges all heads at once so I usually manually purge the line I want to rid the air of. If your case is the same which it seems, slowly pull on the ink until there is no air. What you can do is attach a filter to the syringe and filter the ink while purging to recycle it back, that way you dont lose anything and this doesnt put you back anything but time. Careful not to overpurge as this can damage pumps and valves or even worse a pcb board. General rule of thumb for me. Purge about 2ml and wait for the secondary tank to refill(youll hear the pumps stop working) . repeat.

Another solution is print purging. Make a 30cm x 30cm Spot Colour-Magenta file and print until that comes out with no banding at all. This wastes substrate but is less intensive on the machine.

I hope this helps.

 

[FatCat]

Firstly, there are no subtanks or filters on a 1204. If the OP is referring to dampers, they could need replacing if you're up to 2+ years on them. (It's a good thing to do as far as maintenance goes.)

However, your main concern is "why" you ran out of magenta ink in the first place - or why were the lines empty? Even without sub tanks a 1204 holds about 100ml (1/2 cartridge) worth of ink in just the lines themselves. So even if your cartridge is bone dry, there is ink in the lines...for a while. So it may have been that the cartridge ran out and the printer didn't tell you (which happens sometimes). However, if there was ink in the cart when you removed it then you need to check that there are no cracks, splits, loose fittings, etc. in the ink lines or fittings in the ink train.

If you have already drawn ink into the lines you can do a "little charge" on the cleaning menu to pull ink into the head and remove any air bubbles. (You should only need to do this once or twice to get rid of the air.) If you still get zero magenta ink, then you may have bigger issues....

But, try the simple stuff first and then let us know.

 

[AdamsG]

Thanks everyone for the advice! although, I still haven't gotten it to work. I have done the little charges, I soaked a piece of lint free cloth and put it on the maintenance station and then set the head down on top of it, and after each I have done nozzle checks(but got no magenta ink outta it) I have tried printing a chunk of red/magenta(1.5" x 20")(it comes out yellow with a couple lines of red at first) The magenta ink lines are for the most part full up to the dampers, one of the lines has a small air bubble in it.

Yesterday I did a longstore, thinking it would clean all the lines out and hopefully solve my problem... But it didnt even clean out any of my lines, the waste tank level did not change(I have done a longstore 1 other time and the waste tank was full of fluid). So.... I have a new maintenance station sitting here, do I put it in? Beings no lines got cleaned out when I did the longstore, could that mean it is the maintenance station??

Thanks again!

 

[AdamsG]

So I just pulled the head outta its carrier.. not sure if I used all the correct terms there but, I'm real sure that I can see the nozzles for the black, cyan, and yellow, but I cant see anything for the magenta ones, I can kinda see the lines of where the nozzles are supposed to be but cant see the little dots, that I would call the nozzles. Anyone know how to try and unclog them nozzles?

Thanks

 

[Kaiser]

So I just pulled the head outta its carrier.. not sure if I used all the correct terms there but, I'm real sure that I can see the nozzles for the black, cyan, and yellow, but I cant see anything for the magenta ones, I can kinda see the lines of where the nozzles are supposed to be but cant see the little dots, that I would call the nozzles. Anyone know how to try and unclog them nozzles?

Thanks

I have to admit that Im out of ideas. As I said, I havent worked on this particular machine yet. FatCat might be able to guide you through a few troubleshooting procedures if he has the time I guess. I hope you can solve your problem asap. I think we've all been down this road at least a half dozen times. I have a T1000 Rastek and I dread the day I started working on it. It prints reasonably well but it is extremely high maintenance..

Good luck mate, sorry I couldnt help more

 

[FatCat]

Where to start...?

OK, a few things you've said make me suspect your maintenance station is shot. Have you ever replaced it? Without a good working MS the Valuejets can have all kinds of problems. Your MS is what keeps suction on the head when it's parked, and the pump of course is what pulls ink through when you're doing cleanings, etc. You could also possibly have a worn seal on the cap top itself, but if you have a new MS sitting there I would go ahead and put it in as it will solve all those problems in 1 shot.

*BTW - since you have everything apart this would be a good time to replace the dampers. But if you don't want to, and they seem to be working OK it's up to you.

Second, the fact that you can't see the magenta nozzles isn't necessarily a bad thing. I suspect you can't see them beacause there is no magenta ink in those channels and the holes are so small. Since you have the head removed do you have any solvent or cleaning carts? If you want, you can take a stack of 5-10 coffee filters, soak them with solvent and just place the head directly on them. This will keep the nozzles wet and soften any plugs you may have. (I would let this set/soak while you're swapping out the MS.)

Next, you can fill a syringe with solvent and push CAREFULLY/SUPER GENTLY!!!! solvent through each of the manifold tips. Use only enough pressure with your thumb to make the plunger on the syringe move as slowly as possible. (I typically use a scrap piece of silicone tubing - Same diameter as your drain lines. If you don't have any you can cut a piece off the old MS and use that.) NOTE: when you do this the DX5 head will not spray solvent like a DX4 or head with larger nozzles - it dribbles out because the nozzles are so small. Do not use excessive pressure or you could damage the head!!!

Once you have your new MS station installed, re-install you head do a few small charges and you "should" be back in business.

 

[AdamsG]

Thank you for your help!

Something or a combination of things has atleast got it printing somewhat. Im still missing a few of the nozzles for the magenta. I soaked the head today, cautiously squirted cleaning solution thru the manifold, tried hooking 2 syringes on the drain tubes going to the waste box, to try and manually pull ink thru the head, and then made dang sure everything was back together the way its supposed to be and now its atleast printing.

I think Ill continue to soak the head do some more cleaning cycles and hopefully the nozzles will all unclog.

Thanks again!

 

[FatCat]

Yeah, in my experience the ecosol ink is pretty forgiving and usually you can get it cleared up with soakings, and cleaning cycles. *TIP - I leave my side cover on my 1204 off so I have easy access to the head/MS/drain lines. This way I can visually see if anything is getting clogged/dirty, etc. Keep those drain lines clear and make sure to pay attention to your ink levels in your carts.

Good luck to you.

 

[Davide]

1) CLEAN THE HEAD
2) MAKE 2 OR 3 LITTLE CHARGE
3) BE SURE THAT THE CIRCUITS OF COLOUR WE PUT IN THE RIGHT WAY
4) BE SURE THAT THE DUMPER IS WORKING