Mutoh VJ-1304, network interface failure

[Design1]

Hi guys, I'm new to the forum. I found this forum by doing a google search b/c we're having issues with out VJ-1304. Just the other day, we were getting ready to print a banner for a customer, but nothing was happening. Btw, we're using Flexisign 8.5 on a Mac. The production manager indicates that it's ripping and going into print mode, but it eventually says "cannot open port".

We thought it was some kind of network issue so we had our local network tech guy come out to help troubleshoot the issue. Please excuse my lack of tech savy language, but he hooked up his laptop directly to the printer via a crossover and regular patch cable to test out the connection. The cables are good as we verified it with other components, but his test shows that there is no connection between the laptop and the printer. This led us to believe that the network interface card has failed. The problem is that it's built into the main board which costs ~$1800.

Has this happened to anyone else? What options do I have? I called Mutoh's tech support, but they didn't really offer much help. I asked them about connecting it directly via USB cable, but apparently that is not supported. Has anyone been able to connect the VJ-1304 via USB? Our tech guy suggested that we try to using an external print server connecting it through the UBS cable and cross our fingers.

It's only 2yrs old so we're not too pleased with this. Any info that you guys can give would be great, thanks.

Vin

 

[ProWraps]

usb cable is a no go.

need more backstory. did this work for you before or is this a fresh install?

 

[Design1]

usb cable is a no go.

need more backstory. did this work for you before or is this a fresh install?

we bought it brand new and have been using it for about 2yrs now and it has always been flawless. i also uninstalled and reinstalled flexisign to no avail. our graphtec vinyl cutter works just fine so the software is good.

btw, when the crossover cable is plugged into the router, the light does not come on indicating a connection. i plugged it into the other good known ports, but there's still no connection. this was the first indication to me that it was the network port on the printer side.

 

[GAC05]

Did the tech guy go through the set-up menu on the printer to see if the IP stuff was still set correctly? Items 23,24 and 25 set the address of the printer. Are they still good or show at all?
If all else fails I think there is a way to reset everything to the default factory values and might be worth a shot if you are going to have to replace the board in the end anyway.
Randy will know.

wayne k
guam usa

 

[Design1]

Did the tech guy go through the set-up menu on the printer to see if the IP stuff was still set correctly? Items 23,24 and 25 set the address of the printer. Are they still good or show at all?
If all else fails I think there is a way to reset everything to the default factory values and might be worth a shot if you are going to have to replace the board in the end.
Randy will know.

wayne k
guam usa

we did check this in the menu. the IP, subnet mask, and gateway was verified and set correctly.

 

[Compilla]

we're using Flexisign 8.5 on a Mac. The production manager indicates that it's ripping and going into print mode, but it eventually says "cannot open port".
Vin

Well that's your problem you are using a MAC.. lol ( JK )

Plug it into a PC and try to ping it, if it replies back then you know what the
problem is.

Good Luck!

 

[FatCat]

Well that's your problem you are using a MAC.. lol ( JK )

Plug it into a PC and try to ping it, if it replies back then you know what the
problem is.

Good Luck!

Agree with Compilla.

Even though I run an all Mac shop, we still have 1 lonely PC that handles the rip for our Mutoh and also the cut software for our Summa. (Though it does nothing else.) ;-)

If you can/can't get a ping, you know the answer.

 

[h82loose]

What ip address are you using? I had an issue with an ip address that contained too many 0's in it. Example 001.000.000.001. Also make sure that the subnet mask matches.

 

[Design1]

Well that's your problem you are using a MAC.. lol ( JK )

Plug it into a PC and try to ping it, if it replies back then you know what the
problem is.

Good Luck!

the tech used his PC laptop to ping it which showed no connection.

 

[Design1]

Agree with Compilla.

Even though I run an all Mac shop, we still have 1 lonely PC that handles the rip for our Mutoh and also the cut software for our Summa. (Though it does nothing else.) ;-)

If you can/can't get a ping, you know the answer.

both mac and pc showed the same "no connection" result.

What ip address are you using? I had an issue with an ip address that contained too many 0's in it. Example 001.000.000.001. Also make sure that the subnet mask matches.

192.168.2.50 is the IP we used and subnet mask is 255.255.255.0.

 

[J Hill Designs]

whats your computer IP?

 

[Design1]

whats your computer IP?

i am not at the shop right now, but it's different. i will post it when i get back to the shop.

 

[Design1]

whats your computer IP?

this is the IP for the MAC, 192.168.2.109.

 

[CS-SignSupply]

have you tried masking the Mac address with an IP using 'ARP'?

arp -s 192.168.2.50 00-00-00-00-00-00

Replace the series of zeros with the MAC Address of the Network Card.

Then, arp -a

and see if you get a record of the static address you just created via the arp -s command.

If yes, ping the IP and see what results you get.

 

[Design1]

have you tried masking the Mac address with an IP using 'ARP'?

arp -s 192.168.2.50 00-00-00-00-00-00

Replace the series of zeros with the MAC Address of the Network Card.

Then, arp -a

and see if you get a record of the static address you just created via the arp -s command.

If yes, ping the IP and see what results you get.

this is a little too technical for me. i would have to have our tech perform this procedure.

 

[snokid]

I am trying to run my VJ-1304 with onyx postershop on windows xp. Im having the exact same problem. I have made my own cross over cable and when I set up the ip adress it doesnt see it.. the 1304 ran just fine through our sever with our old computers but I cant straight wire it to my computer.. what I want to know is why on earth would mutoh put a usb plug on the 1304 if its not supported? Anyways if I find out anything more I will post it on here (I also am running flexi sign and have a couple mac's for designing so im in your same position)

 

[randya]

I am trying to run my VJ-1304 with onyx postershop on windows xp. Im having the exact same problem. I have made my own cross over cable and when I set up the ip adress it doesnt see it.. the 1304 ran just fine through our sever with our old computers but I cant straight wire it to my computer.. what I want to know is why on earth would mutoh put a usb plug on the 1304 if its not supported? Anyways if I find out anything more I will post it on here (I also am running flexi sign and have a couple mac's for designing so im in your same position)

When using a cross over you must disable DHCP:http://www.mutoh.com/kb/entry/8/

The USB port is a hold over from the CAD printers like the RJ-900 (which all used the same design motherboard).
The USB port requires a Window driver, and no Windows drivers have been written for the 1304 (primarily due to profiles, heater settings, etc).
Some have gotten them to work, kind of, but we dont support that.

Most of the time when the IP port fails, it is due to physical damage.
So you might inspect it and see if that is the case, and if it is repairable.

Also it should light up when connected (there is an LED on the inside of the case, you should be able to see it light up from the outside).

Additional info:
http://www.mutoh.com/kb/entry/96/

Good luck!

 

[Design1]

this ordeal has been costly and a big headache. we had a tech, from the supplier that we purchased from, come out to take a look at it. he suspect that a fluke static shock shorted out the network card. along with that, the damn printer head went out.

both items were $$$ so we opted to just replace the printer head and use the printer via USB through a PC. it took quite some time to figure everything out, but it is possible to use this mutoh vj-1304 through a usb. on the driver setup, through flexi, you have to select "usb printer 001" or something similar to get it to work.

now we're having issues of color matching. a bright red that was used in "mac's flexi" will print dark red on "pc's flexi" when we print from the same file.