No ink flow in ink lines

[Mrocha90]

Hello everyone,

I am new to the website and also fairly new to large format printing. I have some experience with printing as I have done sublimation, DTG and have also done some simple printing on a 24” plotter.
I recently bought a Roland sp540v off of someone and they informed me that the printer had sat for about 6 months. I did my research and learned that I would to replace the ink and I asked the seller and he had replaced the print heads about a year ago. So I purchased the printer and I soaked the printheads for 24 hours and I got new in and i tried some print tests and nothing printed. So I did a few deep cleanings and did another test and nothing printed. I looked at the lines and could see that nothing was making its way up past the first set of connectors.

My question is, would I need to do a head wash? Or is there something else I would need to do?

Thank you so much for any guidance

 

[Solventinkjet]

If it sat for 6 months with ink in it, multiple areas could be clogged. The heads are most likely clogged but I would assume the cap top/pump/waste tubes could be as well. I'd pour some cleaning solution into the cap tops and see If I pull it through the waste tube. It should pull through fairly easy. If all you get is suction and no solution in the syringe, there's a clog somewhere between the cap tops and waste line. Once you know the maintenance lines are clear, then run a cleaning and see if the ink moves at all. If not, the heads will need to be soaked and/or flushed to get any ink flowing.

 

[greysquirrel]

Hire a technician to fix this correctly for you. Don’t dyi this one.

 

[mikebamboo]

Did the seller show you that the machine could print at all? Ask the seller to prove to you that it can print, or ask for a refund. I don't think that it matters that the heads were replaced a year ago if it hasn't printed for 6 months. Any machine that has sat idle for months on end is primed for clogs and issues that could be expensive to fix/replace.
But yeah also have a tech check it out if you can.

 

[Mrocha90]

Did the seller show you that the machine could print at all? Ask the seller to prove to you that it can print, or ask for a refund. I don't think that it matters that the heads were replaced a year ago if it hasn't printed for 6 months. Any machine that has sat idle for months on end is primed for clogs and issues that could be expensive to fix/replace.
But yeah also have a tech check it out if you can.

Hi, yes, he showed me videos of it printing in January/February of this year. He just sold due to him having medical issues. I will for sure seek a technician

 

[Mrocha90]

If it sat for 6 months with ink in it, multiple areas could be clogged. The heads are most likely clogged but I would assume the cap top/pump/waste tubes could be as well. I'd pour some cleaning solution into the cap tops and see If I pull it through the waste tube. It should pull through fairly easy. If all you get is suction and no solution in the syringe, there's a clog somewhere between the cap tops and waste line. Once you know the maintenance lines are clear, then run a cleaning and see if the ink moves at all. If not, the heads will need to be soaked and/or flushed to get any ink flowing.

Thank yin so much for the information.

 

[Zoogee World]

Hi, yes, he showed me videos of it printing in January/February of this year. He just sold due to him having medical issues. I will for sure seek a technician

You won't be able to find a certified Technician to service that machine as it is end of life. Unfortunately you'll need to get your hands dirty for this one. I would start with a 48 hour head soak minimum. Make sure you cap off the lines after the cap tops and it's best to top off the cleaning solution in the cap tops after 24hrs, as some may evaporate or go into the head. After the head soak, I would replace the cap tops and do a couple powerful cleans and then a test print to see if you get anything. If you see anything, then great, means there's hope, if nothing, then before you replace the print heads, make sure the 2 little fuses on the main board are still good, if they are, then new heads are really the next step.