Print Head Replacement

[aha!creative]

I have been trying to troubleshoot a print defect issue with my Summa for about 4 months and nothing seems to be working. A hairline streak from left to right will not print at both the top and now the bottom of each pass. This renders my prints unsellable. Summa Tech suggested rotating print plates, cleaning the head etc. but now after all the trial and error they are suggesting a new print head, which only costs $1800... OUCH! I am going out on a whim here and wondering if any Summa users have had this problem, or have ANY suggestions for an alternative to spending $1800. Any advice is welcome. I know Summa parts are not available as after market or off brand but I just can't spend that kind of cash right now!

THANKS!

 

[Gino]

What have you been doing for the last four months to keep your customers happy, if your printer doesn't cut it ??

Can you post up a picture [preferably a close-up]or two, so those who might be able to help can see what you are describing ??

 

[jayhawksigns]

Pictures help a lot.

We replaced the print head in ours not long after we received it. If you go that route the process wasn't that difficult.

 

[aha!creative]

I have been squeeking by suggesting mostly white background stickers, and if they want full color prints, I have been selling them at a discounted rate.

Attached is a picture of 2 density tests that I ran, one in Cyan and one in black.

 

[Gino]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Summa a thermal printer ??

Those look like scratched heads. We had some thermal printers years ago..... and that look was always a head replacement deal.

 

[aha!creative]

Yes, summa is a Thermal Printer. Not sure how the heads would get scratched though, but it definitely looks like 2 areas of the head are no longer functioning.

 

[signage]

It looks like blown pixels, and the only way to fix it i replace the fead.

 

[aha!creative]

That was what I was worried about... thanks. You got yours direct from Summa I assume?

 

[jayhawksigns]

That's where ours came from. Like you mentioned, not an alternative source of parts for these printers.