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Print problem sp-540v

Jackflush

Gorgor
The boss wanted me to manually clean the heads and replace the wipers and clean around the sponges, because of ink droplets that were dropping onto the printed areas. There wasnt much, and halfway through the print the printer did exceedingly well throughout the last ten feet. But still the boss was adamant about a manual cleaning. Which I did for the first time ever. I did this according to this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V1_skCv6Cc&playnext_from=TL&videos=ijBCepTLhaE
I was careful to follow all instructions to the T. After this the test prints in the cyan section had "dropouts"? (im really not sure if thats what you call them) Maybe they are called blocked nozzles? I dont know but there are exceeding many. Topping it off I ran 5 regular cleaning with no results. Then at boss's request three medium cleanings in a row. Nothing is going right here. On the video it shows cleaning the bottom surface of the head with a wipe in one direction, but the manual says "dont touch". Roland says touching "ok", when you call them on the phone. Anyway, after all these cleaning the test still horrible, and I'm wondering if the head is scratched. heres a pict of the test print. you see its bad and thats after three med cleans in a row.... I think I know what you all will say, but what the heck!
 

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grafixemporium

New Member
If several normal or medium clean cycles don't pull the crap out of the nozzles, then you should probably do a head soak. Despite what anyone tells you, you should never wipe the bottom surface of the heads with anything.

For regular maintenance... as in every day if you a lot of printing every day, clean around the heads when excess ink builds up. Don't wipe bottom surface of the heads at all. Also, keep the capping station clean and pay special attention to the rubber gaskets around the caps. If those don't stay clean, they won't seal properly... if they don't seal properly, there is no suction and the cleaning cycles are useless. Keep the front face of the wipers clean and you should be good to go.
 

Jackflush

Gorgor
It was the caps. They needed replacement. Thanks for your help. Thank you graphix
 
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artbot

New Member
never wipe the heads

i read/saw an article years ago discussing "wiping the heads". it had photo from an electron microscope of the bottom of a head after mild wiping. it does a lot of damage. the line of hole runs down the very 1/8" middle of the head platen on a dx4. you can wipe the sides of the bottom to remove any dried ink left from the cap. but don't get near the middle unless you know what you are doing. once a tech mentioned to me, if you must, just put the very flat of the swab (very wetted with solution) and gently rotate it a few degrees back and forth. but don't wipe! if anything, the foam material of the swab barely makes contact. other than that, cap soak, remove and do a surface dunk, pull solution through at the pump lines (which i suggest over jetting with a syringe) the negative pressure is more familiar to the head then positive. blah blah blah....etc.
 
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