Problem with dx4 printhead! Banding! Please please HELP with cleaning solution!!!!!

[boggiom72]

I recently bought a Roland fj740 for real cheap...
I saw some print made just a month ago and they were perfect...
The guy who worked in the office though disappeared and nobody used the printer for over a month nor flushed the lines or did any maintenance cleansing...
The printer run pigment ink by Roland... The heads on group 1 (black and blue ink) keeps failing the nozzle check, and printing results in banding...

There is a clear gap of maybe 1/8 of the total dimension of the head running orizontaly form the black to the blue head...

After a few powerful cleaning the blu is almost back to perfect. The black not really. The cleaning already costed me about $300 in ink!!!!!!!!

Shall I keep buying ink and doing this??? (3 powerful cleaning almost discharge a cartridge for $120 each!!!! - the whole printer costed me $1500!)
There is any more cost-effective way to clean? Pigment ink is already quite difficult to find (most of the retailer sell only ecosol!), and it seems nobody has a cleansing liquid for pigment in stock...
Can I use some other solvent , something I can buy in an hardware store???

Thanks for the help!
m

 

[CropMarks]

When I converted my fj540 to solvent we had to flush the lines with warm water. We used warm distilled water that we bought in a jug... put it into refillable cartridges and cleaned them out that way. I'm pretty sure this wouldn't hurt the heads (as long as it's distilled... not spring). Anyone else?

here is where you can get the cartridges...
http://www.solventinkonline.com/comersus8f/store/comersus_listItems.asp?idCategory=65

 

[boggiom72]

thanks!
I'll give it a try!...
m

 

[CropMarks]

here's a place to find pigment dye ink a little cheaper.....
http://www.allsquare.com/home.html

that was the cheapest place that I could find it at.

 

[boggiom72]

Cropmarks, when you converted your printer...
The front heater is embedded in the new platen right? Where exactly goes the back heaters?
There is any insulation material to put here and there?

I'm coming up with this silicon tape for converting to sepiax... I wana place under the front platen, inside the suction conduct....
I hope it will works...

Thx
m

 

[artbot]

most msds sheets describing the contents of water based cleaning solution simply comes to
water and a little surfactant (soap). the best household soap to use when making a home brew water based cleaning solution is hoover hard floor cleaner. it is a soap that does not make bubbles. it's about a 20:1 ratio.

 

[boggiom72]

Thanks