Roland sp540 not printing yellow/magenta

[alwyzchanging]

Had my printer for about a year now. Had issue with it not printing yellow/magenta about a month ago, purchased and replaced cap heads and it fixed the problem...that is until now. I am having the same issue to where no yellow is being printed at all during the test prints and only half of the magenta prints out and sort of prints out sporadically on the other half of the test print. Tried a manual cleaning, 3 power cleans, and checking the ink cartridges to make sure they still had ink and problem is still there. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[signage]

Welcome to the forums from PA. OlllllO

Have you tried the search feature to help yourself?

 

[DRamm76]

Here are some things to look out for and some questions..

-What type of ink is in the machine? Roland? 3rd Party?
-Have you checked to make sure the heads are capped properly?
-If you were to pour solution into the capping station does it drain down or just sit there?
-Have you ever pulled ink through the heads to get it flowing properly? While this is a good technique, if not done properly you could blow a damper.

 

[alwyzchanging]

Welcome to the forums from PA. OlllllO

Have you tried the search feature to help yourself?

Thank you! Yes, I actually spent a couple of hours going through them but I feel like they had problems that really didn't help my specific situation out...

 

[alwyzchanging]

Here are some things to look out for and some questions..

-What type of ink is in the machine? Roland? 3rd Party?
-Have you checked to make sure the heads are capped properly?
-If you were to pour solution into the capping station does it drain down or just sit there?
-Have you ever pulled ink through the heads to get it flowing properly? While this is a good technique, if not done properly you could blow a damper.

- PRIME-ECO by BORDEAUX is the ink I use
- I have checked and it looks like its in there right.
- The solution just sits there when I pour it into the capping station
- I have never pulled the ink, I am not familiar with the process. Is there a site I can go to to learn?

 

[Banners Signs Etc.]

now don't quote me on this but...at my old shop we got got our mutoh going by sucking ink into the dampers using a large animal syringe, minus the needle(dirt cheap at farm supply store and fits dampers perfectly)...if you have ink in the dampers, you could probably try sucking from the drain line when the heads are over the capping station (this is where the needle might come into play)

But if there is fluid pooled in the capping station you have other problems.

That's my advice as an amateur solvent printer tech
how many more disclaimers can I put in one post.

 

[Robert M]

Suck ink

Locate the black tube that is coming from the yellow/ megenta cap. hook up a syringe and try to draw in down. Run your fingers along the black tube, sometinmes you can feel the clog and work it out
that fails do the same from the waste line to the pump.

 

[kustomsigns&designs]

Its sounds to me like you have a clog in the tubing somewhere after that cap, try pulling the tubing off and check for clogs.

 

[rjssigns]

It is third party inks causing the issue. I can almost guarantee the lines from the cap tops to the pumps and from the pump to the catch bottle are clogged. An easy check is to see if they are still pliable. If not, they and the cap tops will have to be replaced. First clue is cleaning solution sits on the cap tops. How do I know? Been there, broke that with third party inks. Went back to OEM inks after an expensive service call (flush heads, new hoses, etc..) and its been pounding out the work since.
I could go on, but I fear the good people on this forum may be tiring of my posts on the pitfalls of third party inks.

Cheers,

RJ

 

[DRamm76]

It is third party inks causing the issue. I can almost guarantee the lines from the cap tops to the pumps and from the pump to the catch bottle are clogged. An easy check is to see if they are still pliable. If not, they and the cap tops will have to be replaced. First clue is cleaning solution sits on the cap tops. How do I know? Been there, broke that with third party inks. Went back to OEM inks after an expensive service call (flush heads, new hoses, etc..) and its been pounding out the work since.
I could go on, but I fear the good people on this forum may be tiring of my posts on the pitfalls of third party inks.

Cheers,

RJ

Amen! "But it can't be the third party ink! They are so much cheaper! How could they cause a problem!?!" (Insert sarcasm here)