Roland VP-540 issue

[Cassidy]

I recently started working a small sign shop. When printing anything black there is a shadow of magenta above it and a shadow of cyan below. I figured it was an alignment issue but after printing the alignment test sheet it appears that a chunk of print heads aren't working. (see image) I'm worried that it is damaged as I tried a deep cleaning in the machine setting and it didn't get any better. Could the heads not firing be causing the shadowing? Any suggestions as to how to fix this would be much appreciated as I am not familiar with this machine yet and I am the only one in the shop so there is nobody to ask.

Alignment test

• Cassidy
• Jul 28, 2017

Unsure why this is happening

 

[Solventinkjet]

Run a nozzle check. That will tell you what is printing and what isn't. It looks like the black is definitely having a hard time but you will want to see if the other colors are having the same issue. You need to have all of the nozzles firing before you can move on to the alignments. The most likely issue is a bad cap top, dampers, clogged pump and/or just a plain old clogged head. Once you get the nozzles firing, then you need to go into the service mode and run the alignments there. The alignment you are showing in the picture above will not fix your shadow issue. So you have two issues going on. Clogged nozzles and bad alignments. Not too bad of a problem unless you can't get the nozzles firing in which case you will need a new head.

 

[Cassidy]

the black definitely has the most issues. I'm not sure why the cyan smeared and the lines on the yellow aren't consistently spaced apart. It's hard to see the yellow but there are some lines that aren't aligned in their columns and rows properly. Excuse my lack of understanding but I'm not entirely sure what the cap tops or dampers are.

 

[DJr]

the black definitely has the most issues. I'm not sure why the cyan smeared and the lines on the yellow aren't consistently spaced apart. It's hard to see the yellow but there are some lines that aren't aligned in their columns and rows properly. Excuse my lack of understanding but I'm not entirely sure what the cap tops or dampers are.

Need a new black head did this just all the sudden show up?


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[Solventinkjet]

the black definitely has the most issues. I'm not sure why the cyan smeared and the lines on the yellow aren't consistently spaced apart. It's hard to see the yellow but there are some lines that aren't aligned in their columns and rows properly. Excuse my lack of understanding but I'm not entirely sure what the cap tops or dampers are.

The cap top is the rubber seal that the heads sit on when they are not being used. If it is dirty or damaged or just worn out, it will cause your nozzles to drop like yours are. I would try cleaning them first and also looking at the bottom of the print head. Clean any built up ink on the bottom of the head while avoiding the nozzles in the middle. It's not the end of the day if you hit the nozzles by accident you just don't want to be scrubbing like a mad man down there. After everything is clean run a cleaning cycle and see if that helps. If you see nozzles coming back you may need to run a few more cleanings to get them all back. If not, you most likely have a bad or clogged cap top.

 

[Cassidy]

It's been an issue since I started here about a month ago. I'm not sure how long it was going on before that. When I was being trained by the guy who I replaced, I saw the print heads hit one of the metal feet that holds down the vinyl. He said the feet get bent sometimes and to just bend it back. I have a feeling that it has happened more times than I saw that day because he wasn't surprised so it is very possible that it has been damaged for a while.

 

[Solventinkjet]

There is definitely a possibility that the head is damaged from the strikes but it could still just be clogged. It's worth replacing the cap top and checking the pump for clogs and doing head soaks to try and get it firing again. Heads are expensive.

 

[DJr]

It's been an issue since I started here about a month ago. I'm not sure how long it was going on before that. When I was being trained by the guy who I replaced, I saw the print heads hit one of the metal feet that holds down the vinyl. He said the feet get bent sometimes and to just bend it back. I have a feeling that it has happened more times than I saw that day because he wasn't surprised so it is very possible that it has been damaged for a while.

If the heads hit the metal feet that hold down the material I can almost guarantee you have a damaged head or 2. You may be able to get the cyan head to come back but the black looks like it may be lost. Also since the black head is on the outside of the head line up it probably hit the metal first hence taking the hardest hit and showing the most damage. If the metal tabs are bent you may want to order some new ones as they are almost impossible to repair. You don't want to fix the head and hit another tab. Good luck let us know how it goes.


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[Cassidy]

Okay so I just opened up the machine for my first time and cleaned the cap tops and print heads. I ran a cleaning cycle and did a test print a few times. The top one is the original I posted, the next three were done after the cleaning in the order they are shown. The cyan keep leaving a smear mark in the same spot. Could there be caused by a hair or dust because it was pretty dusty in there? Also I'm not sure what the cap tops are supposed to look like so I'm not sure if they are bad.

 

[DJr]

It looks like the black and cyan heads are damaged from the head strike you mentioned earlier in the post. It also looks like you need to change the cap stations as well they look a little worn. Unfortunately it looks like you may need a couple of heads.


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[zopylote]

the black definitely has the most issues. I'm not sure why the cyan smeared and the lines on the yellow aren't consistently spaced apart. It's hard to see the yellow but there are some lines that aren't aligned in their columns and rows properly. Excuse my lack of understanding but I'm not entirely sure what the cap tops or dampers are.

Okay so I just opened up the machine for my first time and cleaned the cap tops and print heads. I ran a cleaning cycle and did a test print a few times. The top one is the original I posted, the next three were done after the cleaning in the order they are shown. The cyan keep leaving a smear mark in the same spot. Could there be caused by a hair or dust because it was pretty dusty in there? Also I'm not sure what the cap tops are supposed to look like so I'm not sure if they are bad.

this is a repeated pattern that tells me that the blak head is 50% clogged and cyan is 5% clogged (barley noted on prints), but before buying a head try to change cap stations and make at least three cleanings cycles, for each cleaning make a nozzle check and compare them, if you are able to print good banners these cleanings and comparators can be done every day...

your right picture is showing your caps the 1st from the left to right is the black one then the cyan magenta and yellow

 

[Cassidy]

I now have the new caps but I can't find instructions on how to install them for this particular machine online. Can anyone help guide me?

 

[Cassidy]

I changed the caps and it did not correct the problem. We got a new print head and I replaced it but now it wont print the black at all. Help please!