Roland VP540 Won't print registration marks

[invadertoast]

Hi guys - New here, and having a bizarre problem. We have a Rolad VP-540 that will no longer print crop marks for print/cut jobs. We are running SignLab 7.1 / Print & Cut Manager on Windows 8. I had to do some tweaking to get everything running on Windows 8 but it's been great for the past 2 years or so. As of yesterday, if I do a print a cut job the machine goes through the motions of printing the crop marks but doesn't put any ink down. I have tried changing the color of the crop marks but it does the same thing. For the past year or so when printing crop marks, sometimes they would appear a little streaky/banded but the machine had no problems seeing them to line up for cutting. Also, if I go to preform a test print pattern on the machine it goes through the motions but doesn't put down any ink. Otherwise it is printing beautifully with no issues, I just printed two 9' long American flags for a partial wrap that matches two other trucks I've lettered in the past year perfectly. I am so confused and kind of in a jam because I can no longer print/laminate/cut! Any ideas?? Thanks

-Lindsay

 

[DEXRON12]

Hi Lindsay,
I have a SP540V that just started doing the same thing. If you have found the problem can you please let me know.

 

[Joe House]

If your nozzle test is good, then it has to be in the RIP software. Are you firing all nozzles in the nozzle test print?

 

[DEXRON12]

If your nozzle test is good, then it has to be in the RIP software. Are you firing all nozzles in the nozzle test print?

I did a nozzle test after my post and sure enough no black which is bizarre because I had done a nozzle test that morning and it was perfect. I looked to see if there was any ink pooling from possibly a broken damper but nothing. I then tried swapping the wires between k and c. I unplugged the printer before doing this. Once I swapped the wires plugged the printer in, main power on, turned it on and a high temperature message came up so I just shut it off and put the wires back.
Now no k or c. I'm hopping it's just a fuse even though I did everything right according to what I've read in forums. But I believe 1 fuse covers 1 printhead so why would the k just all of a sudden stop working?
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Solventinkjet]

I unplugged the printer before doing this.

The key is to unplug the machine, hit the power buttons a couple times and wait 15 minutes. If you do this, you can't go wrong. I have actually tested the power output on a lot of these machines after they have been unplugged and most take a little less than 15 minutes to fully discharge due to the large capacitors that are used.

I'm hopping it's just a fuse

Probably. In 99% of cases it's the fuse but there is always a possibility of more damage being caused to the head or the board. Double check your cables for any ink splatter, debris, corrosion and/or damaged leads. If the cable looks good, replace the fuse and you should be good to go. If not, change the cables first.

Head heat errors mean that there is a short in the head causing it to heat up. In most cases this is due to the cable shorting itself out. In your case, the short popped the fuse.

 

[DEXRON12]

Can you tell me if these are the fuses for the print heads?

 

[DEXRON12]

Can you tell me if these are the fuses?

 

[Joe House]

F1 is for Magenta and Yellow heads. F2 is for Cyan and Black.
So it wasn't the fuse to begin with, but it could be now, or you could have fried your cyan head. test the fuse with a Multi Meter. You can do this with the fuse still in the board. It's not unusual to bend one of those cables when you put them back in or not get it properly aligned. If the cables are damaged at all - folded over, torn contacts, etc. it is best to replace them. Inspect them closely wherever you removed and replaced them - either at the head or at the carriage board.