Roland XC 540 printhead help is needed

[Arnech]

Hi!

I have 2 heads that i think might need replacing, can anyone point me in the right direction? might be something else then new heads i need? I have changed the dampers and cap tops on all 6 heads. Any ideas? it is head 1 and 6 that have trouble, the rest print fine. ( i know yellow is missing in the image)

https://imgur.com/cZry9g7

https://imgur.com/5k3s2s4

https://imgur.com/T0y3u2L

 

[E Coloney]

The solid stripes of cyan and magenta happen with a blown printer carriage circuit board (on top of the print head carriage). Been there. Done that. EXCEPT, I don't remember if they print during a print test so maybe not. That is $~150 and you can do the change yourself. Have you been tinkering with the ribbon cables between the print heads and the PC board with the power on? And if you pulled one out did the fan shut down immediately? If yes, plan on a new PC board.
Your black print head looks pretty weak with many clogged, deflecting nozzles. Black often goes first because it gets used so much. You could try a head soak to see if it helps. Ultimately, how well it prints is the deciding factor...

 

[Arnech]

Thanks for your reply! No fan shutdown, if i have removed the ribbons, it is with power off. What is a good metod of head soaking? See People talking about leaving it soaked over night? What is a good way to do this?

 

[E Coloney]

Did you get any satisfaction with head soaking?

 

[Jim Hancock]

The solid stripes of color and the nozzle test print indicate you have printed the fill test in service mode. Based on the look of the cyan and light cyan bars, those 2 print heads look like they are dying. To fully understand the difference between a good nozzle test and bad printing, use this analogy. The nozzle test is like starting your car and it idles nicely. The fill test, which is printed at 720x720 8 pass standard speed, is like now running your car at highway speed and it is not running well at all. The same with printing a file. You are now putting a load on the print heads and they cannot respond properly and print poorly. Also look at the left and right edges of the color bands. I suspect you will see a lot of overspray on those 2 colors. I am also concerned that you are missing 1/2 of the magenta head and the yellow, which you mentioned. Print head soaking may help, but I suspect those 2 heads have reached the end of their life.
Hope this helps you understand what is going on.