SP-540V Banding - Help pls

[Sindy]

I have a SP-540V and print using VersaWorks.

Every time I print I always seem to have banding lines thoughout the print, even after I have checked the calibration, making sure the two boxes meet without a gap or overlap. I have also changed from Bi-Direction to Uni-Direction, and the banding is still the same.

I have attached a picture of the banding problem, and a Test Print.



I emailed Roland Tech Support, and they said the following:

It looks like you have had a head strike. The Black/Cyan head is twisted which will cause slight print problems. You also have several missing nozzles on your test print which means you will get visible lines in the print (bands).

It is likely that if you cannot fix the missing nozzles by cleaning the heads then there may be scratches on the print head and these heads my need to be replaced.


Can anyone advise what I can do to rectify the problem? I've got a print job to do for this week and need to have it up and running by then.


I would greatly appreciate any advise.

Thanks,
Sindy

 

[stillhasdust]

You have to have a tech come in a do a complete head alignment. Once that is done you should get decent prints.

 

[Sindy]

Is there no way of fixing it myself?

 

[kffernandez]

you don't seem like the "techie" type of guy. so, for now, i'll just suggest that you increase your resolution/passes. this will effectively minimize the banding. this won't really fix your nozzle dropout issues. but at least you will have a half-decent output to give to your client while you figure things out.

kelly

 

[phototec]

you don't seem like the "techie" type of guy. so, for now, i'll just suggest that you increase your resolution/passes. this will effectively minimize the banding. this won't really fix your nozzle dropout issues. but at least you will have a half-decent output to give to your client while you figure things out.

kelly

Ok, I have heard "increase your passes" before, exactly how do you do this?

Is there a setting adjustment in VW or a setting adjustment in the SP-540V?

Thanks

 

[kffernandez]

Ok, I have heard "increase your passes" before, exactly how do you do this?

Is there a setting adjustment in VW or a setting adjustment in the SP-540V?

this is one of the most basic features for large format printers. it basically indicates how many times the head goes through each part of your design.

depending on the printer, there should be a default set of passes that your printer is programmed with. this is usually integrated into the profiles for your specific media.
my printer [sc-540] is set to be able to print under 4/8/16 or 32 passes. since i do my own profiles, i have felt comfortable working with 4/8/16 passes for my production needs.

it has been a while since i worked with versa works. but you should see it in one of the printer settings. you will know that you have changed the selection since each time you increase that passes, you lower your print speed accordingly.

i hope this helps.

kelly

 

[P Wagner]

Ok, I have heard "increase your passes" before, exactly how do you do this?

Is there a setting adjustment in VW or a setting adjustment in the SP-540V?

Thanks

I agree with the Roland tech, head number 1 (the K/C head) is definitely out of alignment. The good news is that you should not need a new head based on the nozzle test, but it should be physically aligned by someone who knows how to. If you bring in a technician, it should be a relatively inexpensive call as they should not need to replace the #1 head.

Pass counts are tied to the specific print mode that is being used for the Media. In Versaworks, look for and select a 'W-Pass' print mode, which will effectively double (or nearly so) the pass count at the resolution. Production resolution on that printer is 720x720 if I recall correctly.

Paul

 

[ams]

Usually it's either a hair stuck to the printhead or the DPI is set low

 

[Ragnabrok]

the the bias of the c/k head is off, and should be corrected.

The banding at least in the image shown is almost only in the reddish part of the flowers, but not in the blue background, or blackish base. The magenta side of the head is missing a group of nozzles at the back of the head, so when the passes line up, there is a missing line. Aligning the other head won't correct that.

 

[Bill72]

I have a similar Roland printer,VS-540, and use versa works. Also have similar banding issues and with it appearing more in reds. Had tech come out and basically tell me the heads bad, missing nozzles, so here's the outrageous price to replace and better yet let me give you our low prices on a brand new machine.... I've yet to come across a good tech, I know there out there but mostly there just aspiring sales reps.

Anyways ive found that by using a different MEDIA PROFILE setting in versa works the banding will at least be less noticeable and most of the time disappear all together. Also manually clean regularly and auto clean religiously. You'll have to play around a bit as to what media setting will work with that print and once u find it make sure that profile is the one you always use for that print.

Not sure what kind of media your printing on But I usually print on 3-m 180 and 380 cv-3 viNyl for Vehicle wraps. The profiles That work bes for me are PWV, PCV3, and the one that ends in vop2 I think its GCVP vop2, anyways like I said different profiles work better on different prints some will take banding away but leave blotches in the Reds because to much ink is being put down on your material. I've also found that some manufacturers actual have print profiles you can download and use for that specific material. 3-m for instance does, I've never used them myself and heard good and bad.

 

[Morkel]

+1 to increasing the # of passes. If you can't afford a new print head and the various cleaning operations (you are cleaning, right? including a weekly one where you soak the heads over the weekend?) won't fix it, increasing the passes is the only way to improve it. Depending on your profile, changing it to 12 or 16 passes, or switching from V-pass to W-pass as mentioned above.

 

[player]

Where is this V to W pass setting located in Versaworks?

 

[Morkel]

Where is this V to W pass setting located in Versaworks?

It'll depend on whether the profile has been set up to switch between V and W. I haven't had our Roland for about 4 years now, but this screen dump below looks about right, you'll see in the Quality tab there is a Mode option. On the screenshot it's greyed out, meaning it's only been set up for V ("CMYK (v)") but if it were set up for W that's where you'd select it.

You can also see above that wher it has Quality - that's where you'd select "High Quality" if you wanted to print with as many passes as possible.

 

[player]

Yes I see the mode option.

Thank you.

 

[phototec]

It'll depend on whether the profile has been set up to switch between V and W. I haven't had our Roland for about 4 years now, but this screen dump below looks about right, you'll see in the Quality tab there is a Mode option. On the screenshot it's greyed out, meaning it's only been set up for V ("CMYK (v)") but if it were set up for W that's where you'd select it.

You can also see above that wher it has Quality - that's where you'd select "High Quality" if you wanted to print with as many passes as possible.

WOW, that really worked great, I have been fighting some banding for a couple of weeks, soaked heads, cleanings, nothing worked.

I'm printing with a SP-540V on Orajet 3951 and used Generic vinyl III and selected high quality and W-PASS, and although the printer printed slower, there is NO banding at all, actually looks fantastic.

I never heard of or used W-PASS before.

Thanks for the tip.