Need Help SP540V - Printing Issue - Black lines

[vsmartino]

I can't seem to get over this hurdle and unfortunately I can't exactly recall when this exactly started, but I can't seem to get a clean black print. I keep getting these "lines" on the edges of black, which I was not getting on this exact same artwork previously.

I've cleaned the heads well, my test prints aren't out of the ordinary, all other colours seem to be printing fine (cyan included). I've done as much calibrating as I think I can do. What am I missing?

 

[P Wagner]

Fuzz or hairs on your carriage - use a flashlight to inspect and tweezers to remove.

 

[Jester1167]

Too consistent, my guess is you have deflected nozzles. Do a nozzle check and it will show you.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Check for fuzz on the head but also the head carriage as it could be dragging and causing the issue. Also, if you have a ton of deflecting nozzles in your nozzle check, it could be those deflections causing the issue.

 

[vsmartino]

My nozzle check isn't completely horrible, I've seen worse and have printed much better.

It's also been practically the same for over a year now with this nozzle check, so I'm hesitant to say that that's changed.

When you all refer to fuzz or dust on the carriage are you referring to fuzz/dust being stuck on the board, sliders and cabling?

 

[Solventinkjet]

Deflections are usually caused by partially clogged or physically damaged nozzles. When it's a partial clog, it can get worse over time and causes pressure to build up which makes the nozzle fire longer than it should which makes little lines in the print. That could be the case here. Have you tried doing a head soak at any time?

 

[vsmartino]

I haven't soaked the head no, but based on what I'm seeing I will likely be doing that tonight!

Anything else I can try?

 

[E Coloney]

It looks like a dirty encoder strip to me. It needs to be cleaned.

 

[garyroy]

This may be too obvious but is worth mentioning. I have (2) VP-540i's. In my user manual (not sure if yours is the same) Chapter 3-3 there is a heading entitled "Cleaning the heads using the cleaning kit". When I get that same fuzzy look on my machines I go through that process and I get crystal clear prints afterward. I thought that might work for you if you have not yet tried it.

 

[Lindsey]

My nozzle check isn't completely horrible, I've seen worse and have printed much better.

It's also been practically the same for over a year now with this nozzle check, so I'm hesitant to say that that's changed.

When you all refer to fuzz or dust on the carriage are you referring to fuzz/dust being stuck on the board, sliders and cabling?

Sometimes a little piece of lint, fuzz, hair/dog fur gets stuck on the bottom of the print head (or the area around the print head) and travels with the carriage, leaving fine streaks across the print (or whips drops of ink out at the sides/edges). Take a close look at the bottom of the print head to see if anything wispy is hanging from it. It could be so small that it's hard to see. A manual cleaning with the swabs can help.

 

[vsmartino]

Small morning update:

Did a head soak last night (overnight) and it changed very minimally. If anything its cleared up some of the spraying but hasn't changed my test prints all too much.

The streak lines are definitely not from dust or hairs. I keep the machine well cleaned and dusted frequently, as-well as a few once overs last night during the whole process. And they're far too consistent/perfect.

I quickly cleaned the encoder strip but just dry, didn't use any alcohol so I'm going to try that today. I did notice though the the strip is a little close to the reader on one side (printer face side) and not exactly centred. It doesn't look like it's rubbing at all and there's no wear marks, so I'm going to assume thats fine, but will also adjust it to sit more center anyways.

Did a re-print of the logo I was printing and it is a bit better, but still not like it has been printing these past few months without the small lines.

 

[Pewter0000]

Mmmm, I am not an expert, but it really looks like those black jaggety fuzzes are coming from your black deflected nozzles? Do you have this issue with other files too?

 

[Jim Hancock]

I quickly cleaned the encoder strip but just dry, didn't use any alcohol so I'm going to try that today. I did notice though the the strip is a little close to the reader on one side (printer face side) and not exactly centred. It doesn't look like it's rubbing at all and there's no wear marks, so I'm going to assume thats fine, but will also adjust it to sit more center anyways.

This is the best way to do this. You will need gloves, a clean microfiber cloth and acetone. Yes, acetone... It will not damage the encoder strip in any way. 91% alcohol is ok, but doesn't get all the ink off. NEVER use alcohol less than 91% as the water content in 70% alcohol will soften the emulsion on the encoder strip (it's a piece of graphics film) and can damage it. I have cleaned hundreds of encoder strips with acetone and never damaged one.

Enter the maintenance mode by pressing the cleaning button while turning on the front power switch. Select cleaning so the print head moves to the other end of the printer. Power off the printer with the main switch in the back of the printer. You can now freely move the print head so you can get the entire strip.

Cut several 2 inch squares of the microfiber cloth, wet it with acetone, and fold it over the encoder strip and wipe the stripe gently using your thumb and forefinger to hold the cloth against the encoder strip. Do this several times with a new square of cloth until the cloth is clean. When done, power up the printer, the head carriage will make its way back to home position on its own.

 

[Jester1167]

Be very careful cleaning the encoder strip, you can easily damage it. I wouldn't use anything beyond a damp soft lint freee cloth with soap and water and limit the number of times you rub on it. Nothing on your print leads me to believe that it has anything to do with the encoder though. They are 2 sided so if you do damage it you can flip it over.

 

[Jim Hancock]

I agree with Jester1167 this does not look like an encoder induced problem. And I agree with KatePhillips the deflecting nozzles are the most likely culprit.
As the OP is planning to clean the encoder strip again, I have offered him the method I have used time and again and is a integral part of my maintenance service on my customers printers. My background also includes 20 years as an industrial photographer in the electronics business, where I processed various types of film, including graphics film, in wet chemistry. The encoder strip is a piece of graphics film imaged with a laser and processed in water based chemistry. Soap and water will only soften the emulsion, making it very susceptible to physical damage. In addition, most of the bad stuff on the encoder strip are solvent ink mist deposits, which are water resistant. I have also used laboratory grade pure isopropyl alcohol, and while it works to some extent, acetone is far better and removes virtually all the ink residue. Plus acetone dries instantly. Try rubbing a finished print with a swab with alcohol and one with acetone and see the results. Just my opinion.

 

[Jester1167]

Jim, I don't have extensive experience cleaning encoder strips., I just happened to damage one while cleaning it with isopropyl, so I am a little gun shy. Thank the stars they are 2 sided.

 

[Jim Hancock]

Jester1167, that's the nice thing about being able to flip them. Being a tech, I actually remove the strip from the printer, but that can be scary for a lot of operators. We all trying to give the best advice we know! Even with all the experience I have, I still pick up things from the posts here!

 

[vsmartino]

The combination of everything has helped some but definitely not back to normal so I'm still curious what I'm missing.

I'm very comfortable working on these machines and have taken them apart and put them back together for years now, so the encoder strip removal is definitely not daunting on my end. Took it out and cleaned it up, its in perfect shape (I did also replace it 6 months ago).

Everything seems to be in good standing aside from the couple of deflected nozzles in the black/cyan head, so maybe it's just at that point in the heads life?
What's odd is my test prints looked the same a month ago (I do one every couple weeks) and my prints didn't have the small errors.

 

[Pewter0000]

The combination of everything has helped some but definitely not back to normal so I'm still curious what I'm missing.

I'm very comfortable working on these machines and have taken them apart and put them back together for years now, so the encoder strip removal is definitely not daunting on my end. Took it out and cleaned it up, its in perfect shape (I did also replace it 6 months ago).

Everything seems to be in good standing aside from the couple of deflected nozzles in the black/cyan head, so maybe it's just at that point in the heads life?
What's odd is my test prints looked the same a month ago (I do one every couple weeks) and my prints didn't have the small errors.

To me, it looks like there's a nozzle (or a few) printing incorrectly every pass, sticking a black mark or two where it's not supposed to be. It's very consistent.

Have your test prints been like this for a month, or just they happened to have a bad day a month ago?
The missing and deflected nozzles are really prominent here, that's not a great test print. I feel like there was a major head strike at some point, or perhaps the cleaning function isn't doing the best job (maybe a cap problem?)

 

[vsmartino]

To me, it looks like there's a nozzle (or a few) printing incorrectly every pass, sticking a black mark or two where it's not supposed to be. It's very consistent.

Have your test prints been like this for a month, or just they happened to have a bad day a month ago?
The missing and deflected nozzles are really prominent here, that's not a great test print. I feel like there was a major head strike at some point, or perhaps the cleaning function isn't doing the best job (maybe a cap problem?)

100% have had zero bad head strikes while I've owned it. The closest my heads (with this specific printer in my ownership) have been a few rubs on the material mid print that barely even touched. But that's also to note that my prints, black only, have started to have these lines only recently.

My test prints have been like that for as long as I've owned the machine (2 years) and have varied ever so slightly give/take being better/worse.

Caps were replaced about 6 months ago and don't seem to be deformed at all. Could totally be in need of a change though! Both caps seem to drain fine however.