UJF 3042 HG dropped magenta suddenly, let's fix it!

[DesignCreate]

I have a Mimaki UJF 3042HG that has been printing fine then a few days ago the test print showed almost no magenta (a few intermittent nozzles are printing). I replaced the damper and cap and cleaned the needle to the magenta. There is plenty of ink left so that is not the problem. I did the ink route leak confirmation procedure in the Maintenance Manual and found no leaks. When I do an air purge I am getting bubbles in the magenta. The line to the magenta damper appears to be sound. I checked the ribbons and seated them on the board. Is the O ring not sealing? Is the pump acting up or is it something else? I need to get this machine printing as I have a few orders to fill and am stuck in the water. Thank you for taking the time to help!

 

[Solventinkjet]

I work on the larger Mimaki UV machines so not an expert on the 3042 but in general with Mimaki printers, when you do an air purge it should eventually have a solid line of ink coming out of the tube. Air has to be getting in somewhere which would definitely cause 1 or more colors to just suddenly drop out. If you didn't change the o-ring when you changed the damper, I would start there. Also, double check that the ink cartridge septum isn't damaged or double punctured. That could let air in.

 

[DesignCreate]

Thank you Solventinkjet! I will check it out and update my findings.

 

[DesignCreate]

Here is a shot of the ink Septum. How does it look to you?

 

[Tipgypsy]

He aimed you in the right direction - if your getting bubbles when you do an air purge keep at it until you get a solid ink flow ( sometimes it can take several minutes), then close it up - do a test print and purge again - the head movement shakes the bubbles out . The cause could be a bad or malformed O ring . If your capping station is very dirty or not sealing against the head . Possibly bad Ink If it gets sludgy and starts clogging the line . There are other things but probably the simple ones will fix your trouble .

 

[DesignCreate]

Thanks Tipgypsy! I did the ink route leak confirmation procedure from the Maintenance Manual and found no leaks. That indicates that the new cap is sealing tight against the head. I will put a new O ring in today and see what happens.

 

[DesignCreate]

I replaced the O ring and did a few air purges and am still not getting magenta. I pulled the damper and saw that it was low in ink on both magenta and cyan. It is a new damper and I am not sure how to add more ink to it. Could the pump be acting up? I don't see how it could affect only magenta and not cyan. Any suggestions you have would be great! Is there a UV printer in Las Vegas that would be willing to print a few of my jobs while my printer is down? I don't want to have to refund my customers but this is taking a lot of time.

 

[hand851]

Did you do an Air Purge (or it's called deflate)? https://digiprint-parts.myshopify.com/pages/faq-about-mimaki-uv-printers

 

[DesignCreate]

Yes hand851 I have completed several air purges. After speaking with Mimaki tech support it appears that the damper adapter may be leaking air into the head. Thank you for your help!