Value Jet Maintenance

[Conor Knoxx]

Re: Mutoh Valuejet 1204

my printer is just about to turn 3 years old...
so far, it has been both a fantastic and forgiving machine, since I had never so much as laid eyes on a wide format solvent printer before getting this one.
After learning to use it on my own, I think its time for me to learn some maintenance!

So far, all I've ever done is replace ink cartridges and clean it.

I've noticed 2 problems of late:

1) on a print head test - the Cyan has half the "dashes" missing in one of the blocks. Done lots of cleanings, even a head flush process - no change whatsoever. Oddly, it doesn't really seem noticeable in the print output - but something I'd like to "fix"

2) I am currently using about 2x more yellow and magenta than black / cyan. I always used a bit more of these... but now its a huge difference. Tied to this, I'm certain, is the fact that overflow tray never used to get more than a few drops of ink in it - now I find it full (to overflowing) once in a while.

I'm a pretty low-volume production operation - a set of cartridges will last a month, sometimes much more in slower seasons...

So - my baby needs some TLC!

capping station? (don't even know what or where it is - but I read here it commonly needs replacing..)

anything else?

I realize these are things I "should" know - but if you don't, you just gotta ask! Thanks in advance!

Conor

 

[artbot]

the capping station is the box on a cam under the print heads. if you are using a paringly smaller amount of ink on one head, and occasionally it his overflowing, it is one of three things.

a union that connects the cap lines (under the caps the tubes that carry ink to the pumps) is getting loose from stretching the pump tubes. therefore allowing an air leak and a lower amount of vacuum to that head.

the tube inside the ink pump has got a flat spot in it and not pulling as much vacuum. you can test this by swapping ink pump lines to see if it functions fine with a different colors tube connected to it. if it functions fine with a different tube. than the tube formerly going to it is clogged. if it does not pump ink. and the line removed pumps at a different pump location, than you have a pump issue. they are easily taken apart and replaced with new pump lines. very simple pump to rebuild.

or a clog in the cap lines. the clog is most likely directly beneath the cap. so just looking at the line will not show the clog. it comes from the waste ink coagulating at that top point and causing a clot.

before you toss your capping station, buy some pump tube off of a site (cleaning pump tube is too much work, when a brand new one cost pennies), and cap top. it's cheap. replace all the tubing going to the pump/s and replace the cap top/s. that is a good cheap very fast start to seeing if these problems are fixed.

 

[Stealth Ryder]

Just buy the Maintenance Assy, should be replaced every couple of years anyway...