Need Help VG3-54 - Starvation issue?

[SigSignsMT]

I've been encountering banding issues with my VG3-54 printer, which I purchased on 12/29/22, its a little over a year old. The problem is that the print starts out strong but progressively worsens during the printing process.

It initiates with a solid, dense fill, transitioning into thin banding and eventually expanding into a larger banding gap. When encountering white spacing in the print, such as when advancing the media, it appears to catch up and print 'better,' only to resume banding. The banding pattern can vary randomly, shifting from thin to large, contingent on the white areas where no ink is required.

Interestingly, when I print in Uni-Directional, there are no issues at all. This leads me to suspect a potential starvation issue?

The local technician has already replaced three heads that showed signs of banding. We've replaced the Magenta/Cyan twice and also the Light Magenta/Light Cyan. Although I personally believe that the Light Black head might need replacement as well, we haven't addressed that yet.

We've conducted an extensive array of test prints using various media types and profiles. However, these efforts don't seem to alleviate the overall issue.

I'm curious if anyone else has experienced similar issues or has any insights into what might be causing this. Are there any known fixes or theories?

 

[MrDav3C]

Ouch... 3 heads in just over a year, I feel your pain, this does make me worry I will be in a similar situation soon with my SG3.

I presume you are using genuine TR2 ink? Is the machine grounded? I wonder if this could be down to a build up of static electricity or even a change in temperature.

I'd consider replacing the captops and dampers, I would of thought if it was a problem with the actual print heads the output and issues would be more consistent.

On our old printer (SP540V) a dirty linear encoder strip could cause a wide variety of unexpected similar issues but I'm not sure if this is the same on the newer Roland printers.

Wish I could offer more advice but I don't have enough experience regarding issues on newer printers.

 

[SigSignsMT]

Ouch... 3 heads in just over a year, I feel your pain, this does make me worry I will be in a similar situation soon with my SG3.

I presume you are using genuine TR2 ink? Is the machine grounded? I wonder if this could be down to a build up of static electricity or even a change in temperature.

I'd consider replacing the captops and dampers, I would of thought if it was a problem with the actual print heads the output and issues would be more consistent.

On our old printer (SP540V) a dirty linear encoder strip could cause a wide variety of unexpected similar issues but I'm not sure if this is the same on the newer Roland printers.

Wish I could offer more advice but I don't have enough experience regarding issues on newer printers.

Only authentic TR2 inks are used, and they are consistently agitated when prompted by the machine. Manual cleaning of the heads is performed in response to the system's cleaning prompts. I take meticulous care of this printer, similar to how I care for my dependable 10+ year old VS540i, which has never presented issues over the past decade; it's like a tank.

Both cap tops and dampers have been replaced, and the encoder strip has been thoroughly cleaned.

While the printer is grounded through the plug, it lacks a separate ground. We've considered the static factor, but this doesn't seem to explain why there is no banding in Uni-Directional mode. When running in Bi-Directional mode, the issues arise, suggesting a possible starvation problem? However, in Uni-Directional mode, there's an extra pause as the head returns before laying down the next pass, which appears to facilitate the print head catching up?

We are at a loss, I just want this printer to work again, I don't have much faith in this new printer. Another shop I know of has the VG2 and they have similar problems.

 

[SigSignsMT]

bump

 

[weyandsign]

I'm guessing your feed calibration looks ok? Is feed calibration set in VW to use the printer settings? What does your tech think the problem is?

 

[SigSignsMT]

I'm guessing your feed calibration looks ok? Is feed calibration set in VW to use the printer settings? What does your tech think the problem is?

Tech thinks that it is static; I purchased and installed an anti-static kit and this has done nothing and seems to have actually made it worse. I ordered a humidifier to get the humidity up in my print room and see if that helps at all.

StopStatic Wide Format Kit - StopStatic

Part No. WFP-KIT

stopstatic.com

This is without the anti-static kit on bi-directional: Prints start out solid and then I start to get progressively worse banding.

Here is with the anti-static kit on bi-directional:

Here it is with the anti-static kit on uni-direcitonal.

 

[Rmurray321]

Have you tried pausing in the middle of a print to let the dampers refill?

I had a similar problem and it ended up being a bad head. One of the procedures I was walked through was to check for starvation. I think it holds 11ml so it’s quite a bit.

After my head was replaced then all was well.

 

[SigSignsMT]

Have you tried pausing in the middle of a print to let the dampers refill?

I had a similar problem and it ended up being a bad head. One of the procedures I was walked through was to check for starvation. I think it holds 11ml so it’s quite a bit.

After my head was replaced then all was well.

The tech has replaced 3 heads already; it doesn't seem to fix the issue. I'll give the pause to refill the dampers a try, but when running in Uni-directional mode, I believe that is giving the dampers a second to catch up and will print just fine.

 

[cornholio]

When the heads were replaced, did the tech also replace the dampers of the latest generation?
Try a damper fill.(pause enter during startup)
What temperature do you have around the printer?

I would also replace the filler sensor on a affected channel.(just to test, it's no big deal)

I once had a case, where a head was slanted after a crash. This overfilled a damper on one side, and underfilled it on the other.

Are the inks not expired and shaken regularily?

 

[SigSignsMT]

When the heads were replaced, did the tech also replace the dampers of the latest generation?
Try a damper fill.(pause enter during startup)
What temperature do you have around the printer?

I would also replace the filler sensor on a affected channel.(just to test, it's no big deal)

I once had a case, where a head was slanted after a crash. This overfilled a damper on one side, and underfilled it on the other.

Are the inks not expired and shaken regularily?

I'll inquire about the fill sensor. Yes, dampers were replaced when installing new heads, although I'm unsure if they were the latest generation; I presume so?

Could you provide guidance on damper fill using the VG3 touch screen?

The room temperature typically hovers around 72-74 degrees.

The inks are not expired, and while I have been printing less frequently recently due to these issues with the VG3 (primarily printing using my VS-540i), I make sure to shake the inks every time I'm instructed to on the screen.

After increasing the humidity to 38%, I conducted more test printing yesterday and encountered the same issues. However, during a nozzle dropout test, my magenta channel (which has been replaced) completely dropped out. I managed to restore it to full functionality with several cleaning cycles.

 

[Bryce I]

Tech thinks that it is static; I purchased and installed an anti-static kit and this has done nothing and seems to have actually made it worse. I ordered a humidifier to get the humidity up in my print room and see if that helps at all.

StopStatic Wide Format Kit - StopStatic

Part No. WFP-KIT

stopstatic.com

This is without the anti-static kit on bi-directional: Prints start out solid and then I start to get progressively worse banding.
View attachment 169902
Here is with the anti-static kit on bi-directional:
View attachment 169903
View attachment 169906
View attachment 169920

Here it is with the anti-static kit on uni-direcitonal.
View attachment 169904

ah the mysterious Truvis bands! We used to see those a lot. This is a longshot, but if this easy trick works you'll be stoked! We had kind of similar banding issues with of VG-1 and VG-2. Tech suggested static, starvation etc. What ended up working for us was simply removing the ink cartridges and giving them a good hard shake every day. The machine prompts you to do it once a week, but I just started giving each cartridges a rigorous shake first thing every morning, and the issue went away 95%! I just do it religiously now, as part of the morning wipe down daily. Just might work for you too! Or maybe something else resolved my issue and I'll just keep doing this superstitious meaningless task every day forever without knowing it's meaningless

 

[SigSignsMT]

ah the mysterious Truvis bands! We used to see those a lot. This is a longshot, but if this easy trick works you'll be stoked! We had kind of similar banding issues with of VG-1 and VG-2. Tech suggested static, starvation etc. What ended up working for us was simply removing the ink cartridges and giving them a good hard shake every day. The machine prompts you to do it once a week, but I just started giving each cartridges a rigorous shake first thing every morning, and the issue went away 95%! I just do it religiously now, as part of the morning wipe down daily. Just might work for you too! Or maybe something else resolved my issue and I'll just keep doing this superstitious meaningless task every day forever without knowing it's meaningless

Hi Bryce,

I'll make it a daily practice to shake the ink and see if that aids in resolving the issue. However, do you have any insights into why printing in Uni-directional mode completely resolves the banding problem? I'm not entirely convinced that it's solely an ink bladder issue; it seems more like a starvation issue where running in Uni-directional mode allows the printer to catch back up and supply ink to the head. Nonetheless, I'm open to trying anything at this point, including embracing any superstitious beliefs or practices.

Small update:
The technician recently replaced 7 or 8 fill sensors, but unfortunately, it didn't seem to solve the issue. Attached is my most recent print from yesterday, done in Bi-directional mode. Interestingly, if I switch to Uni-directional, I don't encounter any banding. However, this method doubles the printing time, and I'm concerned it's just masking the true underlying problem with the machine.

 

[gary123]

Did you manage to get a fix for this in the end?

We're having the same issue on ours. Not as bad but close to what you had.

 

[dudenukem]

I haven't had any issues with banding, but I've got an issue with my VG3 that has "spotty" printing... I was printing on Orajet 3951HT and at first thought it was the leading edge of the vinyl
that was causing the issue by being old or dirty etc. I tried twice more and have gotten the same results.... Any ideas ???

 

[Jim Hancock]

That looks like media contamination or bad media. Have you printed on any other media to see it the issue is still there?

 

[dudenukem]

That looks like media contamination or bad media. Have you printed on any other media to see it the issue is still there?

I'll switch to another roll and keep you posted on the results.... I was using the 3951HT to apply to a plastic surface in order to avoid any future issues....

 

[Jim Hancock]

I've had a batch of Oracal in the past that printed like that. Manufacturing issue. If other medias are fine, hit up your dealer and make sure the replacement roll has a different batch number.

 

[dudenukem]

That looks like media contamination or bad media. Have you printed on any other media to see it the issue is still there?

Jim, I GREATLY APPRECIATE your advice !!! I loaded a new roll of Orajet 3165 and it printed the same image FLAWLESSLY !! The only issue I'm worried about is this "releasing" or not sticking to the
plastic surface properly... It will be applied a remote controlled truck and will mostly be indoors, except for certain occasions.... Would you know if the 3165 laminated will hold up? It's a hard rigid
plastic surface similar to an ATV.

 

[Jim Hancock]

3961 is cast and 3165 is calendared. Unless you are under the gun timewise, I would request another roll of 3961 from a different batch/lot number. Alternatively, use a different brand of hi-tack cast vinyl. Vehicle wraps should done with cast vinyl, both for durability and ease of installation. Calendared vinyl has a memory factor, which could give you issues later wherever you are stretching the vinyl, where cast vinyl doesn't have the same memory problem, because of the different manufacturing methods. Also, cast is thinner, making it easier to apply around shapes, rivets, etc. And obviously, laminate with cast laminate. Never mix calendared and cast, as they have different thermal expansion coefficients, and will possibly separate or give you lifting edges under certain conditions. If you've ever seen the rivets on a box truck where the vinyl looks like a dome instead of a rivet, it's probably calendared vinyl that is "remembering" its original size.