VJ-1604 Visible Waves in Print

[gojohnson48]

I am new to posting on this forum but not new to reading on here. I have spent the past 3 weeks reading everything I can to try and fix this banding/waves issue in dark reds and blues. (Just had this issue visible in very dark yellows) I have tried everything from bi-direction adjust, PF adjust, cleaning the head, different ICC profiles, different settings in Production Manager, Flexi Cloud vs Flexi 8.5, and different materials but the problem still remains. One post I saw was on the uk signs forum and they said

I recently had problems with our 1604 and I have noticed a few other people have had problems.
Our printer started to show banding and it turns out the sensor on the encoder was touching the encoder disk.
There is an update to the wheel that aligns the encoder disk centrally.
If the machine is out of warranty take the left hand side panel off and rotate the x axis whilst the machine is switched off.
If the clear encoder disk is out of shape or touching the sensor it can actually create a banding issue.
Also if the belt tension on the x axis motor is correct and if it has been moved the PF adjustment needs reset.

I could not find anything in the user manual about where or how to rotate the x axis or even what part that is.

Our current settings are:
Output Profile: Oracal 3651G Graphics 2 Bi 720x720
Media Type: Oracal 3651G (We are using 3M IJCV3 but the issue still shows on Oracal 3651, 3M IJ40, General Formulations, banners)
Print Mode: Graphics 2
Dither Type: FMXPress
Gradient Smoothness: Enhanced
Wave Form: Fine&Wave 1
Platen Heater: 38C
Pre-Heater: 38C
Dryer: 50C
Vividness is brought up just a touch in Production Manager

Our nozzle checks all look great and the only other issue we have is very minor horizontal banding in light blues and grays but right now those are not of issue because of the waves in the prints.

We are in the middle of wrapping a toter home right now and need our printer working properly as soon as possible so any help is much appreciated!

Photos with examples of the issue: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lochnerphotography/sets/72157647703110882/

 

[gojohnson48]

Everything was printing great a month ago. Had no print issues whatsoever. We purchased Flexi Cloud and immediately began having issues with the waves being visible. I tried all sorts of different settings and ICC profiles but never found anything that worked so I switched back to Flexi 8.5. Prints were printing great again, no issues, and then two days later the printer started acting up again showing the waves. I kept wanting to blame the software change but I am really starting to think it is something with the printer. I really have no idea anymore and I need a direction to go in to start getting this problem sorted out.

 

[Solventinkjet]

When you run the PF adjust make sure you enter what you measured and not try to compensate. The printer takes what you measured and compensates for you. Also, when you run the PF adjustment, it saves that setting under the Media Type you are on. You will have different PF adjustments for different media. Example: You run the PF adjust for your calendared vinyl under media type 1 but then you load banner into your machine and lift the head height lever. Now you want to run the PF adjust on the banner and save it under media type 2.

Did you run the micro PF adjust as well? This may help tighten it up a little.

Your pictures look like the PF adjust is off. Although I wouldn't rule it out just yet, it doesn't look like you have an encoder or sensor issue. Make sure when you run that adjustment you use a millimeter ruler and a loupe to get the most accurate setting. It is very sensitive. Even being off by a millimeter will cause issues.

 

[gojohnson48]

When I did the PF Adjust, I started with the baseline set for 500mm, when it printed out I measured 498.7mm. I entered 498.7 and ran the confirmation test. I measured that one at exactly 500mm but the waves are still visible afterward. I tried PF Micro adjust but did not notice any changes. When I first had this problem I thought for sure it was the page feed but still having issues after adjusting that has me puzzled.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Check your settings in Flexi in the tab to the right of the profile tab called printer settings. Sometimes there will be a print feed adjustment in the profile itself. If it is enabled, it will override the printer's settings. You should be able to disable it and let the printer take care of the print feed. Other than that you could have print feed issues in the printer itself which could be a combination of issues.

 

[gojohnson48]

Ok. I could not find any settings in Flexi or Production Manager that were even closely related to print feed. I went through the PF Adjust to see if it was off for whatever reason and it had reset itself back to 500mm but was too short when I measure it so I reset the PF Adjust to the number I measured and it still prints with the waves. I did notice while we were printing that when we stopped the print by opening the cover and then resuming, the line where we stopped the printer came out nearly perfectly. Could this be related to heat settings by chance? Are our heat settings too low (38C for both platen and preheat, 50C for dryer), does the heat need to be raised up to allow the ink to dry quicker? I don't know why doing the PF Adjust is not fixing the issue because I did not see any settings that would possibly override the settings I have in the printer.

 

[gojohnson48]

Vander J, adjusting the PF Adjust did not solve the problem but I did the PF Micro Adjust and almost have the adjustments dialed in perfectly. I don't know why it didn't work when I tried that last week but it should all be good now. Thank you for taking the time to respond and give advice!