VJ1614 Nozzles will not come back

[ndowd]

I noticed some banding in my blacks while printing yesterday and ran a nozzle check to find that 95% of the nozzles had dropped out of one of the black heads. I ran a cleaning to no avail. I have since gone though 2 head soaks and a magnitude of strong cleanings and cannot get them back, in fact not even seeing improvement. I did see nearly all of them print on one nozzle check immediately following the first soak but a second nozzle check had them all gone again.

This printer runs a lot so it has not set and has not had any head strikes recently.

I am at my wits end with this one, printer is 2.5 years old. Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[ndowd]

I just completed a full head soak per the Mutoh article I found referenced on this site, soak for one hour re-wetting every 20 minutes. I am attaching a photo of my nozzle checks these are before and after the soak.

 

[FatCat]

Possibility that your capping station is to blame. After a while they can stop sealing as well as before, or the drain lines can plug resulting in no vacuum on the head. Best bet would be to attach a syringe to one of the drain lines (cap off the other) and gently try to pull through the drain lines. Then switch lines and do it again. If you're pulling and pressure is building in the syringe then you have a block in the line(s). If you are easily pulling then I would put the head back on the capping station in the low position and gently pull to see if you're getting ink. (Reverse to the other line as before.) If you're pulling air then the seal on the capping station is to blame.

Another option; have your checked your ink lines to make sure no air bubbles are present? You may have developed a leak or hairline crack if you see any bubbles.

Just a few things to try first...

*FWIW - I would continue to do headsoaks. Are you using a coffee filter in between the head and the capping station?

 

[ndowd]

Do I access the drain lines from the waste tank? Sorry if that sounds like a dumb question but I am new to this, thanks for the help.

 

[FatCat]

There should be black drain lines on the bottom of the capping station. Those lines go into a little junction box (going to the pump) and then those come out to the pair of clear lines that go into your waste bottle. You can either pull the black lines loose and insert a syringe that way to test your cap. But you need to access your clear lines to make sure it isn't clogged in the pump or before/after it.

Sorry, hope this isn't too confusing.

 

[ndowd]

Great thanks, as soon as I can get my hands on a syringe I will try this and post the results.

 

[macmedia]

Also check the black subtank. This is a problem on the earlier VJ1604 printer. You'll have to remove the cover that the cartridges go into. Look at the black subtank. If the stainless steel plate is depressed in (meaning the bag looks like it's not filled with ink, you may have a problem with the valve or ink going into the subtank - thereby causing ink starvation to the damper and head.

Check your damper to make sure it is filled at least 3/4 too.

Kent
Mac Media USA, Inc.
www.macmedia.com

 

[ndowd]

Would this not effect both black ink heads though? I am getting black from one side.