VP owners unite!

[Gene@mpls]

I am noticing a couple of behaviors with my VP540 that are curious.

The machine seems to slip from 'sheet scan' to 'full width' scan a lot-
I cannot seem to be able to identify when this happens. I print mostly
30" vinyl and if it is not set to 'sheet scan' (menu>submenu>full width
scan>sheet) my printing time is increased by about 50%. (ie 9min vs. 6min)

Also on one of the presets I created the capping station clicks into position
every time the head carrage goes to the right side of its travel- makes a
clicking sound.

After the RIPC upgrade I am getting print times of 4:06 using the RIPC profiles
vs. 6:30 using the same previous canned profile. This is the same 24" print
using Generic Vinyl 1- Ripc vs nonRIPC.

Thanks for any thoughts or other observations. Gene

 

[B Snyder]

I haven't seen the same sheet scan/full width scan behavior as you. I believe mine stays at sheet scan all the time. This means the carriage won't travel all the way across the media if it doesn't need to, right?

 

[Gene@mpls]

Right- mine slips fairly often- and as I mentioned it really slows the print
speed- and I don't notice til I am into the print of course. Gene

 

[Gene@mpls]

Just thought of another thing- the heaters cool off *very* quickly-
for instance- if you cancel a print by the time you send the print again
it takes several minutes to get back up to temp. I run both heaters
wide open btw- so that may take longer. Gene

 

[Gene@mpls]

Anyone? Gene

 

[Bigdawg]

Not having the same issue here either Gene. But the heaters do seem to take a few to reheat but not overly so IMHO...

 

[B Snyder]

Just thought of another thing- the heaters cool off *very* quickly-
for instance- if you cancel a print by the time you send the print again
it takes several minutes to get back up to temp. I run both heaters
wide open btw- so that may take longer. Gene

do you use the printer's heat settings or the settings in VersaCamm?

I have the machine set to 37/43 but use the RIP settings (typically 40/45)when the file is sent over. Then, the machine only has to increase the temp slightly and it doesn't take too long.

 

[Gene@mpls]

I will try that Brian- do the heaters turn off at some point I hope?
Oldforgetfulfart here

 

[B Snyder]

I will try that Brian- do the heaters turn off at some point I hope?
Oldforgetfulfart here

Yes. My machine is set to go to standby after 30 minutes (i think) of inactivity.

 

[mgraef27]

I haven't had any of those problems. But so far im not that impressed with firmware and software upgrade. I haven't had much time test the new profiles, but the one time i did it didnt look all that great. The ink looked like it was pooling on the vinyl. Going to try and do some more test next week....

 

[Mainframe]

I was cutting a lam print on my vp540 the other day & got a "can't find crop mark error" I had the print in a little crooked so I canceled out to redo it & noticed it did a full width scan on the media, it must reset itself after an error. On a side note I talked to my tech about using the sheet scan mode & he said for me to be careful printing banners that need to roll up while printing because it goes too fast & the ink isn't dry enough & will bleed to the back side of the banner, I usually let my banners lay out on the floor & just pull them along while they print, but I can't do that to a 20 foot banner

 

[Gene@mpls]

Mainframe- That is interesting about the error theory- I will keep an eye on that.
I always roll my banners as they come off- but I do it manually on a
homebrew setup with no problems. I also profile- so the ink dries quickly and
I use Triangle inx which dries fast anyway. Also very durable.

Mgraef- I am also testing the RIPC- I think it is acceptable for our purposes
(see profile/ink comment above) considering the speed.
The puddling you mention- is it on Roland spot color replacements? I believe
that that setting bypasses the profile for those colors- they print very heavy-
which is why they look so good. My feelings anyway. Gene

 

[you design]

Vp540 crop mark scan error

Hi guys just wondering if you have any idea why all of a sudden it is a living nightmare for me to find and scan crop marks. I Haven ruled out that it is not the laminate as I am trying to scan on a print without laminate. Slowly but surely it became harder to find the crop marks and now not at all!! I have cleaned the lens and tried everything possible. One thing I noticed is on the lens there is no filter is there suppose to be?
Any help would be much appreciated cheers

 

[Mainframe]

After laminating make sure you rub the crop marks on the print with a squeegee, this gets out most of the "silvering" from the lam that can occur on newly laminated prints.

 

[you design]

It is not the laminate

After laminating make sure you rub the crop marks on the print with a squeegee, this gets out most of the "silvering" from the lam that can occur on newly laminated prints.

I have tried cutting the laminate out around the registration marks and also tried scanning a new print without any laminate whatsoever and still no luck. I am thinking I am up for a new sensor.. Has anyone got a picture of what the sensor should look like? my one looks like this and it looks like it may have been pushed in when I had a head strike some time ago...