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VS-540i with ink dropout -

NateF

New Member
So we have a VS-540i running a 7-color ink setup (C, M, Y, K, lC, lM, lK). Machine is just over a year old and still under warranty. About 6 months ago we started seeing lines like this show up occasionally. The line is in the direction of head travel, almost like the head ran out of ink for a pass or two. The darker the print, the more noticable the light lines.

It seems to be tied to a specific color. We had one sign with dark gray and a reddish color right next to each other. Even in the same head passes, the gray was streaked and the red was still perfect.

It's totally intermittent. We'll go a couple weeks without seeing it, and then it will crop up again. Print the same file again, and it either goes away completely or shows up in a different location.

It happens on a variety of media - calendared vinyl, scrim banner, cast wrap vinyl.

Our dealer has been out two or three times. Roland just asks for a pile of samples and tests - the dealer sends them off and Roland apparently keeps losing them. As of right now, we've been trying for over seven months to get the problem fixed. We'll call and they make it sound like the ball is rolling again, but then they go another week or more with no contact.

Here's the real kicker - they told me the repair was on hold because they wanted to run tests on their own matching printer, but theirs is broken. I guess if they can't even fix their own printer I shouldn't be surprised that they can't fix mine.

Any ideas what this might be? I'm hoping that I don't have to have it fixed out-of-pocket, but if Roland won't step up to the plate I may have to. Other than this problem, the printer has been good to us. I'm just really disappointed in Roland's customer service at this point.


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TheHemi

New Member
Some things to try

Run a nozzle test print, check for missing nozzles, if they are missing, run cleanings and manually clean and try to recover them. from there check your calibrations both bi directional simple and detailed and the feed. Now when those are squared away we have ruled out some possibilities. If the problem continues, see if the line/lines appear going from left to right, or forward back, if left to right, watch the machine print and see if it does anything different mid print (such as a cleaning or pausing is) if the line is going forward to back, see if it occurs only in a single position relative to the printer itself and not the media, this could be due to the encoder strip being dirty, just run a dry swab across it to remove any dust. After trying these steps, see if there is any improvement, if not, just post what changed if anything at all
 

DRamm76

New Member
The lines seem to be more electrical or encoder related than ink flow. I can assist with service in that area. PM me as I am a dealer. Thank you
 
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