Suggestions When Is It Time To Replace The Head?

[Signchief]

Over the course of a couple months I started having banding issues and started having trouble printing red and started getting mixed ink dropping in puddles and splatters on the edges of the media. When preforming a nozzle check I'm missing a lot of nozzles on each channel except one. After the issue got really bad I looked a little closer and noticed cross contamination in one Y damper, I replaced the dampers and still had cross contamination so I replaced the manifold which so far seems to have fixed the contamination issue in the Y damper but the nozzle check is still showing a couple lines of blue in one Y channel and the rest of the Y nozzles are firing blanks. The maintenance station is four months old and seems to be working like new. I was told that if it's not a clog it's the membrane inside the print head. Nothings clogged so it must be the print head?

 

[printhog]

Post photo of test print and machine make and model

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[Signchief]

Mutoh VJ-1604A Thank you

 

[Signchief]

Also, I moved my shop a couple months ago.

 

[printhog]

Looks like the head is toast. The internal seals have likely failed and you're getting cross contamination from the neighboring color. Not much you can do but buy a new head. I can't see any other reason for cross contamination.

Cause could be anything, but old age, hot solvents flushed thru head, or ink train drying out and seals pulling back would be possible reasons. Heads are not permanent items. Good luck.

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[Signchief]

Thanks for the input I don't see anything else it could be but not being an expert I was hoping I might be missing something. I've been using after market ink for a couple years but the print head is 5 years old so I'm thinking probably just its time to go.