Why am I getting such bad cyan/blue banding in my prints?

[VCE INDUSTRIES]

I am perplexed. The nozzle drop out in the light magenta is very new, the banding has been happening for some time, but its ONLY in the cyan and blue colors, nothing else! And it seems to be getting worse!

I used Substance's ICC profile for a while but as the banding began to get worse - I spent a good half of a day playing around with all sorts of combinations, and settled on Rolands True Rich Color 3 preset, which seemed to *mostly* resolve the banding for a while, but its slowly gotten worse and worse over time still and is now to the point where I can't really send stuff out that has blues, it's embarrassing!

I take really really good care of my printer, weekly meticulous maintenance, I stay up to date on the services it prompts me with, and I run the thing inside of a spare room in my home that is.. I mean I don't think "climate controlled" is the right term but it stays comfortable and never gets too hot, cold, or humid.

Any ideas about how I could go about addressing this?

Currently using:
Roland VG-540 / CMYKcmkM
Quality: High
Mode: CMYKLcLmLk(v) 16p / Error Diffusion / Nearest / Uni-Direction
Preset: True Rich Color 3 (Default Profile)
The only thing I have different is I do specify the heater controls based on what Substance's ICC profile had, which is Heater @ 44 & Dryer @ 48
Substance ICON PM-2750

Thank you so much!!!!!!

 

[MrDav3C]

Have you checked your feed calibration? Do you eliminate static electricity? Have you ensured the print media is 100% clean prior to printing? Are you using OEM ink? Have you suffered any headstrikes or other issues? The nozzle test print looks good, might be worth reaching out to Roland to see if they can offer any advice

 

[VCE INDUSTRIES]

Have you checked your feed calibration? Do you eliminate static electricity? Have you ensured the print media is 100% clean prior to printing? Are you using OEM ink? Have you suffered any headstrikes or other issues? The nozzle test print looks good, might be worth reaching out to Roland to see if they can offer any advice

I didn't even think to check the feed calibration - it's something I've never messed with before - this is why I come to this forum! I don't do anything for static electricity, though I have protective plastic/rubber... kind of similar to gym floor mat/locking tiles on the ground - how do you recommend getting rid of static electricity?

The cyan ink is OEM, some of the others are Bordeaux. I haven't suffered a head strike, but the person I bought the machine from had damaged the cyan head. Had it replaced by my local roland distributor/service company. Had no issues at first but indeed does seem to be getting progressively worse. I really should reach out to them.