[minority1]

hi all

im hoping somebody could help me with a problem im having

this morning my dtg kiosk 2 has stopped printing bright colours.

it was fine yesterday, infact it had never been printing better.

the problem is the designs i print daily are printing but are printing very faded.

i changed the capping station,encoder strip and flushed the machine through. when i filled it back up with ink however i did notice one of the white inks wasnt going through the line as quickly as the others. infact it wasnt really going through very fast at all.

any help would be greatly appreciated as i am in the middle of an urgent order

many thanks in advance for taking the time to help

mark

 

[equipmentzone]

hi all

im hoping somebody could help me with a problem im having

this morning my dtg kiosk 2 has stopped printing bright colours.

it was fine yesterday, infact it had never been printing better.

the problem is the designs i print daily are printing but are printing very faded.

i changed the capping station,encoder strip and flushed the machine through. when i filled it back up with ink however i did notice one of the white inks wasnt going through the line as quickly as the others. infact it wasnt really going through very fast at all.

any help would be greatly appreciated as i am in the middle of an urgent order

many thanks in advance for taking the time to help

mark

What does your nozzle check show?

_

 

[JeridHill]

Sounds like could be having some clogging happening in your one white line. If the white ink isn't as bright, then it's not laying down enough white. I would try flushing that line to see if you can get it cleared up. How does your nozzle test look?

 

[minority1]

my nzzle check is awfull to be honest guys, showing hardly anything at all

 

[equipmentzone]

my nzzle check is awfull to be honest guys, showing hardly anything at all

Try doing a head cleaning and then another nozzle check.


_

 

[JeridHill]

my nzzle check is awfull to be honest guys, showing hardly anything at all

Yeah, that's the problem. Always check your nozzle test if your prints are not coming out the way they ought to. Do a head clean like Harry mentioned and do a test afterwards to see where you are.

 

[minority1]

ok guys, iv done the nozzle check and head clean several times, however theres no improvement new printhead needed?

 

[equipmentzone]

ok guys, iv done the nozzle check and head clean several times, however theres no improvement new printhead needed?

You mentioned that you replaced the capping assembly. Did you do that now or several days ago?


_

 

[JeridHill]

I wouldn't replace the printhead that quickly. If it was printing yesterday and now it's not, then the head is either clogged or air locked in it. When you compare the nozzle test, does it look like the same nozzles are clogged or is it moving around? If it's moving around, then it's air, if it's the same, then it's clogged.

If it's air, you could let it sit for an hour and try it again. If it's clogged, you could let your printhead soak in something like straight ammonia or if you have a head cleaner that could work too. Fill your capping station with it and park the head and let it sit. Come back after an hour and run a head clean then a nozzle test to see where you are.

To test your capping station, you can fill it up with liquid, then run a head clean and see if it clears out.

 

[minority1]

i did that this morning after the problem started, however i changed the encoder strip 2 days ago when i was getting an unwanted line on my t-shirts. this solved the problem of the unwanted line and was printing better than ever untill this morning

 

[minority1]

il give that a go and come back to it in an hour as the nozzle check is different every time.

fingers crossed. thank you for now guys

 

[JeridHill]

Mark, it sounds like there could have been several issues hitting you at once. Make sure you are doing thorough cleanings with your daily maintenance. Don't be so quick to replace parts, instead focus on keeping them clean. I'm not saying you aren't doing this now, but the only info we have to go on is you saying you've been replacing all of these parts. This could get very expensive....

 

[equipmentzone]

i did that this morning after the problem started, however i changed the encoder strip 2 days ago when i was getting an unwanted line on my t-shirts. this solved the problem of the unwanted line and was printing better than ever untill this morning

Check your capping assembly installation.

 

[JeridHill]

il give that a go and come back to it in an hour as the nozzle check is different every time.

fingers crossed. thank you for now guys

If it's moving around, then it's definitely air trapped in the head. Letting it sit should help. I don't know the kiosk very well, but on our system, I know I can remove the head from the dampers, then do a power clean and would be back up and running. On some of the earlier systems, I believe letting it sit is probably the route to go. If you can purge the system of air then run a power clean, I'd give that a go if you don't have the time to wait.

 

[minority1]

Mark, it sounds like there could have been several issues hitting you at once. Make sure you are doing thorough cleanings with your daily maintenance. Don't be so quick to replace parts, instead focus on keeping them clean. I'm not saying you aren't doing this now, but the only info we have to go on is you saying you've been replacing all of these parts. This could get very expensive....

im quite keen on the maintenance side of things tbh and give everything a clean at the end of the day, capping station,dabbing printhead, cleaning encoder strip ect ect

however i used to leave my machine on constantly, but this last week i have started to turn it off, could this be the cause of the problem?

 

[dazzabling]

Did you properly prime your dampers? How old are they?

Doing an ink fill is not enough. Makes sure your dampers are primed and holding ink.

Make your capping station is properly suctioning fluid into the waste ink tank.

Always do a nozzle check..every time you start your machine.

Make a note to remind your self

 

[minority1]

If it's moving around, then it's definitely air trapped in the head. Letting it sit should help. I don't know the kiosk very well, but on our system, I know I can remove the head from the dampers, then do a power clean and would be back up and running. On some of the earlier systems, I believe letting it sit is probably the route to go. If you can purge the system of air then run a power clean, I'd give that a go if you don't have the time to wait.

how do i perform a power clean? sorry for the silly question

also thank you guys for taking the time to help me

 

[minority1]

Did you properly prime your dampers? How old are they?

Doing an ink fill is not enough. Makes sure your dampers are primed and holding ink.

Make your capping station is properly suctioning fluid into the waste ink tank.

Always do a nozzle check..every time you start your machine.

Make a note to remind your self

i kind of do this as routine, run a few head cleans every day before i start, and the end of every night run some cleaning fluid through the capping station the end of every night,clean the printhead with toilet paper and windex ect ect

however if the t-shirts look good i dont bother with the nozzle check
and they were great yesterday.

the dampers are about 4 months old?

 

[JeridHill]

I'm not sure if that would be the problem, I imagine it depends on how you shut it down. On mine, I fill my capping station up with fluid and park the head and power it off. When I turn the system back on, I run a head clean and all is good. Our dampers don't allow the ink to flow back up and it won't drain the inks. I've heard on the earlier systems people creating a syphoning effect and draining all of their inks or it backs up into their system. Unfortunately I don't know how your system handles this method. For me, it's been good.

 

[JeridHill]

clean the printhead with toilet paper and windex ect ect

I wouldn't use toilet paper. In the UK, maybe it's different than here, but there is quite a bit of fibers that easily come off. I would use a foam tip swab.