neoflex week 4 went well until week 5

2291 Views 22 Replies 11 Participants Last post by JGCMelissa, Jun 7, 2014

Print1Shirt

Discussion Starter · Jun 4, 2014

I back again to post in the life of a NeoFlex owner.

Week 4 was very well. Printed both dark, colored and whites shirts without a problem. Yehey!!

Now week 5 is a different story. It started with a drop of of white line 2 and 3. I tried the maintenance, then clean and it was hit and miss. It work for a little but it would drop out again.

One thing i made sure is to keep an eye on the ink to make sure i keep rolling the plastic. The white ink is now about 1/4 left and i am now also getting the low ink warning which has now introduce a whole new issues. The print would stop half way and it goes back to start position because it is detecting low in ink. Once i go to the whole checking and resetting, it would print again but this time it prints on the incorrect location which is over what it already printed. It does not continue where it left off. So, now it ruins shirts when this happens in between completed shirts. I hope i do not have to replace the ink bags at 1/4 cause that is a whole lot of money... but that is what it seems like if the machine will continue to detect low ink and stops printing.

So i guess i will keep trying but in the mean time, i placed an order for the inks.

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

Stitch-Up

· #2 · Jun 4, 2014

The display on the printer should display the 'LOW INK' message in plenty of time for you to reset the chips.

When you get up to speed with your NeoFlex you'll never allow this to happen.

Good luck.

Reactions: 1

Print1Shirt

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jun 4, 2014

Stitch-Up said:
The display on the printer should display the 'LOW INK' message in plenty of time for you to reset the chips.

When you get up to speed with your NeoFlex you'll never allow this to happen.

Good luck.

Thanks John. It has been saying ink low but it stops printing in the middle of white print and the printer goes back to home position waiting for something.

Can you expand on "never allow this to happen means". Not sure what that means. The bag still have 1/4 in it. Thanks.

allamerican-aeoon

· #4 · Jun 4, 2014

Did you reset ink cart chip with reseter?
Too basic to ask but~ hey. Nothing to lose to ask right?
Cheers! Inks are on me always.

Reactions: 1

Skinbus

· #5 · Jun 4, 2014

Hi Guys;
If I were thinking of going to DTG, considering how many posts I see with numerous problems, I'd think twice. With the cost of these machines, I wouldn't expect so many issues. I wonder how many others have problems that don't know about this forum which would make the # of issues even worse.

Reactions: 1

Stitch-Up

· #6 · Jun 4, 2014

HI Mike

Most issues are caused by the user and not the printer. I'm not saying other problems don't arise however

If you were driving your car and it stopped because it ran out of petrol, I don't think you could blame the car.

I might misunderstand the message posted by Fred or there might indeed be other problems at play BUT, the ink low message is something all owners are trained to deal with. Of course, not everyone, including me remembers all we're taught during 2 or 3 days of intensive training. I had to take pictures, shoot videos and learn from others on this forum.

DTG printing is NOT for those who expect printing to be as easy a process as a standard ink jet printer printing on paper and, I believe prospective owners are aware of that. Some DIY skills are required as is getting ink on your fingers.

Occasionally I have faults that beat me initially but I always manage to correct them eventually. I've also documented nearly every fault described on this forum together with the resolution. I can't remember the last time I had to call the Tigers at All American

Cheers

John

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EricDeem

· #7 · Jun 4, 2014

I can make the same argument about screen printing.

I have to design the artwork with vectors...pain
I have to specify exact spot colors...pain
I have to do seperations for each of those colors...pain
I have to prepare the screens for each of those colors...pain
I have to expose those screens for each of those colors...pain
I have to setup the press for the screens...pain
I have to check the registration for the screens...pain
I have to perform several test prints to verify the squeege and flood bar are creating the desired print quality...pain
I have to spend several hours just to prepare to print a single shirt for a small profit margins so I must rely on large orders to make it worth my time...pain

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Reactions: 2

Print1Shirt

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jun 4, 2014

Stitch-Up said:
HI Mike

Most issues are caused by the user and not the printer. I'm not saying other problems don't arise however

If you were driving your car and it stopped because it ran out of petrol, I don't think you could blame the car.

I might misunderstand the message posted by Fred or there might indeed be other problems at play BUT, the ink low message is something all owners are trained to deal with. Of course, not everyone, including me remembers all we're taught during 2 or 3 days of intensive training. I had to take pictures, shoot videos and learn from others on this forum.

DTG printing is NOT for those who expect printing to be as easy a process as a standard ink jet printer printing on paper and, I believe prospective owners are aware of that. Some DIY skills are required as is getting ink on your fingers.

Occasionally I have faults that beat me initially but I always manage to correct them eventually. I've also documented nearly every fault described on this forum together with the resolution. I can't remember the last time I had to call the Tigers at All American

Cheers

John

John, not sure why the car would stop due to petroleum if you still have a quarter tank?

By the way I don't remember discussing resetting the chip before ink becomes low. But maybe I just don't remember. If we were supposed to reset inks prior to, I think that is a major information to be noted down if that is the case.

Print1Shirt

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jun 4, 2014

Dekay317 said:
I can make the same argument about screen printing.

I have to design the artwork with vectors...pain
I have to specify exact spot colors...pain
I have to do seperations for each of those colors...pain
I have to prepare the screens for each of those colors...pain
I have to expose those screens for each of those colors...pain
I have to setup the press for the screens...pain
I have to check the registration for the screens...pain
I have to perform several test prints to verify the squeege and flood bar are creating the desired print quality...pain
I have to spend several hours just to prepare to print a single shirt for a small profit margins so I must rely on large orders to make it worth my time...pain

Eric,
If you are screen printing one shirt and not getting paid for your time, screen printing might not be right tool to use. That is the pain part. Some tools are great, some tools are available for testing.

EricDeem

· #10 · Jun 4, 2014

Print1Shirt said:
John, not sure why the car would stop due to petroleum if you still have a quarter tank?

By the way I don't remember discussing resetting the chip before ink becomes low. But maybe I just don't remember. If we were supposed to reset inks prior to, I think that is a major information to be noted down if that is the case.

Resetting the cartridges is a 10 second operation. It will still print with the low ink light on as long as thinks there is enough ink for the job. However the firmware on the printer is just estimating the amount of ink. You can put a brand new bag of ink in the cartridge and it doesn't know until you manually reset the cartridge. I would check your USB cable also in regards to your printer error. Make sure it is plugged into the back of the printer and not under the base and use a high quality gold plated cable.

Reactions: 1

jmcgurren

· #11 · Jun 4, 2014

Fred, reset your chips as a part of your daily maintenance (or every other day) and you will never have that problem. The printer doesnt actually know how much ink is in the carts, it is basing it off of the info the chip is sending... thus if you reset your chips often, it will never know it is going to run out and you avoid the problem of "low ink" error during printing that is causing you to screw up shirts. Just keep an eye on the ink level yourself and keep back up ink handy to pop in before it gets so low that you start taking on air in the lines.

Reactions: 1

Print1Shirt

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jun 4, 2014

jmcgurren said:
Fred, reset your chips as a part of your daily maintenance (or every other day) and you will never have that problem. The printer doesnt actually know how much ink is in the carts, it is basing it off of the info the chip is sending... thus if you reset your chips often, it will never know it is going to run out and you avoid the problem of "low ink" error during printing that is causing you to screw up shirts. Just keep an eye on the ink level yourself and keep back up ink handy to pop in before it gets so low that you start taking on air in the lines.

Hi Articulate,
Thanks for the straight answer. That is now noted and added to my notes. I did not have that in my notes taking from the training and I'll check if it was in the documentation. But either way, got it and thanks.

My assumption is the bag will have to be assumed done and ready to replace even if there is some content in the bag.

Print1Shirt

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jun 4, 2014

Dekay317 said:
Resetting the cartridges is a 10 second operation. It will still print with the low ink light on as long as thinks there is enough ink for the job. However the firmware on the printer is just estimating the amount of ink. You can put a brand new bag of ink in the cartridge and it doesn't know until you manually reset the cartridge. I would check your USB cable also in regards to your printer error. Make sure it is plugged into the back of the printer and not under the base and use a high quality gold plated cable.

Yet hanks Eric, will add that step to my daily maintenance.
USB is connected directly to the printer and I will buy the gold plated USB. I'm using the AA supplied USB.

Was not getting any issues until the ink warning came up.

23spiderman

· #14 · Jun 4, 2014

never throw away ink!!! just get a clear, plastic travel bottle, and keep the last bits of ink in that bottle until you have enough to syringe it back into a cart. i finally just bought new white ink carts because the new ones are clear. but before that, my white ink carts were about 1 1/2 years old. i just kept refilling them, and resetting the ink chip. once my carts get about 1/2 empty of so, i refill them and reset the ink chips. also, i have never, since 2008, ever needed to roll my ink bags. i know this is done by many, but if the bags have the air removed from them, there isn't a need to do this. i realize it is intended to keep pressure on the ink system, but i counter this by not letting my carts get "empty".

Reactions: 1

Print1Shirt

Discussion Starter · #15 · Jun 4, 2014

23spiderman said:
never throw away ink!!! just get a clear, plastic travel bottle, and keep the last bits of ink in that bottle until you have enough to syringe it back into a cart. i finally just bought new white ink carts because the new ones are clear. but before that, my white ink carts were about 1 1/2 years old. i just kept refilling them, and resetting the ink chip. once my carts get about 1/2 empty of so, i refill them and reset the ink chips. also, i have never, since 2008, ever needed to roll my ink bags. i know this is done by many, but if the bags have the air removed from them, there isn't a need to do this. i realize it is intended to keep pressure on the ink system, but i counter this by not letting my carts get "empty".

Thanks Sean,
I guess I will have to switch to bulk ink soon instead of bags.

EricDeem

· #16 · Jun 4, 2014

NO STAY AWAY FROM BULK INK!!!!

Like Sean said, you shouldn't need to throw away the remaining ink in the bags. Simply take the almost empty bags out of the cartridge and set it to the side. After you have several ink bags with some remaining inks and are ready to combine them. Shake partial bags of white ink very very well...5+ minutes each...then simply use the syringe to suck the remaining ink out and add it to another ink bag that is low. I have saved hundreds if not thousands of dollars in ink by saving the last bit of ink and combining several of them to create a new full bag.

Reactions: 1

Print1Shirt

Discussion Starter · #17 · Jun 4, 2014

Dekay317 said:
NO STAY AWAY FROM BULK INK!!!!

Like Sean said, you shouldn't need to throw away the remaining ink in the bags. Simply take the almost empty bags out of the cartridge and set it to the side. After you have several ink bags with some remaining inks and are ready to combine them. Shake partial bags of white ink very very well...5+ minutes each...then simply use the syringe to suck the remaining ink out and add it to another ink bag that is low. I have saved hundreds if not thousands of dollars in ink by saving the last bit of ink and combining several of them to create a new full bag.

Thanks! Great info!

spiderx1

· #18 · Jun 4, 2014

To add along this great advice, also suck out as much air as you can in the refilled bag, air is the enemy on white ink this is why Eric said no bulk ink! Especially in the white ink! If you are resetting the carts to get every drop out of the bag be careful not to run that channel dry. You can damage the print head. When in doubt use a fresh bag and put other away for salvage. Ink is used as a coolant for the print head.

allamerican-aeoon

· #19 · Jun 4, 2014

Did you buy used and never get trained?
I was shamed to ask this basic question to you.
I will hardly believe Tigers did not go over in class.
Anyway, so so basic was not delivered. Why?
Cheers! Beers are on me always

Instacopy

· #20 · Jun 4, 2014

I was cheap when it came to ink! When I had mine, I would actually use the syringe to remove the last bit of white ink out of the "sealed" cartridges (Open the plastic part and work the leftover liquid down to the spout), even when it seems empty, hold it vertically with the orifice at the bottom. Once emptied, make sure the syringe is free of air and re-inject the leftover ink into a white cartridge that is less than 100% full.

If I had to leave my machine with ink in it for an extended period (Flushing the lines with the clear fluid wasted too much ink in my opinion), upon starting it back up, I would shake the white inks, then remove each line before it goes into the nozzle and suck the white ink through, putting it into an empty white container until I was getting fresh ink (It is easy to see). Then I would shake up the white container that I put the settled ink into and use the method in the paragraph above to redistribute the white ink into the white containers that were less than full. Run a couple of head cleanings and you are good to go!

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