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New White damper day

1283 Views 14 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  23spiderman, 
treefox2118
Lost two white channels overnight so we're replacing the white dampers today with new OEM ones per @23spiderman and his scheduled damper swap. Will drop the old ones in Simple Green until next time.

Questions:

  1. How do you "save" white ink in the old dampers?
  2. Do we have to pull white ink into the new dampers after installing them?
  3. Do we just run a F1 clean after installation, or something more ink involved?

I watched the videos on YouTube but none of them specify what steps to take in the questions I asked above.

Thanks, folks!
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treefox2118
Oh, we pulled all 4 white dampers and it looks like no white ink actually stays in them, so there's no ink to save. Oops.
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E
Yeah very little ink should be remaining in the dampers. Pennies worth if anything. Once you put the dampers in simple green if you cover one of the end with your finger an push on the bladder lightly it will suck in the simple green as you release the bladder. Not sure that makes sense lol but you will understand once you start messing around with it.
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treefox2118
Sweet. Will do that.

Do we just run an F1 after new dampers? Or something more ink using?
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E
Use a syringe to prime the dampers manually. Then a simple clean is usually enough...a nozzle check will let you know for sure. Priming the dampers is the key tho!
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treefox2118
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
White ink 1
Varvatos boots 0

Guess you CAN print on boots.

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Dekay317 said:
Use a syringe to prime the dampers manually. Then a simple clean is usually enough...a nozzle check will let you know for sure. Priming the dampers is the key tho!
Click to expand...
Gotta agree with Eric, priming is vital. I also purchased some small rubber stoppers to plug the primed dampers while I lifted and lowered the ink lever to stop the ink flowing backwards out of the primed dampers.
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treefox2118
Rubber stoppers? I'm on it.
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treefox2118 said:
Rubber stoppers? I'm on it.
Click to expand...
These sort of things



They just stop the ink flowing back out of a primed damper while you're priming others.
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23spiderman
sorry, Brian, i've been scarily swamped lately and haven't been very attentive around here.

after the new dampers are installed and reconnected to the lines, i prime each one of the 8 channels. i just pull enough to see ink flow into the syringe. i do the 4 white, then i do Y, M, C, and K. this is a rather quick process, and i raise a lower the lever between each damper. ie: put the syringe in yellow, lower damper, pull plunger until i see yellow ink, lift lever, then gently (kind of twist the syringe back and forth) work the syringe out of the damper. i try to let the syringe "sit" until the ink stops moving. when you pull ink through, you create negative pressure inside of the damper. if you just yank the syringe out, then the damper will suck air back into itself. i've noticed that even when removing the syringe slowly, that negative pressure will regulate, but it doesn't seem to cause any issues. i just try to not remove the syringe too quickly.

after priming all 8 dampers, i put the head back together, and finish up my maintenance. it usually takes a couple to 3 or 4 simple cleanings to get the nozzles back. sometimes the cmyk will come back before all the white. this isn't a problem unless you have a white ink job that is due RIGHT NOW. i'll just move onto my cmyk only jobs, then come back and do another simple clean after the ink has settled. usually i'm good to go, but i've found it better to do this procedure at the end of the work day so that the printer can rest overnight by morning, it's usually ready. maybe one simple clean. anyway, i NEVER need to do a power clean. i know that they work, but they use a LOT of ink. if you are in a tight deadline situation, then a power clean may be best, but in the 2.5 years with my Neo, i've never done one.

hope this helps, and i apologize for writing a novel!
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treefox2118
We actually didn't prime the dampers at all, oops.

Re-assembled the printer, wiped up everything, ran an F1, then a nozzle check and... spotty 80% missing nozzle check.

So we took a break for 15-20 minutes to read through the forum, came back, printed another nozzle check and it was near perfect. One more F1 and perfect.

Been printing 5 days now without an issue, and the previous dampers were soaked in Simple Green and should be ready for the next swapover in a few weeks.

Considering the horror stories of white ink on ANY DTG printer, this was smooth as silk. Maybe 20 minutes of work the first time, and the white is gorgeous. I'll definitely make this part of our half-month maintenance (swap dampers on white).
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E
You shouldn't need to swap the dampers every month. Every 90 days would be quite frequent even...the less you have to get into the printhead the better. The screws are going into just plastic and it is very is to strip the plastic threads.
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JGCMelissa
question: What's the process for soaking the dampers in Simple Green? I know it's probably somewhere on the forum, but I'm being lazy. :p
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Fill a small bowl or other container with simple green or even just cleaning solution. Submerse the dampers and using a finger cover one end of the damper and light squeeze the bladder to suck simple green in and out of the damper. Once you start doing it you will understand what I am trying to describe lol
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23spiderman
JGCMelissa said:
question: What's the process for soaking the dampers in Simple Green? I know it's probably somewhere on the forum, but I'm being lazy. :p
Click to expand...
i just use a syringe and i begin by pulling water through the damper to rinse the white ink out. then i gently push Simple Green (or Windex w/Ammonia) into the damper. then i cover both openings and give the damper a good shake. this agitates the cleaning solution with the white ink. i may return in a couple of days and shake again, but this time i lay the damper down opposite of the way it was before. this way the damper is soaking with the metal screen facing up for a few days, and then with the screen facing down for a few days. then just pull more water through the damper and if it looks clean, you are done. if it needs more work, then just repeat the steps. i just make sure that the final step before putting back into the printer is to thoroughly flush with water. depending on your water where you live, distilled water may be preferred.
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