Hmmm I am not sure why your printhead would be leaking that way. Can you see where the ink is coming from? On the side of the print head is a piece of like plastic adhesive, does this look ok? Also what ink are you using?
Problem with DTG Digital Kiosk
Hello,
I have a dtg Kiosk that I think needs a new Head. After doing a nozle clean cycle, I end up with quite abit of excess black Ink on the bottem of the head assembly. Not on the actual printing surface but to the right of the printing surface. If I don't wipe this ink off after the nozzle check,I end up with drips on my shirts when I'm printing. I installed a new wipper blade and new black ink just to try something. Didn't help, So I then took head out to look at it and I see no damage to the head.
I then left the head sitting on the counter after I removed it from machine. I came back after 15 minutes and I had a puddle of black ink under the head. Does this sound like a bad Head. If so I'll order one.
I called The distributer and they are telling me I can't get technical service till I attend a 1 day training simanar at the tune of $400.Because I bought this machine second hand and not from them. Even though I buy all my supplies from them.
Thanks
Jeff Fisher
I have a dtg Kiosk that I think needs a new Head. After doing a nozle clean cycle, I end up with quite abit of excess black Ink on the bottem of the head assembly. Not on the actual printing surface but to the right of the printing surface. If I don't wipe this ink off after the nozzle check,I end up with drips on my shirts when I'm printing. I installed a new wipper blade and new black ink just to try something. Didn't help, So I then took head out to look at it and I see no damage to the head.
I then left the head sitting on the counter after I removed it from machine. I came back after 15 minutes and I had a puddle of black ink under the head. Does this sound like a bad Head. If so I'll order one.
I called The distributer and they are telling me I can't get technical service till I attend a 1 day training simanar at the tune of $400.Because I bought this machine second hand and not from them. Even though I buy all my supplies from them.
Thanks
Jeff Fisher
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
If you are using a bulk type system, try lowering the black ink bottle downwards a bit 
Dan
"HAPPY PRINTING"
Dan
"HAPPY PRINTING"
If the printhead was laid down so that the face was in direct contact with something it could easily cause the "ink" to leach out. Not sure what to say about the tech support issue. We are pretty adamant about our customers getting trained, it greatly reduces the amount of support required. My thought is that $400 is not a lot of money to pay for a day of training and lifetime support on a machine, I'm sure you saved much more than that by purchasing a secondhand machine.
Dan's suggestion is a good one. See if it is at all possible to lower the height of the black container. If the container is too high, it could case to much ink to seep out of the head. I would also make sure that the entire capping station is completely clean (including the wiper blade). Although it is black in color, it might be several other inks combined. There is the potential that the head could be bad as well.
Based off my experience, $400 for tech support is a bargain. I know it might not be something you planned for and travel costs might increase the total amount, but it is very easy for a printer to be down for a week or so if you don't know what you are doing. Without the training, you are bound to make some mistakes that could require you to pay for replacement cost. But the real money out-of-pocket is when the printer is not making you money. So I would strongly encourage you to do the training if it is at all possible for you travel. If you can take the printer to the training and the company doing the training allows it, then I would definitely do this as well. This way you are working on your machine.
Hope you are able to figure it out one way or another. Best wishes.
Mark
Based off my experience, $400 for tech support is a bargain. I know it might not be something you planned for and travel costs might increase the total amount, but it is very easy for a printer to be down for a week or so if you don't know what you are doing. Without the training, you are bound to make some mistakes that could require you to pay for replacement cost. But the real money out-of-pocket is when the printer is not making you money. So I would strongly encourage you to do the training if it is at all possible for you travel. If you can take the printer to the training and the company doing the training allows it, then I would definitely do this as well. This way you are working on your machine.
Hope you are able to figure it out one way or another. Best wishes.
Mark
Elevation is generally not an issue with the bulk system on a Kiosk, they are at a fixed height and rarely is there an issue with height. If one wants to "lower" a specific color to reduce flow, I suggest simply reducing the amount of ink in that bottle which will naturally reduce the flow.
Ditto on the service/training info.
Happy Printing!
Ditto on the service/training info.
Happy Printing!
Excess ink is an issue with my HMI Kiosk as well. The machine just drinks ink if left on. Seems the periodic automatic head cleanings suck about $2 to $3 worth of ink each time.Hello,
I end up with quite abit of excess black Ink on the bottem of the head assembly. Not on the actual printing surface but to the right of the printing surface. If I don't wipe this ink off after the nozzle check,I end up with drips on my shirts when I'm printing.
I had a puddle of black ink under the head. Does this sound like a bad Head. If so I'll order one.
As far as your concerns, make sure your pad and wiper are clean. You may also wish to put a drop of distilled water in the "white" and 'black" areas of the capping station. Even with doing all that, I find that I must run a head clean every 18 to 24 prints to keep the print consistant and I clean the edges of the print head every two or three head cleanings.
If your head is "leaking" ink when it is hooked up to your ink system, you have a problem. If it leaks ink when removed from the ink system, you are just dealing with residual ink left in the head. Not a problem.
Just like any other ink jet printer, if you leave the printer off for a period of time, the heads will clog. If you know you are not going to be running your machine for 3+ days, you need to remove your print head, flush your ink lines, and REALLY flush the ink out of your print head. I have also heard that AFTER you flush your print head you may wish to soak a paper towel with the special cleaner they sell and leave your head (just the printing surface) touching the moistened paper towel. I didn't do that last part and, even though I flushed the head, I came back to a useless print head after a weeks vacation.
BTW, does anyone have a good source for Epson print heads?
I don't really have a problem with the $400 class. But some kind of warning would of been nice. I'm in the busiest part of the year and don't have time to travel out of state for a one day class.I have had this machine for over a year and have replaced dampners, head,and a wiper assembly. I am fully capable of working on this machine as I have been an Industrial Maintenance Mechanic for 15 years.If the printhead was laid down so that the face was in direct contact with something it could easily cause the "ink" to leach out. Not sure what to say about the tech support issue. We are pretty adamant about our customers getting trained, it greatly reduces the amount of support required. My thought is that $400 is not a lot of money to pay for a day of training and lifetime support on a machine, I'm sure you saved much more than that by purchasing a secondhand machine.
I have gotton support before. Now when I need support the most, I'm told no till I attend a class. I just don't have time right now!!!
So I replaced my head and I still have same issue. Lot's of excess ink on plastic inversed ramp to the right of print head after going through cleaning cycles. I now think I have a wiper issue. I just replaced the wiper blade a couple weeks ago and the new blade I got from Mesa isn't as tall as the original. It wipes across the head but as soon as the wiper blade leaves the head surface, it looses contact with this plastic "ramp" and leaves alot of ink instead of wiping it completly off of this "ramp". I put back on my old wore blade and it does a better job of removing ink but because it is wore still leaves a little ink.
Right now if I do a cleaning cycle and get a good nozzle check. I then wipe off all the excess ink and do another nozzle check. If the nozzle check is still good. I can print away with no problems.
I'm just wondering if there is a way to move print head down like 1mm so that the new wiper would then clean off all ink..I know,You probaly don't want to do this as your puting the head at more risk..I looked and there is probaly 4mm between head and anything it could hit assuming you set the plattens at the right height.
Otherwise,Has anyone else had problems with wipers???
Right now if I do a cleaning cycle and get a good nozzle check. I then wipe off all the excess ink and do another nozzle check. If the nozzle check is still good. I can print away with no problems.
I'm just wondering if there is a way to move print head down like 1mm so that the new wiper would then clean off all ink..I know,You probaly don't want to do this as your puting the head at more risk..I looked and there is probaly 4mm between head and anything it could hit assuming you set the plattens at the right height.
Otherwise,Has anyone else had problems with wipers???
It does sound odd that after a year of ownership and purchases the training issue comes up. Have you tried the angle of simply asking the place where you purchased the wiper blade to send the correct sized wiper blade in replacement of the incorrect size that you received?
I have not seen an issue where a wiper was the wrong size and to my knowledge there are not different sized - two piece wipers for any other printer that either Mesa or SWF East sells. It is possible that there was a mixup at the parts company where the parts come from. I would suggest that you order a wiper blade (actually, get both the B & C parts) from a company that sells Epson parts if Mesa won't sell to you anymore. The Kiosk is based on the Epson Photo Stylus 2200. Please don't try to lower the head - that could spell disaster!
Hope this helps!
Hope this helps!
Thats the other thing. The new Wiper Blade from Mesa is only 1 part, Not 2 like the original.I have not seen an issue where a wiper was the wrong size and to my knowledge there are not different sized - two piece wipers for any other printer that either Mesa or SWF East sells. It is possible that there was a mixup at the parts company where the parts come from. I would suggest that you order a wiper blade (actually, get both the B & C parts) from a company that sells Epson parts if Mesa won't sell to you anymore. The Kiosk is based on the Epson Photo Stylus 2200. Please don't try to lower the head - that could spell disaster!
Hope this helps!
My thought is that $400 is not a lot of money to pay for a day of training and lifetime support on a machine, I'm sure you saved much more than that by purchasing a secondhand machine.
Thats the other thing. The new Wiper Blade from Mesa is only 1 part, Not 2 like the original.
The 2200 capping assembly uses 2 wipers. One is a hard rubber material, the other is a felt material. You must use both for proper operation.
I would also suggest changing out the entire capping assembly (capping station, pump, wipers). The assembly basically acts like a vacuum cleaner, pulling ink through the print head. It is a wear part and if is not operating properly you could have the problems you've been describing.
Harry
Thats the other thing. The new Wiper Blade from Mesa is only 1 part, Not 2 like the original.
I would look at compassmicro.com , they are an authorized epson parts dealer and do have the wipers available there. They also have the printhead for much cheaper. Hope this helps. Harry is right, there are two different pieces to the wiper and they have them both there.
I've just replaced my wiper blade and my local DTG distributor has also given me a one piece wiper blade. Apparently it is better then the 2-piece system. It feels like a stiffer version of the rubber piece.The 2200 capping assembly uses 2 wipers. One is a hard rubber material, the other is a felt material. You must use both for proper operation.
Harry
Has the absorbant part on one side and rubber on the other.
We had this issue when we first bought our HM1. We finally disable the cleaning cycle feature and just ran the maching each day for at least one shirt. Now we have had new firmware installed and let the machine run 24/7. Cost, almost nothing. We were told that the old firmware would hiccup on some machines and let the cleaning cycle continue to run too long instead of the short cycles it was supposed to run. Could be your answer.Excess ink is an issue with my HMI Kiosk as well. The machine just drinks ink if left on. Seems the periodic automatic head cleanings suck about $2 to $3 worth of ink each time.
I too had the firmware board replaced in my machine because it was doing excessive head cleans, this was not to long after I bought it which would have been over a year ago I would ask them about it.
I would ask them about it.
My machines have some ink on the Plastic ramp aswell after cleans, but not enough to be a problem and never dripping. I replace the pump assembly and capping station every 3 months or there abouts along encoder and wiper blade etc and all of mine have been a one part rubber and felt together. I get all of mine from DTG digital and apparently this is what they use know. To tell the truth I have never seen a 2 piece on over here. I do find that once you put in a new capping station and pump assembly it does reduce the amount of ink left around caping station and print head ramp. What Could be happening is that when the clean is done and the head moves across the capping station is not dropping back quick enough and putting ink on the ramp also this will be worse when the pump assemble is not sucking properly or getting a bit old as it does not suck all the ink down and leave the capping station with more excess ink than normal. When the head move of the capping station they normal still suck for a short while 1/2 sec to suck all the ink through it, If it is not dropping or loosing suction this can leave excess behind and also leave excess on the wipper blade. The capping stations can get sticky after a while and normally caused through excess ink build up under where flotation springs are.
I haven't had to do this yet. What is the cost and how do you get it done?I replace the pump assembly and capping station every 3 months or there abouts along encoder and wiper blade etc
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
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