[synful prod]

Let me start off with some info. I started on a china ordered Epson 1400 DTG about year and a half ago. Since then i have learned a lot on how to maintain, fix, troubleshoot and repair dtg machines. I got a used Melcojet (Anajet sprint 2010) with clogged everything. I swapped out head, lines, dampers and capping station. I got it running great for a 2 months and printed around 200+ shirts with white ink with no major issues. We run the machine EVERY DAY monday thru friday usually 20 shirts or more a day. weekends i go in do a nozzle check and head clean and print. We usually have to do at least one head clean in the morning to get a perfect nozzle check on the white channels. We have the machine set to run an auto head clean every 12 hours. I have used nothing but DuPont CMYK and WHITE ink from one distributor since getting the machine.

So onto the problem:

I started to switch over to refillable carts. First i swithced the CMYK, i had new full white carts to use up. Printer ran great. When i switched over to the white refillable carts i had a clogged line/needle problem within a week or two on one of the white channels. i chaulked it up to dumping the old ink into the the new carts from the old bag ones. After getting the lines and dampers clear i started on the head. I made the rookie mistake of burning out the head with excess fluid getting onto the ribbon cable and turning on the printer. I ordered TWO replacement heads.

Sooooo i replaced the head and main board and got it up and running GREAT again. well about two weeks later the same thing happened on a dif white channel. so i repeated the clean lines, dampers, head process but swapped out the head instantly for a back up head i had purchased.

Got it up and running perfect AGAIN and then almost like clock work two weeks later the same problem with the white ink. one of the channels just wasn't firing right even after many head cleans, purges etc. when i waterfall the channel ALL ports on that white channel are clear and firing fluid through them. the cmyk prints ok but there are a few segments missing in the nozzle checks on blue and black but it doesn't seem to affect the print quality on cmyk prints.

I have since purchased a used R1900 on ebay that will arrive thursday. in the mean time i have cleaning fluid running through the white channels and ink in CMYK and when i do cleans etc the white channels seem to fire differently almost every time a clean is done, all but the one channel that had the issue from the beginning. that channel has not fired right since the issue was noticed with the it a few days ago.

Today i plan on swapping out the capping station and seeing if that changes the white channel purges. I can tell you that when i do turn the pump on i can see that the fluid in the white channels does not seem to flow as it should. thats why i plan on the switch of the capping station.

I know white ink is heavier and some people have switched from bag carts to refill carts that had white issues switched back to a bag cartridge and have had success. then i read others say they have not had problems with refill carts at all.

I have no problem going back to bag carts for the white but i don't want to just start throwing money at the machine if there is something else to try first.

ANY other insight would help, i didn't have these kinds of problems with my 1400 and white ink with a regular CISS system. Humidity in the shop at the printer stays between 45-55 temp can get up to about 80.

 

[FIREBIRDken]

Try changing your Auto Head Clean to 16 hrs. I never liked the 12 hr cycle. I found the 12 hr generated too many unnecessary issues. Also, keep wiper blade and bottom area around print head as clean as possible. Remove any dried ink on bottom of print head carriage.
Check O-rings and dampers and replace or clean regularly. Check for blockage on white ink needle valves. Run a "high-E" guitar string through the needle from the back side to remove any dried residue.

 

[Ixtapotl]

Ken's suggestion on checking the o-rings is a solid one. If one of the rings has a crack or is pinched, then air is getting in the lines and rapidly drying the ink.

Sent from my KFTT using T-Shirt Forums

 

[synful prod]

I replaced those on the white side when I did the other things. I forgot to mention the orings.

 

[lazographics]

I would suggest cleaning the white cartridges themselves once every 2 weeks, at least, with cleaning solution, windex, or hot distilled water. When white ink settles it creates a build up. Even if your agitating on a daily basis that build up can get thicker over time. That build up can clog every part that it travels through. And with that being said it's also a good idea to clean out the entire ink system as well once every 2 weeks. Ink lines, dampers, print head, and capping assembly. At least for the white channels.

 

[synful prod]

ok so i swapped out ther capping station. this one def sound quieter and did a few ink charges. getting sporadic white ink firing over the spit try. using all cleaning fluid on cmyk and white right now.

I will actually start switching over to cleaning fluid for the weekends EVERY friday and have it running cleans every 12 hours over the weekend.

I am gong to try a few more ink charges and see if the white side clears up at all.

thakns so far everyone for your ideas and input.

 

[synful prod]

ok so i got the white channels looking ok but still not 100% firing on all ports the whole time with doing purges. I have switched the cmyk and white lines/dampers and ran a few more purges. This did not change the cmyk side only the white side changed a bit when doing spits over the spit tray. this tells me the dampers are all ok and it is indeed something else.

can someone confirm this?

could a bad ribbon cable cause this? wouldn't a bad cable be all the time and not intermittent. Like i said now it seems to be trying to fire more just not 100%

 

[lazographics]

ok so i got the white channels looking ok but still not 100% firing on all ports the whole time with doing purges. I have switched the cmyk and white lines/dampers and ran a few more purges. This did not change the cmyk side only the white side changed a bit when doing spits over the spit tray. this tells me the dampers are all ok and it is indeed something else.

can someone confirm this?

could a bad ribbon cable cause this? wouldn't a bad cable be all the time and not intermittent. Like i said now it seems to be trying to fire more just not 100%

It wouldn't be the cables. It's a huge possibility that it's the print head.

 

[synful prod]

only the white channels? why would it do that because of an ink clog?

 

[lazographics]

Yes because of ink clogging. Another thing that you can do is try printing 3 nozzles checks. Do 1 nozzle check, then head clean, 2nd nozzle check then head clean, and a 3rd nozzle check. If the nozzle check patterns look exactly alike then it is the print head. If they look different each time then it's possible it could be the capping assembly not pumping properly.

 

[synful prod]

up until today when i swapped out cmyk for fluid i did that and the cmyk printed fine. its just been the white. when i did have white ink in the nozzle checks would show dif results on the white channels with some ports not firing on one but then there would be a slight change in the locations of the dead ports after head cleans.

what is the best way to get any air out of the head? wouldn't water falling 4 cc's of fluid get any air out?

as i type this i keep doing purges and see dif results every time over the spit tray with the white ports.

 

[synful prod]

how does an ink clogged ruin the head other than blocking it? but if i water fall and have full ports then nothing is clogged.

 

[lazographics]

Are you applying a lot of pressure when you water fall? If your getting a perfect waterfall then it could be the capping assembly. Do you see ink getting sucked through the capping?

 

[synful prod]

very light to minimal pressure. i just swapped out the capping station today. i can see the fluid moving through the lines. not sure if its the standard amount or not but it seems as if its flowing.

this is why i am stumped. i have done what you normally would to cancel things out and nothing is adding up. no real blockage, swapped capping station def getting suction. i will be ordering a fresh set of dampers tomorrow to swap all those out. its not a hard ink system there isn't much to it other than the head at this point.

i just don't want to swap out the heads tomorrow and have this same issue two weeks later.

 

[shirts456]

Stay away from refillable white. that seems to be the problem initially. I would also change the dampers if you haven't already.

 

[synful prod]

i just ordered firebird ink carts and dampers all should be here tomorrow. i am trying to get three nozzle checks with purges in a row to post a picture. the nozzle pattern seems to change on the black and yellow on every nozzle check.

this is leading me to dampers? is this a correct assumption?

 

[shirts456]

I would agree with that assumption.

 

[shirts456]

Any time ink changes are made, the first thing to suffer are the dampers.

 

[synful prod]

can you elaborate? when you say in change meaning from one brand to the next?

 

[shirts456]

Change to the system. Dampers catch everything which is a good thing. Your machine obviously doesn't like refillable white ink. That was your mistake. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The only option you have is to switch bagged color to refillable. White is a no-no.