[jmcwilliams2003]

Does anyone know what would cause this yellow halo effect or maybe ghost image around my black in printing on my tjet 2? I can seem to get a clean print if I clean the head and capping station and print one, but within a couple more prints the yellow is back around the black. It shows up worse when printing black over white dark shirts, but you can also see it printing plain black on white shirts.

If you look closely at the attached photo, you can see the yellow around the black lettering.

Thanks,
Jason

 

[JeridHill]

When that happens, do a nozzle check before you do a clean and see if yellow ink is printing where it's not supposed to. If so, then the head could be going bad.

 

[equipmentzone]

Does anyone know what would cause this yellow halo effect or maybe ghost image around my black in printing on my tjet 2? I can seem to get a clean print if I clean the head and capping station and print one, but within a couple more prints the yellow is back around the black. It shows up worse when printing black over white dark shirts, but you can also see it printing plain black on white shirts.

If you look closely at the attached photo, you can see the yellow around the black lettering.

Thanks,
Jason

From Billy in our Support Department:

Theres a few things you can look at. First check the bottom of the print head where the nozzles are located and check for ink build up. If there is, gently wipe off with a foam swab from left to right with some cleaning solution. Next, try a nozzle check to see if that is perfect. Also, try cleaning or replacing your encoder strip. Inspect it for any major scratches. One last thing - make sure your artwork is of high resolution. Poor artwork can cause issues like this one.



Harry
Equipment Zone

 

[spiderx1]

You said you get one good one then you get the halo. After the halo starts turn off the machine and move the print head to center and see if there are any drops of ink hanging from the bottom. You mau have to wait a while if the wiper activated during shutdown. Or pull the plug when the printhead is in the center. You can move the printhead freely left to right as required. If you have drops hanging then lower your ink bottles a little at a time until they stop.

 

[jmcwilliams2003]

Ok, so I think I can rule some things out and I have a few pictures I will submit in a second.

One thing to keep in mind, I have used this machine for a long, long time. I have changed almost all the parts and keep it pretty clean. The head on it is less than a year old. I replace the capping station and assembly every 3-6 months. Other than this issue, the machine is actually running really well.

Bad Artwork - Its the same as we always use and much of it comes directly from vectors as high res jpgs, I do not think its an issue.

Encoder Strip - Its possible, but I do clean it every day. It doesn't seem to make a difference. Also note, this machine is really running well.

Ink Leaking - I cleaned it all this morning, ran some shirts, it started happening when i printed black on light and moved the head over to take a peak. I will post pics soon. One thing for sure, no ink i leaking out of the head. I did lower the inks a bit just in case because we have had some pressure changes and the machine is a little touchy about that. This doesn't seem to be an issue.

The one thing I did notice is that there is quickly a buildup around the head. In the pic you can see yellow on the part of the head that is silver and black on the other side. It was cleaned just this morning. I am wondering if maybe the wiper isn't working properly? How can I test to see if the wiper is working and cleaning the head like it should be?

Thanks!

Jason

 

[jmcwilliams2003]

Attached are the images of the head. Hopefully, you can see them. To me, the build up around the edge of the head happened pretty quickly. I don't normally look at it after a few shirts, so I can't be for sure its abnormal. I think it is a bit weird that the yellow is building up over on the one side over the silver.

In the meantime, I think I can actually finish some shirts by manually cleaning that head between each shirt. It stinks, but I have to get them out!

Thanks guys - as always

 

[spiderx1]

Ok maybe just a old or worn wiper, you can see with the covers off, as the Tjet 2 wiper stays exposed.
Also with the large pressure changes that have been going on over the US in the last few weeks the bottles maybe just a hair high. Combine with a less than optimum wiper performance and you get a slight buildup.

 

[JeridHill]

I can understand possibly the ink buildup due to a wiper issue, but it makes no sense that the yellow would print with the black. Did you try a nozzle check after the problem started to happen?

 

[jmcwilliams2003]

If I clean around the head before each shirt it works. Honestly, it looks like something is wrong with the capping station, the head is clean as a whistle, and then when it does a head cleaning, its a mess. Nothing is left in the capping station, so I think it is pulling ink through, but I am wondering if it isnt sealing well.

 

[JeridHill]

I was thinking something with the capping station too, but that still doesn't make sense that yellow would print with black unless there was a buildup of yellow ink in the black nozzles.

Hate to be a broken record, but when it happens, have you tried printing a nozzle check? I nozzle check could eliminate a lot of issues if it prints correctly.

 

[jmcwilliams2003]

Yes, the nozzle check looks fine and has all day.

 

[JeridHill]

Ok, that's good. It eliminates the print head as being bad. Next time it happens, don't stop the printer, but instead, get down and look at bottom of the printhead as it's printing. It might be tough to see depending on your printer, but if it's open enough, you should be able to see the bottom. If there is a drip of ink, then it could be the heights of the ink (still). Watch to see when it happens, when it does, try to notice if the head moves over to the capping station and performs a clean or anything of that nature. If it does, then it would most likely be the capping station.

 

[equipmentzone]

It sounds like your capping assembly. I would at the very least take the capping assembly out of the printer and check everything on it including your hose connection and wipers.

You should also check the waste pad at the opposite side of the carriage assembly.

Harry
Equipment Zone

 

[calitrendz]

Yeah I had this same problem, replace the little cap on the capping station and the pump and put a new wiper blade. I'd run some cleaning solution throughout the machine just to be safe. I don't think that it's a damper problem but when was the last time you replaced?