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Yellow running out.
Hello everybody. All the best for 09.
I have a problem with the yellow running out half way through a print.
All other colours including red are fine.
I have tried all the usual suspects.
Bulk ink and cartridge levels fine. No obvious air bubbles in the lines.
I have replaced the pump (1st in 3 years), cleaned out the drain tubes, cleaned out the tubes from capping stations to pump and replaced the yellow damper.
A powerful clean produces a good test pattern but still runs out after about 700mm so as a cross check to make sure it is not the head I changed over the red and yellow dampers to the opposite heads.
The red printed perfectly through the yellow head so I changed them back and tried again. No joy!!!
If I can’t resolve this I will end up bald.
Are there any magicians among you???? -
14 Replies
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This sounds exactly like a problem I had about 18 months ago with my JV3 and the previous ink I was using. Turned out to be a bad batch of yellow ink which blocked the damper filter after running 1/2 metre or so of yellow printing. What sent me almost completely grey was that after diagnosing the yellow ink as being part of a bad batch, replacing it, doing a complete yellow line flush and installing a new damper, the problem persisted in the form of yellow dropping out when printing areas of heavy yellow. In the end the culprit was the plastic headcap (the plastic part of the head the damper plugs into) which contains an even finer filter than the one in the damper and which had been partially blocked by the bad yellow ink. Fortunately, these headcaps can be bought and replaced as a $25 non-genuine part (Mimaki don’t sell them separately), but not sure if that’s the same with Uniform printers.
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Hey Kevin, long time no hear 😛
I think Bill is probably right. Does you bulk ink system have filters at the ink bottle end? If the yellow is blocked slightly, it may no be allowing the ink to flow fast enough to the head.
Which bulk system are you running again?
Shane
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Thanks for the advice Bill. I will disconnect the damper and connect a flush tube directly to the head then pump it through. It may clean the filter. At the same time I will connect a syringe to the yellow line to apply some persuasion in that direction.
Shane, No I have been keeping my head down. My daughter has joined me in the business and is slowly taking over the reins (gives an old bugger like me more time to smell the flowers)
I’m not sure of the brand of bulk system. AGS fitted it when we changed to Techink last year. It’s the one with the tanks piggybacking on top of the cartridges.
Before the changeover we had the system with the bulk tanks on top but the cartridge valves had O rings that melted with the solvent inks and on numerous occasions we ended up printing the floor. Great for the supplier at the time and he didn’t want to replace the system so that was one of the reasons we went with AGS and Techink.
AGS give great service but with them being on the south side of Brisbane and us on the Sunshine Coast the "taxi meter rates" mean large costs before the tech even lifts a spanner.Thank you for your advice guys…Will keep you posted
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Hi
if you push the dirt through the filter in the head it will clog the head completely, always be very careful when connecting to the head with no damper in place. Your best option is to replace the head capsKev
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quote :Thanks for the advice Bill. I will disconnect the damper and connect a flush tube directly to the head then pump it through. It may clean the filter. At the same time I will connect a syringe to the yellow line to apply some persuasion in that direction.please don’t suck back through the head as you pick up all the muck thats in the capping station.
bill may well be on the case here.
if its a roland based machine the plastic bit (manifold) is available from some parts sites separate, ensure you buy a solvent type.
i can’t remember if you have to remove the head to fit but its only held on by some small crews and a gasketchris
see kevin was worried as well
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Thank you Kevin and Chris.
I moved the head away from the capping station and attached a syringe (without a plunger) and let it soak with flush solution.
I did notice that when I disconnected the line from the damper that the yellow went back up the tube very quickly (I thought that it would stay in the tube without moving)
I attached a syringe and the ink came through again very easily with no resistance.
I connected all together again and a powerful clean filled the line.
A test print was perfect with no dropout or any indication of a problem.
Started printing and all OK for about 50mm then yellow runs out again.
Test print then shows only about 5% yellow working.
Red is 100%
Another clean and yellow pattern is back to 100% ??? -
quote :I did notice that when I disconnected the line from the damper that the yellow went back up the tube very quickly (I thought that it would stay in the tube without moving)
i dont know much about refillable carts but they must have a small air leak hole probably in the cap to allow the ink level to alter with out causing suction.. possibly try with the cap off or loose.
only a idea
chris
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Are you using the refillable carts from B&P as i had a problem a couple of weeks ago where doing a test print only the left side of light magenta printed. Spoke to B&P who said it was the seal on the cartridge probably as these only last about a year and could be tested by swooping over the two light magenta carts, i did this and instantly only the right side of test print is printing.
Nothing looked wrong and no bubbles or visable air leeks much like yours so it could well be worth trying a new cartridge.
Regards
Russell.
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quote Kevin:Started printing and all OK for about 50mm then yellow runs out again.
Test print then shows only about 5% yellow working.
Red is 100%
Another clean and yellow pattern is back to 100% ???That definitely sounds like restricted ink flow. Excess negative ink pressure from a restricted filter causes air to be sucked back into the head through the nozzles during printing, resulting in nozzle dropout. I doubt you will clean the headcap filter with any amount of flushing. IMO, you should flush out all of the old yellow ink from the system, fit a new headcap and damper, and install a new batch of yellow ink.
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Kevin, a quick phone call to Phil in the morning I think. Sounds like you have an air leak though.
Phil Keenan left AGS a few months ago, but got enticed back now that Steve has moved on. Luke is running the show now. Luke is a top bloke too, and his missus is my AGS Rep, so its really good from my perspective. 🙂
I don’t know what the issue was between Steve and Phil but I liked Steve, he was very supportive of me. But Phil has also become a friend over all these years, and is the real technical guru there. He could probably answer your problem over the phone. Tell him you were talking to me, I’m sure it will be an easy fix for him.
I know what you say about the taxi metre though. Be good if he can point you in the direction without coming out.
I know Phil reads these boards from time to time, so he may even expect your call :lol1:
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Thank you guys for all your helpful comments.
I managed to get the job done that was causing the most angst but am not sure that the problem is fixed.Yes Shane I have a feeling that there may be an air leak but there are no air bubbles anywhere in the line so it has to be in the vicinity of the head.
Could be the damper O ring but then some of the other guys may be correct regarding a blockage.
I have just done a test print after leaving overnight and yellow/red patterns are perfect but would you believe cyan now dropping out.
I am starting to wonder about a capping station issue.
If it is not sealing perfectly then the heads/lines may not be priming properly.
I guess that there may be a combination of two issues, each making it difficult to pinpoint the other.I was talking to Phil on Friday Shane but the problem had him scratching his head. It was he who suggested switching the dampers from yellow to magenta (The magenta printed perfectly then which pretty well rules out a problem with the yellow head/filter) Subsequently with the dampers back on their "home" heads the yellow problem reoccurred and that points to a cartridge issue (as has been suggested)
I may just have to overcome my scottish ancestry, put my hand in my pocket and call in the "techspurts".
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quote Kevin Frew:I may just have to overcome my scottish ancestry, put my hand in my pocket and call in the “techspurts”.
I must have scottish ancestry too then… 😳
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Hello all.
Well believe it or not all is working as it should at the moment without any further intervention.
We did have a moment when serious banding appeared on the first job this morning and I thought "Oh ****" (censored) but then on closer examination it turned out to be on the clients .jpg file.
I am beginning to believe that the machine just doesn’t like me and that it will only work for Sam, my daughter.
Anyway with a name like Uniform Cadet it should probably belong in George Bush’s army (guess I’m just a sore loser)
Well, better go back and earn some money before I get made redundant.Thanks again everybody.
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glad you got working again Kevin. Sounds like an air bubble though…
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