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PLEASE help with PC600 Colorcamm
My main printer is a VP300, but I desperately still need my PC600 Colorcamm to work for certain jobs that the Versacamm cannot do (printing onto clear, printing white, printing onto specialty vinyls) and out of nowhere the PC600 just stopped printing.
I printed a couple small decals using white ribbon and then went to print 3 more and there is NO ribbon printing onto the vinyl, the vinyl is literally coming out clear with no printout after it performs the printing. It lifts the ribbon cartridge (new cart by the way) and performs the printing procedure as I can see the head contacting the vinyl and moving like normal. Everything seems to be functioning exactly the same as it had been 5 minutes before but simply NO ribbon color is transferring to the vinyl.
Is it a heat issue or did the head simply blow out?
I really need this to work for these jobs the versacamm simply cant do and I really need help figuring this out asap.
Does anywhere still have service techs or anything that are familair with these? I replaced the head myself two years ago and have the full service manual so I know how to replace a head if thats what went bad and I can find one.
Please if anyone can help me out I would be so greatful.
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26 Replies
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Hello Keith,
Sounds like there is a loose connection or the head has popped, but I’m no expert.
I have a Service Manual, contact me and I will e-mail you a copy.Regards
Jeremy -
quote Jeremy Howes:Hello Keith,
Sounds like there is a loose connection or the head has popped, but I’m no expert.
I have a Service Manual, contact me and I will e-mail you a copy.Regards
JeremyThanks for the offer, but I do already have the full service manual but I dont know what to check for. It was printing fine just minutes before the problem, so if the head went bad it had to competely just short out or fry itself.
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Sorry I couldn’t help, from here on in it’s rocket science to me, hopefully someone will come along and recognize the problem for you.
Good luck
Jeremy
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i don’t know 600 i have a 60 but i would look up to see if there is a head protection fuse. and take the top cover off to see if the ribbon cable to the head has not been damaged or come out.
chris
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quote Chris Wool:i don’t know 600 i have a 60 but i would look up to see if there is a head protection fuse. and take the top cover off to see if the ribbon cable to the head has not been damaged or come out.
chris
Ok, I will try anything, the cables look like they are secure but I will take the cover off to check all other areas too.
Does a head just fry itself like that? Does your PC60 have a protection fuse like you mentioned?
I never messed with any voltage or anything like that, replaced the head 2 years ago but probobly havnt even printed 50 yards of vinyl since then, mainly use it for cutting, but time to time I HAVE to have it for the clear vinyl and white printing and go figure the one time I need it to print, it craps out on me 🙁
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Hi Keith
Are you printing out of Corel and which version of the driver are you using?
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quote Mark Nihotte:Hi Keith
Are you printing out of Corel and which version of the driver are you using?
I print from Flexisign and I dont know the driver version. I basically have not changed anything for at least 18 months bc its always working properly.
It wouldnt be a Flexi or driver issue would it bc I literally printed one row of decals across the vinyl and when I hit the print button to do the next nothing layed down from the ribbon. I didnt make any changes in the computer or printer it was literally one minute it was printing, the next it wasnt.
Just from my expierience using the Colorcamm over the years and reading various topics on it, I am 99% sure there is no heat going to the print head and thats why when it presses the ribbon against the vinyl no resin comes off onto the vinyl. I mean it functions identical to how it was except for the ribbon not transferring the ink, I used a flashlight and watched it as it made the passes to print the design and the head was pressing down as normal with the ribbon to the vinyl when it made its print passes. Then it cuts at the end but all I end up with is the cutout shape and not a hint of resin on the vinyl.
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only other thing i know of the 600 is that there is a mechanical mode change in the machine, between cutting and printing.
also as the head goes across when you think its printing does it make the same noises as before .chris
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Its just a thought Keith – I have a SP540 which does nearly everything but have kept my ColorCam too – I use Corel and because I use Corel for all sorts I have the ‘Use color profile’ (something like that) unchecked(?) and when I occasionally use the CC and forget to check that box (or uncheck it? – its a month or two since I last used it) then I get the same result…makes all the right noises and runs like it is printing…but doesn’t print.
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quote Chris Wool:only other thing i know of the 600 is that there is a mechanical mode change in the machine, between cutting and printing.
also as the head goes across when you think its printing does it make the same noises as before .chris
Yes, it makes the same noises, even the ribbon crinkling sound (whatever the sound is when it presses down on the ribbon to the vinyl and rolls along the ribbon, I’m sure anyone who used these knows that sound lol)and I watched in the gap under the lid with a light to see and as it makes its passes and I can see the head pressing down like normal to the vinyl with the ribbon.
Its simply like the heater died and it cannot produce heat to transfer the ribbon. A fuse would be a simple explanation but I wasnt aware these had that feature.
The printer is on a power surge protector strip too so theres no chance that a power surge fried something, just doesnt make sense.
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quote Mark Nihotte:Its just a thought Keith – I have a SP540 which does nearly everything but have kept my ColorCam too – I use Corel and because I use Corel for all sorts I have the ‘Use color profile’ (something like that) unchecked(?) and when I occasionally use the CC and forget to check that box (or uncheck it? – its a month or two since I last used it) then I get the same result…makes all the right noises and runs like it is printing…but doesn’t print.
I think I might have unchecked the "print temperature" button in Flexi between prints, under the print settings, but I made sure to recheck that box when I attempted to troubleshoot it reprint the design and even went back to all my default settings with the saved file and still nothing.
I also shut down the machine, unplugged it which I have done numerous times before to move it from room to room and then restarted the computer, opened the saved file that I was printing when this happened just to make sure all the previous saved settings that worked were used and tried to reprint it an hour later, and still no resin laying down. Is there a setting somewhere in the printer settings for the heater that could be overriding the flexi program? I always thought the Flexi program overrode all printer based machine settings anyway.
On a side note, these are the most helpful forums on the internet, the Roland User forums are a joke, I have posted there before and you wait literally months to get a reply IF you ever get one. So thanks for all your guys help even if I cant figure this out, its much appreciated.
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quote Mark Nihotte:Its just a thought Keith – I have a SP540 which does nearly everything but have kept my ColorCam too – I use Corel and because I use Corel for all sorts I have the ‘Use color profile’ (something like that) unchecked(?) and when I occasionally use the CC and forget to check that box (or uncheck it? – its a month or two since I last used it) then I get the same result…makes all the right noises and runs like it is printing…but doesn’t print.
I took the covers off, cleaned the platen, made sure everything was connected and it still is printing blank.
I have one computer that I use that only uses the colorcamm so I never use that Flexi program for any other printer, so all the settings have stayed the same.
It has to be the print head, does anyone know where you can even get one anymore? Like I said, I have installed one on this machine before so I can do it myself, just need to find somewhere that still sells them.
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Hello Keith,
LCheapo sells them.Jeremy
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quote Jeremy Howes:Hello Keith,
LCheapo sells them.Jeremy
Actually thats where I got my last one, forgot the website until you mentioned it.
I do still have the old head that was slightly starting to go bad, anyone think it would be worth it to switch that one back in to make sure its the current head that went bad? The only problem is I dont have the voltage adjustment TEI files anymore or know where to get them.
Anyone know where you can find those? Both my heads look identical and have the same markings on them.
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just by chance have you tried printing a different file using different colours.
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quote Chris Wool:just by chance have you tried printing a different file using different colours.
Yes, tried different files, printing cmyk, just black, just spot colors. Used about every color ribbon I have, white, silver, gold, different color vinyl, nothing prints, just goes through the process of printing but comes out blank. So odd I just never heard of this before and I have read about many problems with these.
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Have you checked the tiny black roller that actually puts the ribbon onto the print surface. I found mine disintegrated slowly to the point it didn’t function.
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quote Mike Grant:Have you checked the tiny black roller that actually puts the ribbon onto the print surface. I found mine disintegrated slowly to the point it didn’t function.
Yea, that foam roller is almost new looking. Plus if it was that it wouldnt have been printing perfect one minute and not the next. It was literally printing 3 decals across a 14" piece of vinyl, finished those and then I checked those, closed the lid, hit print in flexisign to begin the next row and blank vinyl.
Its exactly what would happen I guess if the head just blew out, but I dont recall hearing that the heater / voltage to the head just blows all of a sudden.
Does anyone know where to get the TEI voltage files? That way I can swap the old head back in, set the voltage on that one and see if that one prints at all, that one was still printing when I put the new one on, it was just printing with a line in the prints bc it had a bad spot on part of the head. But at least that would tell me right away if the new head just completely blew out.
Any help with those TEI files would be appreciated, I cant seem to find what happened to the old files I had saved on the computer.
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the disk that comes with the new head has the file on there but that for the head you fitted , not the original.
on a 60 the head voltage is on the head.and is set manually as i understand it the 600 head tells the machine what voltage it wants via the tei file info.on my computer at work is a set of programs and xls files to apparently set the voltage with out the tei file ?.
i do not have a clue how they operate as i have never used it.you say you have a manual have a look in that and see if you want me to send them.
chris
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quote Chris Wool:the disk that comes with the new head has the file on there but that for the head you fitted , not the original.
on a 60 the head voltage is on the head.and is set manually as i understand it the 600 head tells the machine what voltage it wants via the tei file info.on my computer at work is a set of programs and xls files to apparently set the voltage with out the tei file ?.
i do not have a clue how they operate as i have never used it.you say you have a manual have a look in that and see if you want me to send them.
chris
Well, when I got the new head before, I guess it came with the TEI files, but I know there was a whole list of them and you had to pick the one that matched the one marked on the top of the head and then drag and drop that into the printer program somewhere. That list had my old head TEI as well as the new one and a bunch of others. I’ll look and see what is written on the old head and see if someone has the TEI file, I looked in the manual and I have no idea how to use the xls files, but thanks anyway.
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I might be able to help you out when you know which TEI file you need.
Jeremy
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quote Jeremy Howes:I might be able to help you out when you know which TEI file you need.
Jeremy
Ok thanks, heres the info on the top of the head:
PTMTM3217A
146A10
C13-0018 -
Well, its 100% the print head, must have fried itself somehow just one print job to the next.
I swapped out the old head that prints with a big white line running through it due to a bad section on the head when it went bad and it started printing right away, of course with the big white line from the dead spot, but at least I know that its a head that needs replaced. I guess 2 years isnt too bad since being replaced before, but for $500 each they should last longer than that.
Now, where do I find one? elcheapo still shows them available for order, but I emailed him almost 24 hours ago and havnt heard back so hopefully he still carries them.
If not, will Roland ship you one directly?
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Hi Keith
Roland D G has one just two week ago so you might be in luck M8
Paul
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well done keith
as a by the way the roland heads are expected to print 15 klm ( thats head travel) but not warranted due to damage in use.
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Keith,
Lcheapo i’m told have the heads in stock now for both the PC-60 / PC-600.
Cost wise is around $645 plus shipping i believe.
Still works out cheaper than Roland prices over here even if they sell you one.
Alex.
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