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Can anyone shed light on these ink markings
Hi all,
I’m wondering if anyone can help me with some poor printing I get with printing on self-adhesive vinyl. I have a mutoh rockhopper 62" (I know, so 1800’s and all that, but it works really well).
I can print on banners, canvas and photo papers really well, prints are fantastic with no ink issues or banding etc.
When I print on self adhesive vinyls I usually get crap results where I get ink marks/lines along where my ink should stop. It seems to happen more with black than any other ink colour.
An example image attached to show what I mean, the marks/lines are around 0.75mm in length, from the edge of the text.
Any help would be an absolute life saver!! I don’t really have many good ICC profiles, I have tweaked colour percentages of profiles that came with flexisign pro. Given the age of the machine no one really provides profiles for it anymore 😥
Thanks,
Rich Goddard
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11 Replies
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Looks like a nozzle on the black head deflecting. What does the test print look like? Any deflections or dropouts?
It must do that on all the prints, not just on vinyl. The rough texture of banner or canvas will mast it and it won’t be as apparent on photographs. It’s just more obvious with black text on white vinyl.
Have you cleaned the machine recently – with a swab and cleaning fluid? There could be a hair or piece of dust on the black head. If that doesn’t work then it’s the usual routine of cleaning and head soaks etc to try to improve or save the print head.
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is the vacuum turned on? 😀
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I had the same problem on my sp540 it could be static try. connecting a wire from a large metal part of the printer to a gararge door or something similar or a radiator in the house which is already grounded. I was told it was a very common problem. he too though it was the head but solved it this way
good luck -
I was going to mention static but you beat me too it. Worth a try and very cheap fix if it does work.
Steve
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Hi everyone, thanks for the replies – apologies for not getting back to replying for so long…needed to get some stuff out the door!
Although I’ve not tried it yet, the static comments do make sense. This may answer why when I print on a 1370mm high grade roll I have the dust from 6 miles away decides to attract to the print. I had eliminated this alot by putting plastic sheeting over the carpet (in a room in the house while I set my office up).
I’ll let you know how I get on!!
Cheers,
Rich
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Thats looks like Static, as other comments
Laying plastic sheeting can carry electric charge, depends what it is.
My advise with printrooms, get rid of carpet completely. Ours is on Laminate
Carpet can cause nozzle outs/dust on heads/static with electric shocks from the machine.
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that if i had to lay money on it is static…..looks like a classic static problem. try putting rubber mats under the stand, that can help.
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I like this forum – good communication 😀
I really don’t know the specs of the plastic sheeting its sat on to be honest – it was cheap!! Its a temporary while I finish my office.
I was putting a laminate down in the office once I’ve boarded the floor out in the print room so I best check on specs.
Thanks everyone – printers chucking a load of banners out so won’t get round to earthing it and testing some self adhesive tonight – but I’ll keep you posted.
Cheers,
Rich
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Rich,
Have you printed the same image on different materials? If not try it. If the results are the same, it is likely the nozzles on the black head that are deflecting and resulting in an ‘overspray’ effect.
I had this problem and had to bite the bullet and replace the head.
Neil
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Static is a good answer but have you definitely done the basics? Cleaning around the heads etc (you’ll be amazed at how many people don’t clean these printers properly).
My gut feeling would be a bad/worn/missing wiper.
Stafford
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when we had this problem – we found we had fluff/small hair around the heads – so when the head goes up and down the ink runs down the hair causing the streak
a good head clean is needed probably
colin
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