Dye based ink to mild/eco solvent printer conversion ?

[Chris Wool]

hi and welcome

there has been several topics on the same subject over time and basically speaking unless you are a electro mech engineer dont go there solvent inks eco or not eats unprepared printers – bin there & got the tea shirt i could go on but i dont know of anybody that has regretted splashing out yet.

chris

[advancedgraphics]

i had already looked on this forum and did not have any luck finding anything relating to this subject.
If you can point me to some of those earlier topics, it would be appreciated.

There are people out there using converted machines, which require some modification for them to work ie: replacing ink buffers/dampers capping station, and in some instances the actual ink lines.
I would sriously like to hear from people who have converted mutohs or some of the roland cammjets working succesfully.

Some of you out there may be able to justify the purchase of a brand new mega bucks solvent printer, but i’m sure there are plenty of one man outfits out there who have sourced a cheaper solution, ie: converted machines.

I have heard it’s been done before, and successfully if done by the right engineer. Just be interested to know if anyone out there is running on a converted machine.

Thanks again

chris

[Rodney Gold]

Depends on your machine whether you can do it. thge biggest problem would be the heads and whether they can handle solvent inks , if you are using a machine with Epson Dx3 heads , you can. We run silvent inks thru a Epson 1290 based printer , so even THOSE heads can handle solvents!!!
The simplest conversion is to change tubing to solvent resisant stuff (Eco sol is STILL a solvent) but this is not really a great solution.
Ideally you need to change the tubing throughout , change the dampers to solvent resistant (most mimaki or roland solvent printers dampers will work) , change the wiper and capping station to solvent resistant and if you want to go the whole hog , change the pumps as well.
Once you change over , there is no real going back.
There are tons of companys doing the conversion and its really not a rocket science thing. At the end of it all , your print profiles are going to be your stumbling block more than anything else. If you are going eco solvent then changing EVERYTHING is not essential , but if you ARE going that route , you might as well change to a full solvent ink to get the benefits of SERIOUSLY reduced prices.

[advancedgraphics]

thanks rodney, thats really interesting.
we have an epson 7000 with DX3 heads
do you know where i can source solvent resistant parts for it, or if there are any companies out there i can get in touch with to do it.
we seriously need to get our machine changed over to do this,
and wouldnt mind taking a risk on it.

thanks for your post, that’s really excellent news.
Any help would really be appreciated.

[Shane Drew]

Hi Chris, and welcome to the boards mate,

I purchased an eco solvent Roland SC540 from new, and within months realised that I really wanted a full solvent solution.

I raced out and purchased the Techink bulk system and have never regretted the extra expense.

With the roland, they usually take out the roland pumps with the softer tubes, and do a straight exchange with JV3 pumps with the better tubes.

Techink bulk prices are 50% cheaper than the original Roland brand, which equates to a considerable saving over time.

Not sure on the epson, but I see Rodney is ‘on to it’ and his advice is always good.

Cheers
Shane

[advancedgraphics]

thanks for the advice there rodney & dsi.
could you please email me supplier info to my email address ?
if it’s not allowed to be posted on these boards ?

sales@advancedgraphicsltd.co.uk

thanks

chris

[Shane Drew]

http://www.techink.com