Replacing head on Roland PC600

[Robert Lambie]

good stuff gav. i replaced one a while back too..
fidgity as hell as far as i remember…

£250 you sure thats the fitting charge?

seems high.. i thought it was £50 call out then £50 an hour after 🙄

[WP_Graphics]

£250 was Probably because I stay in lovely aberdeenshire. That was definitely the price cause I checked it…

Working great now, the head’s paid now after 2 days work 🙂

Great machines these 😉

Gav

[Rodney Gold]

Each Roland head is calibrated (there is a number of what the voltage or calibration factor is printed on a sticker or somewhere on the head) , just replacing it without setting the voltage will reduce the head life or not give the best print possible- there is little board that has a set screw that needs to be adjusted
I dont remember the exact method of adjusting the head voltage , its not an intuitive thing and you got to remove a jumper and clip one wire on another etc- ask the Roland agents for the pc 600 manual (if they will give it to you ) and get a digital mulitmeter and adjust the voltage as per instructions.
You also generally need to calibrate the print/cut function and that pass gap thing as well (can be done in software)
As a matter of course , always replace the little foam roller that actually lays down the hot resin on the vinyl when replacing the head
Another tip is to clean the rubber rollers and the steel roller (with the grater pattern on it) with masking tape to remove lint etc.
I have gone thru tons of heads on my machines – generally costs me about GBP250 if the agent does it and I get a 3 month full replacement at no cost garuantee. There is a way of seeing how many meters the head has printed and our local agents generally only charge me a portion of the head replacement cost based on this figure if the meters printed are less than what they are supposed to be good for.
We use the head cleaning pen after EVERY job and wipe the vinyl with alcohol and a lint free cloth before every job and use an anti static gun on it.
They *are* great machines when they work 😉
You guys should get into doming , cos the PC’s will make you a ton of money with badges (which is a huge industry) , you print on the vinyl , and then cut some engraving laminate and stick the vinyl on that leaving a little border , dome the thing and stick a badge back onto it – voila – a VERY high class badge – especially if you print gold onto dark colours , the badges have deep gloss and the printing a metallic shimmer that cannot be matched.
A 2″ x 1″ badge (5cm x 2.5cm) costs about 40-50 pence to make and can sell for over gbp5 – even producing sports centres of either 1″ or 2″ diameter for the award and trophy industry (1″ and 2″ discs are an industry standard) and doming them is hugely profitable.

[WP_Graphics]

Thanks for that rodney,

I found out if your head goes before 12,000 metres due to defects other than a scratch on it, it is guarenteed by the supplier and should be replaced FOC. Maybe you could show us about the head voltage thing next time you replace a head? Maybe I just lucky with this head ’cause it’s printing great!

Back onto doming badges, do you do this with a normal gun an 2-pack resin? I find this very time consuming and the finished result I seem to lose about 25 – 35% of the badges due to bubbles, not setting etc….

I’d be keen to know more about your business Rodney as you seem to have a great understanding of the capabilities of this machine and how to maximise profit from it.

Gavin

[Rodney Gold]

Hiya
I have done an extensive article here on doming as well as quite a detailed treatise on it at http://www.signforums.com in their sign topics forum (it’s a pinned thread) , but basically why you are having problems is that the 2 part kit is polurethane based and needs very strict temperature control and vitally NO moisture near or around , you will do a lot better with epoxys (but be more suceptible to yellowing)

I started off with Rolands about 10 years ago with a PC 500 then a pnc 5000 and then a pc60 , pc12 , pc600
I would not have put up with such a flaky production machine if it had not been very profitable to us. I was going to use it as a vinyl cutter to do simple screens and stickers when I bought first.
To put it in a nutshell I realised the machine is useless for anything but very small detailed print and die cut work or vinyl cutting (im sorry if I annoy anyone with this , but its really the truth – large scale graphics are a nerve wracking experience on a PC-anything:)

So I looked at areas where this could be utilised and due to the nature of my business at the time which was actually not really signage based but directed to the award and recognition industry where I deal with many sports clubs , schools and Corporates , badges seemed a good market.
I already had a few CnC engravers at the time and was engraving badges but these were very plain and folk often wanted gold lettering on a colour background so the PC came into its own.
I struggl;ed to get the doming right , and once I had done that , I offered the schools , clubs etc short run badges with an ultra quick turnaround at very good prices and business took off .
The combination of the CnC engraver meant that cutting shapes that followed the die cut vinyl was easy – so more and more “things” developed from this.
For example , we do custom medallions and various key tags this way , as well as wheel inserts for aftermarket mags , car badges for dealers , lables for computers etc
The key to this type thing is the doming , it adds such huge value and aesthetics to a PC print it sells itself , the other key is to keep it small – big stuff is a mission to dome.
We produce our own medallions , a standard range with an indented space for a 1″ or 2″ domed insert – so also offered customers short run “customised” medals at short notice and higher quality than the competiton at lower prices.
We still use the machines for that , but my roland soljet is now the prime producer of that type stuff in larger runs.
We also use a soft flexible epoxy dome and if you combine hard doming and soft , you can find enough work to keep the PC buzzing.

The biggest problem is how people think and how you view your business.
If you think signage – you have to think Perception , branding . awareness – and if you think those terms , you realise what you are selling your customer and how best to service them and it broadens your horizons as well as finding other profit centres that fit in your existing workflow.
Most folk have captive audiences and customers that require far more than just a sign – When you next go to the local factory to do safety signs , mention to them you do badges and that perhaps a productivity scheme with various levels of badges to show progress might be a really cheap way to motivate the work force and that an aftermarket domed sticker would look good on their premium products and a undomed one can be done cheap for general branding purposes – and how about a few awards or a nice “associated with ” plaque to their major suppliers – sort of showing they care about the suppliers too – and some xmas gifts or give aways for the end of the year – you get the idea 😉
One thing I hate is sending work outhouse , as we lose control and are at the mercy of someone else , so I have invested a lot in my own machinery and processes to cut this out and thus just broaden the services I offer – for example with our digital printing we bought a laminator – now we also offer lamination to our customers who all use lamination services – offering lamination gets further enquiries about printing and so it goes on.

2 of the biggest things I did that made my business fly was firstly the appointment of a VERY good and professional rep armed with tons of samples and the 2nd was a laser.

I am also fanatical about quality , I dont offer a product if it isnt 100% and I’m not scared to pay “school fees” I experiment and if I get it right all good and well , and if I get it wrong , it’s school fees;)
I have really changed from trying to save my moms little jewellery shop with an engraving machine(My dad had died young and she was struggling to run it) to almost a design studio with manufacturing capabilities inasmuch as we take on such diverse stuff and work closely with clients to minimise their expense and make life easy for them.
For example we are now working with architects and a model building co building a model of a proposed development and we send the architechts our Prototype ACAD drawing so they send the model builder and I drawings capable of being sent directly to the lasers or cnc machines etc –
We send both samples of various materials we feel will best represent the texture and colours of various elements in the model and have meetings with both and brainstorm quick and easy ways of doing stuff – all this under extremely short deadlines. A project like that is worth about 5-10K+ to us , about 5x that to the model builder and for the developer , the model will sell houses he hasnt even built on land he doesnt even own and will be worth millions to him.
As to signage , We make a lot of components for the sign industry and local sign guys , so get a lot of feedback from them in terms of problems in the industry , new machinery , processes , trends. I rarely deal with end users in signage cos I dont really have the infrastructure of major rigging or application – but have to know all the ins and outs of it.
Cos of this , I don’t do much sign design per se , but do work closely with designers and bounce various concepts off them which they then implement – lik whats best for maximum impact , fits into existing decor , ease of use , lighting , position , how it can be rigged , best amterials for envronment etc.
I really enjoy what I do , ours is a unique profession , we have the best of both worlds in that you can express your creativity and technical expertise and get paid for it
There is different challenge each day and one forever learns new things and you really sell your customers things they need and add value to THEIR business- they keep coming back.
Sorry this is such a long and rambling post – its a miserable Sunday afternoon and I’m killing time before going to watch my 6 yr old daughter sing in a choir perfomance at the local opera house *proud beam*.

[AaSk4Stickers]

Hi I have been lurking for a while but after reading the posts on PC600, I decided it was time post a message.

I had my PC600 print head replaced a few weeks back by the Roland engineer. £150.00 call out plus the head plus VAT – of course. 🙁

The head price was £175.00 but if I could have given the engineer 100 used cartridges the head would have been for free. I would have still had to pay for the call out fee though. In my case, I only had 50 odd so Roland’s charged me half price for the head, i.e. £87.50 😉

Has anyone had any success with non Roland cartridges? I tried some a year ago and they kept breaking, and I decided it wasnt worth it. 😥

My print head was scratched (just like my other head is – and frequently <vbg>) – I wasn’t aware of wiping the vinyl with ipa before starting printing, expensive ommission! One is never too old to learn. 😳

[Rodney Gold]

There are aftermarket refills , which work ok.
We get our aftermarket ribbons from Ideal Imaging – I think its a local subsidary of a UK co (www.idealimaging.co.za)
They also do Gerber foils and some other stuff.
They have lots of different colours – you can see the pricing in Rands (R11.00 per GBP or R7.50 per $)

There is a quirk with the Roland which breaks ribbons continually , and that is printing a thin vertical line , it seems the head acts as a sort of thingy that one uses to cut off the plastic when you use those vaccum machines that pack food in plastic bags , sort of like a heat sealer/cutter. There is no workaround but to thicken the line up. When refilling , make sure you clean the rollers in the cartridge.
The aftermarket ribbons generally dont give the same colour as the originals , but are a lot cheaper espcially the metallics – HOWEVER – we have noticed the aftermarket god ribbons flakes a bit , and the little gold flakes can short the head out.
We have had a little limited success in repairing our own heads by VERY lightly sanding the edge that does the heat transfer which can remove hardened pieces of stuff that makes those lines. You must clean the heads before they cool down after a job as if they cool , stuff lodged in the head hardens and cant be removed. If the track is damaged this “fix” doesnt work , but its worth a try. NEVER use air to blow off the heads or the vinyl near the heads , this can blow stuff into the heads.
We also use a small piece of mirror silver vinyl slipped under the head with a small torch shining on it , this enables you to see the head itself and to see if there are pieces of junk around.
We replace cleaning strips on a weekly basis and isnpect these too for debris – as a piece of junk there can also lodge in the head. BTW Only the edge of the head does the printing (or heating) and the foam roller lays the hot resin down on the vinyl.

[Dave Standen]

Hi Rod – nice to see someone from RSA – and someone who knows about PC60. You’re right about Ideal Imaging in RSA being supported from UK – The’re supported by Print One. They will soon have a new formula ribbon to assist in your snapping. If you’ve got probs with ‘stuff’ on the print head – you should use an isopropanol pen from your machine supplier to just rub it off, for stubborn dirt you should use the cleaning sheet. Can you get these from your machine supplier?
Hi Gav – You were extremely lucky to hit 1st time with the PC60 head exchange. It usualy takes a skilled engineer 4hours! Well Done – come do mine!
Regards … Big D … Print One

[Dave Standen]

Hi Ask4stickers – so you must have a name!!
PC60/600 – You must always clean the vinyl prior to printing with Isopropanol. This serves 2 purposes 1. cleans away any manufacturing surface residue (silicons etc) and 2. More importantly -removes any grit and dust particles from the surface. This is what damages your print head. you must also keep changing the print head cleaning pad. The print head wipes itself on this pad every 6 or so print bands printed. All the dirt and grit is collected on the pad – if it looks soiled – change it. This good workshop practice will give you a longer print head life, but cleaning the vinyl is a pain when your on roll feed – try sheet’s.
Regards … Big D (Dave Standen)…Print One 😳

[AaSk4Stickers]

Oops – sorry about the unintentional anonymity – the name is Alan Hart

Great advice, thanks.

Alan

[Dave Standen]

Hi Rod
Have you got the Service Notes (Workshop Manual) for your PC60?
Very usefull – tells you how to do everything! Was available from Roland but I think they’ve put the price up. You could ‘borrow’ mine if you wish.
Regards Dave Standen

[Phill Fenton]

I was inspired enough by Gavins experience to have a go at changing the head on my colorcamm this week. It’s been 18 months since the last head change (under warrranty) and had printed 11600M so it had performed reasonably well.

Physically changing the head is not difficult, However the print quality was noticably poorer than before so I decided to get a proper engineer in to set it up which has resulted in a print quality every bit as good as before.

Gavin was obviously lucky that his new head was well matched to the old one, I was not as lucky. 😥

[Dave Standen]

Hi Phil
Congrats on fitting the head!
How much did the engineer cost?
Regards Dave Standen

[Phill Fenton]

The engineer only charged me £50 to set up the head – and the difference in the output quality is money well spent. These machines are well capable of producing top quality process colour prints when properly adjusted. I recommend anyone who has one of these that is experiencing quality problems to get an experienced engineer to set it up correctly.

If you suspect that your machine is performing under par – do an internal test print on your machine (described in your manual). Amongst other information that it prints out will be a line of colour print of the entire visible spectrum (just like a rainbow). When set correctly there will be a gradual change betweeen each colour. If any adjustment is required this spectrum will be “splodgy” in appearance which means you may not be getting the machines true potential.

As I said earlier, the mechanical side of changing the head is not that difficult (took me about 1.5 hours – taking my time) However, In future I will use an engineeer to carry out the head change as well as the setting up.

[WP_Graphics]

Phil,

Where did you get an enginneer that would set up your head. I aggree with you the print quality of mine is not as good as before….

Gav