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SP300 playing up
The last few days when the machine is doing its daily wake up cycle I have noticed a change in the pitch of the noise it makes. It is much louder and higher pitched than usual. This has started to worry me.
I last used my printer last week with no problems at all. Today I fired it up and sent a job down. I noticed within the first 6 inches of print that all was not well. The yellow was suddenly not printing at all. I stopped the machine and took out the yellow cart and there was not much in it but should be enough to do the job. I replaced the cart and done a test print. This is the first time in 5 years that I have needed to do a test print believe it or not. I was surprised to see that the yellow was all but clogged up and the magenta and black were not quite 100%, Cyan was perfect.
I done quite a few cleaning cycles before the yellow started showing at about 60% of what it should be but couldn’t get it any better. I cleaned the heads and wipers etc.
Now this is where I start getting worried. While I was cleaning around the capping station I noticed the magenta ink has been leaking into the bottom of the machine. I cant see where the leak is coming from. The machine is well out of warranty and as it is not used often I also don’t have a service agreement.
Can any of you wise owls give me some guidance on what to look at/for. And any help with info on the blocked heads would be appreciated.😥
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10 Replies
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mike
does it still have the old pumps, if so is there ink on the big white gears.
the problem you describe is that the pump is failing.chris
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Mike,
To me this sounds like a burst pump.
Does your SP still have two smaller pumps, or one larger pump??
If it is two smaller pumps, the machine is from pre Ecosol MAX days, and the MAX inks did the damage to the pump. Roland supplies the new (MAX compatable) single pump unit, and it is an easy 10 minute DIY job to install. A few screws, some new pipes to the drain bottle etc.
Even if yours have the newer pump, it could still fail from time to time. In an emergency you can draw ink manually with a syringe until the new pump is installed. A few years ago the same happened to me on an SP300, and I had to remove the covers, bypass the cover switches, and pump manually for a few weeks until the new MAX conversion pump arrived.
Fortunately, it is not very expensive.
BTW – How is the condition of the rubber seals at the capping station? Maybe replace those as well. Have they ever been replaced?? On a 5 year old machine, this could also be the problem, resulting in poor sealing around the heads and drying out.
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The machine is pre-Ecosolmax inks so old pumps I presume..
I have never been shown where these "pumps" and things are. How do you get to them?
Rubber seals on capping station looks OK but they are still the original. -
Yeh, sounds like a burst Yell / Mag tube.
Easy fix – but you will need to order a pump – and get capping stations while you are at it (cheap enough)…and change the wipers as they are only a few quid.
Pump will set you back up to £100 (as low as £60 from some sources) depending on where you get it – and take maybe an hour to change over.
It’s well worthwhile updating the FIRMWARE on the machine when you fit the new pump (to slow it down) as new pumps pump a LOT per cycle.
version 6.90 should be the preferred one.
https://www.uksignboards.com/viewtopic.p … light=pump
Pump is under the RHS cover – it’s the ‘clicking’ think with the pipes coming out of it.
can be fiddly to take out / replace – just be methodical. Supplier SHOULD give you a how to – and method of updating the firmware. Failing that – firmware instructions on ROLAND site.
Dave
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remove the right hand cover
remove the lower cover to access the pump.
very surprised that you have not had this problem before the pump is normally mechanically ok just the pipe fractured.chris
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Thanks for the info guys. Where is the best place to get the spares?
Dave, thanks for the firmwear heads up. I am running the old Colorip software. To my knowledge there are no upgrades for this. Can anyone shed some light on this for me!
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Firmware is the in built software that controls the printer Mike – not to be confused with the external RIP software. You should be able to get updated firmware to control the machine through Roland.
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Thanks Phil, you learn something new every day! 😳
😀
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quote Mike Grant:Thanks Phil, you learn something new every day! 😳
😀
When you fire it up – watch the screen.
Yours will probably say VERSION 6.70 or 6.80.
The latest version for you will likely be 6.90.
http://www.rolanddg.com.br/down_color.html#sp300
Go to firmware installer – read the instructions!
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Thanks Dave, your a star! 😀
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