Versacamm Cyan head getting blocked

[John Thomson]

quote Martin Cole:

This hasn’t got the head firing on all cylinders and after trying to print something half way through the colour fades and I end up with the same test print as below.

Martin

Am I right assuming the test print is ok or better after the cleans then returns to this?

If so it ould be that ink is not getting to the head during printing? Dampers? Swap cyan carts over incase there is negative pressure?

Hope you get it sorted.

John

[Phill Fenton]

Does the test print look okay immediately after a clean or is the test print always like that?

If it’s something that comes and goes then it’s not the head that’s at fault – more likely the damper, blocked outlet pipe or faulty pump. First thought is to try fitting a new damper which is cheap and easy to do.

[Martin Cole]

John and Phil, thanks for reply’s,

This is the test print just after a clean…

Doesn’t look like the heads at fault..phew

Ill take a look at the damper, had them replaced a couple of years ago, but never done one myself.

I have put an old cart back in John, see if makes a difference

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[John Thomson]

Martin,

I would be looking at ink starvation of some description……..is the cyan cart for that channel low?
Dampers would be a cheap start……or a tiny leak in the capping station at that cyan channel.

You could pull ink through that line with a syringe to check for a blockage? or from below the capping station to check for a good seal?

John

[Martin Cole]

Hi John,

The cyan cart is almost full.

It does sound like ink starvation, I’ll shoot out and get a syringe later.

I’ve never worked on the printer myself as useless at that kind of thing, haven’t got a service contract so will give it a go. 😕

[David Rogers]

Dampers are one of the easier items to change although it was probably drummed into you that if you take it off squint / tilted it can snap the spigot on the manifold resulting in about a million pounds worth of damage and probably mean sending your machine to the scrapyard…nah, buy in some good quality dampers. Genuine about £8 each or third party that are pretty good for £2 each THEN get the covers off and lift the offending damper straight up…might need both hands to ensure a clean lift.
Undo the brass connector and swap it out for a new one. Easier to prime it before pushing it back on…stick syringe (standard or leur lock type) on base and suck to pull ink into the damper then push back onto manifold.

If you’re in the mood do them all….

If you snap a manifold it’s a bit of a bugger but entirely repairable in-house (head out though) and part is dirt cheap. Snapped two in the last 5 years on 10year+ old parts so pretty durable.

…and maybe replace that capping station at the same time…can’t hurt…and easy (if a bit fiddly) to do.

Davw

[Kevin Flowers]

Martin
if you get stuck give me a shout i’ll pop down show you how to change them, does look like a damper problem or air as versacamm shares 1 cart between booth sides of the head if I remember rightly

Kev

[Martin Cole]

quote Kevin Flowers:

Martin
if you get stuck give me a shout i’ll pop down show you how to change them, does look like a damper problem or air as versacamm shares 1 cart between booth sides of the head if I remember rightly

Kev

David,

Thanks for the info, very informative as always.

However I may take you up on your offer Kev. I cant see a pm button and don’t have your contact details.
Are you able to get in contact with me to discuss?

[Martin Cole]

A MASSIVE thank you to Kev Flowers who came over to me first thing Saturday morning and sorted my printer out.

He is one knowledgeable guy when it comes to printers..

He replaced the Cyan dampers and a new capping station, this seemed to be the problem and now all up and running.

Kev I owe you one :praise1:

[Kevin Flowers]

Martin
you’ll have me blushing, glad its all running ok now as i said any probs don’t hesitate to give me a call. It’s good to get the grey cells working occasionally

Kev

[Cheryl Smith]

aw…thats nice to see…well done Kevin.. :thumbup2:

[John Singh]

:appl:

Well Done Kevin!

That’s the spirit

:thumbup2:

[Robert Lambie]

Good on you Kev, always good to see UKSG members helping others out mate. :thumbup2:

[Lorraine Clinch]

Wish you lived close to Norfolk Kev, I have the same problem, but on cyan and magenta, got worse the more cleans I did, and cannot seem to get a service engineer…and I haven’t a clue what a damper looks like, lol! :shake: :rollseyes:

Lorraine

[Lee Pitcher]

Whereabouts are you Lorraine ? Drop me a PM if you can. Hopefully I might be able to help you out

Cheers

Lee

[Lorraine Clinch]

Hi Lee

I am unable to PM you as you don’t have that access. However, I am the other side of Norwich, near Wroxham, if you know the area. I am on 07518906528 if you are able to call?

Regards
Lorraine

[Kevin Flowers]

Lorraine
if i weren’t so busy i would have driven down and had a look for you. What i would say is make sure you have Dampers, Capping Stations and a spare manifold because it can be either Damper or Capping Station also having a manifold on hand can be a life saver because the nipples do crack sometimes when dampers are changed.

Sorry I can’t help you out

Kev

[Lorraine Clinch]

Hi Kev, what a kind person you are! I hope to have an engineer soon, and will ask him to bring all of those with him.

Pleased to hear you are busy though. Thank you.

Regards
Lorraine

[Stafford Cox]

quote Lorraine Clinch:

Hi Kev, what a kind person you are! I hope to have an engineer soon, and will ask him to bring all of those with him.

Pleased to hear you are busy though. Thank you.

Regards
Lorraine

Can you confirm all is OK again now Lorraine?

[Lorraine Clinch]

Hi Stafford, no, I can’t! Thought I had it back on Saturday, nozzle test today, a few nozzles missing, medium clean, loads missing, then half cyan gone, it keeps wavering between colours on the A-group of heads. Can it have an air leak? The dampers and a cap top were changed, but ran out of ink too, did an ink fill when the inks arrived next day. It’s all a bit of a disaster, I’m afraid.

On the other hand, the Mimaki survived it’s head crash with no ill-effects.

Lorraine