Eric North
Forum Replies Created
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Mohammad
sorry but the print will not be scratch resistant.
good for 3 to 5 years outside but can be damaged.
Eric -
I have a working model fj52
still printing well.
assuming yours still powers up and does a head clean your problem starts with the feeder tubes if they contain no ink. Dried ink here is difficult to remove. above the heads are the ink reservoirs. If they are half full with ink then your tubes should be ok. below the heads are two pumps linked to the docking station. seperate one tube from the docking station, make sure the heads are reseated, and use a spare piece of tube and a hypo syringe to pull ink through the head. check inside the head caps to see which colours are coming thru (or not as the case may be). Repeat with other tube.
If no ink comes thru your heads are blocked or starved of ink.
Heads fail after 6-12 months so this may be part of the problem.
spares from
http://www.digiprint-supplies.comprinting epson heads with no ink will destroy them.
Heads are about £100 each.
you may have electrical problems as well so go carefully on what you buy. However I would not try to print unless you have ink coming thru the heads. I have a pdf engineers manual somewherehttp://www.itlgb.com/
will keep you right on inks , solvent cleaner etc
mod-edit please read board rules -
Mattias
email is mod-edit please read board rules
will try.
Eric -
The nozzles print fine. I get good photographics . My problem is when I print fine text it is "enhanced " as a photo and all colours print to make black resulting in an over inked and blurred set of lettering using onyx.
using rolands colourchoice I get perfect text.
I am missing something in onyx. The machine itself is ok though I now find that using onyx every pass pauses for 15 seconds. very slow.
all help appreciated -
I recently acquired a second hand rocky 3 and am currently on the learning process. What was noticed at service was that the ink pump pipes were squashed flat from use and they were replaced with new pipe. maybe it is possible for ink to leak by the pump and siphon. a clear waste bottle may let you monitor better. try a night with the machine on and one with it off ?.
I have set light head cleaning and leave the plug in but machine off.
My problem is printing fine text about 2 to 3 mm high in black. Can you print fine text like this ?. -
something I forgot is that when I was contour cutting the width of line had to be 0.1 mm and a particular colour or something like it. Otherwise the line was identified as a print line.
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I have recently acquired a second hand "Rocky" III and have been learning up on it.
If you dont have the Mutoh manual goto
http://www.mutoh.be/Mutoh-Europe-Member … .aspx/3445
join for free and get it.
It wont solve your problem but helps !.
I am only slightly initiated in servicing but I do know that holding down the f2,f4 and enter key while pressing power gets us into the service module.
Back to the problem. There are four heads each with two colours in them.
The heads are adjustable this will take you further than normal operator maintenance so beware. The first and last heads have black and yellow in them if you are running 2 x cmyk carts.
Assuming this to be the case then either of these heads could be badly positioned.
If you do a test print nozzle check then the first yellow printed on the right is the head on the right and the second yellow is the head on the left.
black should be out of position as well if its head alignment.
If you have a maintenance agreement dont do this !.
goto head unlock and this will allow you to move the head over to the left where you can look at it.
assuming you work out how to take the head cover off then comparison should help here. one head may not be seated correctly.
there are two screws adjusting each head for position.
This where trial and error takes over unless you can decipher the service mode. dont damage the head or the belt cables please !.
dont leave the head uncapped for more than an hour or so.
hope this gets you some where. -
I have some experience with roland colourchoice which I believe is supplied with your machine. My version is quite old but I hope it still works the same way. I assume you are trying to print and my version of colourchoice needs a file to work with. A number of formats can be used but the most common would be .eps format. There are others (check the import / open option ).
In corel you have to choose to export your image. Once again there are various files you can export but one of them should be .eps
note the directory you save into.
After importing the.eps into colour choice you should be able to send to the pc600.
This will send through a usb port.
for cutting you will find a .dxf file best, I think.
If the new colourchoice does not work this way then I wish you good luck !.
It should be all in the instruction manual or help screens. -
Thanks for the advice.
so far I am having little luck with profiles but am considering trying to make my own. I am using a spandex profile and using their vinyl.
The heaters appear to be "cooking" the vinyl with the final heater set to nearly 50 by the rip and profile ?.
I have tried uni and no heaters.
maybe switching to 1440 would help (if I could do it !).
2mm high text is my aim.
has anyone done this ?.
any further help welcome. -
Sorry lads
only just seen your replies
Europoint it was in the end -
would a band saw be better ?
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I use a wall saw and a Varga saw. both of which I recon you dont have.
I suggest four extra possibilities.
1/ The material might be scored and snapped. use a stanley with a vinyl floor cutting blade (has a bit of a hook). tedious work.
2/ Make router template tape it to the material and rout accurate panels out using a follower. a bit over the top.
3/ Clamp a straight edge on the material and use the router against it to run straight lines thru. or up-end the router and set a guide follower at the right width. maybe the best idea.
4/ Use hand held circular saw with many tungsten teeth and set the sole plate to run between two straight edges. set depth of cut to just over the thickness of the material. this jig can be bought.
in all cases watch your eyes and fingers!
Eric -
basically I drilled one hole in the cap for the pipe and another for ventilation. ink levels have to be kept fairly level with the head.
eric
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I know this may sound too easy but we have a fairly old solvent printer and the bulk ink bottles sit level with the heads and feed from the top directly into extended ink tubes. cartridges are left in but not connected.
no problems.eric
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I have replaced heads on the pnc5000.
on this machine the adjustments are;
1/ top of head unit can be moved forward and back slightly. if this is not set so that the head is dead flat on the vinyl gaps might appear. grub screws may have to be released.
2/ there is a screw thru a spring that sets the angle to the machine. exactly parallel is required otherwise the head might print slightly wide or narrow. if you visualise a “T” the top of the t is the machine viewed from the top and the leg is the head position. hope the description is understood!.
the only other thing I can think of is that each colour has a different heat setting. if you are refilling maybe u are not using the right cartridge.
hope this helpsregards
eric north -
Try this link for an alternative laminator
http://www.daige.com/
I bought daige’s own wider laminator from them (in germany) after seeing one in sweden. (not an EZY-TAPER)
It works well providing you dont “push” it by applying to much pressure. my people now use it all the time to apply solvent print and vinyl letters.
regards
eric north -
I have downloaded the fonts. will try using it next time I am working with chinese.
for those who upgraded win 2000 or xp recently and found that legacy fonts were now unusable the fix is to download fontdoctor at http://www.morrisonsoftdesign.com/. costs money but the beta test upgrade to this software that I have will fix this problem that microsoft have quietly written into the upgrade. wait for the ver 1.5 to be available though I think upgrade from 1.1 will be free. not sure though.eric
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If you can find a path with no obstacles it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.
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two things that may be worth a try.
1/ set up your software on a different machine and see if the dongle works.
2/ check the contacts and/or place in a different port.
sometimes other software interferes with ports.eric
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If you can find a path with no obstacles it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.
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I have recently purchased a d1200.
nice machine but I have asked them why they chose put the x & y axis the wrong way round compared with the rest of the world. They have no switch to put it right. However I have asked them to fix it since my operators find that Inspire jobs have to be turned sideways to cut properly. having turned it sideways the prompts become confused.
this may have some bearing on your problem.
Anyone with a spare Inspire 1.6 with dongle let me know.summa support are at http://www.summa.be/pages/support.html
Eric
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If you can find a path with no obstacles it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.
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My PC500 will not cut the last 3 inches. that is reserved for the movement of the print head. (my cutter follows behind the print head by about 3 inches.) if you can look at the size of your page and view the print /cut area available you may find its is smaller.
eric north -
I have run the c900 modestly for 18 months , changing toner as required. Then it insisted I change the drum though I could not fault the print. I have about £200 of “consumables” now invested in the machine and cant use them unless I can print. Now it has an error 6026 which I understand is related to the heater side. It will not print. The help desk quotes about £450 to repair which they know is more than I paid for it. I don’t believe in extended warranties. The machine should work for years with the addition of bits when called for, otherwise it is not “fit for the purpose” as far as I am concerned. can u imagine telling a customer that their sign will need replaced every 18 months ?. I admit this would be good for business!. obviously they think that way. Maybe I should have take the £34.00 a year service contact. maybe everything is disposable nowadays and if you keep paying the service you can keep everything going for ever. This is a hidden cost. Take out the contract before the machine is 12 months old or you could be in the same boat as myself. I have of course told them what I think of their machines and am waiting for a reply.
Eric North -
I got my usb to parallel cable from B&Q !!. They have a computer cable section. use it from xp to solvent printer but I think it came with 98 disk.
eric north -
I am quite settled with inspire 1.6. maybe there are some people out there who have moved on and dont realise this software still has a value to the right person.
Eric North -
The epson c900 has just failed after 18 months. Epson want more than the cost of the machine to fix it !. I have new drum and set of colour toners on board!. Looks like I will have to get something else. 18 months is not acceptable. Any ideas on economically priced colour laser that will last a mile?. (with auto page fit of course !)
Eric -
I have checked and the zoom optionis set to A4. If I choose scale it just adjusts the printout to be smaller but still with the same cut off at the rt hand end.
regards
eric -
Its an epson c900 aculaser.
today it broke down and epson are coming to fix it.
regards eric -
I’m all set up correctly. the epson laser does not have an option for print to fit. Come to think of it none of my printers allow print to fit. there must be an option in explorer but I can’t find it. will have to keep guessing the last words on each line I suppose. set to A4 and portrait. All is readable if I print landscape but it uses two pages to a page.
It also annoying when the last bit ends up on another page. Must be because the screen is in letter size.
maybe I’ll just have to live with it.
More concerned about a vinyl plotter Ive just bought that defies universal laws and cuts the y axis from left to right (where the x axis normally is). Again not easily fixed.
Eric North -
eight minutes and two valuable replies!
could not ask for better!
Regards
Eric -
just noticed posting times. does everyone work after midnight ?. Thought it was just me !
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Every machine is different depending on how strong it is. Secondly wether it is computerised or manual.
We only use tungsten tipped cutters because they last longer. You will need a sharpening machine with a diamond wheel I am afraid. There are people who will sharpen them for you. You need two sets of cutters for this.
If you have a high speed steel cutter you will be able to engrave gravoply types , acrylic and maybe brass. But not phenolics or stainless. Cutter must be sharp (not pointed but the width of cut you require). cutter width is generally letter height divided by 8 unless you are using multipath. For normal lettering you will use a tapered cutter.
Generally tungsten will engrave anything. metals and phenolics are tough on cutters.
normally engraving is quite shallow. I suggest you set your machine to its slowest and start from there, moving faster until you reach the best speed for each material. Brass and aluminium are slower than softer plastics. Your machine may be to fast for stainless. use oil here. shallow cut first and then increase depth. -
Hi
we have recently fallen heir to a PNC4E, basic with programming aid.
Slightly more limited than I would like.
I notice signlab do a driver for it.
have you any experience of PC type software and what is required to upgrade?.
Can the machine be made to exceed 520mm even by 10mm ?
I have a source for cutters that produce virtually polished results on extruded acrylic.
Good to see someone else who appreciates good solid working machines
Eric North
Plastics W Graham
114 Cowgate
Dundee
tel 044 (0)1382 223734
fax 044 (0)1382 201799