[Peter Shaw]

I reckon the best result for lightboxes is printed on translucent white with 3 passes to increase the ink density. I’ve never used pre-press US setting only sign & display.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

Obviously they are trying to “save the planet” – But I thought that was supposed to be Jesus’s job

Yeah, Right! Like Jesus has a great track record. He can’t even stop the Churches fighting amongst themselves.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

I wonder what would happen if I were to sell something that looked rather like a number plate but with a signed disclaimer from the customer that it was not and will not be used as a number plate?

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

And yet you still quoted for the job???

Yes. I wanted to see what would happen, just for the hell of it.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Thanks fellas.

I never saw that other thread. Its all the same stuff.

I presumed it was a scam from the start but wasn’t sure how they got their hands on the money. That’s what was interesting me.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Your first stage has to be to run an independent virus and spyware checker. If all is well then you may as well bite the bullet, backup all your user files etc and re-install windows. You could spend hours finding the problem and a reinstall, although time consuming in itself, will give a leaner, faster machine every time.

Try AVG for the virus checker and Spyware Terminator running the scans only.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Checkout The Font Thing:

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~scef/index.html

Free, versatile and enables you to use fonts without permanently installing them.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Did you try fitting the old strip upside down?

[Peter Shaw]

Interesting opinions here.

Surely the paint job was not fit for purpose and that is provable, because with a reasonable test of adhesion it should not come off as a result of vinyl application. In fact with an absurd test for adhesion it should not come off and there are probably BS standards covering this.

Why it was not fit for purpose, bad preparation, bad paint mix etc is of no consequence.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Make sure you’ve got enough hanging out the front of the machine. This helps the vinyl drop and move forward. Attach bulldog clip, weights etc to help.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

EcoSol Max inks from Roland every time.

Check you can get suitable profiles for your materials to match Troop/Wasatch. If not, get a copy of Versaworks – Roland should oblige – and flog your copy of Troop.

There’s been lots of threads about the Cadet to Versacamm "conversion" back. They are worth reading.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

If you work on your own with almost zero overheads (i.e. from home) and can’t make a reasonable living, then you need to think again.

Lots of people set up as self-employed, doing their own thing, because they are good at making their product. Running a business is about selling your product.

When you’re self-employed, never, never, never calculate your actual hourly rate. You’ll become deeply depressed!

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

You cannot force people to give you receipts

I didn’t think that was true, John. I thought it is a legal requirement if requested.

Your other logic is quite sound except for the fact that the taxman makes the rules, as he goes along. Which is why investigations are so troublesome.

In the circumstance being discussed I still think he would be foolish to do cash in hand.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

Any tax problem will belong to the landlord, not Graeme

Not if he knowingly colluded, John. I think it also possible that, if caught, the taxman would make a reassessment at market rates.

Basically if you want to stay legal and don’t have a receipt, be an MP !!

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

you get a vibe/gut instinct for someone and he seems very genuine

No doubt you do but ask most people who have ever had a business partner and they’ll say "never again".

While I know he’s not a partner this is still business and you need to keep the ability of separating social and business. Any fall out would be bad for you the way you seem to want to go.

Also think about how you are going to deal with rent on your accounts if it’s cash in hand. You are actually losing out and he is benefiting from the evasion.

I think it may be worth offering him more, even enough to cover his tax avoidance, to put it on a contractual basis, protect yourself and make it legal. You’ll still have a good deal.

Finally watch out – after all the tax man could be reading this thread!!

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Might be a long shot but….
Versaworks downloaded an update today. As usual I went online to see what’s new. They mentioned an error which causes a line to appear when printing bitmaps that do not have even pixel counts e.g. 300 x 500.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

Peter I see you went ahead with the Ecosolmax change over, any difference in the prints?

Yes. I find the colours are more vibrant. There is little difference in durability. If the print is going on a vehicle or anywhere it may be damaged it will be laminated anyway. I’ve put out lots of boards out without laminating, particularly internal use, and had no problems.

I also have no doubt that ink usage is much improved while printing, while wasted ink is all but eliminated. Since changing (Oct 06) my waste bottle has only got about 1cm depth at the bottom and I have had no problems related to ink. there is no need to worry about not using the machine for extended periods and none of the Xmas flushing nonsense. Final point is there are no solvent fumes.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

You should find a coupling joint in the pipe which runs from the capping station to the pump. Undo this joint and screw the syringe onto the pipe. The heads must be parked on the capping station. There will be quite a lot of resistance when pulling the syringe.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

would I be able to clamp the black/cyan lines

I don’t see why not but I don’t think it as effective as using the syringe which only pulls through where you want to and you can detemine how much.

On the other hand you won’t need the cleaning cartridges after you convert to EcoSol Max!!

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

I would try using the syringe to pull the cleaning fluid through. This will tell you if there is a further blockage or whether the fill was not complete.

The other thing to be aware of is that when you soak the heads you are, in effect, joining the yellow and magenta feeds together. If there is a difference in pressure inside the ink cartridges the yellow may be sucked into the magenta pipe or vice-versa.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Adrian, its scariness level 1 unless you’re a clumsy git!!

When I changed over to EcoSol Max I did a pump out then filled the machine with flushing fluid and left it over the weekend with the heads soaking. On the Monday I pumped that out and then filled with EcoSol Max. I’ve never looked back. You will need to sort your pipe thing or whatever it is first though.

The main thing to remember is that you will need new profiles for whichever RIP you are running. I abandoned Troop and got a copy of Versaworks.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

The pipes coming from the capping station to the pump can accumulate dried ink until they block. They should connect to a joint before the pump. You can undo this and try syringing through. Soaking may help but if not, you can disassemble the capping station, remove the pipe and clear it with a length of wire. When you remove the pipe watch out, it fits tightly and can flick ink everywhere.

You will say goodbye to all these problems when you switch to EcoSol Max.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

They’ll have been running a version of Linux Peter so it wouldn’t have been a problem to get the info off as long as you had access to the drives

That’s the whole point, Steve. I’m not running Linux. Netgear don’t mention Linux or explain what to do in those circumstances. So is a user supposed to get another PC, gen up with Linux, learn how to use it and then connect the disks in the hope of reading them, then decide how to get the data where it should be i.e. the windows machine?? !!

The additional point I did not mention with the SC101 is the frustrated users on Netgear’s bulletin board with all sorts of problems who can’t get responses from Netgear’s lousy customer support team.

[Peter Shaw]

Rob, I doubt yours is the same unit. The disks in mine were formatted by the Netgear software using a system that is not compatible with FAT or NTFS. This means that you cannot simply take the disks out and plug them into a computer to read the data via Windows. Thus if the SC101 electronics failed you were left with 1 or 2 drives that nothing else could read. You might want to check yours does not work the same way because, if it does, a seperate backup onto compatible media is vital.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

No laughter, George. You’re absolutely right. What’s being referred to as OEM is actually 3rd party.

[Peter Shaw]

Rob, I hope your box is better than Netgear’s SC101 which I had for a short while. It did the same RAID copying onto a second disk which was all very well unless the actual SC101 electronics failed. You then had 2 disk drives with all your data on it formatted in a system that can’t be read anywhere else. It was also stunningly slow at reading directories with hundreds of files in. Sold it on Ebay!!

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

you have to get it serviced at a main dealer to keep the warranty

That is no longer true. I think it was ceased by law as a restrictive practice.

[Peter Shaw]

Mike, I think you are right and have recorded my views before.

My current historic ink costs work out at £2.13 per sq m. If I recalculate using the current 220ml cartridge cost this reduces to £1.68. This is with EcoSol Max ink.

The cost of the bulk ink conversions that I have seen would more than outweigh any savings on ink at my usage level. At 4 or 5 times my usage this is probably not true but the throughput of this machine would not be viable.

I believe that there are more cost savings to be made on achieving better discounts on substrates. I am often very surprised when people quote how much they pay for items on these boards.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

http://www.fontfinder.ws/38914/FF-Dax-Wide-Volume.html

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

Are they? Nobody’s offering us any better prices Where is the best place for thses at the minute?

Yes they definitely are. I was told Roland reduced the prices to distributors.

Try Europoint, Spire Digital and Printmax.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

If you want to try printing yes it can be done by printing onto transparent

It would be better to print onto a translucent vinyl made for this purpose.

I use Grafityp S27P very succesfully.

You should be able to set the RIP to do overprints (Versaworks does) rather than the profile.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

Europoint said that 751 vinyl is fine for the lightboxes

It may be fine but it is not properly translucent otherwise Oracal would not make the 8500 series.

This is easily seen if you hold up the charts to the light.

Proper translucents will look far brighter and vivid particularly at night.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Set the RGB colour up in an object then change to CMYK. you will see the comparative colour and its CMYK values. If you are happy with this you can set these values into a palette using the Palette Editor under the Tools menu.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Graeme,

Does that mean you would charge the same for a box with a single colour name on opal as a multi-colour face?

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

I was just wondering how you quoted your customer if you don’t know how the sign is to be made up?

[Peter Shaw]

I use AVG and have done for years with no infections. Keep your eyes open for good free offers in the computer magazines, too. For example I am currently running AVG Professional version for free as it was given away in Personal Computer World magazine Feb 08 edition.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

You can only vote once. I would do E, D, B, C, A in that order. These single voting things give meaningless answers.

That’s why Governments use them !!!!

[Peter Shaw]

I would suggest looking at how much product you can really sell and the value. Then evaluate whether you can cost-justify the purchase price and running costs of your own machine. You might be better buying it in.

If you decide to go ahead set your budget based on your business plan and list available machines. Check out these with dealers, exhibitions and best of all, users. Look for reliability, maintenance cost, consumable cost, substrate cost, whether you need to buy a RIP, creation software etc.

Just doing this will teach you loads about the machines and their versatility. You can then shortlist and seek the best deals.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

This needs multiple answers not a single answer.

[Peter Shaw]

I meant the supplier of the cutter.

[Peter Shaw]

Why have you not asked your supplier for help?

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

i have yet to dable with dibond

and spellcheckers!

[Peter Shaw]

I’m not interested in the Cadet but might be in the Ezy-Taper. Please let me know how much you want for it and where it is to be collected from. Also are you happy to demonstrate it?

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Jason, the alternative way I suggested:

Example: you want to print 1000 stickers in sets of 200 from an eps file containing 20 stickers.

In Versaworks:
Layout: MediaSettings: Size: CustomCUT
Set Print Properties: Copy to 50
Set Media settings: Width as normal
Set Media settings: Length to value of length containing 200 stickers

Versaworks will then print and cut each 200 before going on to the next until 5 sets completed. This shows on the right of the screen with heavy blue line separators.

Useful if you want to keep print/cut alignment in check over a small distance rather than running out many metres of print and rewinding all for the cut.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Only a suggestion, but is the profile set so that the ink level being laid down is a little high? The spots could then be caused by bubbles.

[Peter Shaw]

There is no need to load multiple copies. You can just press the print button for each set you want to print/cut. This allows you to check each set/remove from the printer etc. then print again.

There is another way to set it up to print many metres broken down into smaller print/cut sets unattended. Is this what you mean?

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

First quote I had was £130 + VAT plus £25 + VAT for delivery

Outrageous. Is it time to start naming & shaming?

[Peter Shaw]

Alan is right but have you uninstalled/installed since you upgraded to XP? If not it might be worth a try for the short term but a later Corel is a much better bet.

You may want to consider an upgrade to Corel 12 or X3 as they are likely to appear at very low prices as soon as X4 is distributed.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

I would have expected that increasing the force would have no effect on the shape cut but would tend to cut through the material.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

It is worth uninstalling and installing again in case something is corrupted.

[Peter Shaw]

This may be an offset problem. What does your supplier say about it?

[Peter Shaw]

Peter,
I have a Cadet and "converted" back to EcoSol Max. Since that time (18 months ?) I have not had a fault on the machine whereas before I had regular problems and several head changes.

There are some other threads on the the boards that you might want to look at regarding this. The biggest issue is changing the RIP/profile combinations to match the materials you use. I gave up using Troop and now use Versaworks.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

Whatever your software if you use it daily, professionally for your business, it’s cheap compared to the return you’ll get

I agree except I’d prefer to say "cost effective" rather than "cheap".

That means that I won’t upgrade any software until there are clear cost benefits available. Thus I have Signlab 5.6 for vinyl work – I can’t justify the thousands I would have to pay to upgrade all my copies.

So now I look forward to seeing if X4 is really worth the upgrade cost.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

if I use third party inks I will invalidate my warranty

I would check your warranty terms. I don’t think this is the case. It certainly wasn’t on the maintenance agreement I had with B&P.

If you use Roland EcoSol Max inks you won’t get a problem from the inks as they were designed for the machine. They are probably to B&P’s advantage as they won’t dry out and cause problems like Activasol does.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

The nice man at B&P

That’s an oxymoron!

I’d check out whether Grafityp can offer EcoSol Max inks for bulk.

Even if they can’t, the price of the 440ml cartridges has been reduced by Roland recently. If you’re not using the Grenadier regularly they might be a better bet.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

My experience of Corel is that whether you can use an upgrade depends on whether someone will sell you it – and there’s always someone. I think it is the outer packaging that’s different not the CD/DVD.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Do you think waterslide transfers can take the use keys get?

I used to print special keys for keyboards some years ago with a pad printer. Even that would wear off with rubbing and nails hitting the keys. The answer was to add isocyanate to the ink.

If there are labels on these keys I would have thought they would be sub-surface printed.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Paul,
I’m glad you’ve got your answer but can you help me out? I’ve upgraded from Corel 12 to X3 and have no idea of what the Vinyl Only button is. You say it’s under View but I can’t see it not do I remember it in 12. Do you have some sort of add-in providing this?

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Hi Paul,

I don’t understand at all. What is a vinyl only key? Is it unique to your software? What software is it and what does this key do?

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

You can always take the blade out to run a test

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

Roland techs told me that the eye will not always read matte laminated prints

The one time I had this problem, described above, was with satin laminate.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

I’ve only had this problem once and it was caused by the laminate. I guess it affects the light reflection somehow. Removing the laminate from the crop marks cured it.

I also would mention that I don’t find the positioning of the crop marks critical. As long as they are roughly on the blade line it seems to find them OK.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

HELP

I’VE LOST 2 YEARS !!

[Peter Shaw]

3M Industrial Cleaner is my first choice for any job like this. No solvents, just lemon & lime. Lifts glues and grease like a dream.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Cast vinyl is a must and the fastest fit I have found on rivets is to use a rivet brush and dry application.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

In my former life, in an slightly obscure part of the computer industry, I was involved in designing some hardware systems. One of our dreams was to implement systems containing disk storage at target cost of £1 per Megabyte. Seems ridiculous now!

[Peter Shaw]

The main problem with Cadets will be the heads drying out particularly if it is a low use machine.

As already advised see it printing and check the quality of a full colour photo type image. If possible print some solid blocks of CMYK to see if there is any banding. You might also check print/cut alignment and quality,

Remove the cover on the right and look to see if there is any ink leakage around the pump. The general state of cleanliness will indicate how well it has been maintained. Check the ink drain on the left of the head station and see if it is clogged. Build-up of Activasol ink here can eventually contact the head and drag on to the print leaving smudges or drips. Although messy this is easy to clean.

I would be happy if it were using EcoSol Max inks rather than Activasol, as this will eliminate the head drying problem. If it is, check the RIP you will be getting. Troop/Wasatch is the original supplied RIP for Activasol, VersaWorks for EcoSol Max. You will have problems getting profiles for a Troop/EcoSol Max combination.

I hope this is of use. Good Luck.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

You need to establish whether he wants mirror or brushed finish.

Obvious materials are stainless steel and aluminium composite (Dibond).

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

On the subject of backups, don’t forget that that rewritable DVDs cost very little and hold 4Gb. They are quick and easy to write and take little room in your case/bag.

I backup every day so I always have an offsite backup as well as an automatic copying system giving me 2 onsite copies. These ensure that no computer hardware failure will stop production as the other copy is available on the network.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Are you sure that he doesn’t want a standing sign that is free?

But seriously, 5mm foamex is no use at that size at it is too floppy without substantial support like a frame. The minimum should be 10mm.

The other suggestions you received make more sense than what he is asking for. I would try to put him off foamex: too floppy, won’t fit in car etc and go for a roll-up.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

I have seen the ones from spandex, they would not say 100% that they were genuine

This is a totally unsatisfactory situation to occur in our industry. I have always presumed that Roland would protect their name and brand, therefore I assume EcoSol Max is their copyright.

This should indicate that any non-genuine cartridges are labelled as to what they are. If they are labelled to say they are EcoSol Max from Roland, they are forgeries which I would have thought are as illegal as a forged Rolex watch.

If they are grey imported Roland cartridges, then Roland should not have a problem with the warranty.

Spandex needs to clarify exactly what they are selling.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

Forgive my ignorance, but my carts biggest size is 440ml (I think) so is the litre for bulk ink systems? and is activasol just a brand of eco-sol max?

Forgiven.

1 litre is for bulk systems.

Activasol is a mild solvent ink from B & P for use in their converted printers. It was a clever innovation prior to Ecosol Max inks as Activasol was much more durable. Many of us do not think it is superior to EcoSol Max inks. I have "converted" my Cadet back and abandoned Activasol and the related problems it causes. I also believe that EcoSol Max has better more vivid colours. The 2 inks are not compatible and have completely different ICC profiles.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Genuine or not they must not be put into a Versacamm that has not been converted.

You need Ecosol Max inks.

Try:

Spire Digital 01380 871962

Printmax 0870 0200 090

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Set Square to mark
Stanley Knife
Straight edge

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Try fotolia.com. Theres a bacon and egg sub there but I don’t know if its suitable for you. Ref No. 1301828

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

You may be right with certain frame profiles if there is not enough depth. It works with foamex or acrylic because you can bend the sheet. So you may be better off with hanging strips.

The other thing to watch for is that the panels, being much thinner, don’t rattle against the frame in the wind. It might drive your customer mad!! If it might rattle, just pad out with some foamex pieces.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

You can still do that without a hanging strip. The panels rest on the bottom extrusion.

The point of the hanging strip with thermoplastics is to help prevent buckling due to expansion. You won’t get that with dibond.

If you’re more comfortable with the strips you could use acrylic or foamex strips attached with araldite or even rivets (as we found on a sign we replaced today)

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

The stability of dibond should make hanging strips unnecessary.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

I’d choose printing the lot and cover in white. Lower costs and installation time.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Although I would not quote any specific immediate effects from solvent inks, I did get occasional headaches and and soreness in the nose. These effects do not occur since changing from Activasol ink to EcoSol Max on my Cadet. We also no longer get the "cor, you can get high in here for free" comments from customers.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

Just out of interest though what If I wanted to do a painting of Ronald Mcdonald and sell it, if it didnt have Mcdonalds on it its just a clown surely?

If the painting is significantly identifiable as RM, then it is not just a clown. It is a painting of RM which belongs to Macdonalds. It has a value to them, represents their business and quality and is their property. Thus they are entitled to protect their business. If you go into business selling their property it is theft.

Reverse the process – if you came up with a symbol, graphic or logo to identify your business, would you be comfortable if someone else was to use it with the possible detriment to your business?

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

You’re probably right. In this case no-one will give a damn but….

Most printers incorporate a clause in their terms & conditions to cover this. Here is an example:

18. Illegal matter
(a) The company shall not be required to print any matter which in his opinion is or may be of an illegal or libellous nature or an infringement of the proprietary or other rights of any third party.
(b) The company shall be indemnified by the customer in respect of any claims, costs and expenses arising out of any libellous matter or any infringement of copyright, patent, design or of any other proprietary or personal rights contained in any material printed for the customer. The indemnity shall include (without limitation) any amounts paid on a lawyer’s advice in settlement of any claim that any matter is libellous or such an infringement.

If the customer is aware of this, there should be little problem legally for the signmaker.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

something you draw isn’t copyrighted by anyone other than you

I don’t think that’s quite true. There is a thing called Passing Off. e.g. You can’t use a Ferrari logo without permission just because you drew it.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

If possible, do not put the vinyl onto the glass to remove the backing paper. Do it somewhere else. There is the risk of getting dust onto the glass this way. Basically the technique you suggested is fine and will work. Knowing this you must try it and you will see that it is not too difficult and you will learn your own technique. The biggest problem you are likely to get is from dust and dirt.

If you put too much soap in the water, the vinyl may slip down or move too easily. Also I would never recommend soap or washing up liquid. Use baby shampoo instead.

Finally never take on a job like this in a Tropical Fish shop. You can’t get rid of the condensation and the vinyl just slips down. You can guess how I found that out!!!

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

I guess you can’t have too much business to attend to if you can continue f*r*ta*s*ng about with this machine rather than getting it fixed properly.

You’ve ignored most of the advice given, still haven’t established the basics such as, is the pump working, and are now fooling around with head adjustments without the faintest idea of what you are doing.

This thread would be funnier than the joke thread, if it wasn’t so tragic!!!

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

hasn’t managed to pull any ink right thru to the heads… what would be causing this?

Unbelievable!!

Haven’t you read any of our posts ???

[Peter Shaw]

I just thought I would post an opinion about names in general. While you are deliberating your name I would suggest that your name is not as important as building your reputation and quality, particularly as you are a very small company.

To back up this opinion I offer a couple of examples:

1. Just when the UK was used to Marathon, the choc bar was globalised to Snickers. I think most people didn’t like the new name but it didn’t affect sales and we don’t even think twice about it now.

2. If you were starting out in a "certain business", would you ever choose the name Marks & Spencer?

So the name is subservient to the brand reputation and quality which is what people buy.

Of course, this doesn’t apply to names such as "Wanker Signs" !!

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Have you checked if the machine was converted to take solvent inks?

If not the solvent flush may cause damage as I mentioned previously.

If the inks and flush came from Victory they should be able to advise.

The other thing you might check is whether the owner of the machine isn’t setting you up to pay for the repairs to the machine he buggered.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

never found out why it did this

It does this because you are creating a closed loop between the 2 colours that feed to each head. If a difference in pressure exists between the cartridges, the higher pressure ink feeds into the lower. The pressure change will occur with change in temperature.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

it has only ever been used for house number which of course is just black numbers

What a clever idea. I’ve never thought of putting white vinyl in and printing it black before cutting it out. I’ve only used that soppy old black vinyl stuff! :lol1:

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

24 – 48 hours.

What solvent are you using to soak the heads?

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Ok. Now you’ve supplied a bit more info we know you have solvent inks in the printer. It sounds as though it’s been off for yonks and therefore the inks have dried out. When they do this the solvent evaporates leaving the ink particles to clog. You have completely clogged heads. If the heads weren’t capped properly you have clogged capping stations. You also may have clogged outlet pipes preventing the pump pulling ink through. The same may have occurred in the dampers and inlet pipes. You also have the possibility that the solvent inks may have damaged the pipes and seals if the machine was not converted for them.

I now refer you to my last post re flushing, soaking etc. if you insist on persevering.

If I were in your position I wouldn’t touch this printer with a barge pole with your level of knowledge.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Gavin is probably right. Using these machines takes a bit of learning, it isn’t just load and go.

If this machine has had different inks popped in it for the odd run, who knows what mess the heads, capping stations etc are in. It certainly sounds as if he has used a solvent type ink which has been left to dry out. The EcoSol Max inks won’t clear that on their own as they don’t have the equivalent solvent power.

The only other suggestion I would make, other than an engineer call-out, is to empty the ink out completely, refill with flushing fluid and leave the heads and machine in soak for several days. flush through a couple of times and then reload with ink and see what happens. That’s quite an expensive process, though.

So, back to Gavins suggestions!!

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

I tried what you are doing. I don’t get Versaworks up automatically but the file is in Versaworks when it is loaded. At this point I would be able to set all the relevant printing parameters and print.

I don’t understand why you move to the bottom of the page. Nor can I see how you would set the full width value for the vinyl if your setup prints automatically.

Why don’t you try the "conventional" way and output to an eps file from corel and load that into Versaworks. You will have full control over what you are doing and can then get the full guidance from the help files.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Head Soaking is a common cure procedure of the Cadet but should not be necessary on a Versacamm using EcoSol Max inks. Having said this, if the heads have been allowed to dry out it may help.

You need to ensure the ink is coming through or whether you have a pump or damper issue first.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

I don’t understand why you do not know whether Versaworks is your RIP. It doesn’t run silently in the background. You have to run it, select the profile, set parameters etc.

I think you need to state exactly what you do to print a job, step by step. Then any advice can be offered based on what is actually happening.

My guess is that you are not running a RIP at all but are trying to print directly from Corel via the windows driver. Perhaps there was something lacking in the installation made by your supplier but I’ve never heard of anyone running a wide format printer this way, which is why I asked if anyone else had in my earlier post.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

Thanks warren.

[Peter Shaw]

quote :

i loaded up corel draw,and open a template (EPS file),I then simply sent it to print

Does anyone else do this?

Should there not be a RIP, such as Versaworks, involved?

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

You should be able to get perfect tracking for long distances.

It is essential that the feed roll is exactly in line with the path through the machine, if it is not it will cause drag on one side.

I also never use those plastic insert roller things and only ever have 2 pinch rollers for printing.

Check that the metal guides are clean underneath. They can get glue which then causes drag.

Also ensure you have enough material out at the front, particularly with heavy materials such as banner. The initial push is sometimes reluctant until the material lays over the curve of the bed.

Peter

[Peter Shaw]

I’m pretty sure this is related to the software producing the artwork file. Signlab, for example, allows you to set the cut sequence. What software do you use?

Peter