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November 22 , 2007

Frequently Asked Questions
Machine Maintainance

We at All Graphic Supplies have put together these questions and answers based on the most frequent issues our customers are experiencing. These allow you to figure out the problem you are having and fix it before calling in, saving you time, and allowing us to keep our Technical Support lines open for more difficult calls. If these solutions are no help to you, or do not address the problem you are having, please phone our Technical Support department for assistance. If you would like to see a question published in our next newsletter, please email me at stacey@allgraphicsupplies.com

Q. Sometimes when I'm printing, I see white horizontal lines, or lines that are darker than the rest of the print. This usually happens when I change media. Is this a serious problem?

A. What you're experiencing in a feed calibration issue that is mostly visible when switching to thick banner material. Refer to the user's manual for your machine for instructions on how to correct this problem.

Q. When I perform a bi-directional adjustment, set the base point in the middle of the material, and perform the same test I get different results. Is there anything wrong with my machine?

A. The bi-directional adjustment test must be printed closest to the right edge of the machine, otherwise the results will always differ and the colors will be inaccurate.

Q. I keep getting a message to replace the wipers on my Roland VersaCAMM unit. Why is this happening so frequently, and how often should I change them?

A. Your machine keeps track of the number of wipes, and when it reaches its threshold it will prompt you with that message. Press the Cleaning button and the Power button to go into maintenance cleaning mode, scroll down to 'Wiper Replace' and press enter. This is get rid of the prompt for you. Your wipers should be changed ever 3 to 6 months depending on the usage of your machine.

Q. My print started shifting to the side with every few passes. This started after a few days of printing in high speed. Is this serious?

A. What you are experiencing is dirt or fumes on the encoder strip - the mylar piece of film that's responsible for dot placement. You can clean it gently using isopropyl alcohol. Clean both sides entirely.

Q. My print and cut isn't accurate anymore, but was working fine a few days ago. What can I do to resolve this issue?

A. Perform an Environmental Match anytime you're doing print and cut jobs, to calibrate the scan motor to the encoder strip. The encoder strip is made of mylar which contracts and expands with the temperature change, and it needs to be calibrated to the motor to give accurate results when it comes to print and cut. Roland recommends performing this function every day after the printer has heated up to working temperature.

Q. My print and cut is still a little bit off. Is there any simple fix I can do?

A. If you already did the Environmental Match and it didn't help, you can try to automatically adjust the print and cut. The 'Auto' function is located with the Print & Cut menu on your unit.

Q. I am printing a small size job, but the print head goes all the way to the left edge of the machine. Is there any way to make it go only to the edge of the artwork?

A. By disabling the 'Full Width Scan' in the machine you will prevent the head from going across the whole width. Keep in mind that 'Full Width Scan' is a useful funtion because it uniforms the heating time on each pass, thus improving the quality of each print.

Q. I am doing a job on a back-lit sign and the colors are too dull, is there anything I can do? I'm using VersaWorks.

A. You can use the 'Overprint' option in the RIP to print every pass twice, resulting in bigger saturation, creating more vibrant color.

Q. I have just upgraded the firmware on my VersaCAMM to 6.5. Now I am getting an "invalid pinch wheel position" error althought they're set correctly. Did the firmware update cause this?

A. It's not likely that a firmware upgrade would cause this issue. Check for dirt on the pinch wheel tabs and on the sensor that reads them at the back of the cut carriage. This usually occurs due to a faulty or damaged cut carriage cable card. Also, slow down the scan spped and use the uni-directional mode.

Q. How do I update Roland VersaWorks from version 1.7 to version 2.3? I don't have the internet on the computer that is connected to the SP-540V, si I need to download, and then install it later, which is time consuming and frustrating. Is there a simpler way to update?

A. We can send you a CD with offline updater that will update the program files and profiles.

Q. I have very old firmware on my SP300 and I just put in a new generation pump. I can't seem to load up the firmware because the only choice I'm offered in the list of printers is my desktop printer. How do I get the SP300 to show up in the list of updaters? I have also replaced the flex cable at the time of the pump replacement and now I am getting "Sheet Set Error" that I can't seem to get rid of. Are these problems related?

A. Try to put your unit in the upgrade mode by holding down three directional keys: left, up and down. If you have a USB printer, we recommend unplugging the desktop printer and all the unnecessary USB devices for the time you are updating. After having only your SP300 connected to the computer, you should see a list of USB ports in the updater application. The machine has to be in update mode before you run the software at the computer side. When it comes to the flex cable, if you're constantly getting this error, you probably have inserted the flex cable backwards on the server board.

Q. I have replaced the pump and upgraded the firmware, now when I perform a cut circle, the blade comes around 1 o'clock and dips downward, sometimes not even connecting to the endpoints. I did a couple copies in slow speed and it seemed okay, but the whole sheet came out equally disfigured.

A. If the blade dips downward, this could indicate a groove in the cutting protection strip that prevents the blade from turning to change it's direction when it's supposed to. If the bearings on the blade holder go out of alignment, the blade won't be able to turn properly and will give you this effect. Its is unlikely that this is a firmware issue.

Q. I keep getting an ink splatter, even after manually cleaning the heads. I clean them at the beginning of every day, and I check and replace the wipers when needed. I have to back off on the ink and usually don't get anything on that print, but a few smaller jobs later, the splatters reappear. Am I damaging the heads through excessive cleaning, and is the machine running through the cleaning cycle when the manual cleaning has finished?

A. The splatter can only come from a few places. If the wipes have an excess of ink on them, they will lay that ink back on the heads when periodic cleaning is performed while printing. You're cleaning and replacing the wipers, but have you checked the wiper scraper? If the scraper is broken in the middle or dirty, the wipers are not able to do their job properly. Also, make sure that you swab the sides of the heads, because that's where most of the ink accumulates. Roland recommends an annual tune up, so if your machine is older than a year, it would be wise to inquire about one. You might be experiencing a lack of pressure somewhere in the system, usually coming from the dampers. When the print head returns to the dock after manual cleaning, normal cleaning is executed by the machine to pressurize the nozzles.

Q. I am printing and cutting a sheet of decals and most of the time the machine cuts 3 sides of the square sticker when I send it through VersaWorks 1.7.1. I am creating a cut line in Corel Draw, and this problem appears with different files.

A. VersaWorks Help feature states that "If cut lines are drawn along boundaries of the image in an EPS file, enter the value not less than 0.35, otherwise some outlines may not be cut properly." We recommend updating VersaWorks to a current version (2.3.0) to fix any bugs from any previous editions. Note that if you scale the image in the [Queue Properties] or [Job Settings] the size of the margin is also scaled.