Flatbed inkjet

moso

New member
Hi all,
our company just purchased a flatbed, our first one. We're finding it to be very maintenance intensive, it demands a lot more attention than the hybrid/roll printers we're familiar with. Is this a common characteristic with flatbeds, or are there some (maybe the new Epson) that are more of a "just press go" for the operator ?

Thanks, very much
 
Welcome to the forum.
Tell us more - which flatbed you have, the substrates you're using and the issues you're encountering.
 
Hi Y, thank you.
Printer is a Vanguard, running foam, sintra, coro mainly.
Issues are just the way it's maintained. Plugged nozzles used to be: wipe the head, run a subtank maint (or similar to jet the nozzles) and done. Now it's: shut the valves, unhook the lines, run a syringe or 2 of flush, reconnect the lines, flush the solution and check the nozzles. ..repeat usually.
There's also the weekly alignments: run the patterns, use the loup on 12 patterns, enter the adjustments - this is the software alignment. There is also a mechanical alignment: loosen the screws on the print heads, micro adjust... we haven't done this one yet.
I'm just wondering if this type of maint is typical for the flatbed platform, or if this brand is just more needy than most ?
We're actually used to the "just push go" style: Mutoh, Acuity, Mimaki.

Any experience you folks want to share is appreciated.
Thanks again
 
moso,

As you describe it, no. This isn't normal. Most flatbed machines can unclog nozzles with just a wipe-down and a purge.

Questions I'd have: What model of Vanguard have you got, and do you know what printheads it's using?

Also how often do you have to do this routine? More than daily? Daily? Weekly?

Also most flatbeds also tend to hold head alignment a lot better than what you're describing here as well.

Have you reached out to Vanguard about your issues?


Mike Adams
Correct Color
 
Hi Mike,
The model is a VR5D-E. Heads are Ricoh Gen5, (built like tanks, compared to others I've seen)
Flushing the head is to recover nozzles that don't respond to the daily puge you described above. - nice to have the option, to bad to use it a printer that's 2 months old. Print heads are not covered in the warranty.
The software alignment looks like bi-monthly, the manual lists this as weekly. Honestly, we wouldn't notice if not for some fine, reverse out type on a couple jobs.
Vanguard is aware and they're pretty helpful, but these things just seem to "go with the territory" as far as they're concerned.
It may be worth knowing that the print driver for this is a software interface and needs to be reinstalled after windows updates.
None of this is earth-shattering, necessarily we were just caught unaware. We could've asked the right questions ahead of time, if we knew they needed asking :)
Thanks for your response !
 

PressWise

A 30-day Fix for Managed Chaos

As any print professional knows, printing can be managed chaos. Software that solves multiple problems and provides measurable and monetizable value has a direct impact on the bottom-line.

“We reduced order entry costs by about 40%.” Significant savings in a shop that turns about 500 jobs a month.


Learn how…….

   
Back
Top