TIP SHEETDeluxe Printhead Kit

Spectra® - Konica® - Xaar®

Printhead911.comHere are some tips we have received after working with some of our customers

LEARNING THE PROCESS1. Don’t forget to read the entire manual before starting to recover printheads.2. Start with 1 or two printheads and learn the process before recovering more.

ABOUT OUR SOLUTIONSYour deluxe kit comes with a number of our solutions. We select these solutions based on the most popular Solvent, Eco-Solvent, Water Based and UV ink formulations. However, some ink formulations are more diffi-cult to recover than others. Government agencies in certain jurisdictions may ban the use of chemicals normally found in your ink. Manufacturers’ usually provide an alternative ink for your area. The result can be that one of our stock solutions doesn’t work with your ink. It’s important to the recovery process that not only the machine be effective, but that the solution does its job. Luckily, we have over 15 different solutions we can provide you to recover your printhead. Just let us know if you are having problems.

DX4 PRINTHEADSMake sure the printhead nozzle plate is submerged in the solution and that the mounting bracket isn’t. Sub-merging the mounting bracket can increase the ultrasonic pulses to a dangerous level which may damage the printhead.

PRESOAKING PRINTHEADYou can soak a dried printhead for up to 1 hour at 35 degrees celsius ( 30 degrees for DX4 & DX5) prior to starting the recovery process.

HOW LONG TO RECOVER A PRINTHEAD?Most printheads should be fully recovered after 2-3 recovery cycles. That’s about 1-1.5 hours. That means your printhead should be partially recovered after the first cycle. If you notice no change or the printhead gets worse, consider doing the following.

1. Increasing the temperature as explained in the ‘Bath Temperature’ Section. (Not on DX4 or DX5)2. Switching Solutions. Test one of the other solutions for effectiveness and try a few cleaning cycles to see how it works.3. If you can’t get the solutions to work, contact us so we can provide you with an alternative solution.

BATH TEMPERATURE(Not on DX4 or DX5)The recommended temperature for the solvent bath is 35 degrees celsius. You should always start your recovery at the recommended temperature. If you run into problems and want to increase the temperature, try 40 degrees first and finally 45 degrees maximum. You should never increase the bath temperature to more than 45 degrees celsius. While the printhead can stand more than that, with the added ultrasonic energy, the resulting tempera-ture may be much higher. Setting a maximum of 45 degrees insures that the final temperature will not damage the printhead.

SOAKING WARNINGThe solutions provided in this kit are not soaking solutions. While you can presoak the printhead up to an hour before starting the process. You should never soak the printhead any longer. Soaking the printhead longer than that may cause permanent damage. These Solutions can weaken materials and coatings inside the head. Once the recovery process is started, the materials and coatings can fail.

Solutions on ElectronicsTry not to get any solution on the electronic components of the printhead. For small areas you can use isopropyl alcohol to clean off residue left behind. If you end up splashing the electronics or inside a connector, use the following process.

Note: Wear Goggles & Gloves - Make sure the bath is clean and dry - Make sure bath power is off1. Place wire basket into the bath.2. Place printhead piezos(Spectra) or entire printhead into the basket.3. Fill bath with 90%-100% Isopropyl Alcohol until it just covers the component.4. Turn on Bath and make sure that temperature is turned to around 20 degrees Celsius.5. Run a 3-5 minute ultrasonic cycle to clean component.6. Once done, remove the component and use canned air to air dry the component. 7. Let it sit for several hours or overnight before reinstalling it into the printer.

CLEANING OUT 1ST STAGE (SMALL FILTERS)The small filters can be cleaned out and reused over and over again. These filters tend to catch large chunks of ink from the printhead. After awhile the filter clogs and that affects the flow through the head and the recovery process. You can clean out the filters very easily and put them back into use.

When the flow becomes restricted or the filter looks like it has collected ink debris. Try to use this procedure while the filter is still wet.

1. Remove the filter from the template.2. Normal flow is in the direction of the arrow located on the side so connect a hose to the fluid exit side. 3. Connect the other side of the hose to a syringe filled with distilled water.4. Point the end of filter into a drain or a waste container.5. Quickly force the liquid through the filter using the syringe until the particles exit the other side.6. Repeat if more particles are in the filter.7. Use canned air to force air through the filter in the same direction to dry the filter.

If you don’t have a hose to connect to the syringe, contact us and we will send you one for a small fee.

WHEN REINSTALLING A PRINTHEAD INTO THE PRINTER1. The printhead should be clean and dry before reinstalling it into the printer. Also, you may want to spray a little canned air into the cable connector to dry it out too. Make sure the cable is clean and dry also. You can use isopropyl alcohol to clean the cable contacts. Just make sure they are dry before connecting the printhead to the printer. 2. Once your printer is up and running, make sure that all printheads are functioning properly, not just the one(s) you recovered. Even though printheads fire independently, they still share electrical connections. If you notice the printer acting strangely, you may have an electrical short caused by this printhead or another one. You could get firing problems, continuous firing, problems with the printer starting up, front panel problems, etc.

WHAT TO CHECK1. Printhead

2. Blown Fuses3. Ribbon Cables (Make sure the contacts are still in good condition)4. Daughter / Slider Board5. Motherboard6. Power Supply7. Power Conditioning

Try not to change everything at once to diagnose the problem. Change one thing at a time. If that doesn’t help, start changing combinations of two things at a time until you see what the problem or problems are.

IMPORTANT RECOVERY TERMS TO REMEMBER

Phase 1: This is used when the head is totally clogged. We hook up the head with a pressure relief valve so the pressure doesn’t build up and cause a fluid explosion.

Phase 2: This is used when the head is unclogged or partially clogged. We hook up the head without a relief valve because there is enough flow through the head to prevent a dangerous pressure buildup.

F1-F7 & D1-D7 Programs: We use the F programs for single pump operation and the D programs for dual pump operation. If your head is totally clogged or partially clogged you want to stick with single pump operation or F programs. Once the head is unclogged and you are just dealing with deflections you can switch to the dual pump or D programs.

Programs F1-F3 & D1-D3: These are the main programs you will use for unclogging heads. They do most of the unclogging operation.

Programs F4-F5 & D4-D5: These programs are for difficult to unclog heads. They are for breaking clogs and throwing chunks of ink out the head. F4 is lightest and D5 is strongest.

Programs F6 & D6: These programs are used to clean out deflected nozzles for unclogged heads. Once the heads are unclogged and you want to clean out the nozzles so they fire straight use these programs.

Progrms F7 & D7: When you are having a tough time unclogging the printhead use these programs. It also works if you have a large chunk of ink stuck in the head and you want it to break apart and exit the head.

UPDATED PROCEDURE TO EMPTY FLUID FROM MACHINE

1. Place correct solution bottle behind ultrasonic cleaner on platform.2. Run output hoses from machine into bottle.3. Run DR or drain cycle to pump the tank fluid into bottle. When finished press program switch to stop pumps.4. Hold down program switch until led cycles through programs F1-F7 & D1-D7. The program after that was previously undocumented test function. The display should read AR or Air program. This program will send small bursts of air through the system to eject more fluid into the bottle.5. When the cycle stops. Remove the machine input hose from the 1st stage filter and use canned air to blow more air through the system till the rest of the fluid exits into the bottle.6. Wipe the machine down inside and out and you are done.If you come upon any helpful tips, please email us so we can add it to our tip sheet.

Printhead911