© 2011 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.The information contained herein is subject to change without notice
Ink and Media Troubleshooting logicOct 2011
By: Vadim Baliasny
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Ink & Media – Troubleshooting Main Principles
First question –
GENERIC or LOCAL ? Second question –
MACHINE, INK or MEDIA ?
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Ink & Media – Magic triangle
INK
MEDIA PRINTER
?
Magic triangleDual action problem
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Ink & Media – Troubleshooting logic
Four types of ink problems
Drying/curing
Media related (adhesion, flexibility, light fastness)
Quality (color gamut, overspray, banding, bleeding)
H/W related (clogging heads, filters)
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Drying/Curing Problem
Dryer/UV unit is broken Check if all heating elements/UV lamps are functioning Check shutter mechanism and UV lamp switching timing
Drying/UV lamp is not sufficient Check temperature/UV radiation level and uniformity Clean UV lamp glass
Workaround: Use both UV lamps or higher temperature setup, use slower print modes.
Ink is contaminated or damaged Check other batch of ink
Ink coverage is too high Check with application specialist ink percentage in dark areas of the
file. Reduce if needed. Recommended coverage is not more than 280%
Media related Use alternative media if all the above is checked and fixed
Possible Reasons:
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Media related – Low Adhesion
Media related Use alternative media
Customer application requires higher adhesion lever Use alternative media Use coating/varnish/lamination
to protect ink layer
Ink is contaminated or damaged Check other batch of ink
Drying/curing is not sufficient See drying problem
Possible Reasons:
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Media related – UV Ink Low Flexibility
Ink limitation No solution for old ink versions. TJ210 and FB225 improved
dramatically ink adhesion and flexibility.
Ink coverage is too high On file preparation stage reduce ink percentage to the minimum
possible level. Especially 4 color Black areas.
Workaround: for ink chipping on edges after cutting –
printing on pre cut media
Possible Reasons:
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Media Related – light fastness – ink fading before 2 years
Media related Spec is related to
specific media only
Zone related Spec is related to
central European zone
Application related For 90º applications
only
Possible Reasons:
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Quality - Color Gamut Change
Ink is out of spec, damaged or expired Check another ink bottle/batch
HW related Check possibility to light and dark ink mixing in the system Check ink supply system setup
Media is affecting by UV system Print blank file to see the differences. Check another media
Wrong color profiling Check profiles correctness. Check RIP setup. Create other new profiles.
Possible Reasons:
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Quality - Overspray
Site environment conditions (humidity, temperature) are not according to SitePrep Inform customer and check if fixed
Static electricity Humidity is too low (see above). Clean media with air
gun/wet rug. Check another media. PH distance to the media is too big
Adjust to minimal Ink is out of spec, damaged or expired
Check another ink bottle/batch HW related. PH are clogged, slow ink supply – starvation,
electronic noise, data noise Replace PH Check ink supply. Compare to other separations Replace driver/CCB board Check printing file
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Quality – Banding
Clogged PH Replace PH
Slow ink supply – starvation Check ink flow interrupters Check another ink batch
Registration problem Readjust registration
Media is uneven or damaged Check another media
HW related. PH uniformity problem. Replace PH, adjust voltage
Whi
te b
andi
ngC
olor
ban
ding
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Quality – Bleeding
Drying/curing is not sufficient See above
Media is not suitable Check another media
Gloss mode is too slow for specific media Move to faster mode
Ink coverage is too high Check printing file and
reduce ink coverage – see above
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HW damaging/clogging Ink system is not 100% compatible with the ink
Limitation – follow maintenance procedure In case of ink jellying do not clean metal parts
but replace them
Ink is out of spec, damaged or expired Check another ink bottle/batch
Ink system was exposed to heat, light, air Eliminate the source, seal possible areas
Ink was contaminated with damaged FF Use only 1L FF bottle and according to requirements. 1 year shelf life and
3 months after opening.
Ink was contaminated with dust, fibers etc. at customer site Demand from customer to provide appropriate cleanness and
maintenance level
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New Ink and Media section in the Support Zone
Where to find the new section Content