Jump to content

johnson4

PRO OpenDTG'er
  • Posts

    3,441
  • Joined

  • Days Won

    178

Everything posted by johnson4

  1. I personally don’t think any glue would work directly to the DTF, maybe modify your artwork to leave spots/holes to put the adhesive on the fabric so it appears to be on the DTF, but it’s actually attached to the shirt.
  2. For me when I used this machine pulling the waste tank and putting it back in did the trick as it reset the ink counter with Chipless. You could try “ pausing” the print on the printer then do the waste tank thing, any form of “pause” by opening a lid or doing something that doesn’t trigger an eject. that’s a downfall to that machine having only 7ml ink Cartridges. Maybe the firmware is different now. I know there were different Chipless providers, one worked well and one didn’t for me back then.
  3. Yeah, to be honest out of everything, even using a cheap $200-$300 printer, the software ends up being the cheapest thing out of all of it. if you want anything useable quality, even then to run it longer than 4-6 weeks will require tons of time tinkering and breaking/replacing things. if you went with a cheap Chinese imported machine, they usually come with free ( albeit more difficult to use) software to run them. given that DTF has peaked and has been going downhill for a bit, finding an older model Chinese printer at a good price should be relatively easy. A word of warning though, just how you don’t want to leave ink in your screens, ( god, waterbased sucked in a low humidity shop) you don’t want to let the machine sit. letting the printer sit, even properly maintained for 24 hours unused is the same as leaving white waterbased screen-printing ink in your screen, (unloaded) in a dry environment for 5-10 minutes. Takes a minute to clear the screen, sometimes with a screen opener, but after some time it’s usually fine. Let it sit for a day, it’s screwed. well, a direct comparison is that 5-10 minute air dried screen is about the same as letting the printer sit for 12-24 hours unused. Letting the screen sit for 24 hours with waterbased ink in it, that’s like using the printer 2-3 times in a week letting it sit 24-48 hours at a time for less than 20-30 prints total. they need ran almost everyday, even then you have to replace several parts based on time intervals, if you miss the mark you also end up replacing the printhead, and potentially damaging the new printhead if you don’t “waste” those new parts/ink again to do to right. My machine, the printhead is $1,300. The “ consumable” parts are about $500 a year, if I get 1 print or 10,000 from it. When sitting, you either use the ink by making transfers, or throwing it down the drain on cleaning cycles. it seems so similar and simple, the second you add white ink into it, you just changed 100% how the machine works from its original design. i feel you, but if the software cost is a concern, it’s really going to get you. Now, in my opinion for a lower volume user, like under 50 transfers a day- buy an old Epson DTG like the F2000/F2100. Use aftermarket carts with F3070 DTG ink or aftermarket ink. Make DTF by the sheet, the printer maintains itself and comes with free software. I picked up 3 used F2000’s last month for $1,500, they are a dime a dozen now and much easier and more reliable than a conversion, at around the same price used all said and done. Also Doubles up your usage because it’s a DTG machine as well. I often see them for around $1,000.
  4. You need something to rasterize the white ink layer and register the new ink colors in the machine, as well as the hard and soft ink limits. printers come with all of that in the OEM driver, however, aftermarket use requires aftermarket software.
  5. No worries, the main reason I posted the update both times was in hopes if someone searched in a search engine, it would maybe help them find it if they were looking for it. I usually end up finding my own posts sometimes when using google, figured maybe it would help with the domain change.
  6. I don’t see it either, hopefully a legacy version pops up, I still have several OpenDTG boards.
  7. My machines only work with OEM dampers, anything else you can't get a good nozzle check.
  8. Sounds like you changed the dampers too late and sucked white ink sludge into the printhead. It’s not easy to fully remove. It causes the exact issues you describe.
  9. Given your explanation and your apparent skill level, it sounds like you need a supplier to walk you through all of it. Based on your explanation I would say you have a good 3 month learning curve ahead of you before you can really hit the golden spot. We all start somewhere, but you really need someone who can really explain things and help you through every step. In my journey, where you are, it took me about 6 months to a year before I was well versed in what I was doing, which will ultimately be 2-3 machines down the drain as well due to damage and user error. It's not really about common sense or basic skills, rather having an understanding of the general process internally and externally so you can later have the skills to problem solve yourself. These are not like any other breed of printers out there, though they do look the same at times. at the very least a basic knowledge on how the printer works and the software are a must. After that, the more you know the better off you will be. The Xp-15000 isn't the easiest to use either, especially if it were pre-converted and used. You need a RIP program to operate the printer and you need to understand the RIP software you use, most require you to set ink limits and all kinds of things manually. The black tube is likely your waste tank hose, which should have a bottle ( not a sealed bottle, it needs a vent hole in the lid at least) to catch the waste ink. It's something that was modified or added, this machine typically has a waste box inside you empty so that would be on the person who converted it. I wish you luck!
  10. The best way I found to do this for a machine like this is to install cleaner carts and do 2-3 cleanings then wet cap. The problem with wet capping this machine though is it will " wick" up the printhead into the electronics if overfilled. Ideally you would want to be able to "pinch" the waste line closed so it doesn't siphon out the ink and use a glycerin/water mixture in the capping station to create a good seal and keep moisture in the head. Another thing to consider, it's not just the air getting to the printhead, it's the white ink settling and the heavy pigment settling into the ink channels inside the printhead. I have seen it first hand on a disassembled printhead. Anytime you get to this point, it's best to have another option instead of relying on the printhead/machine. At this point it is anybody's guess if that printhead can come back to life. Sometimes they can, sometimes they can't. There are too many variables to consider. What I do in this situation is use a good cleaner that isn't too strong ( a good cleaner is key) and soak a paper towel folded up a few times. sit the printhead on this paper towel. Take another paper towel and do the same and put it on the top of the printhead covering the ink ports. It will " wick" the heavy pigment out of the printhead over time and unclog any nozzle plate clogs, sometimes it takes days and several paper towel changes. It lets gravity do the work though and prevents any issues from occurring from manually forcing it. I've recovered a few like this, anytime I get the chance I will reverse pull cleaner through a bit and keep doing this. In this situation you can't do that due to the printhead design. Anyway, do this inside of a sealed container for the best effect. It's been quite awhile since I used it, but I considered the xp15000 to be disposable due to it's design. Very well could be the cartridges or anything else at this point though, or a combination of that. They really don't like to sit, especially machines without a dedicated sealing station.
  11. Not worth it to me, won’t get updates or support. Constant virus triggers and random glitches. to test like a trial, sure.
  12. Running too many cleanings back to back will wear out the pump station. I have to replace mine about every 6 months or so. This is a symptom of that. again though, is also a very old machine so all Of these things will creep up on you.
  13. It’s weird because in the manual it says not to do this, could help I guess. the problem with this is your printhead has “one” cap that sucks from all nozzles at once. So you’ll end up just sucking extra ink from the flowing nozzles leaving the clogged nozzles. This works with standard ink sometimes because the clogs are at the surface with dye or pigment oem ink but aftermarket ink that gels when in contact with the pretreatment on the film? Not something I ever recovered from with this model. soaks and cleans, soaks and cleans. I think the first thing to check is the nozzle check instead of printing, it can permanently damage the head. knowing how the printhead is made and how it works inside can quickly debunk many “methods” people use to recover them. in my opinion this printhead is done, no matter what you do or how much time you spend in doing it, if this is the result of a head strike.
  14. When the ink gels, it’s not just at the surface, it gets inside the walls through the nozzle port usually. your best bet is soaking it for a few days with cleaner submerging the face into cleaner. Add a damp paper towel over the top/manifold ports so it doesn’t dry out, l used cleaner. Everyday gently push cleaner into the printhead, like barely. This will slowly soften the gelled ink and gravity “pulls” the heavier solids downwards as it sits in the cleaner. After a few days try flushing it gently. Do this for about a week. If it doesn’t improve significantly then your cleaner sucks or the printhead is too far gone. I have recovered every single printhead from a P5000/p6000 using this method. I pretty much just alternate them now if/when something pops up using this method. Even ones with 100% clogs from me letting the machine run out of film resulting in some insane head-strikes that lasted several minutes. However, cheaper heads like the xp600 and p600/p800, usually the membrane wall collapses before the clog comes out. good luck!
  15. So this is the aftermath of a head strike then? Probably needs a new head. It’s why I stopped using the p800’s. Literally one head strike can do it in and it runs much closer than other models to the film. any manual flushing on the p800 printhead normally destroys it entirely. I went through many of them, at least 12 in my lifetime of using them. Maybe you can do better, but that printhead is not that robust. The ink gels inside the printhead when there is a head-strike. the pressure required to remove this gelled ink also destroys the printhead. if it is the printhead. I would consider it trashed.
  16. That model was a pain because of that. The "chipless" still counts down the ink level and each must be reset once they end. On top of that the cartridge only held about 14ML of ink, which is next to nothing. Especially for your white ink. I reset the 250ML carts about once a week for another model, so for that I would be looking at multiple times a day for the same color. For the white, probably 10 times a day- basically constantly. The real problem is when you have 6 ink levels, you can't reset them until they run out, you will have to constantly be resetting one of them. The way around this issue that I have found: if you very quickly pop in/out the waste tank( not like fully pulling it out, just like half inch out and back in real quick) it would reset the ink counter for me and keep printing. The chipless for this machine isn't " real" chipless. It makes it count down without replacing the ink chips or having them at all. It doesn't make it read full all of the time like most other models. You can thank epson for their continued advances in preventing their machines from being used for aftermarket purposes.
  17. Just very quickly take out and put back in the waste tank, it resets the ink level.
  18. I was able to print up to 10 feet long non-stop without issue on the xp 15000.
  19. Sounds like a damper/cartridge/sealing issue. If you haven't recently messed with the dampers and use the cartridges, probably gunk on the ink port preventing it from sealing correctly, or got sucked into it. If you didn't use new dampers before the conversion, very well could be the damper.
  20. This sounds like a maintenance issue, the white ink must be mixed properly and circulated. The white is “ watery” because the pigment has settled. White ink is unlike cmyk ink. Needs mixed all the time.
  21. a bad head alignment can do this, did you know exactly what you were doing, or when aligning the marks did you guess? Print an exact size box ( like 4”x4”) then measure it with a caliper, is the image any amount longer than 4” exactly, in the feed direction? did this machine suffer from a head strike, which you believe it has recovered fully from?
×
×
  • Create New...