DesignJet T520 repair Preston Brook, Cheshire
This week started with a short trip west to Preston Brook in Cheshire. For those of you who are wondering its roughly between Runcorn and Warrington no where near The City of Preston.
Nice easy run considering the trains were on strike.
The machine this time was a DesignJet T520 36”, leaving intermittent “black splodges” on the paper.
Although a straightforward fix, this was always going to be a messy one.
The actual cause of this is still somewhat of a mystery, however it is a common problem with this platform.
Over time, the printheads always seem to suffer from a build up of black ink. This eventually starts to drop onto the media as the pen carriage moves from side to side.
It also contaminates the service station which in turn affects the print plate. What causes this phenomenon is unclear, however, with experience, I suspect it’s the due to a build-up of ink causing a blockage in the input valve. This results in reduced ink flow and subsequently spillage of ink. – This is just a theory of mine.
What’s the solution?
Pretty straight forward really, although quite time consuming. The machine needs a full service and clean. This must include all the “spilled ink” being removed from the chassis of the plotter. Also, its imperative the service station if thoroughly cleaned.
Once the DesignJet has been cleaned, the printhead has to be replaced’ using the HP 711 printhead replacement kit.
Once this has been done and the relevant calibrations carried out the HP DesignJet is now ready to go and sign off back to the customer.
It’s a messy job and takes around 60 minutes to do correctly. This is exactly what I did with this machine.
Please note, when I say this is common problem it only seems to occur on old printheads. This machine has been running smoothly since it was installed 5 and a half years ago. – Not bad for a consumable part.
There are no short cuts with this issue. Every process must be carried out. If the printhead is replaced without the service station being cleaned it will just be contaminated. If the ink splodges are not cleaned off the print quality will be compromised. If the printhead is not replaced splodges will continue to proliferate.
A simple call or email to us at Hutchins IT Limited will get the “ball rolling” and your machine repaired ready for more years of carefree plotting.
