johnson4

That’s pretty much spot on for about as serious as you can get with cleaning. I’m pretty “relaxed” on mine in comparison. So, you could knock that off the list in my opinion. The issue you are describing to me seriously still sounds like the issues I had. Is it possible you have air getting into your head/carts? I had good checks, bad prints and that’s what caused it for me. The CSIC board had raised up, which I did not see until months later, making an imperfect seal. That’s the part the carts are held in there by. Could be a defective cartridge or maybe a cracked manifold ( unlikely). Over the years, I’ve had my fair share of challenges like this. I don’t know if I was right, but anytime I had to manually do anything to a printhead to make it work, it was nothing but trouble from there on out. Following the same principles you have, I would get good results followed by bad results over and over. I had researched thoroughly how these printheads work and had assumed the piezo nozzles had just become weak, I don’t really know, but I know I wasted more time and money trying to figure it out than it was ever worth. that’s when I found the Epson p800’s refurbished from Epson for $200 after selling the Oem ink, so I had a field day buying up $200 printheads and left it at that eventually. This was on the DTG p600’s I ran for years, the p800 head worked in them so it worked out. It’s the same principle though, minus the ink system. im not saying to give up, but I’m just saying there are only so many variables, and if you checked them all- I’m out of ideas. I will run through everything in my mind, likely things you know or checked, but in that off chance it may help: 1. the capping station, If you can wet cap and the cleaner doesn’t drain out, and if the wiper looks firm and not warped, it’s likely fine since you clean it well. 2. bad cartridges/ bad seal on the printhead. 3. Build up on the head can absolutely cause issues. It’s like everything is clean, just to wipe your clean hands with a crusty towel. That dried ink can clog nozzles if it gets lose in anyway, especially those small peices. 4. in my opinion the most important part- head strikes. The film has that pre treatment on it, and a head strike getting that crap in the head can cause instant coagulation, even if you get it out, that nozzle could have issues. 5. the way I understand it all works is piezo crystals get shot with a voltage, which in turn creates a suction, kind of like a pump going up and down. The Ink cools these things as it passes through. If you have a clog and try printing and no ink passes through, it overheats and causes it to become weak, or not function at all. Small things like maybe one print likely won’t hurt it, but running it for any length of time can weaken or disable it, from what I understand. So this suction is what pulls the ink in, along with the gravity fed nature of the p400, weak suction, poor flow. Can work great for a nozzle check, it’s just a simple on/off. When printing though, it’s weak and gives out. This is my understanding of how it works. 6. bad ink, but that would be across all channels of that color, or show serious buildup on the screen filter in the cartridge long before issues occur, from my belief and experience. 7. temperature and humidity isn’t an issue, as long as it’s not insane. That cap should seal the head shut, period. If you wet cap, it has liquid on both sides that can’t evaporate or let air touch the head to dry it out, UNLESS you are actively printing, which could cause clogging to occur mid print, depending on how dry your air is. that’s pretty much it on the p400 that I am aware of. So in my opinion something was overlooked, or just damaged. Those are really the only two options from my point of view. I fortunately was able to revive mine, it literally had DTF inks sitting in it uncapped for months because the printer wouldn’t cap it back and I didn’t care, I was fed up with it. I was shocked to see the original head work, after being exposed to air for months with DTF inks still in the head, so it makes me believe they are more resilient than I originally believed. where are you, if you don’t mind me asking. It’s worth a shot in the dark if you want to try, the only difference I’m seeing between us is the cleaning solution, I am more than happy to send you some to see if it helps at all, if you would like.

Yea, I looked for awhile, they are just different than xp600 and won’t work, so just trying to make something work with it.

These dampers are bigger than the ones going to be used for it. I do expect many revisions and issues along the way. But, it all fits and seals perfectly. Now to actually print them for use instead of fitment. The “port” doesn’t break off because it tapers, and the damper is snugly fitted in place. No room to wiggle and break it off. So that worked well( so far)...

Just posting this here incase others find it interesting. I’ve meant to convert another 15000 for awhile now, but I think the weak spot is the OEM ink system and aftermarket cartridges. V.1 printed alright and seals well, damper fits in nicely. I plan on, in my free time, to just find a simple and efficient ( and cheap) way to overcome this printers downfalls. I made this adapter months ago but just got around to printing it. Fits perfect.

I have seen smoke printed before, if the rip halftones it can appear to fade and by using shadows.

Do you mind sending me the file so i can check on my end?

This is what this P400 looks like now, it looks used and abused because it was. My point is, who cares, it works, and after over 5,000 transfers this $500 investment just keeps going- for now. It’s time to put it back where it belongs, on my DIY curing/shaking cart.

This is 1440x720, with the above nozzle checks and no further cleanings on regular printer paper: she’s alive!!!

So back in the beginning of the year, I had two P400's I used. One On a mini shaker Cart (DIY Mini Shaker/curing oven) and one with an actual Mini shaker. I used My build and the one P400 for the majority. I used EKprint to Roll Print with this printer, Since it was easier. I printed OVER 5,000 12x12 Transfers on this machine, in 6 months. Since we all have " busy" seasons, I will admit that the majority of those prints were made in 1-2 months, over half. Well, We went on a short (3 day) vacation. I had cleaned it and set it aside. A week or so later, I tried to use it again and it didn't work. Bummer. First, It had good nozzle checks, but bad prints directly after. I checked the Ink, FIltered it, checked it again. I switched inks, Carts, Capping station, and PRINTHEAD. Nothing fixed my issue. So, being forced to do so, I set it aside. that was 3-4 months ago- maybe longer. It has sat here, uncapped, with cleaning carts sitting in it ( I couldn't even do a head clean to flush out the old inks). I spent Almost a week trying with this printer, until Moving on to the P800's I had in storage. I used this P400 Mainly for roll printing, ( well, only for roll printing). I ran in NONSTOP for over 12 hours routinely. I DID have to add a cooling fan to the Motherboard Heatsink, or after a few hours it would act weird and reset itself. Fan fixed the issue entirely. SECOND issue, USE USB for this printer if you are going to print with it ALOT consistently. Again, The built in WIFI model got hot to the touch after several hours of printing. After installing a USB 5V fan, and using a high quality USB cable instead of WIfi, This thing printed for me without any other issues until the above. Gross, ( not profit, The Page counter doesn't work when You roll print with EKprint, So Just to give you an idea) I printed $55,000 worth of transfers from this one $489 printer, with 15 minutes of modifications. Yes I needed to add $40 for chipless, and $15 for each set of cartridges, But I call those supplies. I also 3D printed a roll holder for the machine. Total cost on that was about $10, including the expensive 8MM metal rod I purchased specifically for this purpose. So, Being in my way, I decided to give it one more go before throwing it in the trash bin. I immediately found the issues. the CSIC board had lifted out of place about 1/4 an inch or so. This is the part that holds the cartridges down and locked into place. This allowed a poor seal, giving me good nozzle checks, but poor printing ( printing creates a larger suction, so it makes since that air was going into the head to cause the issues). Some glue later, Fixed. The 2nd issue, For some reason now it kept erroring out with error 73H, or 00X73 For the P400. " Printer Mechanism Failure". I have no idea what that means. So, I move on to the most logical thing. Over time, The Borderless Printing Pad had accumulated white ink on it. I mean, After 5,000 Plus prints, I did goof sometimes and print over the edge of the film, or it misloaded and printed without any film in there. BUT, It worked this way for months. So, To test my Theory, I removed The foam pad, and exposed was a light colored metal. Same error. Picked up some Matte Black Spray paint, and painted this surface Black. Problem solved! So after sitting UNCAPPED for several months, AND all the issues it had before I set it over there( Remember, I couldn't even clean out the old ink with cleaner), I DID NOT expect what is about to be said next. Threw back in the cleaning carts, and half a set later, perfect nozzle check. No way! Loaded OEM ink carts, Perfect after 1-2 head cleans ( with the exception of the GO, In the nozzle check below you'll see it still has some cleaner in the head, I don't have MUCH OEM ink, so I'm not wasting it since I am flushing it back out as we speak). I am baffled, That this printer has survived these issues, even with OEM inks, I would have been 99% sure it was a goner, at least the ORIGINAL printhead. Long Story short- Sometimes you need to walk away and clear your head. Enjoy some time doing something else you like. Come back with a fresh set of eyes and attitude, I did, And I fixed this printer in 15 minutes, when before, I spent well over 40 hours trying to fix it and replacing parts and all I did was fail. I am not not to EVER give up something, Even if it's only for the challenge of it, Or just KNOWING what happened. I love learning, I couldn't care less about communicating with people, followers, likes, etc. I just LOVE learning HOW and WHY not just the answer. The only time I EVER give up on something, Is when It's broken into pieces and in the trash from failed attempts, because I cannot afford to keep going. So for people starting out, Just hang in there, The most important thing is LEARNING what your printer needs, and the attention to DETAIL is KEY. Sometimes, Walk away and come back with a fresh view. Without Persistence, Guts, Motivation, Confidence, and Ingenuity You won't make it in any field, other than a typical job. DTF is no different. Being your OWN boss, means you are all on your own with infinite possibilities and decisions. To me, That is EXCITING and scary. While being afraid to reach your goals is normal, you only lose when you quit. Some of us never quit, Even if to a FAULT. You are responsible for YOU, Don't follow someone else's mistakes or decisions, MAKE YOUR Decisions and learn your own way. That is what this industry needs. I wish you the best of luck out there and Happy Printing!

I check under there once a week, with DTF, I haven’t cleaned them under the head routinely at all, maybe I’ve cleaned them twice in 6 months because it didn’t need it. I usually don’t have any build up unless it’s had a head strike or I print with clogged nozzles. I do use glycerin in my cleaning solution, which is also in the ink, maybe it helps, I don’t know. the DTG machines are a different story, I cleaned those daily because they always had some sort of build up after printing 20-30 shirts. If I didn’t clean them daily, I would experience things like OP described. Don’t know why, but cleaning it daily was easy since it’s exposed so I left it at that.

I want to confirm Epson p400 error 73 is the PW sensor. I removed the foam pad and painted it black, now the original p400 that “ failed” is now working again. 1. CSIC broke ( lifted 1/4 inch) and allowed air in the head from poorly seated carts. 2. borderless pad had white ink on it, throwing error code 73. Removed pad and painted the metal black. this happened after 5,000 sq ft of printing. Let’s see how much more I can get. so it’s alive again!!!!

When I say “ making a cleaner” I mean I used store bought ( for this purpose) cleaners sold specifically for this application, then modified its formula to work better without harming my printhead. My DIY cleaner 100% uses chemicals made for DTG/DTF, it just has additives and is diluted. In pure form, it will destroy the surface of a head in 15 minutes, causing symptoms like you describe. However, diluted with additives, it can sit wet capped for 6 months+ without evaporating or damaging the head. Both versions will clean up dried DTF/DTG inks and is “ lubricating” to make things seal better, and wipe better. so, it’s possible a cleaner caused the damage too, maybe even early on.

1. Cleaning it daily helps, but is it being done correctly? Not questioning your ability, but it is a meaningful question. Different times, different cleaners, I mean it’s a huge variable. I’ve seen “ clean” be a caked up wiper before. 2. that build up on the metal bracket, yes it’s bad. It means the wiper isn’t able to do its job. It could also indicate a cleaner has damaged the non stick coating. If a nozzle has deflection, or clogging, it accumulates on the surface, causing excessive build up. Making a clean wiper essentially useless. 3. When testing and making my own cleaner, ( because of various reasons) I ran into this issue. I used a stronger cleaner and let it soak too long, and it ate the non stick surface away. If you wipe the head with cleaner and it doesn’t immediately bead up, then that’s what the ink will do to. I had a printer that did this, DTG, when making my cleaner. Originally it was to remove a clog. The cleaner caused the ink to stick to the head, and do what you described. It worked fine for a few prints, then needed a head clean, with ink buildup on the head. With DTG, I have the privilege of watching it in action from the underside. As ink would spray out, it would also accumulate on the surface. On a normal head, it didn’t accumulate. While the head worked, I damaged it with strong cleaner. does any of that sound like something that may have happened?

Yea, I know what you mean. The reason it keeps getting said is because there really isn’t any other reason for the problems. I’m not a wizard or anything, so all I can say is what I do and it has worked, and what didn’t work. Do you have some photos of your cleaned wiper/capping station, and the nozzles with the ink carts out? What cleaning solution are you using? like me, for example. I swore it was the ink on my first p400. After walking away and coming back, it was my fault, and I overlooked it and overthought everything else out. I mean, I spent forever filtering ink, testing things, replacing printheads, and all it was, was the carts not sealing perfectly. certain cleaners can eat away at the non stick components of the head, causing clogged nozzles after a few prints, I mean the amount of variables is endless, so going back to scratch isn’t a bad idea, it’s what I had to do. if you have some photos, maybe it would benefit the problem solving aspect.

Totally agree.

With the p400’s I ran them as a pair, one had much more use than the other. That one, as I’ve said had about 5,000 12x12 prints on it before it died, and it didn’t really die, it just has issues I will discuss below. It’s my fault. I used my cleaning solution and cleaned the wiper to like new condition everyday before doing a head clean, and the cap top. Shake the ink, that’s it. same thing I do in every printer I own. I do not flush it with cleaning solution everyday, it takes like 3-4 cleanings to get the ink out, you never get it all out without soaking/cleaning over a period of time. so I was experiencing clogging on one p400 and not the other, after about 5000 12x12 prints( successful prints, not test/ mess up prints). I did everything I could to figure it out and just left it alone because I couldn’t. I revisited it the other day after it sat for a few months and within minutes I found my problem. The CSIC board had come loose( where the chip reader is and the part that the carts clip in to). So, all the carts were not being sealed onto the printhead well, allowing air to go in. Fixed that, and even though it sat uncapped for several months I still have flow coming out of all channels. I need to also replace the black mat( the borderless printing ink pad) because it has white ink on it, causing issues with the PW sensor I think. BUT I did find why it died, and that was the CSIC board not holding the carts down and sealed to the printhead. the other p400 also sat the same amount of time. I switched to two p800’s when that happened. I loaded OEM inks in that p400 and have been printing canvas photos with it without an issue at all. Of course I have to use an output tray with it, because I removed the rollers. so I don’t think it’s the printer, at least from my perspective. Some exterior reason is causing the issues. If you have ink build up on your head, your wiper can’t cleanly and smoothly wipe the surface of the head, and it’s possibly dragging tiny bits of dried ink over the head surface. One head strike can cause permanent damage, or do nothing at all. my main principles I follow: 1. make sure the wiper is 100% clean every morning before a head clean. I mean, it should be black front/back and under the ridge where it wipes. I use my cleaning solution that melts away dried ink to make it easier. 2. make sure there isn’t any buildup on the head. I usually don’t, unless I’ve had a head strike. 3. add 1/4 to 1/2 cleaning solution to the cap top. It flushes and cleans the lines a bit to keep them from clogging, and makes the printhead wet, so a nice smooth “ sealed” wipe can occur. 4. make sure the nipple area is clean, there are 4 tiny holes per “ nipple”. The rest needs cleaned manually. 5. If I am cleaning it with solution, I do it well. Normally I leave the ink loaded. But if I want to let it sit or for whatever reason, I clean the shit out of everything, the nipples, wiper, cap top, then I run a cleaning set of carts 1/2 to 90% empty with cleans, clean the stuff one more time and then let it sit. random note: The p400 waste ink lines need to be in a U shape. If it just runs down, it creates a suction and pulls from the head, pulling air into it and or draining the cap and carts. So I made a U shape in the hose so it was higher than the capping station before dropping into the waste bottle. If not, I always had issues. For the p800’s, basically the same, shake carts daily, clean wiper/cap really well before I start for the day and add solution to the cap top before I do the first head clean of the day. I don’t even clean when I am done for the day. I do all that in the morning before I print again. the p800’s haven’t given me a single issue with the 80ML carts. The larger carts without filters I did have issues with. the p800 DTG that I had experienced failure, in a way. It sat for months and worked fine, uncleaned kept in the floor. Set it up where I can use it and had it working without an issue. Didn’t use it again for 2-3 months. No ink flowing, clogged capping station lines, bad dampers. Replaced those and good to go again, even though it was shooting out gelled ink from the head, then nothing. I think the p800 is the best printer for DTF, because it has a straight shot ink path, and an actual pressurized ink system. good luck, sucks to hear the p400s aren’t working out for you. Hopefully the p800 works better for you, I haven’t had any problems with either unless self inflicted.

Make sure it’s set to rear feed. Make sure your film is detected by printer, needs to be opaque film, not clear.

No problem. They are located in Arizona. The people who own opendtg also own DTFsuperstore, he started the DTF portion at the end of 2020. very reputable in my book, honest guy with good service. as for software, I’ve used acro (9.X) Cadlink and EKprint. Ekprint is what I mainly use for one color designs, it prints and processes very fast. Basic and easy to use. I open 6 windows per printer. 2 white only, 2 black only, 2 cmykw ( presets I made). So technically it’s 6 instances of the program. As one job is loaded and printed, ( which varies in the design, but always under 10 seconds) I switch the the other window and start working there instead of standing around. I print bulk one offs, so this is ideal for me. Ekprint is locked to that very specific printer model and PC. Cadlink is my 2nd choice, because it does offer a lot of features, but more importantly it prints great colors- but a bit slower than EKprint. The large amount of options can make it overwhelming at first, alot of things to “ fine tune” sometimes. I still don’t know my way around it perfectly, but I do think it’s a bit more options than is needed for a RIP. You can’t open it twice, but you can PAY to add additional ports for more printers to run at once. License Can be swapped to a new PC easily. Acro is my last choice, for the SOLE reason of how slow it processes each print. It has decent all around features and works well, I just never used it much because it can take over a 2 minutes sometimes to process a print job before sending it. You can’t open it more than once, so I’m standing and waiting. 9 can be found for “ free” lots of places. I haven’t tried 10 or the newer versions because I’m told they don’t process any faster. That’s my dealbreaker with acro. so if that isn’t an issue, acro is good, versatile and prints decent colors. Easy to add a color profile if needed. For one color designs, it wouldn’t have an issue. If you print a bunch of the same designs over and over, it’s not so bad. Me personally, I print 100 different designs daily. RIPS features really are determined by your needs, so EKprint might not be ideal for you. It is the most expensive of the 3.

I Used the DTFsuperstore inks and supplies on my P400. I ran it for 6 months. I can't say how many prints, it didn't keep count. BUT It was $55,000 Gross ( not profit) worth of transfers before it broke, Which wasn't the printhead, it still worked. Error code 73H, whatever that is. for the P400, I roll printed with it, with 17ML carts ( the bigger ones) I could get 35 CMYK+W per set, OR 35 WHITE ONLY AND 35 BLACK ONLY per set. I just had a few prefilled sets and swapped them out, much easier and error proof than a CISS. Something to keep in mind, The P400 I ran, When ran 10 hours a day, I needed to add a fan. the heatsink is exposed on the back, so I noticed out the plastic and added a fan to cool it off, otherwise it kept throwing fits after a few hours of constant printing. I would normally print around 100-200 12x12 prints a day, and it printed them about 35 an hour single color, 18 or so CMYK+W. I had to use USB connection, because again, after a few hours the WIFI module would overheat and disconnect. so The Fan AND USB fixed my issues with it roll printing. For single color, It's a no brainer and a great choice. you can knock out 100 prints ( with a mini shaker) in less than 2.5 hours, Manually powder and curing them, I have no idea on a " time" but I'd assume around 4 hours. It's a simple conversion, great printer, I know I pushed it too hard, VERY often and it did fine. Nothing I really wished I would have known, it all came out as I had expected. It's a 15 minutes conversion plus making a roll media adapter for it to fit the film.

I don’t think that material would be good for any type of printing. It’s a smooth flat surface with low melting temperatures. the reason it works on polyester and cotton is because is interwoven and not completely smooth, the adhesive has something to attach to. Just like DTF works on wood, but on a non porous surface or extremely fine sanded/ sealed wood it wouldn’t stick. Since those are meant to be wind proof and water proof, they are non porous and likely coated with something. for that type of material, I don’t think even screenprinting would work. I would consider the use of an embroidery machine or something that can bond to that type of surface. To me, it’s like expecting DTF to work on glass. DTF does work well on poly clothing and blends, it’s not the same as something like this. I doubt sublimation would work due to the temperatures it takes, but maybe on lighter colors. Maybe why I’ve never really seen a jacket like this have any printing on it. I’m not well experienced in printing on those materials, but I’d bet it’s very limited if at all.

I assumed printing at 1440x1440 would naturally be twice as fast, given the 360 nozzles instead of 180, yielding half the head pass for the same vertical movement. I don’t see how that would make it work better at lower resolutions though. 1440 dots per square inch is 1440 dots per square inch, irrigardless if the printer had 80 or 360 nozzles per channel. All that means to me is the more nozzles per channel, the less head passes it needs per inch and vise versa. for example: 360 nozzles per channel =4 head passes per inch. 180 nozzles per channel = 8 head passes per inch, for the same resolution. This is how I come up with the “twice as fast” statement. Lowering the resolution and comparing both printers, they would still be equal, one being twice as fast, irregardless of the resolution as long as both were set to print at the same resolution. while this could be done with any of the RIP softwares, I just don’t like the quality or the look of lower resolution prints, I won’t sell or use them. I’ve even tried over saturating to compensate for the less DPI, but it’s still not what I want. of course, that is unless I’m mistaken.

How would kothari print faster running the same 1440x1440 resolution? I’ll look into it, but It is very expensive software.

The p900 is new, so your not going to get a lot of support on it. Also, EKprint has a beta version for it, and acro 11 is said to support it- whenever that comes out. I would expect bugs and issues, you would be one of the first to convert and use it. as for the p800, it’s well tested, well documented and works very well, as well it’s Chipless. I wanted to go the p900 Route, but I’m going to go the p5000 Route if I’m doing cartridge resets. It has higher spec’d printhead so it’s 360 nozzles X10, like the 24” dual printhead printers speed, except it will print higher quality because the printhead is much higher quality than those in the 24” printers. For me, I don’t need 24” width, so 17” width printer for $1,800 VS $12,000 for a Chinese printer is a no brainer for me, with the amount of issues I’ve seen with these 24” printers vs the reliability of an Epson desktop. Cadlink now supports it, so I’m not stuck with acro rip 10.X to use it. ( which acro doesn’t officially support it anyway). so, for the price, I’d go with the p800 if you can, or for a few hundred more to with a printer that’s going to print twice as fast ( the p5000).

Only the European version is said to accept reset chips for the ink and waste tank. im actually likely going to go with the p5000, it’s hardly anymore and will print as fast as the 24” commercial printers.