WF
Mimaki JV3 Tips & Tricks
Printer Set-up
• When the printer is going to be installed at the
end user’s site, it has to be set-up properly.
• Placement should be flat and level to prevent
torsion; this is more important when installing
wider printers (over 1600 mm).
• Stable environmental conditions: temperature
and relative humidity (RH). Most importantly,
no dust in the room and not in the same room
with any tooling (dusting) machine. *see label for
specific handling information.
• Enough room all around the printer to allow
comfortable space to place media rolls, store ink,
remove printed jobs, and do daily maintenance.
Daily Maintenance
“Taking care of your kid”
Good daily maintenance is the most important
responsibility of the end users.
A printer that is properly maintained will rarely
have problems.
There is not a standard checklist to go through,
although many environmental factors affect your
printer like dust, air, room heating systems, etc.
These factors will determine how often, and to
what extent, the end user will need to perform
maintenance. A good check list includes the
following:
• capping station
• funnels
• nozzle plate
• wipers
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Platen Temperature
• We suggest using a temperature setting between
35°C and 45°C (max).
• Pre-heating setting should be higher than the
platen setting (print heat).
• The print heat should not be used to heat the
media, because the media should already be
warm.
• When the ink is bleeding, adjust to a higher
temperature in increments of 2°C at a time and
make a test print again or lower your ink limiting.
• Media must be dry to the touch when it reaches
a distance of 30 cm from the print heads.
• A temperature above 45°C can cause the print
heads to dry out, resulting in clogging.
Wipers
“Wiping, not plastering”
Before, during and after cleaning cycles, print
heads are wiped off by a rubber blade.
Using our special material blades, which are not
affected by our inks, increases performance.
Wipers must have a straight edge to work
correctly which requires cleaning three times a day
(minimum). Wipers collect the excess ink from the
nozzle plate.
Clean any gelled ink from the wiper housing.
End users must pay attention and keep the wiper
and the housing clean and free of gelled ink or dried
pigment build-up, dust and debris. We suggest
changing the wiper often. (New wiper = 8€ ($12),
New print head = 600€ ($900)
The wiper is an essential part of the cleaning
process and its effectiveness.
Technical Services
 Mimaki JV3 Tips & Tricks

Print Head Height

high setting
low setting
• The distance between the print head

print head
and the media may affect print quality.

print head
wrinckled media (vinyl)

• Printing with wrinkled media will always cause

issues, such as uneven or flat colors due to
differences in head distance, blurred images,
etc. Media flatness is the first necessary step to
properly set up the head height. If you must print
• A smaller distance between the print head(s)
on wrinkled media, find a compromise between
and the media creates a higher print quality.
distance and media conditions.
high setting
low setting

Morning Start-ups
print head
print head

“A good start means a good job...”

When the end user starts up the printer in the
morning, they should go through the checklist
that includes important verifications. Check the
thin media (vinyl) cleanliness of all parts involved in to the cleaning
sub-system to be sure that they are running properly.
A greater distance between the print head(s)
If the end user did a good job in shutting the
and the media creates a lower print quality.
printer down and cleaning it the day before, then
high setting
low setting

start-up will only take minutes. Check the status

of the ink and EasyFill PRO: check ink levels, room
temperature and humidity. During winter time
print head
print head

(colder than 20°C), make sure to expose the printer

to temperatures of 25°C or higher for more than
too close!
an hour before starting to print to allow the ink to
adjust to proper running conditions.
thick media (banner)

• Head strikes can occur when media has waves or

wrinkles caused by uneven tension, heating, or
even if the media is older.

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 Mimaki JV3 Tips & Tricks
WF

Capping Station Nozzle Plate

Solvent inks are designed to be fast drying. “Face must be clean to be nice!”
During non-printing times the pigments can dry From time to time users must check the status of
up around the edge of the capping station. This can their print head nozzle plates.
cause the capping to close improperly on the print
head during non-operational times such as stand-
by, cleaning and when the printer is off.

The ink gets to the border via the head itself, by

Most importantly, verify that no dried or gelled
a misfired nozzle, etc.; and it begins to dry there.
ink has built up around the plate edges, as this can
When the head comes back to the capping station
cause the capping to work improperly (not seal).
for stand-by, for example, the cap is raised to close
and seal the nozzle plate, to prevent ink from drying
around the nozzles. When an improper sealing
occurs due to pigment build-up, nozzles are likely
to be clogged when restarting after off time. This
is usually caused by air leaking into the capping
system and drying the pigments. Pigment build-up
also prevents effective printing. For example, when
pumps are trying to suck ink from the head, if there
is build-up, the pumps end up sucking air (totally or • When dirty nozzle plates are encountered, clean
partially). We suggest using our Capping Cleaning with swabs that have been plunged into flush.
Kit to keep your caps clean. By injecting with JVS • Clean all the edges and the plate, rinsing several
Flush, the pump will be cleaned as well. times and using as many swabs as needed to
prevent dirty ones from spreading gelled or dried
ink all around. If nozzle plates are really dirty,
you can move the carriage all the way left and
remove the printer cover to gently clean plates
with Flush-soaked wipes. Be careful and change
wipes often.

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 Mimaki JV3 Tips & Tricks
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Pumps Changing Print Heads

“It will if capping is properly closed!” See Mimaki Maintenance Manual for reference
Printer manufacturers are typically licensing
head technology from a few manufacturers, Epson™
among others. Mimaki™, Mutoh™ and Roland™ are
Aligning Replaced Print Heads
all using the same Epson print head technology as
See Mimaki Maintenance Manual for reference
well as the pump. These pumps are peristaltic (two
cylinders move, squashing a flexible tube, which
then creates suction). Like every other part that
is some way in contact with ink and then with air,
pumps can suffer from gelled ink or pigment build-
ups in the hoses. End users need to keep these
hoses clean.

Flushing Print Heads

“Just do it!”
Piezo print heads usually last for a long time, but
Mimaki™ has overexploited Epson’s head with their
JV3™.
Although print heads were originally designed to
run dye inks in a 22” printer, they are actually running
100” printers using solvent based pigmented inks.
Flushing the print heads is sometimes necessary
due to many unexplained factors. This is not a
regular maintenance process.
Because print heads and their internal parts are
small, flushing can be very tricky. It is important to
be extremely careful as pressure is applied.
The elastic parts of the heads could be damaged
if too much pressure is applied.
Do not push solvent through heads directly by
hand with a syringe.
To clean print heads, use the printer itself or the
Connect a dummy damper and run some ink fill ups
with a short hose plunged into a Flush bottle near
the carriage: this is safer for your head.
If you notice a problem, act immediately so any
further damage is avoided.

Technical Services
Ver. 1.1 - 03/01/10