LEF 20 losing white ink

[garylyb]

I have an LEF 20 about 2 years old.

If I do a normal clean I usually get a good test print on all heads.

Once the machine sits idle for a while, perhaps 2 hours or more, the test print loses white bars. If it sits overnight, no white at all will be printed.

I can get it back by running 1 or 2 normal cleans, or a medium clean, but it won't hold the charge for more than a few hours.

I have replaced the head caps on all 3 heads and replaced the damper on the white, but the problem persists.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Gary

[Kai Perry]

Is the machine capping correctly?, it sounds like the head is being left uncapped.

[garylyb]

Here's a couple of pics.

The cap this morning, there was no ink around it last night.

And the white/gloss head this morning after printing something.

[mrtn]

Your cap is a bit off center.

[garylyb]

I just checked the cap and it would not go down smoothly. I reseated it and it's smooth now, I'll know in a few hours if that's what it was.

[garylyb]

Well, that didn’t make a difference. I let it sit for about 3 hours, and on the test print half of the white bars were gone.

I checked the cap, and it moves smoothly. I’m really getting frustrated.

What could be going on?

[mrtn]

Is the cap original? Chinese knockoffs seem to be DOA quite frequently.

[garylyb]

I bought it from my local Roland dealer. I also get ink and substrates from them.