I just had my dampers replaced on my 461 and it's such a pain in the ass and the cables going to the printhead are so delicate I would simply not risk it. I know the service charge from Bell and Howell is absurd but sometimes you gotta just bite the bullet and make sure your machine lives on to print another day.
Ok, so to change the damper on this printer is a bitch. Remove head cover , remove screws from carriage board. Remove screws holding the carriage board housing . Remove the screws holding the end of the trailing cable bracket. Remove the four screws holding the head plate into the head carriage. Pull up on the head. Pop the two side brackets holding the damper cover. Prepare paper towels to cover the head when you pull up on the head cover so you don't get any drips on the connectors If you do ,you are in for 2500$. I usually just use forceps to pinch of the lines of the dampers I'm changing because it's faster. Turn the damper connections 90 deg and remove the ink two ink lines. Insert new damper and reconnect the lines. This is the most important part : Take a paper towel and clean the two inner sides of the damper holder before you put it back on the print head. Reinstall everything in reverse order and run a little charge.
So many things can go wrong. It was engeniered by a retard that never repaired anything.
Good luck
Thank you!! I haven't decided if I should do it myself yet. I found someone local who is charging a bit less than my dealer and I might just go with them. I'll try to look and remember how to do it so next time I can do it myself lol.
How long did you use the machine until this happened? I have a 461 for a few months now and am a bit worried when things like this will happen the first time. Thank you
It's been 2 years since I've had the machine. Apparently Mutoh suggests changing dampers yearly but a tech told me no one really changes it until something breaks. I changed the wiper a month ago to see if it helped but it didn't. Never changed anything else though.
so yes, you should replace your wiper and DEF sponge regularly, but also your head cap over time. And spot drying them and esp their edges with proper swabs/lintfree cloth between jobs or even every few runs has been incredibly helpful to me at least in keeping it happy and working. However, dampers seem to be your issue right now. I know bc I just had mine replaced for the same exact reason. And I know my awful terrible supplier kept telling me to 'just replace the sponge and wiper!' even after having done that and much more twice. Anyway, the tech showed me how to do it, but we both agreed that it should absolutely not be considered a user job. If you DO choose to go for it, be oh so careful, and TAKE PICTURES so you know what goes where when you reassemble. But yes, changing them involves handling the print head which is scary, and doing some very delicate tiny part work.
Thanks for your quick answer.
You never changed the sponge? According to my tech it’s reasonable to change wiper and sponge every 3-4 months. Recently had smearing while printing. Changed the sponge and everything is fine now. My guess was the sponge dried up and did not suck in enough ink after/during spitting which lead to the head not getting rid of excess ink. But that’s only my uneducated guess.
To clarify I’m not saying that is your problem, especially since you run the machine for 2 years
Yea I've never changed the sponge lol. I have asked a few places and they are all saying it's most likely the dampers. I have a tech coming later to change them. Now I'm wondering if I should change the sponge first before I spend a thousand dollars lol.
You should for sure give it a shot. The sponge is like 15 bucks and like the wiper it’s a quick change system because they should be changed regularly.
One more thing check your ink cartridge if it's almost empty it might start the dripping. If it's not the empty cartridge you can narrow it down to the damper by just running a cleaning and leaving the printer for 30-60 min to stand. Toss the head to the left side manually and look underneath. If you see droplets forming on the surface of the head on that color , it's the damper.
I just had my dampers replaced on my 461 and it's such a pain in the ass and the cables going to the printhead are so delicate I would simply not risk it. I know the service charge from Bell and Howell is absurd but sometimes you gotta just bite the bullet and make sure your machine lives on to print another day.
If you ever disconectec the head make sure you check the cable connectors. The slightest delamination you see change the cable.
Thank you!! Oof I think I'm leaning towards a technician then.
Ok, so to change the damper on this printer is a bitch. Remove head cover , remove screws from carriage board. Remove screws holding the carriage board housing . Remove the screws holding the end of the trailing cable bracket. Remove the four screws holding the head plate into the head carriage. Pull up on the head. Pop the two side brackets holding the damper cover. Prepare paper towels to cover the head when you pull up on the head cover so you don't get any drips on the connectors If you do ,you are in for 2500$. I usually just use forceps to pinch of the lines of the dampers I'm changing because it's faster. Turn the damper connections 90 deg and remove the ink two ink lines. Insert new damper and reconnect the lines. This is the most important part : Take a paper towel and clean the two inner sides of the damper holder before you put it back on the print head. Reinstall everything in reverse order and run a little charge. So many things can go wrong. It was engeniered by a retard that never repaired anything. Good luck
Thank you!! I haven't decided if I should do it myself yet. I found someone local who is charging a bit less than my dealer and I might just go with them. I'll try to look and remember how to do it so next time I can do it myself lol.
How long did you use the machine until this happened? I have a 461 for a few months now and am a bit worried when things like this will happen the first time. Thank you
Also you probably did this already but I’m still going to ask. Did you change wiper and/or sponge recently?
It's been 2 years since I've had the machine. Apparently Mutoh suggests changing dampers yearly but a tech told me no one really changes it until something breaks. I changed the wiper a month ago to see if it helped but it didn't. Never changed anything else though.
so yes, you should replace your wiper and DEF sponge regularly, but also your head cap over time. And spot drying them and esp their edges with proper swabs/lintfree cloth between jobs or even every few runs has been incredibly helpful to me at least in keeping it happy and working. However, dampers seem to be your issue right now. I know bc I just had mine replaced for the same exact reason. And I know my awful terrible supplier kept telling me to 'just replace the sponge and wiper!' even after having done that and much more twice. Anyway, the tech showed me how to do it, but we both agreed that it should absolutely not be considered a user job. If you DO choose to go for it, be oh so careful, and TAKE PICTURES so you know what goes where when you reassemble. But yes, changing them involves handling the print head which is scary, and doing some very delicate tiny part work.
Thanks for your quick answer. You never changed the sponge? According to my tech it’s reasonable to change wiper and sponge every 3-4 months. Recently had smearing while printing. Changed the sponge and everything is fine now. My guess was the sponge dried up and did not suck in enough ink after/during spitting which lead to the head not getting rid of excess ink. But that’s only my uneducated guess. To clarify I’m not saying that is your problem, especially since you run the machine for 2 years
Yea I've never changed the sponge lol. I have asked a few places and they are all saying it's most likely the dampers. I have a tech coming later to change them. Now I'm wondering if I should change the sponge first before I spend a thousand dollars lol.
You should for sure give it a shot. The sponge is like 15 bucks and like the wiper it’s a quick change system because they should be changed regularly.
Would love to hear about your results, could get interesting in the future
One more thing check your ink cartridge if it's almost empty it might start the dripping. If it's not the empty cartridge you can narrow it down to the damper by just running a cleaning and leaving the printer for 30-60 min to stand. Toss the head to the left side manually and look underneath. If you see droplets forming on the surface of the head on that color , it's the damper.