Common ET8550 Printer Issues: Damper Purging, Printhead Sealing, and Air Removal

Question:

I recently removed the dampers from my ET8550 to clear a DTF clog, but after reassembly, I can’t purge the air out of the dampers. I saw your video on the upgraded printhead nipple conversion. Do I need to order any additional seals? Would it be better to have 2 extra tanks for cleaning solution or just 1? Also, how do I remove air from the V2 damper—can I use a syringe to pull the air from where it meets the printhead? Lastly, after the conversion, should I still use silicone where the ribbon cable inserts?

Answer:

 Thanks for reaching out to us. As always, we appreciate your interest and support in general and our BCH Technologies YouTube Channel (https://youtube.com/@bchtechnologies/). Your questions help us better understand the technology and deliver value-added customer support.

My first advice is to wait until our V3 damper is released (any day now). The V3 revision has been fine-tuned to correct all problems we've already documented on the ET8550 vs. V2, and it does improve over the V2. We have had a lot of questions from users on how to wire the tubes correctly, and I will go in-depth with a video on our YouTube channel soon.

Yes, for your question about the air in the dampers, it is best to suck out using a syringe from where it meets up with the print head on the bottom of each damper. Priming is essential as it cleans the system and ensures smooth ink flow. No air bubble trap inside prevents printing.

Regarding the extra tanks, I am not exactly sure what you mean by “2 additional tanks.” But, if you mean tanks for cleaning solutions, one would be enough to maintain the equipment. As long as the cleaning system can work and ink fine well, one piece of dedicated cleaning tank is enough.

In terms of sealing the printhead, many people prefer to seal the whole printhead from side to side to prevent leaks with no leak, but that can be pretty decisive if you ever need to replace the printhead or the ribbon cables. When the printheads are sealed up along with the wires, it means that when either part goes wrong, you would need to replace both components, regardless of what the other one looks like. A better option is the printhead guards, which do not require a seal around everything and allow for quicker future service or replacement. Stay tuned to our channel for an upcoming DTFPro-sponsored video where we will show step-by-step instructions on how to seal the head correctly so that future repairs can be carried out with no issues.

Silicone should be avoided for the ribbon cable inserts after the conversion. The PHC Printhead Guard protects the cable and printhead from leaks or damage and makes future part swaps a breeze.

Printer problems are a different matter; they are usually challenging to address due to their physical essence. Therefore, we can only do remote troubleshooting what I have given above and cannot help you repair your printer. We also provide evaluation and repair in our local diagnostic facility and printer repair service (https://bchtechnologies.com/printer-repair-service ); we are busy, too, so you may need to wait several weeks before bringing your device for drop-off or mail-in services. Our services are intended to repair the whole printer or even a single part, and our guidelines can be traced to local drop-off or mail-in options. That said, we realize our rates might be less competitive. Thus, we strongly suggest you go through online self-help options. Browse our YouTube channel (https://youtube.com/@bchtechnologies) and click the search icon next to "About" to look for videos relevant to you. This will help you search for a given video, and YouTube also recommends other videos based on specific topics from different channels.

Thanks again for your query, and thank you very much for being a supporter of BCH Technologies!