Press not storing ink values?

I have a DI plus and am having problems with the ink values when I send my file from the rip to the actually press. The file is received correctly and the press burns the plates correctly as well. When you go into the ink screen, there are no values set fr stroke or individual ink key settings? We can manually set the ink keys and stroke, but when you save ( or press the check key) it takes about 1-3 minutes to save he settings. Some of the time the screen locks up on the hour glass, and we have to open the panel below the screen and reset via a red button. I am kinda stumped at what this could be, maybe the way I send he file, a software update or re-load, maybe a board or other computer related part. I have a specialist coming out to go through the whole machine for 1-2 weeks, but I would like to keep it up and running until my appointment. Thanks in advance for all your help and input, K

 

Just read this excerpt from a previous thread:

"go into gui type scan disk and scan your drive. then type in defragment
and do that. also dont let your saved ink profiles build up to much. copy them on to disk. remember you have only a 75 mhz processor in it. hope this helps
it worked for me. now i do it once a month"

So can someone walk me through where I would look for this on my meta rip? Also there is a pic of the DI under where everything is spooled to, this pic says something to the fact nat it cannot export or connect? Any ideas? I will try to provide more content tomorrow, as it's late! Thanks, K

 

This has nothing to do with you META RIP. He mentions the computer off the DI itself. You have to connect a keyboard to it.

 

It is also possible the CPC ink file sub directory has over 75 profiles stored. If this happens your computer will lock-up or will not take ink profiles. You will have to delete some of the old profiles that have been saved.

 

Paul,

Where would I look for this cpc file location, and delete the extra ink files? Thanks, K

 

You can do it right from your GUI in the screen where you save the ink profiles. Just select the ones you want to delete and hit the delete key. If it does not allow you to do it from the GUI because you have too many saved, you will have to go into DOS and delete them manually.

Deleting ink profiles in DOS.

1. Start the press and wait for the GUI screen to come up. (Main screen).

2. Hit the ALT and X key at the same time, this will take you to DOS.

3. Type CD\ then enter.

4. Type del C:\cpc\cpc_db\*.cpc hit enter. (This will delete all your ink profiles.)

5. Type GUI and you will go back to your main screen.

 

Paul,

thanks for the help! i have a couple of question about what you wrote:

1. i can get into a folder called-stop tif. this folder has 584 files (previous jobs) that amount to 1.89GB. should i delete all these files?

2. there is also on the delta rip page a folder that say DI_HP_Dir. below it states : the remote export directory cannot access?

3.on the delta rip page there is a folder called QMDI Spool that links to the small DI icon. inside this folder there are various files, shoud i remove / delete these?

thanks for you help, i am not very proficient in the technical terms that you previous stated so sorry for having to draw this out. thanks, K

 

None of the files I mentioned are found on the RIP they are all located in the press PC.

 

Ok, after looking at the pre-mentioned place for deleting files, there are non to be deleted. After burning a set of plates (i manually stop the plate clean up as I manually clean the plates) I press the stop button and the hour glass appears but gets stuck? I can manually open and save the individual ink keys and stroke by color, but it take a looong time. If I try manually adjusting all four colors and stroke and then saving, the hourglass appears again and it gets stuck? So I guess I am stuck as well, I have a tech coming out but it will be two weeks until he is here. It has been mentioned that it could be a software glitch, but I am not that advanced to make a hypothesis in this matter. When you go to the S button on the gui and press the DI icon all the values are false, so I don't think it would be a card / board? I just need to keep it limping along until the tech gets here to fix it correctly. Thanks, K

 

I suspect cpc is not responding when you hit the set keys button, you would to look inside the cabin at the the bottom item that looks like a CPU, check on the fuses on the side if one is not blown, if all ok, from the back you will find a bunch of small plugs with blue cable (like the ones you find connecting a serial into a motherboard), unplug gently and put back one plug at the time.. good luck

 

by the way do that when machine is off

 

i have tried taking off all the ribbon connectors and cleaning them out with compressed air. also with the case of the fuse on the board, i think i would have more problems than saving cpc inking profiles if it was bad? paul, where can i get a keyboard that will fit the connector on the press to double check the dos settings?

 

i spoke two two heidelberg guys here in mexico, and there assesment is that it is the software. what is the possibility that it would be the software? the real problem lies in that i dont have the software discs that were supposed to come with the press. what would i do in this situation? thanks, kristian

 

For the keyboard connector you will want to get and AT male to PC female adapter. That way you can use a regular PC keyboard. They cost about 5 bucks if you can find one.

As far as your question concerning what to do in the situation of not having software to reload... "Panic" is the first word that pops in to my mind.

If you bought the machine used and if it came with the original RIP there is a possibility the prior owners could have backed up the press software to the RIP. In that instance you can just use the RIPTOC command and hopefully your problems will be gone.

Before I did that I would have a technician look at the machine and make sure there are no other problems before I started playing with the software.

 

ok I was able to find a connector to hook up my keyboard. I went into the setting and erased what you suggested. I tried burning a new file, but it still gets hung up when you finished burning the plates. At this point I am frustrated beyond comprehension, and not sure what to do. I would like to say thanks to everyone that has tried helping me, and for all your advice and ideas. At this point the problem is pointing towards the software, as the heidy rep mentioned something sketchy with the software last year. I will keep you updated as any further development unfolds. Thanks, k

 

Go to this thread :

http://www.colorprintingforum.com/direct-imaging-offset-press/qmdi-computer-freezing-2849.html

Read the post I wrote. There is another item that can be causing the problem you are having...

 

ok, i think i am learning more about my press every problem! i have taken off the whold key unit for the 3&4th unit for further inspection. the last unit (yellow) everything is working as should be. the 3rd unit (magenta) i have one motor that is completly frozen up or seized and is not moving at all. the last 4 motors 9,10,11,12 are not responding to % movement or individual movement, but the motor will freely turn. i am thinking that the blue flat wires in the cabinet need to be blown out with compressed air? when i go into the S funtions and check the small di icon all the values come back false, so it stands to reason that all the boards are ok? maybe a loose ground on the same board? moving on to the other (1st and 2nd) units, will provide further findings. K

 

Make sure the ribbon cables are not pinched under the rack they plug into. Usually the cables are plugged into the rack when it is out of the control cabinet. When it is slid back in, I have seen people inadvertently push it back in on top of the cables and cut them.

 

i am thinking that i might have re-insertted one of the ribbon cables in the wrong place on the back of the cabinet? i pulled out all the cables and blew them off with compressed air, but am not sure about this? is there any diagram that i may use in referance to make sure of the sequence of the cables? it seems funny that the motors on the magenta head (9,10,11,12) are not working.

 

If the motors are not responding this could be your problem?