Epson DFX-5000+ Label Jam Notes

We had a machine come in that had been printing 2" x 4" tractor-fed labels. A label was stuck to the face of the ribbon mask, and to the rear suface of the spring-loaded tension plate below the platen. Following are a few notes on how the clean-up went.

a) Ribbon Mask:

The ribbon mask is attached to the printhead by two studs with screwdriver slots in their ends. The one at the left had a broken slot. When I got the complete printhead out and looked at the ribbon mask's attachment, it appeared that the left side stud had been cemented in place at the factory. Why they would do that is beyond me, but it's something to be mindful of. If you go to remove a ribbon mask stud and it can't be loosened easily, stop; you'll just break the screwdriver slot if you keep torquing it harder. Take the whole printhead off and see what you're up against.

Wetting the stuck label with Varsol was helpful for getting it off.

A good feature of the printhead/carriage is that the printhead is self-positioning as it's put back on the carriage. Removing and reinstalling the printhead won't alter the printhead/platen gap adjustment.

b) Tension Plate:

It would have been nice to have removed this item to get the label off of it, but it looked like something I might not be able to get back in without tearing down the whole machine.

I took a sheet of paper towel, folded it in four, dipped it in Varsol and placed it behind the tension plate where the label was stuck to it. After about half-an-hour, the label came away easily. Varsol is a fairly benign solvent, so it did no harm to the adjacent plastic parts.

All-in-all, a good outcome. That Varsol soak saved a lot of work and gave a good result.

(From what I've observed, not all label adhesives are the same. In a case where Varsol is ineffective, try methyl hydrate. It's also relatively benign and won't harm plastic.)

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