Safety

This documentation is not a substitute for proper training and sign-off. If you don't know how to do something, don't guess! Ask someone who is trained and cleared for use on the machine for help.

Use vent when printing.
Keep the floor clear! The gantry WILL bump into objects and people!
Wear UV googles if material is more than 1/4” thick.
Wear gloves while servicing the machine.
Red buttons (x3) are the emergency stops.

Switch for the vent

Stay behind hazard line

KEEP THE FLOOR CLEAR! THIS MEANS YOU!

Hazardous moving parts

UV radiation warning

Gloves and UV googles

Emergency stop button 1

Emergency stop button 2

Emergency stop button 3

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DO NOT LEAVE THE ROOM A MESS. IT IS UNSAFE AND WILL ANGER THE MATT.

Daily Maintenance

Check the maintenance sheet on the wall.
If daily maintenance has not been preformed today, watch the video here and preform the daily maintenance steps BEFORE you print.

Shake white inks
Run test print
Run head cleaning (if needed)

Getting Printer Ready for your Media

Set the media height

Press the Function button on the machine console.

Click down through the menu to find the Head Height Menu - Click Enter.

Click Enter on Head Height Menu.

Enter your Media thickness (Use Calipers for precise measurements).

When media has been inputted, press the “End” button until you reach the main menu. The machine will add 1.5mm to provide tolerance between the media the head.

Secure your media on the bed

Seat your media up against the rulers on the right side and lower side of the bed.
The bottom right corner is the origin point.
Make sure you understand the size of your media and the size of your graphic.
Your media MUST be flat. There is only 1.5mm of tolerance.

The carriage on the machine could rub up against the media smearing ink all over it.
The carriage can also catch the edges of media as it is moving from side to side. Tape can be used to press edges down against the bed. Be careful that your tape doesn’t have rough edges.
The vacuum bed

There are a number of holes on the bed. These lead to a vacuum that helps secure and flatten media.
The machine will automatically turn on the vacuum bed during the print but you can turn it on before printing to see how flat the vacuum can get your media. Hit the vacuum button on the console.
There are two vacuum zones on the machine. The 1st covers the bottom 2/3 of the bed and the 2nd covers the top 1/3. Check under the machine for two red valves to activate these zones. If your media does not cover the top zone, shut the valve off to provide greater suction.
You can also increase the succession by covering open holes on the bed with poster board. If you do this, follow the same rules about flatness even if you know they are not being printed on. The machine loves to find imperfections in height and crash on it.

Set the machine to remote mode

Press “Remote” on the printer - If the printer is not in Remote mode, it will not print and your file will look like its processing forever on the computer.

Getting your file ready

How to use Rasterlink

Importing

Open “Rasterlink 6+” on the desktop PC

Make sure the JFX is selected

Import your file - Click on “File” > “Open"

⚠️

FILES LEFT ON THE DESKTOP WILL GET PERIODICALLY DELETED. ALWAYS BACKUP YOUR FILES ON OTHER DEVICES OR SERVERS.

Your can print from:

PostScript (PS), EPS, TIFF*, BMP, JPEG, PDF** (1.4 or less)

AI and PSD cannot be used.
PNG cannot be used.
*TIFF alpha channel is not supported.
**PDF’s that are saved in Illustrator are not supported unless you downgrade compatibility to PDF 1.4

Open your file and it will appear in the center Job List Column

Next you will need to define your settings for this print

Click on “Q” icon to open the “Print Quality” menu

Select: JFX200EX4C+SPLUS120_VYCOM-CeltecUltraW_v35_F118532.icc

Special Plate (optional)

If you would like to add a “Special Plate” Layer into your print (Primer, White or Clear) Go back to the Job History Column - Select your file - click on the “Special Plate Icon” on the right menu.

If you are looking to use only 1 special plate you can make your selection and click the composite automatically box.

If you would like to use multiple special plates - do not select that box

Choose your special plate and press create for each plate

Your plates will appear in the Job History.

Click your file and plates and click on the “Composition” Icon on the left menu.

Ensure the order you would like your plates to appear. The bottom layer will be printed first.

File placement on bed

Click on “General Print” Icon.

Your file in relation to the bed area will appear.

You can click and drag to where you would like your file to print.

You can also resize your graphic from this tab.

Printing

Click on the top left “Properties” Icon to get back to the main view.

Find your file in the Job History column.

Right Click on your file - select “Rip and Print.”

Your file will begin processing.

Rasterlink will ask that the user check the UV lamp position. Consult the chart on the wall. Depending on how many layers your job is, the UV lamp position will change. Jobs with multiple plates may require moving the lamp between layers. The software will pause the job and remind you to do this if necessary.

The machine will begin moving - Keep fingers away!

Cleanup

Initial on the maintenance sheet that the machine was used today.

Remove the media from the bed. It will already be dry. (If it is not, alert a STEAM Team member)

Turn the vacuum off.

If you brought in a USB flash drive for the computer, make sure you take it back with you.

Throw out any trash and make sure the area is clean!

Icon explanations

Properties - Home Tab, Job Information, Job Cost, Ink Consumption
Arrangements - Combining multiple jobs
Quality - profiles, pass rates, overprints, resolution, clear gloss
Crop - Cropping of Jobs
General Print - Bed Layout, movement on the bed
Jig Print - Creating Templates for multiple of the same object
Execution - Send Jobs to printer, print count, most used tab
Special Plate - Creating special colors, white, primer, clear inks
Composition - Arrangement of special plates
Layer - thinning of the white ink, if the white ink is outside the the graphic you can “thin” it by shrinking it
Color replace - replacement of colors, not used very often
Duplicate - you can also right click to create a duplicate or CTRL+D
Backup - when you repeat a job often you can save a job vs keeping it in the job history

Mimaki JFX200-2513 EX Tutorial