Colors are pale or missing - Troubleshooting

Correct color on the thread is of significant importance. This article describes how to check and troubleshoot if the colors appear pale or missing.

For correct coloring of the Coloreel thread, two things are critical:

• The print heads are jetting out ink
• The ink is hitting the thread

Should you experience a problem with pale or missing colors, follow the steps below. Run a sample embroidery after each completed step until the problem is solved.

1. Check the start marker for missing color.

This is standard procedure. Always check the start marker for every embroidery. The first four fields of the Start Marker come from each of the four printer heads: Black - Cyan - Magenta, and Yellow, in that order. A piece of white thread separates them. Missing or pale coloring indicates a problem that should be resolved before producing commercial embroidery.

2. Check the threading

The three thread guides in the Print engine ensure the thread is correctly positioned for the ink to hit the thread. The three thread guides, most important for thread coloring, to check for correct threading is:

• First thread guide at the Print engine, after the Entry encoder wheel.
• The vibration damper is located in the middle of the thread path of the Print Engine.
• The exit thread guide is at the rightmost part of the Print Engine.

See instructions for threading here:

3. Clean the thread guides.

Even tiny residues on the guide pins can shift the thread from the correct position. See the close-up image below.

Residue buildup on thread guide pins can dry and form a hard deposit. Loosening the residue buildup might require using your fingernails or some wooden or plastic knife.

Regular cleaning of the thread guides is part of the weekly maintenance. See the video instruction below.

The following troubleshooting steps require a Computer or Tablet to log in to the unit's Operator panel as an Advanced User in a web browser.

4. Check the print heads

This step will determine if the issue is ink missing the thread or if the nozzles of the print heads are clogged. Perform the check by following these instructions... 

If the test results indicate that the print heads jet ink without hitting the thread, and you have confirmed that the thread guides are adequately cleaned, a print head position calibration is needed. See the auto-calibration instruction in the installation manual.

If the above test indicates that the print heads are partially or entirely clogged, proceed with section 5 below.

5. Actions for clogged print heads

One reason for print head nozzle clogging is caused by not using the unit for an extended time. Follow the maintenance schedule prompting you to power on the unit every second week. Important when the unit has not been in use for a couple of weeks. By starting the unit, an auto-cleaning sequence is executed. Please let the maintenance cycle finish before powering off the unit again.

• First, run any Coloreel-colored embroidery of about 10 000 stitches. This will "exercise" the Print Heads and is often enough to make them work properly again.

If the issue is still at hand, please check the print head nozzles by performing a nozzle check. Document the number of missing nozzles by taking a photo of the papers from the test. Save them for reference if you need to contact Coloreel Support.

If any printer head shows that more than eight nozzles are failing, continue with those actions:

• Perform a Manual Clean:
  • Go to the Maintenance tab in the left sidebar of the Operator panel.
  • Choose cleaning of one or several colors, giving you problems. By selecting "All," you can clean all four Print Heads.
  • Tap the "START CLEANING" button to begin cleaning. When the cleaning process is finished, you will be notified by a pop-up.
  • Run a test embroidery with about 10 000 stitches.
  • Check the result by doing another Nozzle check—Take a photo of the papers for documentation.
  • If the new Nozzle check still shows more than eight nozzles missing:

• Perform a Deep Cleaning cycle:
  • Click the Maintenance tab in the left sidebar.
  • Choose the extra option to perform a Deep Cleaning.
  • Select the print head with nozzle problems or "All."
  • Click the "START DEEP CLEANING"-button to begin. Warning: This process will use a lot of ink.
  • The Deep Cleaning process will take more than one minute to complete, and you will see a Notification when the cleaning is finished.
  • Run a test embroidery with about 10 000 stitches.
  • Check the result by doing another Nozzle check—Take a photo as documentation.

If those troubleshooting actions fail to solve your color issue, please file a support request. A Coloreel support technician will contact you to find a solution to your problem.

At our e-learning site, Coloreel Academy, you can find complete courses with video lessons learning how to use and maintain the Coloreel ITCU.

Coloreel Academy can be found at https://acedemy.coloreel.com