Troubleshooting

Artifacts | Symptoms | Error codes | See also | Troubleshooting guides

Start here: How to troubleshoot a TH2 head

Artifacts

• Artifact gallery
• Cloud or blotch-shaped artifacts appear in solids
• Image corruption occurs intermittently
• Jitter artifact on lenticular applications
• Magnus 800 and VLF imaging artifact caused by TH2 carriage vibration
• One-pixel horizontal artifact when using command line plots from Service Shell with GMCE
• TH2 v1.05c firmware defect can cause solid stripes on plate
• Vertical pinstripe artifact on high-sensitivity integrating media

Symptoms

Beam balance | Beam pointing | Cooling | Edge detection | Firmware | Focus system | Head communication | Imaging | Safety loop

Beam balance

• Maintaining the contrast ratio on a Thermal 2 head when stroke profile is poor
• Unable to do a stroke cal
• Stroke cal fails and hvtrim has a value of 0
• Unable to do a stroke cal because of laser problems

Beam pointing

• TH2: BPD Sensor Failure (Sensor Saturation)

Cooling

• Chiller hose connections leak coolant
• Coolant in the chiller reservoir is clear
• Troubleshooting Th2 temperature or coolant failure problems

Edge detection

• Print Console Sometimes Causes Subscan Shifts on Trendsetter NEWS Devices
• Troubleshooting low sum/edge detect failure
• Finding the Correct Drum Position for Edge Detection (Lotem Quantum)

Firmware

• TH2 v1.05c firmware defect can cause solid stripes on plate.
• The GMCE firmware installer fails to install the head firmware.
• The media slots become corrupted.

Focus system

• Troubleshooting TH2 focus learn issues
• Troubleshooting TH2 focus errors

Head communication

• Intermittent communication, lvd data, or safety loop errors
• TH2 Symptom: You can connect to the host but not the head (error Rcon card startup failed due to time out)
• Measuring Voltages on a TH2 head

Imaging

• TH2 window is loose or falls out
• You see error 02318 or blank plates
• TH2: No Image Appears on the Plate
• GDAPI jobs have banding on-press (Print Console version 2.1.1.24 and any version of Brisque and Prinergy)
• Humidity and oil in the air supply causes banding and error 02334: Laser Power Is Unstable
• Troubleshooting a stuck pixel on a TH2 head
• Chopping pixels on a TH2 head
• Pixel Chopping Calculator
• How to check tilt on a thermal head

Safety loop

• Measuring Voltages on a TH2 head
• Testing the Voltage of the Safety Interlock

Error codes

Select the error number and click Go.

• You see error 02318 or blank plates
• Alphabetical Error Code List - Field Access
• Alphabetical Error Code List - Engineer Access
• By Subsystem: Error Code List - Field Access
• By Subsystem: Error Code List - Engineer Access
• Thermal 2.7 laser diode is over-temperature
• EH.PWR signal is unavailable on some Thermal 2 heads
• Humidity and oil in the air supply causes banding and error 02334: Laser Power Is Unstable

See also

• Doug Smythies' Support site
• Th2 and MCE Simulators
• Heads by part number
• Old Head Part Numbers
• Media Troubleshooting
• Lotem Quantum troubleshooting page
• Troubleshooting Staccato On-Plate: Customer Checklist

Troubleshooting guides

• Chiller Troubleshooting Guide
• Troubleshooting Staccato On-Plate
• Troubleshooting Staccato On-Plate: Customer Checklist
• Staccato troubleshooting page
• How to Return a Head
• Chiller Troubleshooting Guide