ColorSpan DisplayMaker Legacy UVR/UVX - UV Bulb Expectations (UVR-UVX-9840)

1. Increase power from low to medium, and then from medium to high. Increasing the power setting causes the

bulb to emit more UV energy. Heat output will increase as well, so see the section below about power settings

and heat generation.

2. Change to the next slower print mode. Each mode moves the media through the lamp zone at a different

rate. Slower print modes allow the printed ink to be exposed to the decreased lamp energy more times, result-

ing in an accumulation of enough UV energy to cure the ink.

At some later time, the energy output even at the high power setting combined with printing in the slowest mode

will not expose the ink to enough UV energy to cure. At this point there is no option except to replace the bulbs. The

estimated maximum life for a bulb is 1000 hours.

Additional Notes on Bulb Life

• “On-time” includes all time that the bulbs are on, including when the printer is not actively printing. The set-

ting for idle on-time until automatic shut-off can be adjusted between 1 and 8 minutes.

• On-time alone is not the only factor that contributes to eventual energy decline. Each startup cycle of the

bulb also contributes to the decline. To maximize bulb life, plan your printing schedule so that both idle on-time

and lamp startup/shutdown cycles are kept to a minimum.

• Using the manual media measurement method, whereby the printer operator ﬁ nds the width of the media by

manually positioning the carriage over each edge, must turn off the lamps in order for the measurement to take

place. This increases the number of startup cycles, which as noted above contributes to decreased bulb energy.

Bulb Power Settings and Heat Generation

Some customers have observed an increase in “Lamp Overheated or Disconnected” error messages after changing

the bulb power setting to Medium or High. Each lamp assembly has a cooling system consisting of two fans that pull

air through the top of the lamp housing, blow it over the bulb, and expel it out the side of the housing. The top of the

assembly has a ﬁ lter screen that keeps foreign particles from being blown by the fans onto the bulbs. This ﬁ lter screen

can become clogged, decreasing the air ﬂ ow over the bulbs and therefore decreasing the efﬁ ciency of the cooling

system. The Medium and High power settings create more heat than the Low power setting, and so if the cooling

system is operating at anything less than peak efﬁ ciency, the temperature could exceed the safety limit and cause the

lamp to turn off.