Epson 9890 proper maintenance and banding issue question

[Travis Wallace]

Hello everyone, I have a 9890 that is 15 months old and out of warranty. I print onto canvas fabric 95% of the time and have recently been experiencing banding mainly with MK but also some VM and need to fix it without spending a fortune. I use Epson RGB and Adobe PSE 12 print setting because I can't figure out the EFI RIP the printer came bundled with and there are no instructions.

The settings I normally use is canvas, normal platt gap, quality 4, and speed print. I have done nearly 500 prints like this and now the banding has begun. If I increase the quality to max and do a cleaning, then there is NO banding, but I would go out of business if I had to do a cleaning for each print. As a note, these are not photos 90% of the time so it does not need to be perfect, but banding is a killer for sure.

I am attaching photos of the nozzle check 1) after a normal cleaning, 2) after my first print, and 3) after the second print. For me power cleanings don't help much more than a normal cleaning and gaps still appear in the nozzle check.

So is there a reference manual or video that shows how to replace parts and maintain the 9890?

Does anyone know how much a tech would charge for a checkup and cleaning? Then I can see how they tear it apart for future reference.

Thanks,
Travis

[davidh202]

That's got to be some of the worst nozzle checks ever!! I'm amazed the machine is even allowing you to print anything at all.
You have tons of deflected nozzles, and my first educated guess is LOTS OF CRAP on the exterior of the heads nozzle plate.
First thing I would do is pull the wiper and replace it. I'd be willing to bet its worn and full of Crap also. I think your settings are wrong especially the ones in the printer control panel.
  You have colors overlapping channels on the head, and you say banding is your problem?  I'd think things are a lot worse than that!  

[Travis Wallace]

Thanks I kinda understand since there is a lot of loose fibers everywhere while printing.

Can you tell me where and how to replace the wiper, and what can I do to cut down on flying particles?

Thanks

[Paul2660]

Thanks I kinda understand since there is a lot of loose fibers everywhere while printing.

Can you tell me where and how to replace the wiper, and what can I do to cut down on flying particles?

Thanks

Best way with Matte canvas is to wipe it before you print with a soft drafting brush.  You also can clean out around the paper loading area with the same brush.  

I agree that is a terrible looking pattern and since all the colors are there, I don't feel it is a damper issue.  The wiper assembly can easily be changed.  You need to find the website By Eric G.  It's on this site, just look for the single largest post in the printers forum.  Dig through it and he points to his website.  I can't remember if off hand.  But Eric shows a quick video on the wiper swap.  I believe it's also easily found with a google search.

A new wiper may solve some of the this, but as pointed out by previous poster, you have bigger issues, with colors running over, and that really does point to a bad head.  

Matte Paper and Matte Canvas both will shed a lot of fibers and it's important to clean out the entire accessible paper area of the printer, but wiping lightly over the surface will get a lot of it.  There will sometimes also be a lot up inside the ends of the roll which can be easily cleaned.

But I am also afraid a new head will be required.  

I still can't figure out what software you are using to print.  Photoshop CC and all other versions simply use the Epson driver and the Epson driver makes the final uprez to 360 Dpi.  LR still uses the Epson driver (as I understand it) but LR controls the uprez to 360 and does a much better job.

If you are using Epson RGB to print for ICC space, I would strongly get away from that.  Instead select no color adjustment, and let photoshop CC or LR use the correct paper profile.  All of this is explained in the book, "The Digital Print"  

Edit: here is a link to Eric's main site.  Ton of great info. 
http://myx900.com/

Paul

[Garnick]

Hi Travis,

I have to agree with Paul, this is a mess.  In all the years I've been using inkjet printers(mostly Epson) I have, thankfully, never encountered anything that even approaches this situation.  I sincerely hope I never will.  I also agree that you should definitely try to at least clean and probably replace the wiper blade.  This is the site Paul mentioned for Eric: http://myx900.com/manure-requested/.  This information is for the 79/9900 printers, but I believe it might have some relevance to your printer as well.  Also try to clean every part of the paper path you can get to on a regular basis. I also print on canvas and Fire Art papers, which are the bane of these printers unless properly maintained.  After each printing session on canvas and fine art paper I vacuum the paper path and sometimes use one of the micro-porous cleaning clothes to get rid of as much of the residue as possible.  If you are printing only on canvas without cleaning the paper path that would explain the accumulation of residue and the progressive deterioration in the nozzle patterns.  Take a look at Eric's site and use whatever info helps.

Gary

[Travis Wallace]

Hi Travis,

I have to agree with Paul, this is a mess.  In all the years I've been using inkjet printers(mostly Epson) I have, thankfully, never encountered anything that even approaches this situation.  I sincerely hope I never will.  I also agree that you should definitely try to at least clean and probably replace the wiper blade.  This is the site Paul mentioned for Eric: http://myx900.com/manure-requested/.  This information is for the 79/9900 printers, but I believe it might have some relevance to your printer as well.  Also try to clean every part of the paper path you can get to on a regular basis. I also print on canvas and Fire Art papers, which are the bane of these printers unless properly maintained.  After each printing session on canvas and fine art paper I vacuum the paper path and sometimes use one of the micro-porous cleaning clothes to get rid of as much of the residue as possible.  If you are printing only on canvas without cleaning the paper path that would explain the accumulation of residue and the progressive deterioration in the nozzle patterns.  Take a look at Eric's site and use whatever info helps.

Gary

Thanks for that explanation and I will address every point you made.

I am worried that you mentioned the print head, how much is that part and can I replace it myself?

Which vacuum and micro cloths should I purchase so I can get them asap?

Thanks, Travis

[hugowolf]

...

I am worried that you mentioned the print head, how much is that part and can I replace it myself?
...

The major difficulty is finding the part. Epson only sell print heads to their service companies. And the cost would, when you consider inks, is close to replacing the printer.

I would definitely start with physically cleaning the head - removing the goop that has probably built up on the head surface.

[The wiper blade is easy to replace, and not very expensive, but I think your problem is beyond that. Although a more frequent replacement of the wiper blade may be advisable.]

Brian A

[Travis Wallace]

The major difficulty is finding the part. Epson only sell print heads to their service companies. And the cost would, when you consider inks, is close to replacing the printer.

I would definitely start with physically cleaning the head - removing the goop that has probably built up on the head surface.

[The wiper blade is easy to replace, and not very expensive, but I think your problem is beyond that. Although a more frequent replacement of the wiper blade may be advisable.]

Brian A

Thanks Brian I see the X900 website has a video to clean the print head but have not watched it yet. Are the 9900 and 9890 print head assemblies basically the same??

I just spoke to Imaging Spectrum today where I bought the 9890 and they are trying to be helpful, but since I did not get the extended warranty I am left to fix it on my own. If I can't fix it, then I am in for another $5000 for failure to maintain a perfectly clean work area (ie my bedroom).

I am currently moving things around to see what can be done to create a "clean zone" for the 9890.

[Jglaser757]

I just had my print head replaced and cleaning unit. On new printer. Getting acces to print head is not easy to clean it.

Epson sent guy from company called Decision One.

[Travis Wallace]

I just had my print head replaced and cleaning unit. On new printer. Getting acces to print head is not easy to clean it.

Epson sent guy from company called Decision One.

Thanks for the info but did it go well?

From what I have read (rip off report and glassdoor), D1 has a bad reputation for high turnovers, low pay and shoddy workmanship.

Thanks

[Paul2660]

Thanks for the info but did it go well?

From what I have read (rip off report and glassdoor), D1 has a bad reputation for high turnovers, low pay and shoddy workmanship.

Thanks

I feel that it's like everything else, there are good and bad experiences with D1.  Mine have all been good since I started working with Epson, 7600, 7800, 9880, and 9900 all over the past 10 years or so.  I have worked with the local D1 rep, each time.  Sometimes they had to call in for help but that has not happened in the last 5 years. 

If you replace the print head/dampers (I would not replace one without the other), it's not necessary to re-align the head unless the entire head holding unit is replaced.  If the tech is just going to replace the head, you do not have to run the re-alignment since the all that is being replaced is the head.  What the head fits on, the carridge, is what has to be re-aligned.  Thus if you don't replace the carriage, there is no need to re-align.  You can learn a lot more on Eric's site.  He has a video on the entire process of replacing the head.  To me it's a bit more than I want to do.  But it can be done.  The only issue, is that the new head has a unique number and that has to be re-input to the mother board.  Without the service software that runs on a PC, you can't input the new head serial number.  Eric covers this in detail.

You not see the same level of support, however their work is warrantied for 90 days. 

My current tech (last time I had work done was November of 2014), tends to call me in advance, we talk it over, then he orders the parts from Epson.  He is good, knows the 9900 front to back.  Locally in my geo, there are many more solvent printers from Epson and other companies, and or Latex printers.  I was surprised to hear this. 

Paul

[Jglaser757]

Thanks for the info but did it go well?

From what I have read (rip off report and glassdoor), D1 has a bad reputation for high turnovers, low pay and shoddy workmanship.

Thanks

It took awhile, but went well. He was not originally going to replace the head, even though I asked. The banding issue would not go away and The nozzle check was perfect. He replaced the cleaning unit first. Tried  He said it could be a nozzle not firing properly. So finally he agreed and horizontal banding issue was rectified

[Travis Wallace]

Update: I cleaned everything I could reach in the 9890 with foam tips and distilled water, and replaced the wiper assembly from Compass Micro. The nozzle check got better on the second one but the 3rd looks like the 3rd photo I posted above before changing the wiper.
The folks at Imaging Spectrum have never seen a bad case like mine so I just purchased another 9890, they are on sale for about $3000 shipped. That's a steal considering what a print head costs to replace. I will review Eric's site and perform the head cleaning on the old one after I set up the new one. I am also in the process of setting up a "clean room" in another bedroom to reduce the chances of this happening in the future. Thanks to all for your helpful advice.

[Paul2660]

Yes, that is a good price for sure as I have heard the head is around $2500.00.  Not sure if that includes the D1 installation.

Paul