Epson 7900/9900 Cleaning Pad

[cybis]

This is partially a crosspost from the ‘Another Epson 7900 question‘ discussion. I thought the subject deserved its own thread.

I've been intrigued / confused by the 'wiper blade' replacement recommendation. The 'Wiper Cleaner Assy' is the black plastic user-serviceable device that holds the rubber wiper. It is recommended to change it regularly. It's cheap but I'm not sure why it cannot just be cleaned instead if it’s still in good mechanical shape.

Then there is that hard sponge like material, which is a little more difficult to access, and is hidden behind a little piece of sheet metal, on which the rubber wiper blade wipes itself off. That sponge (or cleaning pad) quickly gets nasty and seems inadequate. It seems the idea was that the rubber wiper blade would remove gunk from the printhead and transfers it to the cleaning pad. But the gunk accumulates on the pad and I suspect the gunks goes from pad to printhead instead. So would keeping that pad clean be essential to operating those printers? Is this design / problem new to the x900 series? Or is it okay for the cleaning pad to be really dirty?

For instance, this Inkjetmall video: How to Professionally Clean Epson 7890, 9890, 7900 & 9900 printers doesn't mention cleaning the cleaning pad.

Eric talked about it on page 2 of the Epson megathread, but I think at the end of the day most people only remembered the advice to change the rubber wiper regularly, not the sponge, at least that’s all I remembered.

Unfortunately, I don’t think the pad alone is available as a service part, only the whole Ink System Unit (which holds the capping assembly, of which the sponge is a part) is available for order, correct?

The pad is probably worth just a few cents and is easy to replace. I’ve flipped mine 180 degrees to expose a fresh section of the pad to the wiper blade.
The pad is very oily. I’m not sure if it comes like that out of factory or if it’s a byproduct of the ink gunk (but I think I remember that a brand new rubber wiper blade comes with an oily film on it from the factory, but it could be my mind playing tricks.)

Anyways, I was curious if you guys had any more insight into this sponge thingy.

If you want to remove the pad to clean it or flip it over, it’s easy: just push slightly on the two tabs on the sheet metal. Then lift the sheet metal. The sponge is now visible and can be removed.  Take careful note of the pad and sheet metal orientation and exact location when you remove it, it will make reassembly easier.

I've attached pictures of the black plastic piece holding the sheet metal removed from the printer, DON'T remove it! Just the sheet metal bit, the plastic bit stays in.

[Ernst Dinkla]

I've been intrigued / confused by the 'wiper blade' replacement recommendation. The 'Wiper Cleaner Assy' is the black plastic user-serviceable device that holds the rubber wiper. It is recommended to change it regularly. It's cheap but I'm not sure why it cannot just be cleaned instead if it’s still in good mechanical shape.

Then there is that hard sponge like material, which is a little more difficult to access, and is hidden behind a little piece of sheet metal, on which the rubber wiper blade wipes itself off. That sponge (or cleaning pad) quickly gets nasty and seems inadequate. It seems the idea was that the rubber wiper blade would remove gunk from the printhead and transfers it to the cleaning pad. But the gunk accumulates on the pad and I suspect the gunks goes from pad to printhead instead. So would keeping that pad clean be essential to operating those printers? Is this design / problem new to the x900 series? Or is it okay for the cleaning pad to be really dirty?

For instance, this Inkjetmall video: How to Professionally Clean Epson 7890, 9890, 7900 & 9900 printers doesn't mention cleaning the cleaning pad.

Eric talked about it on page 2 of the Epson megathread, but I think at the end of the day most people only remembered the advice to change the rubber wiper regularly, not the sponge, at least that’s all I remembered.


The pad is probably worth just a few cents and is easy to replace. I’ve flipped mine 180 degrees to expose a fresh section of the pad to the wiper blade.
The pad is very oily. I’m not sure if it comes like that out of factory or if it’s a byproduct of the ink gunk (but I think I remember that a brand new rubber wiper blade comes with an oily film on it from the factory, but it could be my mind playing tricks.)

At the first page of Eric's adventure tale I immediately asked about the 7900 wiper concept. I have seen a variety of wiper designs in Epson wide format models from the 3000-5000-9000 to the 10000 and the last was the best in my opinion, the models after that machine got worse designs. With my HP Z3100 Z3200 the attention to wiper technology went beyond that of the Epson 10000 and I have a Z3100 that is going for 8 years now without a wiper replacement.

That design is shown on this page:
http://forum.luminous-landscape.com/index.php?topic=61585.0

Replacing that pathetic single wiper from to time on the x900 models is one of the best recommendations I have seen in the entire "inside 7900" thread. The used 7900 wiper shown in that thread did not show a good mechanical shape I think. It is also hard to tell whether an elastomer is still elastic enough for the job and how the edge shape is in relation to nozzle size holes. True, keeping the machine clean and the maintenance station wet is as important.

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
December 2014 update, 700+ inkjet media white spectral plots

[Mark D Segal]

Speaking from 4900 experience here, the design of the sponge component, and the placement of the printhead, are different on this model, but the cleaning principle is the same: the wiper blade needs to be wiped and the efficiency of the pump, the condition of the cleaning blade and that of the blade wiper will make a big difference to whether we need one cleaning cycle or numerous cleaning cycles to achieve a clear nozzle check. The whole assembly - capping station, wiper, wiper cleaner and pump are built into one assembly. It can be safely cleaned with a solution such as "Simple Green" and should be done every so often depending on throughput; however, my tech advises that sooner or later replacement of this assembly will be the first and usually sufficient line of attack when the efficiency of the cleaning mechanism deteriorates substantially. It could be worse, but still not cheap - here in Toronto for home service including the new assembly one is looking in the range of $400~450.

[cybis]

Replacing that pathetic single wiper from to time on the x900 models is one of the best recommendations I have seen in the entire "inside 7900" thread.

Agreed. But if one doesn't also clean or replace the cleaning pad, a brand new wiper assembly will immediately get dirty, would it not? Replacing the cleaning pad would be a two minutes, 50 cent job that a seven year old could do, if only Epson made that part available to us.

[Mark D Segal]

You only know what needs to be either cleaned or replaced once you open up the unit and have sufficient knowledge and experience to inspect it and know what to do about what you see. And no, this is not a job for a 7 year old.

[cybis]

You only know what needs to be either cleaned or replaced once you open up the unit and have sufficient knowledge and experience to inspect it and know what to do about what you see. And no, this is not a job for a 7 year old.

We all agree that replacing the wiper assembly is a task all users can take on, and should take on. The wiper makes contact with only two parts: the printhead and the cleaning pad. If the level of difficulty to replace a wiper assembly is say 2/10, I would say the level of difficulty to replace the cleaning pad is maybe a 3/10. I have no knowledge of the 4900, but on the 7900/9900, there is no need to even own a screw driver to do this, no need to open up anything!

[Mark D Segal]

Of course I'm talking about the 4900 - the one I know - and indeed there is a fair bit of taking down to get into that component. Sure, one can learn to do it, but as I've said elsewhere, I'm a firm believer in theory of comparative advantage. Each to his/her own.

[cybis]

Of course I'm talking about the 4900 - the one I know - and indeed there is a fair bit of taking down to get into that component. Sure, one can learn to do it, but as I've said elsewhere, I'm a firm believer in theory of comparative advantage. Each to his/her own.

I see. So not applicable to the 4900 then. Have changed the title of this discussion to reflect that. Sorry for the confusion.