RE: Epson SP 9900 Maintenance

[Garnick]

Hello all,

Once I got past the three years of warranty on my nearly six year old 9900 it has performed exceedingly well.  I give it a thorough cleaning after printing on canvas and fine art papers, and also clean the wiper blade frequently.  I try to keep the RH at least above 40% and usually close to 50%, albeit a somewhat difficult task during the Canadian winters.  Usually one cleaning per week at CL1 in Service Mode.  However, I have recently been dealing with an issue in the green channel, as shown in the image below.  I suspect there might be something attached to that part of the nozzle array, and although I have tried several cleanings, including CL2, I haven't yet been able to dislodge whatever it blocking those nozzles.  Fortunately, since it is the green channel, I can still print most images without issue.  I will try a few more cycles, but beyond that I will likely have to resort to the head cleaning procedure as shown in a video from Inkjet Mall(cannot find the link).  It would seem to be a rather straight forward procedure and one that I should probably adopt for future use, but I would like to get some feedback from those of you who might have used this approach to clean the print-head and flushing box on a x900 printer.  Your replies would be much appreciated.



Thank you,
Gary

   

[David Horton]

If, after repeated cleaning cycles, the green channel dropout increases, a printhead replacement may well be required at considerable cost, as per my 7900.

[cybis]

Hi Gary,

I tried the Inkjet Mall method on my 9900 with a similar issue as yours without success. The missing nozzles are probably not caused by clogged nozzles but by a mechanical or electrical failure of the printhead.

I asked Inkjet Mall about the likelihood of success using their method and here is their answer:

"Well, if it was any other printer model, I would say that it could probably be fixed by flushing the head, but since it’s a 9900 and he has unchanged, missing and mis-firing nozzles in his M channel, I don’t have confidence it can be fixed… BUT, he could certainly TRY our manual cleaning procedures, and PiezoFlush cart in that channel."

So I tried and it failed...

[Ken Doo]

...and also clean the wiper blade frequently.  ...

 

Don't just clean the wiper blade----replace it.  Gentle cleanings are good with "Swabbits" in between, but it's a good idea to replace the wiper blade at least once a year.  The wiper blade can get "deformed" after a period of time, and this effects its ability to clean the print head. (And yes, I've seen deformed wiper blades on my own 9900---replaced it, and magically print head is cleaned after replacement with a single paired cleaning as opposed to multiple cleanings).  ~$15 for a new wiper blade is worth the try vs. a print head replacement.  Of course, you know you really just want that new Epson printer anyway....   

ken

[Garnick]

Thank you all for your replies.  As far as the wiper blade is concerned, I removed and cleaned it recently and it did not appear to be deformed, which begs another question.  Is it not peculiar that a "deformed" wiper blade would affect only one nozzle?  Just asking.  I have however run a number of prints with this gap in the green without any apparent issues.  These images included a sufficient amount of green to show the issue if it was indeed an "issue".  This morning I did 2 - CL3 cleanings and 1 - CL4 cleanings with no positive effects in the green nozzle, so I now suspect that it might indeed be related to a head problem.  Taking into consideration that this machine is almost 6 years old I'll have to weigh the cost of a head replacement against that of a new printer and all of the related costs with that approach.  I imagine my customers would object to me folding my tent and moving on, but I'm the only one who can make these decisions.

PS:  One question - Other that Decision One, does anyone know of a company that sells and installs these print-heads here in Canada?

Gary         

[dgberg]

Not sure I would go the repair route at all.
Gonna cost you at least $2,000? In Canada maybe more.
If you can find a 9900 or 9890 the inks are the same. You can just move your old inks to the new printer.
Depending on how much ink you have? Could be $1,000 worth or even double that if you have the large carts?
I also have a 9900 and got a price for a 9890 of $3195 before they announced the new model.
The older models seem almost impossible to find now so it very well be a moot point.