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Author Topic: Avoiding clogged head with Epson P800  (Read 8291 times)

NigelC

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Avoiding clogged head with Epson P800
« on: November 08, 2016, 07:50:25 am »

I know Mark Segal's recommendation for the P800 is to make a test print every 5 days or so, implying it's not so averse to clogging as the 3800/3880. (I sometimes left my 3800 for months and only had a problem in the magenta channel when it was 7 years old. Problem is from Spring/Summer next year I'm going to be away for periods of weeks at a time on a regular basis so I won't be able to do that. Any suggestions on measures to take to mitigate the problem, bearing in mind domestic humidity is probably a bit higher than it should be - guessing maybe 60%? 
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Mark D Segal

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Re: Avoiding clogged head with Epson P800
« Reply #1 on: November 08, 2016, 07:57:00 am »

There are some suggestions and algorithms available for printer self-use at timed intervals. You may find it useful to do a search on this Forum which would lead to them. I would point you there if I remembered where, but I know they exist. I think the good news is, however, that even if left unused for a couple of weeks, while the first nozzle check will show gaps, one cleaning cycle is often sufficient to clear them up.
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Wayne Fox

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Re: Avoiding clogged head with Epson P800
« Reply #2 on: November 08, 2016, 12:01:04 pm »

If it’s going to be weeks, you might consider just leaving it off.  I haven’t had a single clog in my p800 since I bought it (about 6 months ago).  It has gone for several weeks on a couple of occasions.  Not sure where the break even is with printing a print every 5 days and maybe having to run a clean.  Obviously if you try it a couple of times and it doesn’t work out, you could then explore the idea of an automated print.

Personally it appears something has changed with the new inkset or new printers.  I have only had 2 minor missing nozzles on my p9000 which is now almost 1 year old.  I moved to a new home, and haven’t set up my humidifier yet so the environment isn’t as controlled as my last home. Not dry, so winter will perhaps be more telling.

But it’s still a little too soon to say on these printers, time will tell if my experience is unique and things are pretty much like they were, or if Epson did something that significantly mitigates the issue.  My 9900 really wasn’t very problematic, but the p9000 so far is definitely performing better in this regard.
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Benny Profane

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Re: Avoiding clogged head with Epson P800
« Reply #3 on: November 08, 2016, 06:10:21 pm »

Yea!
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philaitman

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Re: Avoiding clogged head with Epson P800
« Reply #4 on: November 09, 2016, 11:20:11 am »

I've had some time off from photography for personal reasons and I must admit to being full of trepidation when I turned on my P600 for the first time in 3.5 months last Sunday to do a print run. I did a nozzle check and bang clean as a whistle no missing lines at all. So the P600 behaves very well in this regard (North England Damp autumn conditions :) )
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DeanChriss

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Re: Avoiding clogged head with Epson P800
« Reply #5 on: November 09, 2016, 01:08:20 pm »

If it’s going to be weeks, you might consider just leaving it off.  I haven’t had a single clog in my p800 since I bought it (about 6 months ago).  It has gone for several weeks on a couple of occasions.  Not sure where the break even is with printing a print every 5 days and maybe having to run a clean.  Obviously if you try it a couple of times and it doesn’t work out, you could then explore the idea of an automated print.

Personally it appears something has changed with the new inkset or new printers.  I have only had 2 minor missing nozzles on my p9000 which is now almost 1 year old.  I moved to a new home, and haven’t set up my humidifier yet so the environment isn’t as controlled as my last home. Not dry, so winter will perhaps be more telling.

But it’s still a little too soon to say on these printers, time will tell if my experience is unique and things are pretty much like they were, or if Epson did something that significantly mitigates the issue.  My 9900 really wasn’t very problematic, but the p9000 so far is definitely performing better in this regard.

I'd second the notion that something has changed with the inkset. The first thing I noticed is that when printing from a roll of Hahnemühle Photo Silk Baryta on the P7000 the print laid almost perfectly flat after printing. With my 7900 this paper remained like a coil spring and had to be de-rolled before the print could could be used. The print was definitely wetter when it came out of the printer, but not wet enough to get ink on your fingers if you touched it. The wetness seemed to be absorbed by the paper.  The look of the print changed more dramatically as it dried than was the case with my 7900. It didn't look "right" when it was wet, but it was great after drying. My observations are not scientific but I'm pretty sure something has changed in the ink. I've only had the P7000 for 4 months, but have not yet seen a single clogged nozzle. My 7900 would not go this long without a clog.
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NigelC

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Re: Avoiding clogged head with Epson P800
« Reply #6 on: November 09, 2016, 01:50:51 pm »

I'd second the notion that something has changed with the inkset. The first thing I noticed is that when printing from a roll of Hahnemühle Photo Silk Baryta on the P7000 the print laid almost perfectly flat after printing. With my 7900 this paper remained like a coil spring and had to be de-rolled before the print could could be used. The print was definitely wetter when it came out of the printer, but not wet enough to get ink on your fingers if you touched it. The wetness seemed to be absorbed by the paper.  The look of the print changed more dramatically as it dried than was the case with my 7900. It didn't look "right" when it was wet, but it was great after drying. My observations are not scientific but I'm pretty sure something has changed in the ink. I've only had the P7000 for 4 months, but have not yet seen a single clogged nozzle. My 7900 would not go this long without a clog.

I have picked up the impression that while the 24" and bigger Epson printers may have become less prone to clogging as they've moved to the newer inkset, the position is reversed for the "compact" 17" line - the 3800/3880 seemed to be regarded as Epson's least clog-prone printer - the P800 less so; this is just second and third hand of course - I haven't had any problems to date with the P800 myself but I haven't left it unused for such long periods as I will have to in the future.
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DeanChriss

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Re: Avoiding clogged head with Epson P800
« Reply #7 on: November 09, 2016, 04:26:54 pm »

I have picked up the impression that while the 24" and bigger Epson printers may have become less prone to clogging as they've moved to the newer inkset, the position is reversed for the "compact" 17" line - the 3800/3880 seemed to be regarded as Epson's least clog-prone printer - the P800 less so; this is just second and third hand of course - I haven't had any problems to date with the P800 myself but I haven't left it unused for such long periods as I will have to in the future.

For what it's worth, it was not uncommon for my 7900 to have clogged nozzles. I let it sit idle (powered off) for periods of 3 to 5 weeks three to four times per year for more than 7 years when I was away. Often it would take a couple cleaning cycles to clear everything, but sometimes there would be no clogs at all when I started it up again. The P series seems to improve on that. My 4 months with zero clogs on the P7000 includes a 3 week powered off period. My point here is that, as Wayne said,  "If it’s going to be weeks, you might consider just leaving it off."

I was worried about the same thing and managed to set up a scheduled task to print periodically. It worked, but in the end I left the printer powered off and everything was fine. You may need to do a cleaning or two, but I doubt you'd have any serious problem. 
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one iota

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Re: Avoiding clogged head with Epson P800
« Reply #8 on: November 09, 2016, 04:42:38 pm »

I left my P800 for 6 weeks whilst travelling...and without any maintenance it printed perfectly.
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Mahn England

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Re: Avoiding clogged head with Epson P800
« Reply #9 on: November 09, 2016, 07:51:15 pm »

I left my P800 for 6 weeks whilst travelling...and without any maintenance it printed perfectly.

Reports like these are useful in deciding whether the P800 merits the same reputation as the 3880, and they'd be even more so if the general humidity conditions were included in the report.
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one iota

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Re: Avoiding clogged head with Epson P800
« Reply #10 on: November 09, 2016, 09:53:54 pm »

Reports like these are useful in deciding whether the P800 merits the same reputation as the 3880, and they'd be even more so if the general humidity conditions were included in the report.

You want data?

Relative humidity records for my suburb for the months of May and June: The room in which the printer is housed was neither artificially heated nor cooled:

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/201605/html/IDCJDW2025.201605.shtml

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/201606/html/IDCJDW2025.201606.shtml

« Last Edit: November 10, 2016, 12:09:21 am by one iota »
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Mahn England

Wayne Fox

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Re: Avoiding clogged head with Epson P800
« Reply #11 on: November 10, 2016, 11:17:23 am »

Reports like these are useful in deciding whether the P800 merits the same reputation as the 3880, and they'd be even more so if the general humidity conditions were included in the report.
For the first 4 or 5 months, my p800 was in a room that was a constant 45% humidity, (controlled by a humidifier attached to a water line so it didn't run dry).  No issues.

Since June, the printer was moved to my new home, where I haven't installed the humidifier yet.  I'm not sure what the humidity has been, but this was through the summer in Utah which is a somewhat dry climate, so it certainly was well below the 45% of the other location.

My printer usage for this printer is occasional, I would tend to go a couple of weeks or maybe even longer on one or two occasions, then print several  13x19" test prints for a few days, then it not use again for a while.

I haven't had a clog since I moved the printer (I've only had one small issue since purchase which was in the first week).  So from my experience the printer seems every bit as good as it's predecessors (3800/3880).
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Ferp

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Re: Avoiding clogged head with Epson P800
« Reply #12 on: November 11, 2016, 05:30:59 pm »

Thanks.  I wasn't really after daily humidity records, but a general indication.  The number of reports of printers without and without problems gives some indication.  But it is those intermittently-used printers in a location with generally low humidity that don't clog, like Wayne's current one, that are particularly encouraging.  Printers that do clog in a location with above average humidity would be worrying, but that seems less likely and I don't recall seeing such a report.
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dxhimages

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Re: Avoiding clogged head with Epson P800
« Reply #13 on: November 26, 2016, 05:21:13 pm »

I left my P800 off during 3 weeks of travel.....it worked perfectly upon my return. During that time it sat in a relatively warm dry room during a Southern California Santa Ana.....no problems
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johnhewak

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Re: Avoiding clogged head with Epson P800
« Reply #14 on: May 03, 2017, 10:13:49 am »

I had my p800 off for 3 weeks or so and the black was completely clogged. It took 4 washings to fix.
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rdonson

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Re: Avoiding clogged head with Epson P800
« Reply #15 on: May 03, 2017, 12:59:30 pm »

If I don't print for a week or two then I'm fine.  If it goes longer than that I may need to run a cleaning or two but that's all.

All in all I'm pleased with my P800 and I don't think it's overly prone to clogs. 

I don't have a humidifier near the printer and in the winter here in NC things can get a little dry in the house with the heat pump. 
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pearlstreet

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Re: Avoiding clogged head with Epson P800
« Reply #16 on: May 03, 2017, 03:15:59 pm »

My p800 went several months neglected and printed perfectly.
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Ken Bennett

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Re: Avoiding clogged head with Epson P800
« Reply #17 on: May 03, 2017, 04:06:58 pm »

My 3800 had one or two clogs in nine years, then at the end it was clogging regularly. My P800 has been clogged several times in the six months I've owned it. It's located in the same room as the 3800, so it's subject to the same conditions. I know it's one anecdotal data point, but in my experience the P800 is not as clog-free as the 3800, at least so far.
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