Epson P 800 Image Doesn't Print

[BradSmith]

Printing a series of gift cards using the front fine art tray.  On the 3rd or 4th print of the same image, the printer sounded like it correctly advanced the paper, then it sounded like the print head made its normal printing passes for a minute or so and then the finished print ejected.  Except there is NO IMAGE!   Tried again.  Same thing.  This new printer is driving me absolutely nuts!

Anyone else encounter this?
Brad Smith

[Mark D Segal]

What size are the cards?

[JeffS]

Paper size setting?  https://www.manualslib.com/manual/974151/Epson-Surecolor-P800.html?page=181

Jeff

[BradSmith]

What size are the cards?

Mark,
I'm printing 7"x10" Red River glossy cards.  Feeding the narrow 7" edge into the front fine art feeder.  The paper stock thickness is right on the border between sheet feeder and front fine art tray.  So I started this print run by trying to use the sheet feeder.  However, the small white retaining clips at the bottom of the sheet feeder ripped the paper several times, so I gave up on that and went to the front fine art tray.   (And I'm not mentioning that a tiny bit of curl in these sheets makes it very hard to load them into the front tray....decurl, decurl)

And the strangest part of this to me is that all paper handling seems normal once it starts to print, including the paper pausing where printing should begin, the head flying back and forth just as it normally would over the print area, then the paper exiting the printer......but no ink is applied!!  More reason for me to be frustrated with this printer.
Brad 

[Mark D Segal]

OK, 7*10 should work in that printer. Did you make a custom paper size in the driver? This is necessary. And instead of loading the FFA from the front, follow all the usual instructions for using the FFA but load the paper from the rear (where it would come up to if you loaded it from the front - this is much easier. Should work. Perhaps you should also first try making a test print on standard US Letter size from the FFA, triggering it from your computer, to make sure the communication of images is working properly.

[BradSmith]

Yes, I have a custom paper size in the driver that I've used since my 3800 days and I'm using it.  The 10" length is too short to feed from the rear and have it reach out to the front so I can align if with the front of the loading tray (or with the "line on the tray" about 3/16" behind the front of the tray....depending on where I see the instructions, I see both of these instructions....grrrrr!).  But by opening the printer cover, I can reach in and shove the paper far enough forward that I can reach it from the front.  Yes, fingerprints on the face of the print.  Then it loads OK and prints OK. Good.

Try again, this time, see if it will load as it should from the front.  Loads fine, prints fine.    Try again from the front - loads fine, prints fine.   Do it again the same way - loads fine, seems to print fine, but it finishes and actually no ink has been laid down.  Out of the blue, a totally different result.   All of these are prints of the same image.  Doing nothing different from print to print.
Brad

[Mark D Segal]

Inconsistent behaviour with all the same settings - those are the hardest to diagnose. It's beginning to read like a hardware issue - the ink feed failing at intervals after making a number of prints. I recommend calling Epson tech support, and escalate as high as necessary within that system to get a resolution you think makes sense. 

[Wayne Fox]

Strange. I've printed hundreds of cards on my p800 without any issues.

I've never seen a hardware issue cause the printer to suddenly act like it is printing and not lay down ink.  I have had situations where settings have caused some weird things like this, but it is odd that it seems random like this.

It might be helpful see screen grabs of your custom page dialog box as well as printer settings and page setup dialog boxes.

[BobShaw]

Have you checked that it is actually advancing the paper during printing. On the 3880 anyway you can lift the flap and look at the heads.

[BradSmith]

Wayne, Mark and Bob,
I updated to the new, Dec 2016 firmware.  I was able to print the last 5 or 6 cards for my order without the problems resurfacing.  Did the firmware help?  Who knows. 

Today I called Epson Large Format tech support and went through the problems.  Not too much foolishness except having me print a nozzle check.  They never tried to lay off blame to my operating system (Mac OS 10.10.5) or my printing software (Lightroom 5).   They said I seem to have a hardware problem and therefore, are sending me a new printer under warranty.   I was very pleased with how they dealt with me on the phone.  Now let's hope the new printer works as well as many others have experienced.  If at some point in the future these problems rear their ugly heads with the new printer, I'll resurrect this topic.
Wish me luck
Brad Smith
 

[Mark D Segal]

Glad that call worked out. Good luck with it. Do let us know whether the new printer solves the problem.

[unesco]

Brad, I had quite similar problem with my 3880, not a series of the same image, but in some cicrumstrances (?) after printing several different images, next one goes out empty - no ink lay down on paper. Repeated, the same. Win7 and PS CC. The only solution was restart of PS, Win and the printer and everything return to normal.
I do not think it is hardware issue.

[Mark D Segal]

I do not think it is hardware issue.

It could well be a hardware issue. When you shut everything down and restart it, the printer recharges itself and that may explain why it works after a restart. Unless you know a great deal about what causes what (between hardware and software) in a printing process, it's probably not terribly useful to speculate. When Epson agrees to exchange a printer it usually means they believe it is a hardware problem. But that will be better understood with experience from the replacement unit.

BTW, a P800 is not a 3880: there are important differences in the load and transport mechanisms; part of the reason to replace the 3880 with this model was to improve on performance in these areas. Time will tell how successful.

[unesco]

It could well be a hardware issue. When you shut everything down and restart it, the printer recharges itself and that may explain why it works after a restart. Unless you know a great deal about what causes what (between hardware and software) in a printing process, it's probably not terribly useful to speculate. When Epson agrees to exchange a printer it usually means they believe it is a hardware problem. But that will be better understood with experience from the replacement unit.

BTW, a P800 is not a 3880: there are important differences in the load and transport mechanisms; part of the reason to replace the 3880 with this model was to improve on performance in these areas. Time will tell how successful.

That is my feeling as an engineer, having quite a lot of experience with hardware and embedded software design for this hardware - that's why I feel quite safe to speculate (but this is only speculation). This problem appeared several times, not always the printer was reset (but always at least PS). I had sometimes problems where ~1/5 of the image was printed (vertical strip) - page setup was correct.

As for P800 vs 3880, they are virtualy the same in mechanics. Of course there are some minor changes in loading mechanism, but rather from usage perspective than construction changes. The Epson service guys were officially informed when P800 appeared on the market that they won't be trained for this model because mechanics virtually is the same compared to 3880. It was confirmed when my P800 was serviced and we have taken apart both my machines.

Of course, my case can be different than the one in this thread.

[Mark D Segal]

OK, good to hear you may have reason for bespoke insight into these issues. Nonetheless I find Epson's action in this case rather persuasive.

[BradSmith]

Wayne, Mark and Bob,

Today (Dec 13) I called Epson Large Format tech support and went through the problems......They said I seem to have a hardware problem and therefore, are sending me a new printer under warranty..... 
Brad Smith

How is this for quick...I received the replacement P800 from Epson today (Dec 16)!
I'll try to find some time this weekend to get it unpacked, ink loaded and run some test prints.
Brad Smith

[JeffS]

As for P800 vs 3880, they are virtualy the same in mechanics. Of course there are some minor changes in loading mechanism, but rather from usage perspective than construction changes. The Epson service guys were officially informed when P800 appeared on the market that they won't be trained for this model because mechanics virtually is the same compared to 3880. It was confirmed when my P800 was serviced and we have taken apart both my machines.

Having owned both, the P800 is definitely quieter.  Reason?

Jeff

[unesco]

Having owned both, the P800 is definitely quieter.  Reason?

Jeff

Me too.
Have you tried both of them with covers removed? They have different plastics, different mounting scheme etc.
Of course, I belive that Epson could make some minor incremental changes, maybe used different materials.

[BradSmith]

How is this for quick...I received the replacement P800 from Epson today (Dec 16)!
I'll try to find some time this weekend to get it unpacked, ink loaded and run some test prints.
Brad Smith

I'm up and running with the replacement P800.  Printed a dozen or so 8.5 x 11 for a calendar and no problems so far.  I'm hoping my prior printer was the sum total of the problem.  Oh, and by the way, Epson shipped the replacement printer, a Refurb, with a set of full, 80ml cartridges, not the 64 ml Starter cartridges that come with a new unit. 

Brad Smith

[Mark D Segal]

Sounds like you're in good shape now. Best of luck with it.