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Author Topic: Horizontal banding on Epson 9900 printing on Epson Exhibition Canvas Matte  (Read 5131 times)

del_pscc

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I'm making no progress in solving serious banding problems on Exhibition Canvas Matte. 

The printer is six years old (purchased in 2011) and has been carefully coddled throughout its life.  Almost all printing (aside from occasional Nozzle Checks on plain paper) has been on Epson Exhibition Canvas Matte, using Epson ink and Imageprint software (latest edition).  For a while, we had problems with quality control on the canvas, and Epson replaced many, many rolls.  Recently our volume has been lower but the canvas quality has been more consistent.

The current problem shows up on prints with very dark backgrounds, and are seen both in the image area and in the surrounding pure black background, used for gallery wrap purposes.  The banding pattern is horizontal, approximately 6/inch, as exaggerated by reflections in the attached  photo.

I've tried running print head alignment, which didn't help.  Nozzle Checks are almost always within a simple cleaning cycle of perfect.  Settings: platen gap = widest, Media Feed Adjustment = 70, other settings via ImagePrint.

Any suggestions are most welcome.

Thanks,

Dave.

One of the attached images shows the banding accentuated (by controlling lighting) -- the other disguises it.  They are from the same original image.
« Last Edit: October 28, 2017, 10:52:19 pm by del@pscc.com »
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mearussi

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I had something similar happen on my 9600, only noticeable in large areas of solid black. Turned out the black nozzle was partially plugged, even though the nozzle check came out clean. The problem was also apparent when I tried printing letters, the middle section of the letters was always a little jagged. Regular (even power) cleanings didn't help. I finally got desperate and just did the paper towel soaked in cleaner under the head "trick" and then rubbing it back and forth with tension on the head (the head proved to be quite dirty). This mostly cleared up the problem, though some slight banding still remains.

 
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del_pscc

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I've now changed the Wiper Assembly and cleaned what I could get to, including the print head (following the method Mearussi described).  No improvement.

Running several Nozzle Check and cleaning cycles, has led to a "clean" pattern, but with some strange artifacts halfway up the Nozzle Check, between MK, VM, LK, and G.  I've attached a jpeg.  What's going on?  Could this explain the horizontal banding we're seeing?

Thanks,

Dave.
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langier

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I think my 9900 is 2009 vintage, 2nd hand and is going strong. I've run hundreds of feet of canvas, the main reason I bought mine. Most of the time when I had that issue, it was a clogged nozzle from the canvas lint and sometimes happened in the middle of a print >:(

Have you also tried printing the same image on paper? It could be some kind of issue with the canvas. Also try other brands/weaves of canvas since each behaves a little differently.

What about output resolution? Have you tried 720 vs 1440 dpi or vice-versa? Also, for my canvas, I've increased the ink output to add between 15-25% heavier ink coverage to get richer colors on my canvas and that seems to make things richer. But you'll need to have an updated profile if you crank up the ink.

Sometimes when I've printed on canvas with my 9900, the weave simply makes solid color areas look like a bad nozzle.

Hope this may help,
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mearussi

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I've now changed the Wiper Assembly and cleaned what I could get to, including the print head (following the method Mearussi described).  No improvement.

Running several Nozzle Check and cleaning cycles, has led to a "clean" pattern, but with some strange artifacts halfway up the Nozzle Check, between MK, VM, LK, and G.  I've attached a jpeg.  What's going on?  Could this explain the horizontal banding we're seeing?
 

Thanks,

Dave.

The bent line between the magenta/light black indicates that you have some partially plugged jets. It also looks like what I was getting on my 9900 light black before the head went out. If you can't get it clean by normal methods you may have no choice except to run cleaning solution through the entire head in an attempt to save it. This involves buying replacement ink carts, filling them with cleaning solution and then running a line fill. This may or may not help depending on how far gone your head is. I tried this with my 9900 but the head was too far gone so it didn't help, but you might have better luck as you head looks in much better shape than mine was.
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Garnick

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I've now changed the Wiper Assembly and cleaned what I could get to, including the print head (following the method Mearussi described).  No improvement.

Running several Nozzle Check and cleaning cycles, has led to a "clean" pattern, but with some strange artifacts halfway up the Nozzle Check, between MK, VM, LK, and G.  I've attached a jpeg.  What's going on?  Could this explain the horizontal banding we're seeing?

Thanks,

Dave.

Hi Dave,

This is not at all unusual.  I've seen this issue on three iterations of Epson Wide Format printers, 7600, 9900 and on my new P7000.  It was particularly unnerving when it showed up once again on the P7000.  I had assumed that Epson might have overcome this issue by now, and even though it is intermittent, it is still possible.  If I am printing canvas with a dark(black) area I always make sure I'm using the highest resolution output(2880x1440) and Uni Directional(High Speed OFF).  I've been using Breathing Colour Chromata White canvas for many years, so this issue is not particular to Epson Canvas.  Having said all of that, the bulging vertical lines between your black, magenta, light black and green nozzle patterns are a classic indication of a head problem that will likely lead to a replacement head unfortunately.  In Jan. 2016 I had a very similar situation with my 6+ year old 9900 in the green channel, plus half of the nozzles missing, which lead to a replacement head as well.  Hopefully you will be able to continue working with this for a while, and perhaps try printing canvas with the settings I mentioned previously.  Keep a close eye on the bulging edges issue and perhaps be prepared for a new print head.

Gary   
« Last Edit: October 30, 2017, 09:13:58 am by Garnick »
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Gary N.
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Wayne Fox

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The bent line between the magenta/light black indicates that you have some partially plugged jets.
I think the problem you are referring to is from deflections, not plugged nozzles. This is usually the result of a build up of ink on the surface of the head.

The challenge with removing this is you can end up wiping the ink into a nozzle.  But typically to remove it a soft micro fiber cloth soaked in distilled water can be placed under the head, and after letting it soak for a minute move the head slightly side to side. Might take a couple of tries.  Most of the time when we replace an Epson head there is quite a bit of ink buildup.

If the old wiper assembly was in bad shape, then the new wiper may very well remove the build up over a period of time. Generally wiper’s don’t need to be replaced if you just removed them and clean them with distilled water a couple of times a year.

However, I don’t believe the problem of banding shown in the first post is being caused by this deflection. Perhaps slightly adjusting the paper advance might mitigate it.
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del_pscc

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Re: Horizontal banding on Epson 9900 printing on Epson Exhibition Canvas Matte
« Reply #7 on: November 24, 2017, 10:47:18 pm »

Thanks to everyone for your help -- you were right on.  Looking at old nozzle checks, I traced the anomalous bands back 6-9 months and could see them gradually building up.  I cleaned and cleaned, using every method I could conceive of, but achieved no improvement.

So I now have a new head. :-(  Long live the new head.

I also discovered that platen gap = standard was a better setting, even for canvas.

Thanks,

Dave.
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Garnick

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Re: Horizontal banding on Epson 9900 printing on Epson Exhibition Canvas Matte
« Reply #8 on: November 25, 2017, 07:31:35 am »

Thanks to everyone for your help -- you were right on.  Looking at old nozzle checks, I traced the anomalous bands back 6-9 months and could see them gradually building up.  I cleaned and cleaned, using every method I could conceive of, but achieved no improvement.

So I now have a new head. :-(  Long live the new head.

I also discovered that platen gap = standard was a better setting, even for canvas.

Thanks,


Dave.


Hello again Dave,

I will say that I was hoping I wasn't correct with my "new head" scenario, but it seemed that all of the signs were there unfortunately.  For the first two years of my experience with the 9900 I spent a lot of time on the phone with Epson and became very familiar with the service techs at D1.  A year and a half in I asked the tech who usually did the work what he would estimate as a total cost for all of the work he had done if it had been on my tab.  Very bluntly he said I would have bought a new printer, which did not surprise me at all.  Of course after the first year I extended the warranty to its limit, and going into the third year the printer was showing some signs of behaving itself.  From the end of the third year warranty I did all of the maintenance procedures I could find on this forum and kept the machine in good working order until Jan. 16 when I discovered it required a new print head.  The previous two replacements were under warranty of course.  I will say that after the initial problems that printer did a yeoman job for me and never let me down.  In Jan. 17 I sold it to a fellow in Toronto, about 50km from my business location then, and he has been in touch to tell me that the printer is working very well.  I now have my business at home and have downsized to a P7000, which I am enjoying very much.  I will however be extending the warranty to its fullest, one worry taken care of.  I did have one cosmetic issue with the P7000 and it took a few calls to Epson, but they did finally take care of it for the most part.  With the new print head I'm sure your 9900 will take care of your printing needs for many years to come Dave.

Gary   



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Gary N.
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