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Author Topic: Epson 9900 firmware update  (Read 25163 times)

Mulis Pictus

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« Reply #40 on: October 21, 2009, 04:15:17 pm »

Quote from: deanb2010
I have a question for those who may know.  How do you figure out how much ink is wasted during a clean or Matte/Photo Black swap?
AFAIK, one can only tell when using standard mode (ie. not the service mode) for ink switch and printing nozzle check (or small job) after it. The JobMonitor will then show high ink usage for this job, like 25ml instead of usual 0.1ml (in case the cleaning was needed).

For some time I already do the switches and manual nozzle check/cleaning from service mode and don't know anymore how much ink it takes, but as others I too believe the CL1 cleaning uses less than the normal one.

Mulis

edwinb

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« Reply #41 on: October 21, 2009, 04:53:39 pm »

Quote from: Ionaca
I understand your thoughts completely. I bought a 9600 when it first came on the market and in all this time it only had missing nozzles once or twice a year. The only reason I bought the 7900 was for speed. If I had known it was going to be such a time waster I wouldn't have bought it. I also have a Z3200 and it just works. Maybe I should have bought a Canon for the high speeds.

I sympathise with the frustration of blocked nozzels however we have many 79/9900s installed and they all seem to be working perfectly.
I have spoken to some of our users and they are further replacing /upgrading from 4880 for example -very happy.
Maybe its just the early batch of machine- pre the firmware upgrades?
Edwin
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Wayne Fox

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« Reply #42 on: October 21, 2009, 11:04:03 pm »

Quote from: Mulis Pictus
AFAIK, one can only tell when using standard mode (ie. not the service mode) for ink switch and printing nozzle check (or small job) after it. The JobMonitor will then show high ink usage for this job, like 25ml instead of usual 0.1ml (in case the cleaning was needed).

For some time I already do the switches and manual nozzle check/cleaning from service mode and don't know anymore how much ink it takes, but as others I too believe the CL1 cleaning uses less than the normal one.

Mulis

Interestingly, this may be true of normal mode now as well.  I was trying to determine how much ink was used for a normal clean today, so I printed a nozzle check, performed a clean, then printed another nozzle check, then printed a job sheet.

Both jobs for the nozzle check showed .01ml of ink consumed for each color.  I was assuming the second one (last job printed) would have shown at least 2 or more ml of ink per color.

I'll try testing this more tomorrow, could easily have been an error my part - although it's not a difficult task and I'm pretty sure I actually did the clean

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Mulis Pictus

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« Reply #43 on: October 22, 2009, 12:15:24 pm »

Quote from: Wayne Fox
Interestingly, this may be true of normal mode now as well.  I was trying to determine how much ink was used for a normal clean today, so I printed a nozzle check, performed a clean, then printed another nozzle check, then printed a job sheet.

Both jobs for the nozzle check showed .01ml of ink consumed for each color.  I was assuming the second one (last job printed) would have shown at least 2 or more ml of ink per color.
I think it shows the ink used in cleaning only if it was triggered by ANC, which is the case of normal mode black ink switch and following nozzle check/job - at least in older firmwares. So what I meant is

[ink switch]
[nozzle check] - this triggers ANC and possibly cleans and JobMonitor reports 25.3ml for example, which means 0.1 for nozzle check and 25.2ml for the clean. This is how I read the JobMonitor output.

I am not aware about a way how to find out the amount of ink used when cleaning manually.

Mulis

JasonHopkins

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« Reply #44 on: October 24, 2009, 12:15:18 pm »

Quote from: Mulis Pictus
I think it shows the ink used in cleaning only if it was triggered by ANC, which is the case of normal mode black ink switch and following nozzle check/job - at least in older firmwares. So what I meant is

[ink switch]
[nozzle check] - this triggers ANC and possibly cleans and JobMonitor reports 25.3ml for example, which means 0.1 for nozzle check and 25.2ml for the clean. This is how I read the JobMonitor output.

I am not aware about a way how to find out the amount of ink used when cleaning manually.

Mulis


It is not exactly the most scientific approach but I write down ink readings on a nozzle check strip, perfom the swap and clean and then look at the figures again, along with the maintenance tank readings. I have nearly been through 4 maintenance tanks in 8 months!!!

I am just really fed up with this printer now  

The only plus is Epson keep sending me inks, but I want to use this machine for a long long time - so this issue will burn holes in my pockets.       something I am not sure Epson want to fix.

(End of moan)

JasonHopkins

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« Reply #45 on: January 10, 2010, 12:44:02 pm »

Are people still having this issue with the Cyan dropping out completely channel?

My machine keeps going from bad to worst.

I am having trouble with black on any quality setting other than 5 and now every time I do a print the Cyan channel goes completely blank for the next print.

argghhghghghhg

Ryan Grayley

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« Reply #46 on: January 10, 2010, 01:31:17 pm »

Quote from: JasonHopkins
Are people still having this issue with the Cyan dropping out completely channel?

My machine keeps going from bad to worst.

I am having trouble with black on any quality setting other than 5 and now every time I do a print the Cyan channel goes completely blank for the next print.

argghhghghghhg

Yes, my 7900 also gets steadily worse and in fact it completely sucks. I have wasted a lot of time and money because my 7900 randomly stops firing the cyan channel even in the the middle of a print run. For example, the cyan channel stopped firing twice on a recent run of 40 prints and about 6 or 7 prints were ruined before I noticed. A CL1 Service Mode channel clean is all that is required to restore the cyan channel but that is not the point. I cannot rely on my 7900 for multiple print runs yet I bought this machine to increase my production. Instead it is a worse production machine than my trusty 9600 because I cannot afford to divert my attention to doing anything else during printing. My 9600 is slow but it is 100% reliable and I can leave it running all night knowing that every print would be perfect.

To add further insult to injury, in the last week or two my 7900 has developed a new fault and now it won't initialise at all. Every time I switch on it displays the error message "Install Ink Cartridge" yet the fault remains even I change the offending LK cartridge. Frankly I think I would like Epson to just take my pile of 7900 garbage back as it has been nothing but trouble since almost the day it arrived in November 2008.

Thank goodness I bought a Z3200 last year. With the lastest printer drivers it is trouble free and allows me to just get on with running my business.
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JasonHopkins

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« Reply #47 on: January 10, 2010, 01:40:20 pm »

Quote from: Ionaca
Yes, my 7900 also gets steadily worse and in fact it completely sucks. I have wasted a lot of time and money because my 7900 randomly stops firing the cyan channel even in the the middle of a print run. For example, the cyan channel stopped firing twice on a recent run of 40 prints and about 6 or 7 prints were ruined before I noticed. A CL1 Service Mode channel clean is all that is required to restore the cyan channel but that is not the point. I cannot rely on my 7900 for multiple print runs yet I bought this machine to increase my production. Instead it is a worse production machine than my trusty 9600 because I cannot afford to divert my attention to doing anything else during printing. My 9600 is slow but it is 100% reliable and I can leave it running all night knowing that every print would be perfect.

To add further insult to injury, in the last week or two my 7900 has developed a new fault and now it won't initialise at all. Every time I switch on it displays the error message "Install Ink Cartridge" yet the fault remains even I change the offending LK cartridge. Frankly I think I would like Epson to just take my pile of 7900 garbage back as it has been nothing but trouble since almost the day it arrived in November 2008.

Thank goodness I bought a Z3200 last year. With the lastest printer drivers it is trouble free and allows me to just get on with running my business.


Yeah those HPs now seem like the better choice - this 9900 is just costing me hand over fist at the moment in lost ink, paper and time.

They even have the cheek to be phoning me up at the weekend offering extended warranty while I am waiting for an engineer to fix it since before xmas!


arghaggha

Wayne Fox

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« Reply #48 on: January 10, 2010, 02:43:27 pm »

I was having problems with the cyan channel completely dropping.  A call and visit from service 3 months ago resolved it, and haven't had a problem with a single cyan nozzle since.  At this point my 7900 is running pretty well. Still more clog's than I see from my 11880, and more than I believe I should be seeing but nothing extreme and manageable with service mode and CL1 cleans.  Just fired it up a couple of days ago after a 3 week hiatus and no "clogs".  
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deanb2010

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« Reply #49 on: January 10, 2010, 10:19:14 pm »

I had exactly the same issue... Like Wayne, a service call fixed the issue, and in fact the printer seems to be running better than ever.  Several parts were replaced, but the most interenting item, is that when the serviceman "unplugged" the ink line at the head, it appeared that there may have been a small leak, as there was a small amount of cyan ink around the gasket.  The serviceman mentioned that on several printers he had worked on, the connection did not appear to be very tight.  Whether it was the parts that fixed the issue or the tightened connection I wouldn't dare say.  But things seem to be better.
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JasonHopkins

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« Reply #50 on: January 11, 2010, 07:41:58 am »

Quote from: deanb2010
The serviceman mentioned that on several printers he had worked on, the connection did not appear to be very tight.  Whether it was the parts that fixed the issue or the tightened connection I wouldn't dare say.  But things seem to be better.


Thanks I will certainly mention this when he comes this week with parts - I am going to ask him to replace everything that he brings (print head and motherboard) as I am completely fed up with the machine so I may as well get as many new and up to date parts as possible!

Maybe I should not have been an early adopter, but I cannot believe Epson would sell machines with so many faults - since day 1 I have had problems and this will be the 6th time the guy comes to tinker with it.  

DeanChriss

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« Reply #51 on: January 26, 2010, 08:36:56 pm »

For what it's worth, I was having the same random clogging problems as most others until the latest firmware update for the 7900 last November. Since then I have not had a single nozzle clog and have not had do run a single cleaning cycle, even though the printer has been used much less than normal. In fact it sat powered off once for three weeks and once for two weeks, and otherwise there have typically been 4 or 5 days between printing jobs. Before the update this lack of use would have meant clogs for sure. I got the printer about 13 months ago, and it has never behaved this well. Whatever Epson did, I'm happy about it.
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