Epson 3880 - "Track Marks Across Print"

[William Walker]

Hi

I have been printing ABW most of the day using only the above machine and paper with no problems, until now. The last print I did has got two distinct "track marks" (as in bulldozer!) running from left to right across the paper. Each track runs about 2inches either side of middle of a 17X22 A2 piece of paper.

I am running low on Photo Black (6%) and LLBlack (9%) in case that is of significance.

Can anyone help me solve this problem?

Many thanks
William

[Conner999]

You didn't mention what paper used (some glossy papers swell when wet), but a couple things (I own a 3800) re:

1. Scratches at 90 deg to the direction of paper travel means head-strikes. The print head, which moves at 90 to the paper's movement has contacted the paper surface, scuffing the fresh ink. a Bad, heavy-contact head strike can jam the printer and maybe damage a head. Strikes are usually easily fixed by open up the platen gap, making sure the paper thickness is set right (usually erring on the wider side of recommended).

2. Tracks along the print path (e.g. in same direction the paper feeds in) indicate paper/ink to printer feed path contact (usually after printing when paper starts to swell),  with any one of 101 sharp bits in the paper's path as the paper is fed.  If it happens and severity of so varies by paper used+ printer copy +____+___+___+sunspots :

- parallel lines of tiny-dots means the #$%^& 'pizza wheels' that printers like the 3xxx and lower (in snack bracket) use vs higher-end units with vacuum hold-down
- fine solid scratches, often just in certain spots, mean contact with something else, usually sharp plastic, in the path.

Avoiding these marks is like hunting a Yeti. Many folks end up simply switching papers -after trying a myriad of official (ink laydown, feed speed, platen gap, etc) and 'home brewed' solutions (wetting back of paper, etc).  The more darkroom-like the paper (Harman FB AL, IGFS, etc) and the larger the sheet (e.g. 13x19 - 17x22), the greater the risk. Delicate surfaces and larger sheets allowing for greater distortion as the paper swells - and more time for it to swell due to larger inking area requiring more time in print path.  Matte papers have far fewer issues.  I removed the PWs from my 3800 to some avail with some papers tried every other fix known -- and now just stick to Epson VFA (which I was partial to anyway). Many 3xxx users have no issues with known 'iffy' papers, others have nothing but.

[William Walker]

You didn't mention what paper used (some glossy papers swell when wet), but a couple things (I own a 3800) re:

1. Scratches at 90 deg to the direction of paper travel means head-strikes. The print head, which moves at 90 to the paper's movement has contacted the paper surface, scuffing the fresh ink. a Bad, heavy-contact head strike can jam the printer and maybe damage a head. Strikes are usually easily fixed by open up the platen gap, making sure the paper thickness is set right (usually erring on the wider side of recommended).

2. Tracks along the print path (e.g. in same direction the paper feeds in) indicate paper/ink to printer feed path contact (usually after printing when paper starts to swell),  with any one of 101 sharp bits in the paper's path as the paper is fed.  If it happens and severity of so varies by paper used+ printer copy +____+___+___+sunspots :

- parallel lines of tiny-dots means the #$%^& 'pizza wheels' that printers like the 3xxx and lower (in snack bracket) use vs higher-end units with vacuum hold-down
- fine solid scratches, often just in certain spots, mean contact with something else, usually sharp plastic, in the path.

Avoiding these marks is like hunting a Yeti. Many folks end up simply switching papers -after trying a myriad of official (ink laydown, feed speed, platen gap, etc) and 'home brewed' solutions (wetting back of paper, etc).  The more darkroom-like the paper (Harman FB AL, IGFS, etc) and the larger the sheet (e.g. 13x19 - 17x22), the greater the risk. Delicate surfaces and larger sheets allowing for greater distortion as the paper swells - and more time for it to swell due to larger inking area requiring more time in print path.  Matte papers have far fewer issues.  I removed the PWs from my 3800 to some avail with some papers tried every other fix known -- and now just stick to Epson VFA (which I was partial to anyway). Many 3xxx users have no issues with known 'iffy' papers, others have nothing but.

Hi Conner

Thanks for that - the paper is a semi-gloss (Canson Baryta Photographique). That final print was also one which had a lot of deep black, thus more ink I suppose, thus more swelling? I will increase the platen gap and try again.

Cheers
Wiliam

[Conner999]

No worries. Have never used that paper, but many of the new "oooh, looks, feels and smells like darkroom.." papers (which I love for B&W) have a tendency to swell under heavy ink. As you summized, lots of black ink is the 'perfect storm'. Swelling is usually more of an issue with scratches vs head strikes which can come from curled paper (leading or trailing edge) and paper thickness settings. For head strikes, opening up the platen gap and maybe erring one size up in paper thickness will likely fix it - with no discernible impact on print quality.

In case of scratches, I could sit and watch a 13x19 or even more so a 17x22/5 sheet of Harman FB AL or IGFS as it emerged from the print path and see it take on an "M'" or wavy shape. The high points, which corresponded with heavy ink lat areas, would slowly rise like bread in the oven and start kissing things at the top of the printer path they weren't supposed to.

[William Walker]

No worries. Have never used that paper, but many of the new "oooh, looks, feels and smells like darkroom.." papers (which I love for B&W) have a tendency to swell under heavy ink. As you summized, lots of black ink is the 'perfect storm'. Swelling is usually more of an issue with scratches vs head strikes which can come from curled paper (leading or trailing edge) and paper thickness settings. For head strikes, opening up the platen gap and maybe erring one size up in paper thickness will likely fix it - with no discernible impact on print quality.

In case of scratches, I could sit and watch a 13x19 or even more so a 17x22/5 sheet of Harman FB AL or IGFS as it emerged from the print path and see it take on an "M'" or wavy shape. The high points, which corresponded with heavy ink lat areas, would slowly rise like bread in the oven and start kissing things at the top of the printer path they weren't supposed to.

Hi Conner
I reprinted the same print with the platen gap set from "Standard" to "Wide". It certainly did the trick, except for right at the end where there was a small area that was affected. I will probably set it to "Wider" next time I do a similar print.

Thanks again,
Cheers
William

[Fantome]

I've experienced a small amount of tracking at the very end of the print (11 x17) with the same paper on the 3880. Running a clean routine alleviated the problem. It was odd though as it appeared only at the end in just one corner each time.

[Conner999]

A cleaning routine will help. Also ANY curl on the leading or trailing edge of the paper, even slight, will also cause issues.