Epson 7900 LLK channel Problems

[jschone]

Hi,

It seems there is a problem with the LLK channel on my 7900. I've tried several cleaning cycles in service mode, but the problem remains the same. Also tried swapping ink cartridge.

The test print nozzle check can be seen in the attached file.

Does anyone have a solution for this problem, or is it time to call Epson?

Best Regards, Jochem Schoneveld

[John R Smith]

Jochem

Since no-one has come in on this yet, I would say that I have recently had a few similar problems on my little R2400, always where one head loses a large percentage of nozzles for no sensible reason. In one particular instance, the printer was running absolutely fine until I changed a cartridge, and the subsequent purging routine actually caused blocked nozzles on a different colour. In my case, running two standard cleaning cycles about 1 hour apart seemed to fix things.

John

[jschone]

Hi John,

Thanks for your reply. I my case the problem is very persistent on the LLK channel. Cleaning doesn't help and the Nozzle check always looks exactly the same (as seen in the image in my first post) for the LLK channel (that means many "holes" in the printout).
Ink swapping didn't solve anything.

Jochem

Jochem

Since no-one has come in on this yet, I would say that I have recently had a few similar problems on my little R2400, always where one head loses a large percentage of nozzles for no sensible reason. In one particular instance, the printer was running absolutely fine until I changed a cartridge, and the subsequent purging routine actually caused blocked nozzles on a different colour. In my case, running two standard cleaning cycles about 1 hour apart seemed to fix things.

John

[natas]

Hi,

It seems there is a problem with the LLK channel on my 7900. I've tried several cleaning cycles in service mode, but the problem remains the same. Also tried swapping ink cartridge.

The test print nozzle check can be seen in the attached file.

Does anyone have a solution for this problem, or is it time to call Epson?

Best Regards, Jochem Schoneveld

I have a 7900 but I am brand new to it.

However, I had owned multiple epson printers in the past and have had the same issue you have above. One thing I will say (from experience) is that you need to let the printer rest after two cleaning cycles or it could get worse. Run your clean cycles (1-2 of them) and do a check. If it is still bad wait a good two hours before you try again. The 7900 has a new set of heads so this may not apply.

Good luck. I would also call epson support since this is a Pro model

[Wayne Fox]

Hi John,

Thanks for your reply. I my case the problem is very persistent on the LLK channel. Cleaning doesn't help and the Nozzle check always looks exactly the same (as seen in the image in my first post) for the LLK channel (that means many "holes" in the printout).
Ink swapping didn't solve anything.

Jochem

Time to call Epson pro support.

[jschone]

Hi,

As you can see in the image I attached in the first post, the big problem seems to be that any cleaning cycle doesn't change anything in the LLK channel. It doesn't become better, but it also doesn't become worse. That is what worries me, it seems to be a defective part somewhere.

I also have the 9800 (almost 5 years now) and the 7880. Both have been running without any problems. Printing on al 3 machines  is done on a daily basis, since I am running a small print-lab. Clogging and Epson printers has always been a non-issue for me. I tried everything I could but it seems there is a defective part in this 7900. Unless someone on this forum has some brilliant solution!

Jochem

edit: thanks Wayne, I probably should!

I have a 7900 but I am brand new to it.

However, I had owned multiple epson printers in the past and have had the same issue you have above. One thing I will say (from experience) is that you need to let the printer rest after two cleaning cycles or it could get worse. Run your clean cycles (1-2 of them) and do a check. If it is still bad wait a good two hours before you try again. The 7900 has a new set of heads so this may not apply.

Good luck. I would also call epson support since this is a Pro model

[DeanChriss]

Hi,

It seems there is a problem with the LLK channel on my 7900. I've tried several cleaning cycles in service mode, but the problem remains the same. Also tried swapping ink cartridge.

The test print nozzle check can be seen in the attached file.

Does anyone have a solution for this problem, or is it time to call Epson?

Best Regards, Jochem Schoneveld

You say you "tried several cleaning cycles in service mode". If these were the lightest cleaning (CL1) and it's really clogged, the light cleaning may not be enough. Also, I believe service mode will pump a fixed amount of ink through all channels being cleaned, without doing any detecting as to whether the clog is cleared. I had one similar occasion some time ago. I put the printer in normal (not service) mode, and ran a normal 2 channel cleaning (K and LK). The auto clog detect does work, though it's aggressive. But, that means it doesn't waste a load of black ink, since those nozzles are not clogged, and it will try 3 times, with more "oomph" than the CL1. Of course there are also more aggressive service mode cleanings. I'm not sure which you used.

[Wayne Fox]

Perhaps I should elaborate on the reason I recommended the call to Epson. The fact that after several cleanings there were no changes to any nozzles is pretty atypical. Normally some nozzles will change ... Some will clear and others may even appear, but a repeated problem that is virtually identical leads me to believe the head might be damaged.

[Doombrain]

Have you had a head strike at all? to me, it looks like something covering the nozzels.

[jschone]

Yes, I have exactly the same impression. Something must be covering the nozzles. I contacted Epson Pro Support, so let's see what is going on. Will keep you updated.

Thanks, Jochem

Have you had a head strike at all? to me, it looks like something covering the nozzels.

[AnastasiaMak]

Hi! I know this thread is over a year old - but did you ever find out what the problem is with LLK channel after calling Epson support? My Epson 7900 is giving me the exact same issue, also with LLK channel. Even the test print pattern looks similar to yours. My printer has passed 1 yr warranty, so I'm fishing around the internet for answers before resorting to calling Epson. Thanks!

[Sven W]

Send the OP a message off-line and maybe he will react.
Just click on the name and under "Additional Information" you can send a personal message.

/Sven