Epson 7900 - matte/photo black question

[bellimages]

Okay, I just installed a 7900 and am printing my first image on it. The unit uses both matte and photo black ink, so WHY does it require that the operator change from one to the other? My sole reason for upgrading from the Epson 7800 was to have BOTH inks available at the same time. I didn't know that I'd have to "manage" them.

And, I just noticed that the LCD display says "some nozzles are clogged." Why would it say that when it's brand new???

And one more thing ..... the "Paper Light" is flashing. Any idea why? I installed the sample roll of paper that Epson shipped with the printer. I checked the paper menu, and the correct paper is selected. Any idea what's going on?



P.S. .... the first two images are awesome -- one B&W, the other color

[GeraldB]

I too just installed and fired up my 7900 this weekend. It also failed the head/nozzle test at first startup after I installed the inks.  I ignored it and the first test print seems pretty good if a little dark. Being a newbie I'm not sure how important that firs test is. I am planning on calling Epson during the week when their tech support is at work.

Getting the ethernet to work was pure hell, but somehow I got it working. Almost everything in the documentation and on their website on this subject is irrelevant.

Good luck with yours.

[bellimages]

I too just installed and fired up my 7900 this weekend. It also failed the head/nozzle test at first startup after I installed the inks.  I ignored it and the first test print seems pretty good if a little dark. Being a newbie I'm not sure how important that firs test is. I am planning on calling Epson during the week when their tech support is at work.

Getting the ethernet to work was pure hell, but somehow I got it working. Almost everything in the documentation and on their website on this subject is irrelevant.

Good luck with yours.

Glad to hear that you're an owner of a new 7900 also. Good luck with everything. We're going to be P-O-O-R when we have to buy ink. I figured a fuil replacement of the mid-size cartridges would cost around $1750 ... but I'll be looking for less than retail pricing!

[Ken]

You can set the 7900 to automatically switch between matte and photo black inks, based on the type of paper being used. I like to make that decision, so I've never used that setting.

The "some nozzles are clogged" message is a pain in the butt, as discussed on this board several months ago. Apparently, Epson is aware that the "clog" sensor is hyper and will post the notice even when we humanoids are incapable of seeing the results of the so-called "clog". In my experience, it will occur more often with matte papers such as PhotoRag. My guess is that loose fiber particles are more prevalent with those types of papers. I always run a nozzle check when I get the first "some nozzles are clogged" notice. Of the dozens of times that I've done that, the nozzle checks have always been fine and I ignore subsequent notices... but run nozzle checks after three or four large prints, just to be sure.

[deanwork]

Love that Mingus quote. That is brilliant, despite the fact that a whole lot of his arrangements were pretty damn rhythmically and harmonically challenging  to put it mildly, if you have to play em.

john

[bellimages]

Love that Mingus quote. That is brilliant, despite the fact that a whole lot of his arrangements were pretty damn rhythmically and harmonically challenging  to put it mildly, if you have to play em.

john

Thanks. I knew that I wanted that quote as soon as a buddy showed it to me. It exemplifies what I try to accomplish in my work.

[bellimages]

You can set the 7900 to automatically switch between matte and photo black inks, based on the type of paper being used. I like to make that decision, so I've never used that setting.

The "some nozzles are clogged" message is a pain in the butt, as discussed on this board several months ago. Apparently, Epson is aware that the "clog" sensor is hyper and will post the notice even when we humanoids are incapable of seeing the results of the so-called "clog". In my experience, it will occur more often with matte papers such as PhotoRag. My guess is that loose fiber particles are more prevalent with those types of papers. I always run a nozzle check when I get the first "some nozzles are clogged" notice. Of the dozens of times that I've done that, the nozzle checks have always been fine and I ignore subsequent notices... but run nozzle checks after three or four large prints, just to be sure.

I just ran a nozzle check myself, and all is fine. The message remains. Nothing we can do to get rid of it huh?

[bellimages]

I just ran a nozzle check myself, and all is fine. The message remains. Nothing we can do to get rid of it huh?

I talked with Epson Tech Support yesterday about the clogged nozzles. I was told that if I downloaded the most recent firmware, that it would take care of this problem. Only time will tell if it did ..... but just wanted to pass along what they told me.

[Paul Eby]

Okay, I just installed a 7900 and am printing my first image on it. The unit uses both matte and photo black ink, so WHY does it require that the operator change from one to the other? My sole reason for upgrading from the Epson 7800 was to have BOTH inks available at the same time. I didn't know that I'd have to "manage" them.

And, I just noticed that the LCD display says "some nozzles are clogged." Why would it say that when it's brand new???

And one more thing ..... the "Paper Light" is flashing. Any idea why? I installed the sample roll of paper that Epson shipped with the printer. I checked the paper menu, and the correct paper is selected. Any idea what's going on?



P.S. .... the first two images are awesome -- one B&W, the other color

We just installed our second (actually third, first one was replaced) 7900 yesterday and like the others, the first nozzle check showed several channels with major clogs. After three cleanings one nozzle would not clear. Called Epson and once again they will be sending a service rep to replace a bunch of parts on a brand new printer.
There are members of this forum that have 79/9900's and reported no clogging issues so how we ended up with three different 7900 printers all with clogging problems I'll never know. - Paul

[dgberg]

Paul,
After your initial cleans does your nozzle test pattern show a clogged nozzle pattern or are you getting the panel notice that you still have something clogged?
When I do my nozzle checks every other week if I have a clog I do the pairs clean and will ocassional get the control panel warning that something is still clogged.
When I do a repeated nozzle check after this warning I have never seen a bad pattern. I now disregard this notice and continue printing. I do not think that their really is a clogg as the prints come out perfect. With both the 7900 and 9900 I do a nozzle check on each printer every other week. The average for having a clogged nozzle is approximately 1 every other month. I consider that fairly decent as I only print about 2 days a week.
If you just get a warning and do not have a bad pattern I would just print. It should not do that regardless so maybe its a firmware issue?

[Paul Eby]

Paul,
After your initial cleans does your nozzle test pattern show a clogged nozzle pattern or are you getting the panel notice that you still have something clogged?
When I do my nozzle checks every other week if I have a clog I do the pairs clean and will ocassional get the control panel warning that something is still clogged.
When I do a repeated nozzle check after this warning I have never seen a bad pattern. I now disregard this notice and continue printing. I do not think that their really is a clogg as the prints come out perfect. With both the 7900 and 9900 I do a nozzle check on each printer every other week. The average for having a clogged nozzle is approximately 1 every other month. I consider that fairly decent as I only print about 2 days a week.
If you just get a warning and do not have a bad pattern I would just print. It should not do that regardless so maybe its a firmware issue?

The test print shows one nozzle clogged in the orange channel and will not clear. Both printers have the most recent firmware installed.
I actually have the auto nozzle check turned off as the printer would go through a cleaning cycle every other print job even though I had it set to occasionally. I've just got in the habit of running a nozzle check before every print job.

[bellimages]

The test print shows one nozzle clogged in the orange channel and will not clear. Both printers have the most recent firmware installed.
I actually have the auto nozzle check turned off as the printer would go through a cleaning cycle every other print job even though I had it set to occasionally. I've just got in the habit of running a nozzle check before every print job.

So now I'm concerned. I had the clogged nozzle warning. Epson told me that a firmware update would take care of the problem. I haven't done a nozzle check since updating firmware since it wastes ink.

My concern is that I just spent a lot of cash on a unit that has seen rave reviews. I didn't know that I might have an ongoing nozzle problem. If the 7900 were a smaller unit, I'd send it back for a replacement.

[natas]

So now I'm concerned. I had the clogged nozzle warning. Epson told me that a firmware update would take care of the problem. I haven't done a nozzle check since updating firmware since it wastes ink.

My concern is that I just spent a lot of cash on a unit that has seen rave reviews. I didn't know that I might have an ongoing nozzle problem. If the 7900 were a smaller unit, I'd send it back for a replacement.

A nozzle check is a print out that shows you if you have a clog. It uses very very little ink.

[Scott O.]

With all respect, if Epson tech told you pigs could fly, would you believe them?  What if they told you the new firmware would solve the clogging problems?  I am making light of a relatively serious issue, the lack of meaningful support by tech support!  It is a wonderful printer, but you are on your own to figure out how to make it work without issue.  You will learn a lot from this forum.  Like you, I had clogs the day after the printer was installed, and I wondered what I had gotten myself into.  As was suggested here, I disabled the auto clog check feature.  And guess what!  That really helped the problem.  Another thing that helps is to use the printer often.  I will either print a nozzle check or a color wheel image every couple of days.  The printer seems to thrive on use.  Others report them going a month and longer without use and without issue.  I suspect that has something to do with the humidity where the printer is used.  Anyhow, I didn't mean to offend with my opening comment.  I rarely have a clog issue any more, rarely meaning fewer than 1 a month.  But I do continue to mine this forum for tips and hints to make it work better.

[Wayne Fox]

So now I'm concerned. I had the clogged nozzle warning. Epson told me that a firmware update would take care of the problem. I haven't done a nozzle check since updating firmware since it wastes ink.

My concern is that I just spent a lot of cash on a unit that has seen rave reviews. I didn't know that I might have an ongoing nozzle problem. If the 7900 were a smaller unit, I'd send it back for a replacement.

As with any tech support company, those providing information do so from data obtained from other calls.  The reliability of the solution depends on many factors, and unfortunately Epson suffers from the same problem as most ... a person who has never used the device searching a database and trying to match symptoms with solutions.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  Sometimes the user really doesn't understand the device so they describe a problem as they understand it, only to be misinterpreted by the tech support person.  As such, the answer that a firmware update could resolve the  problem indeed may apply if you are getting too frequent cleanings or cleanings when a printed nozzle pattern shows no problem which sounds like one of your issues, but the underlying problem of a single unclearable nozzle is very unique.

As such, experienced users are much more reliable (and this forum has a number of them).  There are blog articles written about managing these issues by experienced users, and some searching the forum will find most answers.

A single  stubborn nozzle often can be cleared by using the SS clean (ultra sonic).  In fact, doing an SS clean a couple of times a year is a good maintenance habit.  This vibrates the head at ultrasonic frequencies, loosening dried ink.  Often this succeeds where a power clean fails.

The SS clean can be found in the maintenance menu ... hold down the pause button while powering the printer on.  If this fails, then I would call Epson and carefully explain the problem (a single nozzle that cannot be cleared).  The solution at that point most likely will be replacing the head, which can be done on location.

[Farmer]

I would only use a SS clean if normal cleaning does not fix an issue - not pre-emptively and never more than twice in a row.  If it's not cleared in that time, you should be calling for support or service.

[bellimages]

The test print shows one nozzle clogged in the orange channel and will not clear. Both printers have the most recent firmware installed.
I actually have the auto nozzle check turned off as the printer would go through a cleaning cycle every other print job even though I had it set to occasionally. I've just got in the habit of running a nozzle check before every print job.

I'd like other opinions on this. Since I'm a new 7900 owner, I'd like various opinions on this. Should I turn off "auto nozzle check?" And if I do, do I need to do a nozzle check frequently? And dol I have to  do a nozzle cleaning cycle manually? Or does the printer do this for me automatically? I may be talking about two different things here.

[dchew]

Most users turn off the "auto nozzle check" (auto cleaning).  From there, it depends on how often you use the printer.  I use it a few times a week and print a nozzle check every time I turn on the printer.  If any look clogged, I clean the associated pair (manually initiated).  If several are clogged I manually initiate a normal clean.

Dave

I'd like other opinions on this. Since I'm a new 7900 owner, I'd like various opinions on this. Should I turn off "auto nozzle check?" And if I do, do I need to do a nozzle check frequently? And dol I have to  do a nozzle cleaning cycle manually? Or does the printer do this for me automatically? I may be talking about two different things here.