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Author Topic: Ink Clogging ?  (Read 13541 times)

bill t.

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Re: Ink Clogging ?
« Reply #20 on: December 17, 2010, 04:04:35 pm »

Yeah I keep a sponge in a little tray in the 9880's printing head dock, and I built a cardboard wall to isolate that area as a small enclosed space.  It seems to help...or at least it makes me feel like I'm doing something.

What I think REALLY helps is just to keep the machine covered in a way that prevents dust from falling into it.  I drape a big piece of 44" wide canvas over the entire top of the printer.  Canvas doesn't seem to generate static charges.  I also am very careful to keep the surfaces above and below the roll holder clean so media can't pick up dust there, and transfer it to the heads.  I also dust off the top of rolls before loading.  If I cut media off at the outfeed I'm careful to clean up any dust that generates.
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natas

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Re: Ink Clogging ?
« Reply #21 on: December 17, 2010, 04:42:13 pm »

I have an epson 7900. I was plagued with clogs the first few months. I called Epson out and they determined that I had a bad print head. Now that it has been replaced I have had 1 minor clog that was fixed with 1 cleaning cycle to the channel. I print a lot.

Ever since the print head replacement this has been the best printer I have ever owned. I have owned r800, r1800, r1900, 1400 and 4800 epsons in the past. All of them at one point clogged about once a week. I also owned a HP B9180 that was really bad. I ended up tossing it because it would never work right after it started clogging. I spent hundreds on that hp replacing INK and print heads.

To me the experience with the 7900 has been awesome. The support you get the first year makes this printer well worth the money. If you have problems just call Epson and if they can't get you working over the phone they will send out a technician in 24 hours. By the extended warranty after the first year.
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Damir

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Re: Ink Clogging ?
« Reply #22 on: December 18, 2010, 07:22:56 pm »

Interesting - I have one of the first model of HP B9180 and this printer still works great after so many years, never clog, and never needed to replace head!
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BobShram

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Re: Ink Clogging ?
« Reply #23 on: December 19, 2010, 10:06:04 am »

it's a shame all the people, the thousands and thousands of people that don't have issues with their printers don't take the time to post on here.....

Yes I'm with you on that, what ever their preferred manufacturer. Mine is Epson, I don't have clogs I have a very dusty environment, but I do have a high humidity. I turn the printer off some times and sometimes I forget, no difference. Don't print for months at a time. I do have a SpongeBob sheet that I cover the 4880 with, maybe he soaks up all the crap. Good sealing and high humidity is my thought.
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feppe

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Re: Ink Clogging ?
« Reply #24 on: December 19, 2010, 11:42:56 am »

Quote
it's a shame all the people, the thousands and thousands of people that don't have issues with their printers don't take the time to post on here.....

While that's a valid point, for those who've been on this and other photography forums for years, they will remember the constant flood of long complaint threads about Canon printers shortly after they entered the wide format fine art printer market. The printers appeared to have some serious 1.0 issues and support was atrocious. There was little complaining about Epsons at the time.

It seems that Canon has fixed the issues and invested in support, since we hardly ever read of serious complaints about their printers anymore. Now the complaints are directed at Epson. My take is that Canon has lifted the expectations of printer performance, especially when it comes to clogging, and Epson hasn't been able to fix that or create another competitive advantage which would outshine clogging. At least not yet.

Rhossydd

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Re: Ink Clogging ?
« Reply #25 on: December 19, 2010, 12:18:27 pm »

it's a shame all the people, the thousands and thousands of people that don't have issues with their printers don't take the time to post on here.....
Absolutely. The other factor people don't engage with is the different market shares of the brands. When I last saw the stats a few years ago Epson were out selling Canon in the amateur photo printer sector by 4 to 1 in Europe. In the wide carriage sector Epson weren't so dominant, but still had a much bigger market share.
So statistically there ought to be far more complaints about Epsons even if the percentage problem rate was identical between brands.

I've never had unexpected problems with any of my 6 Epsons, even with quite sporadic usage. My most recent printers, 3800 & 1800, have been fault free. With no special treatment 13°-24°C at around 23%rh

Paul
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BobShram

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Re: Ink Clogging ?
« Reply #26 on: December 19, 2010, 12:32:40 pm »

There was little complaining about Epsons at the time.

Does that mean the Epsons didn't clog then but do now that Canon have got there stuff together?
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Rhossydd

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Re: Ink Clogging ?
« Reply #27 on: December 19, 2010, 01:30:12 pm »

Does that mean the Epsons didn't clog then but do now that Canon have got there stuff together?
No, people have been moaning about Epsons clogging since the original Epson color 500, but then there wasn't anything else to moan about anyway ;-)
« Last Edit: December 19, 2010, 05:10:38 pm by Rhossydd »
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feppe

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Re: Ink Clogging ?
« Reply #28 on: December 19, 2010, 01:58:16 pm »

There was little complaining about Epsons at the time.

Does that mean the Epsons didn't clog then but do now that Canon have got there stuff together?

No, and I addressed this already: "My take is that Canon has lifted the expectations of printer performance, especially when it comes to clogging, and Epson hasn't been able to fix that or create another competitive advantage which would outshine clogging."

BobShram

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Re: Ink Clogging ?
« Reply #29 on: December 19, 2010, 04:53:39 pm »

Well good for you guys, mine don't clog and I am not complaining about Epson or about the others, I'll let you experts tell all.
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Shark_II

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Re: Ink Clogging ?
« Reply #30 on: December 19, 2010, 06:03:10 pm »

Absolutely. The other factor people don't engage with is the different market shares of the brands.

Which is all well and good if you were speaking of random problems.  But that does not hold true once a SPECIFIC flaw is repeatedly posted.  Ask any statistician. ;)

Epson has apparently institutionalized two engineering flaws... clogging and the ink change idiocy.  People put up with that because the output was excellent.  But now there are other machines from other manufacturers without those flaws... whose output is also excellent.

Tom
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BobShram

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Re: Ink Clogging ?
« Reply #31 on: December 19, 2010, 06:15:42 pm »

So make your choice
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Rhossydd

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Re: Ink Clogging ?
« Reply #32 on: December 20, 2010, 03:44:00 am »

Epson has apparently institutionalized two engineering flaws... clogging and the ink change idiocy. 
Well we're not discussing "random" problems, we're talking about the specific fault of ink clogging. Epsons suffer it, so do Canons, HPs & Lexmarks.

"Ink change idiocy" ? not sure what you mean by this. If you're referring to the way Epson inks are changed or the way matt and gloss inks are swapped, that's not a fault as such, it's just the way Epson have designed the printers.
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Shark_II

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Re: Ink Clogging ?
« Reply #33 on: December 20, 2010, 11:32:11 am »

Well we're not discussing "random" problems, we're talking about the specific fault of ink clogging. Epsons suffer it, so do Canons, HPs & Lexmarks.

"Ink change idiocy" ? not sure what you mean by this. If you're referring to the way Epson inks are changed or the way matt and gloss inks are swapped, that's not a fault as such, it's just the way Epson have designed the printers.

Now that is funny.  Thanks for making my point for me. :)

Tom
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teddillard

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Re: Ink Clogging ?
« Reply #34 on: December 20, 2010, 01:50:01 pm »

I always enjoy when a thread gets around to the cost of inks and how "fussy" printers are these days...   ::)

...makes me yearn for the early days of inkjet printers.  Anyone remember trying to get a print that looked good and lasted more than a year out of a Stylus 1200, or is it just me?  ...or the days of running a color lab or paying $50 for a decent 8x10 color print. 

Oh just saying that gives me the shudders.   :D
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Ted Dillard

feppe

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Re: Ink Clogging ?
« Reply #35 on: December 20, 2010, 02:13:37 pm »

"Ink change idiocy" ? not sure what you mean by this. If you're referring to the way Epson inks are changed or the way matt and gloss inks are swapped, that's not a fault as such, it's just the way Epson have designed the printers.

Ah, the classic "it's a feature, not a bug" defense.

Rhossydd

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Re: Ink Clogging ?
« Reply #36 on: December 20, 2010, 06:08:55 pm »

Ah, the classic "it's a feature, not a bug" defense.
I'm not saying it's a "feature", or that I like the behaviour myself, but that's how Epson designed it to perform. It's not an error or 'bug'.
I think it could be better implemented in the drivers, but that really is a question of preference. Just how idiot proof do people expect their hardware/software to be ?

Adding an extra head to avert changing black carts would add to the machine's cost and Epson presumably decided it was a cost that the majority of customers wouldn't accept. They may be wrong, but that's a question for their focus groups and customer feedback.
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John Hollenberg

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Re: Ink Clogging ?
« Reply #37 on: December 20, 2010, 09:02:52 pm »

Quote
"Ink change idiocy" ? not sure what you mean by this. If you're referring to the way Epson inks are changed or the way matt and gloss inks are swapped, that's not a fault as such, it's just the way Epson have designed the printers.

Whatever you call it, Epson is lagging badly in this department compared to Canon and HP.  The lack of this feature is something that may make some take a closer look at competitors.  The same is true of ink clogging problems.
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mfryd

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Re: Ink Clogging ?
« Reply #38 on: December 20, 2010, 09:09:11 pm »

The issue is having different inks for matte and glossy.

It's a fundamental problem with no easy solution.

Newer Epsons share a head for both gloss and matte ink.  When switching form one to the other, some ink needs to be flushed.  The trick is to minimize the amount that is flushed so it isn't a problem.


You could have separate heads for the two black inks, but that might waste even more ink.  If you mostly printed glossy, the printer would need to occasionally purge the matte black head to keep it from drying out and clogging.

So you see, you can build a printer for people who
- never switch blacks (you have to change the carts and do a major purge to switch)
- occasionally switch blacks (they share a head, and only a minimal purge is needed to switch)
- frequently switch blacks (separate black heads that are always live)

There is no single solution that is best for everyone.  Epson is just trying to find the solution that maximizes happiness for the largest number of customers.
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DBarnes

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Re: Ink Clogging ?
« Reply #39 on: December 20, 2010, 11:03:31 pm »

My root canal was painFUL.  The R3880 doesn't clog.
Dave
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