Epson 2880 prints too pink after ink cartridge change. Troubleshooting tips?

[dfranzen]

If anyone has had seen the same or similar issue as mine, I'd appreciate your advice about the next best steps to take.

After several months without printing, I made one print with my Epson 2880, noticed that the Light Vivid Magenta was low (the light was on, the print driver also warned me) so I changed the cartridge. Now new prints appear too pink, especially in "golden" colors: very light yellows, darker gold-like colors, light tans. If it affects other colors (blues, greens, neutrals, saturated reds) it's too subtle a color cast there to be noticeable. I haven't looked closely at what it does to skin tones.

I'm printing on Harman FB Al paper using Harman's ICC profile. I've been using this paper for the last couple years, and since I started using it, I've been happy with the printed results and happy with my ability to soft-proof using a calibrated display. I am going to try making my own profile for the printer, however since the start of the problem coincided with an ink cartridge change I'm a little concerned that there may be something wrong with the printer or ink cartridge.

Yes—I have the correct magenta ink cartridge installed in the right place slot. I did not get the magentas mixed up when changing the cart. I realized today this might be the problem, but I double checked (with a colleague looking over my shoulder just in I've lost my mind), and this is not the issue (if it's even possible).

I have done one automatic nozzle cleaning. Does it make sense to do it again? How many times?

Is this what a faulty ink cartridge does? Has anyone else had problem like this that they were able to solve by just changing the ink cartridge again?

I'm pretty sure this is not a software configuration problem. I've double checked my settings (correct profile, no double profiling), and I've printed from two different computers (a mac and a windows box), with the same pink color cast.

[jferrari]

What does your nozzle check look like? What software are you printing from? Do you have "Printer manages color" turned off?

[Ernst Dinkla]

Cyan or Light Cyan cart or head at its end?

--
Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
July 2013, 500+ inkjet media white spectral plots.

[Rawcoll]

I have done one automatic nozzle cleaning. Does it make sense to do it again? How many times?

More to the point, have you carried out a nozzle check? After a few month's of inactivity I find that my nozzle check isn't perfect and it may take more than one clean. I have got into the habit of performing a nozzle check each time I switch the machine on; better to do that than waste a print. Having said that, I don't find nozzle clogging to be a problem generally.

[digitaldog]

After several months without printing, I made one print with my Epson 2880, noticed that the Light Vivid Magenta was low (the light was on, the print driver also warned me) so I changed the cartridge.

Your first mistake  . Don't replace until the printer just stops, seriously there is still ink to be used. AND if the first print after the replacement was off, it's probably not the cartridge, there should be some remaining old ink in the lines. As others have suggested, probably a clogged ink head or double color management.

[Martin Ranger]

I have just encountered the same issue as you.

After replacing the Vivid Light Magenta (and the Photo Black) on my Epson 4900 the prints now have a very obvious magenta tint. This didn't occur immediately after I changed the ink cartridges (old ink in the line),  and prints I did before the change in inks are fine. These prints are of the same file in some cases. I have double checked the color management, used different papers with different profiles, did a nozzle check and clean, but get the same color shift no matter what.

Is it possible that Epson has changed their ink formulation to that degree?

[digitaldog]

Is it possible that Epson has changed their ink formulation to that degree?

No. It's either a clogged head, user error, etc.

[Martin Ranger]

Oh well, that's what I thought. Time to do some more trouble shooting I suppose.

[Ernst Dinkla]

If it really is not related to CM or hardware then get a syringe needle made blunt, put it in the cart seal puncture and let some ink drips fall from the old LM cart (foot high) on a normal uncoated bond paper. Next some from the new LM cart. Pull the needle out fast as the ink may flow fast from a new cart. Do the same from an M cart.  Let it dry an hour. If you see the wrong relation between the samples then someone in a filling plant made a huge mistake.

Did the same recently to identify a bare M Vivera ink pouch from a Z3100 where I was not sure whether it was LM or M. It was Magenta. So I can fill a B9180 refillable cart properly.

--
Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
July 2013, 500+ inkjet media white spectral plots.

[Martin Ranger]

Thank you for the tip, Ernst.  I'll try that if I can't find any other issue with my printing process. To be honest, I never really thought that ink would vary that much between batches; I just found it intriguing that someone else would have a magenta problem after replacing inks.

Merry Christmas!
Martin

[dfranzen]

Thanks everyone for the advice on this issue. I had to put my printing project on hold for the holidays and am just getting going again.

Looks like this is a probably a software/user-error problem after all. After doing a couple more test prints and thinking back through my steps carefully, I've realized that the pink prints are coming only from my Windows machine and not from my Mac. I'm going work on getting everything configured correctly on windows (8.1) using a much cheaper paper.

Thanks,
David