Remapping of 4900 printhead

[JeffW]

At this point I think VM is not recoverable in my 4900. Is it possible with the remaining inks to remap the remaining colors and still get a decent photo?

[shadowblade]

At this point I think VM is not recoverable in my 4900. Is it possible with the remaining inks to remap the remaining colors and still get a decent photo?

It's possible, but will require an ink flush, a RIP that costs more than a new head and will result in a smaller colour gamut.

[dannybirchwood]

Cant you pick a new head up and install it ? wouldn't that be a better option ?

think you can pick them up at a reasonable price

[BrianWJH]

At this point I think VM is not recoverable in my 4900.

Jeff, have you visually checked the VM damper for clogging?

Brian.

[JeffW]

Unfortunately, The cost of a 4900 printhead, might as well replace the printer.

Brian, I have not looked at the damper. Are they easy to get to? I have not found a source for replacing them either.

[holmherzer]

You can't replace an individual damper. It comes as an assembly. You can buy them from http://www.compassmicro.com. the assembly cost is close to $200.00 and you will a repair manual and software to change it out. you can buy both at http://www.2manuals.com/

[JeffW]

Is there a way to tell if it is the damper or the head. I am getting to the point of not putting more money down the drain, unless I am sure. I could pull the damper and look it over. Is there a way to tell if the damper is the culprit?

[BrianWJH]

Is there a way to tell if it is the damper or the head?

Jeff, unfortunately not without disassembly, each damper filters and supplies two ink colours so there are 5 damper units in the sub-assembly.

Magenta pigment seems to be a bit of a 'clogger/clumper' more so than the other colours.

The following links are to sources to the damper/selector sub-assembly and also another source for single dampers designed for uv inks that would most likely be a direct replacement (you need to check with the supplier), there is also a link to the field manual which describes the disassembly procedure.

Damper Sub-assembly
Single UV Damper
Field Manual

I guess your options are to either persist with the AIS flushing methods or dive right in and disassemble the printhead/damper assemblies and clean/flush the printhead and dampers and replace if required or call it a day and replace the printer.

Good luck.

Brian.

[holmherzer]

The service manual does a pretty good job of explaining how to disassemble the printer and remove the damper assembly. I would advise that you get the service software so you can evacuate the ink system then recharge it. I was having problems with the black channel after doing an ink swap. After I removed the damper assembly I was able to push cleaning fluid backward though the damper on all but the black. That may have been because it was completely clogged or because the way the swapping system works, it won't allow you to push fluid backward. The intake side of the assembly has pretty small ports and I couldn't find anything small enough to get a seal to push head cleaner from the intake side, so I flushed from the print head side of the damper.

You could pull your damper off and flush it like I did with mine, and assuming you can get fluid to flow through each port, you could then re-install  it and recharge the system. You will use a lot of ink, and I had to recharge mine twice to get it to print a good head check pattern. You could try cleaning the print head while you have it apart.

Good Luck

David