Received an Epson 9900 3rd-hand, having issues...

[Belboz99]

Hey all,

My first post here, though I've been a reader for over 12 years.  I've been a photolab manager for around 3 years, and through some contacts at work a local photographer gifted me an Epson 9900 which was gifted to him by another local photographer.

The printer powers up fine, doesn't seem to have any obvious issues other than difficulty cleaning the head.  I've already used the maintenance mode to remove the wiper assembly and clean off the wiper with a q-tip.  I've dusted off some of the sensors near the head, and taken some of the excess residue off the cleaning pad and the parking pad.

Now it's running low on 2 inks, and the maintenance tank is reading so low that it won't allow me to perform additional cleaning cycles, despite being physically quite empty.


How should I proceed with this?  Is there something obvious I'm missing?

A few things worth mentioning... this machine's been roughed up a bit... the previous owner had the head replaced, and bent some of the housing in the process.   The housing is currently missing a few screws just to the right of the paper outlet on the inner aluminium face.  The move wasn't easy, we didn't have many options for being gentle with it.  It was tipped on-end to clear a corner, though the head was parked and the carts and tanks were fully-seated.  Oh, and the ink doors have been removed, I've been careful not to bump or attempt removing the carts without first unlocking them on the console.

Currently the middle of the Light Cyan nozzles are missing on the nozzle-check print, and the entire span of the Matte Black.  I did switch to Matte Black and run some cleaning cycles with that switched on, but it made no difference.

Dan O.

[Mark D Segal]

 It could be that your printer is worth what you paid for it, or it could be that with some well-targeted expenditure you will have done well. I suggest you call in a certified technician, get an appraisal from that person about what needs to be done with the printer and at what cost to put it into commercially acceptable operating condition and then decide whether it makes sense. Time is money and the theory of comparative advantage often works.

[Garnick]

Hey all,

My first post here, though I've been a reader for over 12 years.  I've been a photolab manager for around 3 years, and through some contacts at work a local photographer gifted me an Epson 9900 which was gifted to him by another local photographer.

The printer powers up fine, doesn't seem to have any obvious issues other than difficulty cleaning the head.  I've already used the maintenance mode to remove the wiper assembly and clean off the wiper with a q-tip.  I've dusted off some of the sensors near the head, and taken some of the excess residue off the cleaning pad and the parking pad.

Now it's running low on 2 inks, and the maintenance tank is reading so low that it won't allow me to perform additional cleaning cycles, despite being physically quite empty.


How should I proceed with this?  Is there something obvious I'm missing?

A few things worth mentioning... this machine's been roughed up a bit... the previous owner had the head replaced, and bent some of the housing in the process.   The housing is currently missing a few screws just to the right of the paper outlet on the inner aluminium face.  The move wasn't easy, we didn't have many options for being gentle with it.  It was tipped on-end to clear a corner, though the head was parked and the carts and tanks were fully-seated.  Oh, and the ink doors have been removed, I've been careful not to bump or attempt removing the carts without first unlocking them on the console.

Currently the middle of the Light Cyan nozzles are missing on the nozzle-check print, and the entire span of the Matte Black.  I did switch to Matte Black and run some cleaning cycles with that switched on, but it made no difference.

Dan O.

Hi Dan,

Welcome to LuLa.  I tend to agree with Mark's assessment of your situation, although there are a couple of things you've mentioned that I find somewhat confusing.  Before I venture in that direction I do have one suggestion.  I applaud your attempt at cleaning the wiper blade.  Notice my use of the the word "attempt".  A Q-Tip is likely the worst thing you could have used to clean the blade, since you may have deposited almost microscopically small remnants of the Tip back onto the blade.  If you check a Q-Tip with a loupe you'll see exactly what I'm referring to.  When I clean the wiper I use what could loosely be referred to as a Q-Tip on steroids, in that it's about 6x the size of your average Q-Tip.  However, the important difference is that the tip is actually a dense foam(sponge) composition.  I had a Decision 1 Tech leave some behind after the second head replacement(Warranty) on my 9900, so I don't know where you might find such a product, since I still have my own supply.  I use it with rather warm water and the final rinses are done with distilled water to make sure no minerals are left behind.  It's also a good idea to check the blade with a loupe and look for any small tears that might have occurred at some point.  If that is the case you will obviously need a new wiper blade. 

I also find it strange that the Maintenance tank was so "low"(full) that it would not let you run a cleaning cycle, and yet, when you did a Matte Black switch that didn't seem to be an issue.  Perhaps you could expand on that somewhat and be a bit more clear on your description of the situation.  If the Maintenance Tank is so full that it won't allow a cleaning cycle it's irrelevant which black ink you are using.  I suspect it's actually the low ink carts that are preventing the cleaning cycle from running.  And as far as the Maintenance Tank is concerned, the right tank always fills first.  I've never had to try this but it might work.  Shut down the printer, switch the tanks and put the left(empty) one into the right position and vice versa.  That might let you run the cleaning cycle.  It's worth a try and certainly won't do any harm.  Also, always keep a spare tank on hand or purchase a chip resetter for it.

When I notice a "gap" in a nozzle pattern, depending on the severity, I will usually run one cleaning cycle and a control print(full colour) and check the pattern again.  If the gap persists, or has indeed widened, I will then start up in "Service Mode" and run the clean cycles from there, pairs only of course.  And since your cyan pattern is showing such a large gap I would suggest starting with a CL-2 cycle in "Pairs".  In case you are not familiar with this, when in "Service Mode" go to "Cleaning".  Scroll down past STD to the Pairs section.  The Cyan is paired with the Vivid Magenta and only those two nozzles will be cleaned.  You will have to run the Nozzle Check from the computer in "Service Mode", not from the Control Panel.  If you have to run another cycle it's a good practice to run a control print first.  This helps keep all nozzles active and not such a burden on the ones you are concentrating on. This is a suggestion put forth by Mark and has proven to be very valuable in my experience.  It can also sometimes help to clean those problem nozzles.  I believe you meant that the entire MK nozzle was missing, which is not totally surprising after a switch.  I always make the "K" switch in "Service Mode", which will normally prevent the printer from automatically running a cleaning cycle as it does in "Standard Mode". 

Not sure why the ink bay doors would have been removed, although I see no problem with that except perhaps dust or debris accumulation.  I also question why you might be concerned about "bumping" the ink carts, since they are all confined entirely within the ink bay.  Just asking.  I hope some of this might be of help Dan, so be in touch.

Gary                 

[Belboz99]

Thanks all,

I replaced the LC since that was almost out... but it's still "stuck" attempting to do a cleaning cycle, giving me an error that there isn't enough ink to perform one, but once I change the ink I could switch it back to finish what's remaining.

That's completely frustrating me to no end... it won't even let me load paper, and attempting to cancel the "job" simply causes an infinite loading screen.  The monitoring software on the PC OTOH seems to think everything's "OK", albeit with low ink.  Currently the LK is down to 1% on a 700ml cart.



I did a number of cleaning cycles with just pairs only, a couple power ones, specifically on the LC, but I think the cart may have run out ahead of the printer's estimated time.  The thing was even lighter-weight than the 1% LK cart.



You're probably all right that I should have used something that wouldn't have the potential to deposit lint or fibers, but I don't have that type of cleaning supply on hand or a replacement part, and it's my impression that he head runs over dust and lint from the paper regularly, and while the wiper is supposed to help remove that, it doesn't mean it should never come in contact with it.  My main concern was removing the thick residue from repeated cleanings, and that seems to have been quite sucessful, I'll know soon if I need to replace the wiper or such... my technique may not have been preferred, but I don't believe it should cause any lasting ill effects.



Regarding the doors, from what I understand the ink lines are a pressurized system... I can't remember if it's negative or positive pressure, but that's why it makes all those hissing sounds on power-down and such.

It's specifically because of this newer pressurized system that they added doors, because if you simply popped a cartridge out it would be akin to popping the radiator cap off a hot and running engine.   When you select the option to open the door, it's not simply opening the door, it's equalizing the pressure before you remove the cart.  Without a door you need to be much more careful to not pop the cart out while the lines are under pressure.



I'm sure the printer will be worth far more than I paid for it, since I got it for free.   The previous photographer who had the head replaced had replaced the entire unit while it was being serviced because he was impatient, and after looking for a buyer for this one for over 6 months he simply wanted it moved out of his studio.

My main objective is to get it in working order at the lowest amount of work and cost possible.  I might contact a tech-support, but I'm going to make sure I've done everything I can before that point.  I've repaired similar Epsons before, a 9600, 7600, and a couple R1900, R1800, and R1400's.  The 9600 I even replaced the entire head flushing box assembly... I was really glad when I discovered how readily the wiper blade could be removed on this unit, did anyone ever try taking one out of a 9600?

Thanks,
Dan  O.

Dan O.