Epson 9900 ink cartridge error- all cartridges showing Xs

[Kirk at ManageColor]

This week I face the dilemma of decided to scrap a pristine (although 4 years old) 9900 because of a printhead that will not clear green. When you factor in the cost of fixing the printhead ($2K including typical wiper and caps replace), compared to a new 9900 that includes a new small set of inks and a one year warranty; it is hard to justify fixing the old printer (Epson 9900's currently selling for under $4k.)

I have the service manual and was able to locate and download servpro.exe. I took apart the 9900 and removed the printhead- soaked it in diluted isopropyl alcohol and use an eyedropper with a plastic tube to gently push and pull some ink through each color head. I estimated my chance of recovery at about 20 to 30%. I put it all back together (the ribbon cables are a bit difficult to put back in place and I did lose one screw in the process.) The printer came back up in ready mode and I ran the suggested power cleaning cycle to return the state of the printer to full ink lines, full head and proper ink-line vacuum state.

The printer chugged-along for a couple of minutes (I could tell it was in power-cleaning mode) and then came back with "replace ink cartridge" and X's across the board for all ink cartridges. I pushed the cartridges in and out- turned off and on- turned on in service mode, unplugged- etc. But so far could not get passed the error message.

Any additional ideas? I will probably take the printer apart again and check to make sure all the ribbon cables on the carriage assembly are seated properly. I have a feeling the head is toast and I will be buying a new printer- but a several thousand, I might as well give it a shot.

By the way, if I buy a new printer I will pay the $900 for an additional 3 years of warranty (4 years total.) Epson charges $1500 (about) for the printhead and then you have to pay another $500 if you want decisionone to do the install. I already replaced the printhead about 16 months ago and had one additional paid service call- the $900 is worth the price of admission.   

[Paul2660]

Can't help much on the X's.  But I was surprised at the $900.00 for 3 years. 

Last time I checked, it was $1400.00 for 2 additional years, which gives you 3 years total.  You can also pay it in $700.00 1 year increments.  But your rate is much better, so I wanted to double check, maybe Epson has gotten a bit more aggressive? 

I am in the US, where Decision One does all the warranty/non-warranty work for Epson large formats.

Paul

[Kirk at ManageColor]

Hi Paul, its been a while since I checked on the cost of warranty- Perhaps I am off on this- I will check and reply.

[Kirk at ManageColor]

Additional 2 years lists at $1375. I guess I was wishful thinking. This becomes more marginal of a purchase but I am leaning that way regardless.

[iladi]

You may have bubbles in one or more carts. It can be reason to have XX error.  Use a paper clip and a small tube to remove.

Or you may have a defective chip. Or a dirty one. Clean ink chips with alcohol, rinse.

[Kirk at ManageColor]

Hi Iladi- thanks for the reply- I may try that - however the X's show for all 11 inks and happened all at once- chances are that bubbles are not this problem- but perhaps worth a try.

[Kirk at ManageColor]

Update:
Turning on the printer with cartridges out and then opening the ink bay and inserting some cartridges in, then closing the ink bay - the inks show up on the lcd. However, as soon as I insert the final ink cartridge (I have tried several at being the last inserted), the lcd shows X's across the board for all inks.

So it is not the inks, it is the next printer check process after the printer checks for inks that is producing the error. I believe it is the printer checking for the cap home position- as I received a 1439 error. This could mean I need to replace the cap and pump assembly or it could be a damaged ribbon cable.

In any case, between the probably unrecoverable printhead (very low probability that my printhead cleaning routine fixed it) and cap and pump assembly error- this 9900 is headed to craigslist/ebay (san francisco area) as a parts machine.

Despite the Epson problems I will not hesitate in getting another 9900.

[BobDavid]

I'd get the 9890. The orange and green carts are a headache. I tossed a three-year old 9900 due to issues with an orange cart that went bad. You may try replacing the orange along with the carts on either side. Weird as that sounds, I once got my 9900 back up and running after doing that. The green and orange inks do not make a difference when printing photographs. Those inks were added so graphic designers, industrial designers, etc. are able to match PMS colors. I've printed a lot of fine art repro and large photos with both printers. I cannot tell the difference. The orange and greens are superfluous in re printing photos.

[jferrari]

I'd get the 9890. The orange and green carts are a headache. I tossed a three-year old 9900 due to issues with an orange cart that went bad. You may try replacing the orange along with the carts on either side. Weird as that sounds, I once got my 9900 back up and running after doing that. The green and orange inks do not make a difference when printing photographs. Those inks were added so graphic designers, industrial designers, etc. are able to match PMS colors. I've printed a lot of fine art repro and large photos with both printers. I cannot tell the difference. The orange and greens are superfluous in re printing photos.

I echo these sentiments exactly.    - Jim

[deanwork]

On my 9890 what happens is if two carts on one side are not in perfect alignment with the cart chip reader inside the printer then it flashes that all the carts on that side are not functioning. Don't know why their software does that.

The other thing is if you push your carts slightly toward the left they make better contact.

Generally what I do is pull them all out and replace them one at a time starting from the left side and working my way down.

But I have never had both sides flashing like that at the same time.

john

[Kirk at ManageColor]

Thanks for the replies.

Regarding the 9890 and the 9900 potential color space, I guess it comes down to how much the added color gamut is valued by a person. Certainly the color gamut is extended on virtually all media with the addition of orange and green. The additional color gamut that the orange and green inks add are not limited to "unnatural" colors (graphic art colors / pantone / etc.) Most if not all colors in the color gamut of a 9900 on any media can be found in nature and fine art creations.

On some fine art media and a lessor degree canvas the additional color gamut may hardly make a difference to the naked eye on viewing a print- it doesn't mean there is no difference but the perceptual difference may be negligible. I can imagine however that for some files/images the difference could be significant.

On other media, premium luster and exhibition fine art the difference in color gamut is significant. Depending on the image this could result in a significantly different (better) print.

In the end you weigh the benefit of the additional green and orange inks against the additional cost and potential headache that they bring.

For me, I value the extended gamut enough, even though marginal in many cases, that I will continue with the 9900.

thanks- Kirk  

[davidh202]

I will second what John (Deanwork), said about the carts...
I had read a post a couple of years ago from a lady who had this problem on a new 9890 and the tech came out and re aligned the right Ink bay assembly and had told her it affected how the contacts aligned with the carts.
 I accidently hit mine with my rolling chair once,  and the ink bay door popped open and I also got the X's on all carts. After getting frustrated resetting the carts to no avail I smacked the side of the machine open palmed...worked a charm! never had the problem again in 4 years.
I also second the 9890 idea over the 9900 put the $ difference into media and ink!!! The orange and green are for color critical graphics work!