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Author Topic: Cleaning clogged/dead Epson 4900 printer  (Read 10735 times)

Deardorff

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Cleaning clogged/dead Epson 4900 printer
« on: April 01, 2015, 10:41:23 am »

Have an Epson 4900 that has not been used for months. Every ink channel is clogged. Major cleaning cycles have done nothing to clear it.

Hate to throw it out. Also hate the idea I have to spend around $1000 for all new inks just to watch them waste away with a printer that can't be used again.

Any solutions?
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Mark D Segal

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Re: Cleaning clogged/dead Epson 4900 printer
« Reply #1 on: April 01, 2015, 10:48:38 am »

Yes - call Epson ProGraphics Tech Support and ask for advice.
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Mark D Segal (formerly MarkDS)
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robertvine

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Re: Cleaning clogged/dead Epson 4900 printer
« Reply #2 on: April 03, 2015, 04:52:03 am »

I revived a 4800 that hadn't been used for 4 years using the windex puddle method. Fold up some paper towel and place it in the printer then slide the print head over the top of the paper towel and let the heads soak up the ammonia in the windex.

After a few days I could see ink on the towel to tell me it was working but I kept replacing the towel every day for 2 weeks before I fired up the printer with a new set of expired inks (they were cheap - in case this process didn't work!)

I tried some regular cleans to no avail but a power clean got every channel back! That was 3 years ago and I'm still using this 4800 (which I bought for $200 because it was so badly clogged).

Hopefully others will chime in if there are any differences in the 4900 and I'm guessing that your printer is out of warranty as I don't think this procedure is sanctioned by Epson...
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Mark D Segal

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Re: Cleaning clogged/dead Epson 4900 printer
« Reply #3 on: April 03, 2015, 08:48:20 am »

I recall reading somewhere in this Forum (I think) that Windex is not advised for the X900 series printers, and that there are differences in the materials and structures of these print heads which may not allow them to be treated in the same way as for your 4800. I'm not speaking from certainty here, but worth checking out, or experimenting with a 4900 in a state whereby you have nothing to lose if it gets wrecked even further.
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Mark D Segal (formerly MarkDS)
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Some Guy

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Re: Cleaning clogged/dead Epson 4900 printer
« Reply #4 on: April 03, 2015, 10:31:40 am »

I bought a couple of pints of this stuff and so far been pretty pleased with its ability to clean off residual ink.  Shipper is in Oregon.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/500ml-Printer-Head-Cleaner-Epson-ink-Cartridge-/190616848163?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c61a64723

I've heard of ammonia in Windex attacking metals in the head as it is a corrosive for many metals.  The head itself is probably an etched piece so might not be the best stuff to us around it.  I used some on a faucet once and it blistered and destroyed the chrome in short order.

SG
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John Caldwell

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Re: Cleaning clogged/dead Epson 4900 printer
« Reply #5 on: April 03, 2015, 12:31:18 pm »

American Inkjet Systems would be my choice for an otherwise dead 4900.

http://www.americaninkjetsystems2.com
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Wayne Fox

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Re: Cleaning clogged/dead Epson 4900 printer
« Reply #6 on: April 03, 2015, 04:59:55 pm »

We have restored several “dead” 4900’s.  Unfortunately some have turned out to have a head issue, but others just some serious cleaning.

The 4900 head is sort of “spring” loaded, so it is pretty easy to dampen something and place it under the head, then use something like foam core to push the head tight.  Normal procedure for us in AIS solution CLF007+ solution on paper towels and head pushed tight.  We usually do this several times and the result should be a pretty colorful paper towel as ink will wick out through the nozzles.  This solution is also good to put directly into the capping station.  After that we do  a power clean, then we run an epson nozzle exercise test (which is similar to printing one of the cleaning pages I’ve made or others have discussed on this forum) from the Epson software.  At that point we should see nozzles clearing ... if after all this we get a blank nozzle check we know something more serious is going on.

Often the nozzle check isn’t totally clear and the procedure varies depending on what we have.  It it’s still pretty bad, we repeat the above procedure.  Sometimes we use the solution in the capping station and it let sit overnight.  Once we get a decent nozzle check we will continue to work with cleans, channel cleans, printing the exercise page etc.

One thing to watch once nozzles are firing is if  you have a section that no matter what you do nothing changes.  As long as you see a few nozzles appear, and maybe a few others drop, then it’s a matter of working with the head until it clears. but if you get things to a point that nothing changes at all and section of nozzles is missing, the head is probably toast.

All power cleans should be followed up by printing a page which exercises all the nozzles before printing a nozzle check.  We haven’t ever had to resort to flushing the head itself, but we also use AIS CLF008P once we get most of it restored (or on printers with less serious problems), again moistening a paper towel and pushing the head down tight to it.

For me the issue seems to be the capping station seal ... it is no secret that the 4900 might be the worst printer Epson has ever made in regards to clogs and missing nozzles. There are rumors that I’ve never been able to substantiate from Epson that the capping station was revised so newer 4900’s are better at this. I also wonder if the dampers have issues, I know my 4900 required a damper changeout after only a month.
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Mark D Segal

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Re: Cleaning clogged/dead Epson 4900 printer
« Reply #7 on: April 03, 2015, 05:18:31 pm »

... it is no secret that the 4900 might be the worst printer Epson has ever made in regards to clogs and missing nozzles.


All this in respect of clogs/channel blanks - the 4900 needs a fair bit of babysitting, but from my experience the 4000 was the worst I've owned. Interestingly, the 2000P before it never clogged. The 4800 was a big improvement over the 4000, and the 3800 a huge improvement over both of them. Unfortunately, with the 4900 there has been some back-sliding. But in respect of print quality, it is the best printer I've ever used and for me that is the bottom line, because after we've been through one printer after another, the lasting output - and part of what some of us may be remembered for -  is what's on paper.
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Mark D Segal (formerly MarkDS)
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JRSmit

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Re: Cleaning clogged/dead Epson 4900 printer
« Reply #8 on: April 04, 2015, 02:48:06 am »

We have restored several “dead” 4900’s.  Unfortunately some have turned out to have a head issue, but others just some serious cleaning.

The 4900 head is sort of “spring” loaded, so it is pretty easy to dampen something and place it under the head, then use something like foam core to push the head tight.  Normal procedure for us in AIS solution CLF007+ solution on paper towels and head pushed tight.  We usually do this several times and the result should be a pretty colorful paper towel as ink will wick out through the nozzles.  This solution is also good to put directly into the capping station.  After that we do  a power clean, then we run an epson nozzle exercise test (which is similar to printing one of the cleaning pages I’ve made or others have discussed on this forum) from the Epson software.  At that point we should see nozzles clearing ... if after all this we get a blank nozzle check we know something more serious is going on.

Often the nozzle check isn’t totally clear and the procedure varies depending on what we have.  It it’s still pretty bad, we repeat the above procedure.  Sometimes we use the solution in the capping station and it let sit overnight.  Once we get a decent nozzle check we will continue to work with cleans, channel cleans, printing the exercise page etc.

One thing to watch once nozzles are firing is if  you have a section that no matter what you do nothing changes.  As long as you see a few nozzles appear, and maybe a few others drop, then it’s a matter of working with the head until it clears. but if you get things to a point that nothing changes at all and section of nozzles is missing, the head is probably toast.

All power cleans should be followed up by printing a page which exercises all the nozzles before printing a nozzle check.  We haven’t ever had to resort to flushing the head itself, but we also use AIS CLF008P once we get most of it restored (or on printers with less serious problems), again moistening a paper towel and pushing the head down tight to it.

For me the issue seems to be the capping station seal ... it is no secret that the 4900 might be the worst printer Epson has ever made in regards to clogs and missing nozzles. There are rumors that I’ve never been able to substantiate from Epson that the capping station was revised so newer 4900’s are better at this. I also wonder if the dampers have issues, I know my 4900 required a damper changeout after only a month.

Wayne how long do you leave the head tight on the to wel soaked with ais fluid? Overnight or ?
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Re: Cleaning clogged/dead Epson 4900 printer
« Reply #9 on: April 04, 2015, 09:43:12 am »

I've had good outcomes in the past using AIS fluid on the parking station.  When that and cleaning fails, I have resorted to an "initial ink fill" available from an external service program.  My current "clogs" are not responding however.  I have a clog in C that will not clear after two weeks of treatment with AIS fluid; so I tried a CL2 clean using the service program.  C remained the same, but now PK was about 90% blocked.  More cleans and AIS did nothing, so I tried initial fill which completely restored PK but had no effect on C.  About 15% of the C nozzles are missing, but they are a contiguous block not randomly scattered.  Interestingly, prints show no evidence of the missing C nozzles (as far as I can tell).

I would not use Windex, I've tried that in the past and it has always worsened the blocks.

I love the prints from a functioning 4900, but as an occasional printer I have become increasingly frustrated spending more time clearing heads than printing on this machine.

Tom
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Mark D Segal

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Re: Cleaning clogged/dead Epson 4900 printer
« Reply #10 on: April 04, 2015, 12:32:46 pm »

Plus the value of all the time you spent on it.

A daily nozzle check will not be sufficient to maintain it in the condition you worked so hard to achieve. You should run at least a couple of prints that exercise all the channels at least two to three times a week, evenly spaced, not to give the ink time to dry in the head or surrounding components.
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Mark D Segal (formerly MarkDS)
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sportmaster

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Re: Cleaning clogged/dead Epson 4900 printer
« Reply #11 on: April 04, 2015, 01:16:54 pm »

Mark, would a Qimage unclog printout in all colors be sufficient 2-3 times per week?
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Mark D Segal

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Re: Cleaning clogged/dead Epson 4900 printer
« Reply #12 on: April 04, 2015, 01:54:57 pm »

I don't do QImage so I don't know the target, but anything that makes a US-letter or A4 size print including colours from all the channels will suffice. I made-up my own in Photoshop, but there are others that people have posted or referenced in this Forum.
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Mark D Segal (formerly MarkDS)
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JRSmit

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Re: Cleaning clogged/dead Epson 4900 printer
« Reply #13 on: April 05, 2015, 03:20:44 am »

Mark, would a Qimage unclog printout in all colors be sufficient 2-3 times per week?
not in my experience. what i do nog is use the image of Wayne and print it each day i
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