Luminous Landscape Forum
Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Printing: Printers, Papers and Inks => Topic started by: Peterretep on November 02, 2016, 06:31:12 am
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I'm hoping someone can offer advice on how to rectify a consistent problem I'm getting with my Epson 7900. The problem is that most prints will have a number of very fine straight lines of different colors at random places. The lines are only noticeable in very light to white areas of the print. They also are occasionally visible on white borders outside the image area. The lines are oriented in the same direction the paper travels.
Any thoughts on this?
Peter
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How about a picture?
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There are five lines showing in the border of this image. The yellow and light cyan are very faint but there. (http://)
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I guess the easy things first.
Have you cleaned or replaced your wiper blade lately.
Platen height. (Seems unlikely)
Does it print those lines over the image also?
Weird.
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Thanks for your response Dan. No I haven't cleaned or replaced the wiper blade. And yes, the lines do appear within the printed area. They are not running the length of the print but are sporadic lines that appear in non consistent places usually running about 1 - 3 inches in length.
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Hi Peter,
Two rather unlikely possibilities. However, considering the circumstances it's all I can think of at the moment.
1. Check your Print Que to make sure there's nothing stuck in there. If so, DELETE.
2. Possibly a corrupted driver for some unknown reason. Strange things can happen after-all. It might be worthwhile to delete the driver and reinstall, if you haven't done so already. Perhaps download a "fresh" copy
from the Epson site.
I agree with Dan, VERY WEIRD!
Gary
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To rule out (or confirm) corrupt printer driver issues, consider downloading a demo version of ImagePrint RIP software by Colorbyte if reinstalling the printer driver doesn't result in a change. The IP prints will be watermarked with "demo" or something but it should serve your purpose. I've had zero issues using ImagePrint over the years, so it should be a good basis for comparison.
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Thanks Gary and Richh, I'll do one or the other or both driver suggestions. Weird yes, I thought that this was possibly a common problem until I started looking into it and couldn't find anything similar to what my 7900 is doing. Also will try adjusting the platen height as per Dan's suggestion. Cleaning the wiper blade will be the next step if the others don't rectify the problem. Does this method of cleaning the wiper blade look good? https://myx900.com/clean-your-wiper/
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Does this method of cleaning the wiper blade look good? https://myx900.com/clean-your-wiper/
That's the one. But I bet it is the driver.
Dave
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Had a similar problem with Canon ipf 6300. Suggest that you print same image with different software; problem should disappear. Uninstall problematic software and reinstall.
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I updated my driver and just ran an 8x10. Same results as prior to installing the new driver.
David, I'm printing through Photoshop, I'd hate to go through the hassle of uninstalling and reinstalling that program and I'm doubtful that is the problem though it may well be. My next attempt to fix this will be to clean the wiper blade, if that doesn't work I'll try reinstalling Photoshop.
Peter
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Can you create a very light grey, solid, square (of the size of the images you normally print) and then print that? Make it like 15% grey. Can you see the lines continue through the image (not just before it)?
I'm going to guess that you can (you may need a loupe to see it), at least for some colours (you won't see yellow probably). In that case, my best guess is an electronic issue - possibly a damaged ribbon cable to the head. Essentially, rows of nozzles are being fired constantly. I don't believe it's a general maintenance issue or a workflow issue.
The other way to test it is to just print out a document and see what happens - the text down the page will have the nozzles firing and if you see the lines, then that's probably it. It will need a technician to check the cable which may be mis-seated (less likely, but possible), or damaged.
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Peter, are you printing through a wireless network? If so maybe try a USB connection.
The fact that the lines are oriented with paper travel direction is weird. That means the glitch is at the same point in the horizontal head travel on every pass.
Dave
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Peter,
My similar problem of corrupted image arose from Lightroom, whereafter I printed same image via., Photoshop without defects. I then uninstalled Lightroom (4.3) and reinstalled Lightroom (4.0) and all was well again.
Hope the foregoing helps.
David.
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Again, thanks for your responses and suggestions!
Here's where I'm at this morning. In printing a 15% grey as Farmer suggested, the resulting print showed no lines at all, totally clean.
For David's suggestion about printing with another program.... being I don't have another program I used an older version of Photoshop, Photoshop 5 as opposed to Photoshop 6 which is my current PS version. The print from PS 5 had the same sporadic short lines, no change from what I've been seeing. I need to try Richh's suggestion about trying ImagePrint RIP though it seems that would be the same as my installing the new driver but it's worth a try. I did take a look at the wiper blade. It's clearly in need of cleaning or replacing. I have foam pads coming in Tuesday which I'll use to clean the the wiper blade.
That's it for now, thanks again and I'll let you all know if the cleaning of the wiper blade rectified the problem or not. Feel free to share any further suggestions.
Peter
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That is really odd. Those lines are too perfect to be the result of an issue with cleaning or the like (notwithstanding that your wiper blade may require cleaning/replacement).
Can you perhaps print to the same printer from a different computer? I presume you've tried different files for the same result already.
Could you turn your current file into a PDF and then print it from Acrobat?
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Peter,
Does the file have a white border around the image or is it the image only? I'm asking to see if the lines are starting on the larger canvas that is part of the file or if they are some sporadic firing of the head that has nothing to do with the file. I especially wonder as the grey file you created had no lines. Did it have a border/larger canvas?
- If they are part of the canvas can you recreate (not crop) the file from the original with no border and reprint it?
You don't mention when this problem started or if the printer is new and you've always had the issue.
- If this is a recent issue can you reprint an old image that printed well some time ago?
Does the file have layers (or did it)?
Have you changed anything about the way you PP your files at the time this issue started?
Can you download the 30 day trial of Lightroom and try a testprint from it? Might be easier than Imageprint
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Phil, yes the lines do look too perfect. However I'm going to clean the wiper blade anyway. I should have the foam pads to clean it by Tuesday evening. I hope that's it but I'm doubtful. I'll give another computer a try to see if it too prints with the same lines. I'm guessing that it will. Yes it prints most files with these lines but only obvious in light areas. I printed a photo from Lightroom and the lines were also showing. I'm doubtful whether a PDF through Acrobat would yield line free results.
Mike, the image itself has no border so yes, the lines started outside the image area in this case and are also visible within the image. The grey file I printed which showed no lines was bordered. It was a grey square within a white border.
I've had this printer, bought new, for a few years. The lines started showing up maybe about a year ago and seem to have gotten progressively worse. I always flatten layers before printing, always tiff files.
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Boy .. a tricky one. So it seems that as the leading edge of the head(s) starts to put down ink on the print, for some reason a whole line of holes(?), or perhaps a trailing edge hole is firing at the same spot on the paper ... every pass. Presumably the distance between the start of the line and the edge of the image is the width of the head. It's difficult to see how a marginal hardware problem could be the cause of such a precise fault.
Do you get any lines when you print a test pattern for heads where each ink prints out squares to test the heads?
If so which colours?
Are you on the latest firmware?
If not can you update, mainly to wipe out any possible corruption?
Is it possible in a maintenance mode to reload firmware (if you're on the latest)
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Lines do not present themselves when running a test pattern.
I've not updated the firmware since buying the 7900, I'll look into doing this later today. It's best to try the simpler solutions first, I'd rather not pay an Epson tech to correct this problem if possible.
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.... I'd rather not pay an Epson tech to correct this problem if possible.
+1 on that ...
The latest F/W appears to be June 2016 so you should be able to update without any Epson help.
While you don't have vertical banding the suggestion in the manual is to turn off high speed printing and align the print head.
Not sure if you've tried them but probably worth it...
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USB or Network? Try changing the cable, either way. Since nozzle tests (which are internal bitmaps) aren't affected, it is perhaps another electronic failure and that points to the link - the cable - as a possibility.
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Where I'm at with this problem. I've updated the firmware and cleaned the wiper blade this morning. It seems that the frequency of the lines appearing is less but they still print about 25% of the time at the moment. The printer is connected with a USB cable, it's a long one, maybe a ten foot cable. My next attempt to fix this is to do as was suggested, print from another computer. Probably use my Macbook Pro laptop and attach it to the existing USB cable. Then if lines still appear attach it via a different shorter cable. Is there a possibility that signal interference could cause this glitch? Just wondering because my current cable does run close to and also contact 120 volt power cords.
Thanks again for your suggestions of help.
Peter
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Data cables should not be within 6 inches of power cables or, if they must be, run them only at right angles. Whilst the amount of interference is typically small, running parallel maximises the interference and a 10 foot cable is about the maximum for USB 2 under the spec.
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While I have not had that same problem, I have noticed that when running very large files, especially when i have accidentally exceeded the the 300,000 pixel limit, I have found the 11880 prints random lines on the tail end of the print after printing normally for 80 or 90 % of the way. So it does strike me as a software behavior for sure.
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That's a very old version of Photoshop you're using if you have a pixel limitation, still!
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I am not describing a photoshop pixel limit, only the one in the Epson driver.
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Data cables should not be within 6 inches of power cables or, if they must be, run them only at right angles. Whilst the amount of interference is typically small, running parallel maximises the interference and a 10 foot cable is about the maximum for USB 2 under the spec.
When I first set up my Epson SP9900 printer I purchased 3 - 5 metre(15+ft.) USB Active Extension Cables to test. Since that time, 6.5 years ago, I have been running that printer on those three cables, approximately 45 ft. While under warranty a tech was working on the machine and mentioned that the issue was probably caused by the running length of the USB cables. We then moved the printer close enough to connect with a 6ft. cable and the issue was exactly as it was previously. He went about his business, replaced the faulty part and I ran my "test" image(Bill Atkinson file) on the both the 6 and 45ft cables and neither of us could determine any difference at all in the quality of the resulting print. Needless to say, the tech was quite impressed and I've been using this USB extension system ever since with no issues. Just my experience, and of course I suppose it may not work with every printer or in every situation.
Gary
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I am not describing a photoshop pixel limit, only the one in the Epson driver.
Switch on "Coarse Rendering" and you won't have that issue. Unless you're trying to print with finest detail, it won't be an issue.
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"coarse rendering" ? where?
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The printers encoder strip above the head may have a some dirt on it. I don't know of any way to check to see if that is the problem. If you can contact an Epson tech (without getting a bill) you may find out how to check for that short of visible inspection.
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That's a very old version of Photoshop you're using if you have a pixel limitation, still!
I think Ps is still limited to dimensions of 300,000 or less. I know you can’t create a new document greater than 300,000 pixels wide.
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Coarse rending in the driver is under Utility tab and then Speed and Progress.
Wayne - sure you can - I just did it in CS6 (and that's pretty ancient really), and I know I can do it in the latest CC. Documents over 30,000 pixels will generate a warning about not being compatible with previous versions and it may mean a PSB rather than PSD file.
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Thanks Phil, but that tab is not present in the 11880 driver / utility on mac. Regardless I believe all that does is down sample to within the printers max resolution so there is a pixel limit either way. If I understand it correctly, best practice would be to optimize the down-sample in photoshop than have a blind resample.
I did not intend to hijack the thread, I just know that the printer has produced shapes and lines when I have printed very large files. Perhaps a re-exploration or pixel limits from the epson driver might be a good post.
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Hmmm, I didn't check OS X - you're right, sorry. Windows only. What it does is slightly more involved. Yes, you should pre-down-sample to 360ppi. There's no hard limit of 300,000 as such, but that's around the level you will run into issues with spool files and so on.
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Coarse rending in the driver is under Utility tab and then Speed and Progress.
Wayne - sure you can - I just did it in CS6 (and that's pretty ancient really), and I know I can do it in the latest CC. Documents over 30,000 pixels will generate a warning about not being compatible with previous versions and it may mean a PSB rather than PSD file.
Here's what Ps says when I try to create a document that is 300,001 pixels wide (and note that it changes it to 300,000 in the dialog box).
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Hmmm, I just tried in CC 2017 and you're quite right, but the other day I tried it in CS6 and it didn't complain. That seems unlikely, so I'm not sure how that worked. I was sure I'd done larger in the past. Confused, obviously.
That said, there's no such limit in the driver :-)
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From bad to worse, an update on my problem.... after going through all the suggestions made in this thread the problem still exists and more. I've changed the platen height, cleaned the wiper blade, updated the driver and firmware, printed from a newly installed different program(Lightroom) from Photoshop, printed from a different computer, tried different USB cables, separated my USB cable from all other cables and cords, turned off high speed printing and lastly ran the head alignment utility from the printer control panel.
Doing all the changes prior to the last effort which was aligning the head made no difference, images still had lines. What is much worse now is aligning the heads has resulted in soft images, essentially going from what had been good sharp prints to prints that have a most noticeable lack of sharpness. I've ran the alignment twice, the second alignment still looks as bad as after the first.
Any ideas as to aligning the heads and getting back the sharpness prints had? I can't find any information as to how to read the manual alignment printout.
Totally frustrated....