Luminous Landscape Forum
Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Printing: Printers, Papers and Inks => Topic started by: Dahlmann on August 22, 2013, 06:16:51 pm
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G'day all
I have some trouble with my Epson 4900.
First of all,
I keep the temperature steady on 19 degrees and the humidity between 45-50% in the room.
Sometimes I swits of the machine and sometimes I keep it on for a couple of days.
I'm printing at least one Nozzle check test everyday and do some printing mabey 3-4 days in a week.
I always have at least one channel clogged when Im do nozzle checks.
Not big clogs,maybe GR is clogged.
Then i do an cleaning to clear the GR and after the cleaning GR is fine.
BUT after the cleaning, 9 of 10 times another channel cloggs and sometimes multiply channels get clogged.
So i clean 1 channel and 2 new channels get clogged.
This is really frustrating and I wasting lots of ink everyday to keep the machine clear from cloggs.
Do you guys have a suggestion? Or do i have to live with this?
Im really tried hard to get my English right so please be kind.
Cheers Daniel
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I've read in several places (and from Epson themselves) that you should turn the printer off when not using it. I only turn mine on for the printing job and as soon as I'm done, turn it off. This on both my 4900 and 9900. I rarely get troublesome clogs.
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There is a good reason that Epson places the instruction: "Shake the cartridge well before installing it" on their pigment carts. The pigment settles over time (think of that can of paint you opened and it had all the liquid on top before you stirred it) and then gets sucked into the tube feeding the print head. If you don't print often enough the pigment may settle. I take my carts out for a "shake" every couple of months just for good measure. Works for me!
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OK
Then i have to power off every time i'm finished with printing.
I try that and see how it goes.
Thanks Mate..
Cheers Daniel
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I did that the first time when i loaded all the cartridge.
But i have only had the printer for 3 weeks, And I printing every day (at least a nozzle check)
So you mean that i should shaking maybe once every week?
Cheers Daniel
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A printer 3 weeks old and used frequently since the installation should not have those issues. Fresh ink shaken should last for months if not a year, the more if that printer is used as frequently as you describe. You have not done anything wrong. I would guess there is something wrong with the ink pressure system or the head does not fit correctly on the maintenance station seals. Call your Epson supplier for a service man.
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Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst
http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
July 2013, 500+ inkjet media white spectral plots.
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OK
Then i have to power off every time i'm finished with printing.
I try that and see how it goes.
Thanks Mate..
Cheers Daniel
4900 can be set to automatically power off after period of no usage.
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A printer 3 weeks old and used frequently since the installation should not have those issues. Fresh ink shaken should last for months if not a year, the more if that printer is used as frequently as you describe. You have not done anything wrong. I would guess there is something wrong with the ink pressure system or the head does not fit correctly on the maintenance station seals. Call your Epson supplier for a service man.
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Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst
http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
July 2013, 500+ inkjet media white spectral plots.
Hi sorry for late answer
And thanks for the answer Ernst.
So you mean that i have to send away my printer for a replacement?! or du you think the sending at serviceman?
Bloody hell i'm living in a remote area.
Just to really point out the problem
(http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2880/9595206037_eaa55f0db2_o.jpg)
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What policy Epson has on 4900 service I do not know. But a proper printer used as frequently as you describe and in the studio conditions described should not show nozzle checks like that in the first three weeks of use. I have seen all kinds of recommendations for Epson pro printer use, switched on all the time, switched off when not in use, humidity high etc. But a head properly seated on the maintenance station and used as often as you do, should not show the pattern in the image you did attach and certainly not show that every time you want to use it or after a first cleaning step. There are users that have the auto-cleaning routines on or switched off due to excessive ink use. Some will say to increase the humidity level to at least 55% (at 24 degr C) and that is a good level in general for printing but a good fit on the maintenance station will keep the humidity level at the nozzle surface higher than that. The possible causes I already described may get solved a bit by one of the solutions but there is in my opinion an issue in the hardware for some reason. Could be a cartridge with some air leaking so not enough ink pressure. Could be issues in the ink tubes created during transport of the printer. Deal with Epson, the longer you wait with that the more difficult to get the message across.
Normally I do not react on Epson pro printer issues as I do not have an Epson like that anymore. In this case I did because the other replies imply that you have not done the installation correct or you should maintain the printer differently. You did not do anything wrong so far in my opinion.
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Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst
http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
July 2013, 500+ inkjet media white spectral plots.
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Wayne Fox posted an testimage in one of the threads a while ago, and the purpose of that image is to excercise a ink laydown from all ink colors/nozzles. I usually do that before printing, especially when my 4900 is not used for a few days. If that print shows signs of clogging i do the nozzle cleaning. Wayne's experience is that the nozzle check can give a false indication because of some air being sucked in into the nozzles, which will show up in the test pattern as your images indicate. You should check his posts on this, he seems very experienced. Also i have my printer covered with a soft liable plastic sheet, initially intended to keep dust out, sort of a dustcover or dustcap, turns out it helps against clogg development as well.
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Wayne Fox posted an testimage in one of the threads a while ago, and the purpose of that image is to excercise a ink laydown from all ink colors/nozzles. I usually do that before printing, especially when my 4900 is not used for a few days. If that print shows signs of clogging i do the nozzle cleaning. Wayne's experience is that the nozzle check can give a false indication because of some air being sucked in into the nozzles, which will show up in the test pattern as your images indicate. You should check his posts on this, he seems very experienced. Also i have my printer covered with a soft liable plastic sheet, initially intended to keep dust out, sort of a dustcover or dustcap, turns out it helps against clogg development as well.
Ok sounds interesting.
Can you please link to the thread?
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While on this subject, I am considering purchasing a "factory refurbished" 4900:
http://www.imagingspectrum.com/epson_refurbished_stylus_pro_printers/
I wonder if anyone here has done this? Also, I wonder where Epson locate these printers to "factory refurb?" Do you think they replace the heads? I'm wondering if these used printers have been worked hard.
I'm a hobbiest, a relatively "light" user. I do want the ability to use rolls. However, if this printer is going to clog all the time, maybe I should be considering a new 3880.
I would appreciate your thoughts and recommendations.
Regards, Paul.
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...I'm a hobbiest, a relatively "light" user...
Forgive the by-now trite comment: You are not an Epson 4900 customer in my view, unless while you aren't using the printer, someone else is.
John Caldwell
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Thanks for your opinion, John. What's bugging me re the 3880 is its inability to use rolls.
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You can find the file I created here (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/23349098/CleaningPage_v2.jpg) . The page was specifically designed to make sure every channel gets worked constantly, trying to use a similar amount of ink for each color. (which isn't perfect but it's pretty close)
I try to print this image at least every other day with my 4900 (which sees very sporadic use). I also print this image before a nozzle check, and most of the time after a head cleaning.
On Epson printers, it is (and has always been) common for a color not affected to show problems after cleaning another color. Many nozzle problems like this are not from clogs, but just lack of ink because of air being pulled back into the nozzle while the printer is running the cycle. Printing something often will get the ink flowing enough to resolve the problem. This is especially true of power cleans, and you should always print something immediately after doing a power clean.
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So for a 4900 that doesn't get used daily, how much excessive wasted ink and your time does it consume just to keep it clog free. My God it seems finicky.
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You can find the file I created here (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/23349098/CleaningPage_v2.jpg) . The page was specifically designed to make sure every channel gets worked constantly, trying to use a similar amount of ink for each color. (which isn't perfect but it's pretty close)
I try to print this image at least every other day with my 4900 (which sees very sporadic use). I also print this image before a nozzle check, and most of the time after a head cleaning.
On Epson printers, it is (and has always been) common for a color not affected to show problems after cleaning another color. Many nozzle problems like this are not from clogs, but just lack of ink because of air being pulled back into the nozzle while the printer is running the cycle. Printing something often will get the ink flowing enough to resolve the problem. This is especially true of power cleans, and you should always print something immediately after doing a power clean.
Thanks Wayne
I really appreciate your help.
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Thanks for your opinion, John. What's bugging me re the 3880 is its inability to use rolls.
The simplicity of the 3880 and the somewhat lower-tech print heads may be the reason why the printer is such a solid workhorse. I regularly print on 17x30 inch paper cut from rolls and have no issues at all.
The trade-off for not having roll paper capability might be the way the 3880 handles sheet paper, which is much better than many wide format roll-capable printers. Quite frankly, I'm happy to deal mostly with nice, flat, sheet paper. But then, I'm not a high volume commercial printer.
Sal
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So for a 4900 that doesn't get used daily, how much excessive wasted ink and your time does it consume just to keep it clog free. My God it seems finicky.
The 4900 and larger printers are engineered to be used. The type of users on this forum are not typical of the majority using these printers. But I own my own printers not to save money, but to have ultimate control. If you analyze the ROI of any of these printers that are lightly used, between the cost of the machine, ink, paper and time, you probably aren't saving any money. (that's not just Epson printers). If you actually produce prints for income, different story, but then you are printing many prints every day.
So yes, you may have to spend a little time keeping it tuned up, or you may spend a little more time and ink just dealing with it when you fire it up once a month to print a few prints.
Takes about 30 seconds to print out the page so a couple minutes a week - that's assuming you aren't actually printing anything. as far as ink usage, it's much less than running a cleaning cycle.
This won't solve the missing nozzle problems but does seem to help.
edit: someone asked about which paper I print this page on, just trying to make sure there was nothing he was missing by using plain paper. I use cheap copy machine paper to print this, and often it is over the top of a couple of nozzle patterns I've printed.
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I use multiple z3100 printers 24 and 44 inch models and never have to babysit them. They just do their nozzle checks on their own and I have given up printing nozzle checks as they always came out perfect. The nozzle checks are very frugal, don't even notice any depletion of ink even when I was away on a 6 week trip.
I know the nozzle technologies are different between the two manufactures, but for the majority of people that struggle with Epson clogs...why? There are better alternatives for the casual printer.
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Sins after I start this thread I haven't had any cloggs.
the difference is much higher humidity because of rainy whether,I dont now how much impact the weather have!? (60% humidity)
And i always turn the printer off after i have used it.
Today i tried to print the file i got from Wayne before nozzle check and no clog show up after.
So i give it 1 more week and see how its goes before I contact Epson.
cheers
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Sins after I start this thread I haven't had any cloggs.
the difference is much higher humidity because of rainy whether,I dont now how much impact the weather have!? (60% humidity)
And i always turn the printer off after i have used it.
there are two major factors that can exacerbate clogs on any printers. One is the cleanliness of the work space. Things like dust, pet hair/dander can really clog up a printer quick. The other is humidity. Keeping all of these printers at 45% humidity or better will reduce clogs.
All of these printers clog, HP's and Canon's effectively manage these by using spare nozzles but eventually the head will be die. If you place a Canon right next to an Epson (I had this setup for several years) the actual costs experienced will be very similar as far as ink/maintenance tanks vs. head replacement.
The reason I mention this isn't a response to the now overly mentioned and unhelpful response about why do people stick with Epson, but to make sure all of you Canon and HP users realize that this practice is helpful for all these printers. (I've owned 3 Canons but now use Epsons so I have a lot of experience with both).
Don't kid yourself, if you are using ANY brand of these printers, you are getting clogs all the time. For canon/HP printers, one day your head will die, but keeping the area clean and humidity up can extend the life of the head dramatically.
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Don't kid yourself, if you are using ANY brand of these printers, you are getting clogs all the time. For canon/HP printers, one day your head will die, but keeping the area clean and humidity up can extend the life of the head dramatically.
Wayne, yes the HP heads clog...but they have a much more elegant solution recognizing these clogs and using other nozzles in the head. Once all nozzles are clogged in a given head, which is a very rare experience, all you have to do is replace the head with a new one for a whopping $70. Now compare that to the cost in both wasted ink and wasted time managing a Epson printer. If an Espon head needs replacement, how much does that cost you in both down time awaiting for a service tech and actual $$$$ for this service.
I just want people to realize the HP printers are a pretty good solution for sporadic printing needs as they don't require any babysitting and clogs are extremely rare.
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I just want people to realize the HP printers are a pretty good solution for sporadic printing needs as they don't require any babysitting and clogs are extremely rare.
I see your position, but i've been hanging out at LuLa for quite some time, and this has been brought up, lets see, about 1 million times on this forum (yes I exaggerate) Kind of like beating a dead horse. Some of us have experience with all of these printers (I've owned CAnons and Epsons, and HP has brought out their printer for me to try out on several occasions). Personally I still prefer Epsons.
What you call elegant, I call necessary (I don't mean that in a negative way, but it had to be engineered that way or they would have no printers). I personally believe the Epson design is best and results in the best output for what I do. The newest Canons come really close and yes I think I would be happy with one of those, but Canon burned me with a piece of junk 5000 (blacks were horrible) and the fix they offered was buy a new 5100 shortly after, so I guess I hold a grudge. And while the HP output was fine (well the 3100 was pretty weak with reds), to me there were obvious quality differences for the kind of stuff I do.
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The simplicity of the 3880 and the somewhat lower-tech print heads may be the reason why the printer is such a solid workhorse. I regularly print on 17x30 inch paper cut from rolls and have no issues at all.
The trade-off for not having roll paper capability might be the way the 3880 handles sheet paper, which is much better than many wide format roll-capable printers. Quite frankly, I'm happy to deal mostly with nice, flat, sheet paper. But then, I'm not a high volume commercial printer.
Sal
Thanks for that, Sal. You make a of sense.
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Wayne, yes the HP heads clog...but they have a much more elegant solution recognizing these clogs and using other nozzles in the head. Once all nozzles are clogged in a given head, which is a very rare experience, all you have to do is replace the head with a new one for a whopping $70. Now compare that to the cost in both wasted ink and wasted time managing a Epson printer. If an Espon head needs replacement, how much does that cost you in both down time awaiting for a service tech and actual $$$$ for this service.
I just want people to realize the HP printers are a pretty good solution for sporadic printing needs as they don't require any babysitting and clogs are extremely rare.
I had a hp 9180 and now have a epson 4900 both in same room conditions and do not print every day. Simlly put the epson is much more reliable in faultless printing. Clogging while printing, color stability, replacing printheads as user may sound fine but in fact it is costly and time consuming.