Luminous Landscape Forum
Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Printing: Printers, Papers and Inks => Topic started by: Michael Lloyd on September 01, 2014, 01:33:37 pm
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My Epson 4900 tells me that my LLK nozzle is clogged. I've run it through the various cleaning modes and it's not clearing. When I do a manual clean the menu makes me select LLK / Y. But I'm not getting a Y clogged warning. If Y and LLK share the same nozzle how can LLK be clogged and Y not be clogged? If they don't share the same nozzle why can't I select LLK instead of LLK / Y?
I already had to do the Windex trick once. The odd thing is that I was printing 8 different black and white images and the nozzle appears to have clogged on the last one (streaking).
Does anyone know what the RGB values for LLK are? I might create a document with a band of LLK in it to see if it's printing.
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I don't have the specific RGB values for the Epson LLK, but this link will give you something to start with: RGB Color Codes chart (http://www.rapidtables.com/web/color/RGB_Color.htm)
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The printer cleans nozzles in pairs of colours when you select Manual cleaning mode. LLK/Y is one such pair. The RGB values for gray are R=G=B, for example 128,128,128 for mid-range luminance. We do not have access to the dithering recipes in the Epson driver to know how it lays down LLK. The nozzle check test pattern provides the guidance about which channels are not printing fully. Do not resort to stuff like Windex. Clean-print-clean-print-clean until the ink flow returns to normal as shown by the nozzle check pattern. Iterating between printing and cleaning will prevent possible complications from successive cleanings.
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I see... they aren't the same nozzle.
I can put a gradient on a document and print that. I'm not sure why I didn't think of that to begin with
I've been cleaning but not printing the check pattern. If I could cut off the piece that has been printed and the 4900 would let me print on shorter paper I wouldn't mind doing that. I guess I should order a roll of paper just for check pattern printing.
Thanks for the response.
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When you inter-space the cleaning with the printing, do not print only the check pattern. That's not good enough. Print a real photograph, or a printer test page that has a number of real photos in it.
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Ah! Very good. I can do that rather than a gradient too. If I'm going to use paper I may as well try to get something from it
Thanks again
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Yup. Don't bother with gradients. Keep life simple.
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If anyone is wondering 153, 153, 153 will put you right in the middle of LLK.
I decided to try the gradient after 3 clean / print cycles and there was a definite white stripe where LLK is supposed to be.
Onward thru the fog
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Hold that thought... 153,153,153 prints... so it's lighter than that. Still getting LLK clog
If anyone is wondering 153, 153, 153 will put you right in the middle of LLK.
I decided to try the gradient after 3 clean / print cycles and there was a definite white stripe where LLK is supposed to be.
Onward thru the fog
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If you run a standard "Print Check Pattern" in the Nozzle Check Menu, what does the result for LLK show you?
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Nothing is printed for LLK. Not even a hint of gray (I looked at it with a magnifying glass
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This would indicate that the problem is not a clog, but a dropped channel. Based on other discussion of these kind of issues on this Forum it could be that a damper needs to be replaced. I recommend you call Epson ProGraphics for advice.
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i saw this happen a few months ago with one of the colors. VLM if I'm not mistaken. Absolutely would not print that color. After a few days of cleaning and checking it cleared up.
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Did you try the "Powerful Clean" option for one or more of your cleaning cycles? Sometimes it speeds up repair. In any case, if it doesn't clear soon, calling Epson is free. They may have some other useful advice.
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I did early on but not since I started the print / clean routine
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In my experience clearing these kind of channel dropouts, if after several print/clean routines nothing improves, power-clean/print several times clears it. For this kind of cleaning it is definitely necessary to print something between each power clean that tries to force ink through that channel. In fact I would inter-space with two prints between power cleans to try ensuring there is only ink in the lines and the print head. Once you get it back in good shape, there are two cardinal rules for an Epson 4900: humidity in the room where it is kept must be in the 30%-40% range, and it must be used for printing real photos at frequent intervals - don't let it stay unused for more than two or three days.
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Lately humidity has been a real issue. I need to find some "cost effective" paper to print on. The printer is about 2 years old and it has been a great printer. Some clogs but never this stubborn
Thanks for the help
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Michael, in response to your last post regarding 'cost effective paper', let me offer this:
I purchased a roll (approx 135 feet) of Epson Singleweight Matte, for about US$40. As I'm an infrequent printer, that lets me print test patterns or 17 inch sample images every few days to keep the ink fresh and the printer happy. Yes, if I'm doing serious printing for something I intend to keep or gift, I need to change paper, but that's a small price to pay for the peace of mind and ease it brings my maintenance. Sometimes I'll tell the printer it's the singleweight matte to force a change to MK from PK to keep the MK flow fresh as well. Mostly I just tell the printer it's a photo paper to use the PK.
In regard to keeping humidity high in the printheads' immediate environment I use a small plastic tray (like the kind you can get lunchmeat in now) filled with water and a big, thick industrial sponge in it to maximize evaporation. I do not have a hygrometer so I can't make comparisons between 'internal' and 'external' humidity, but I do know I need to refill the container every 4-5 days, so the waters going somewhere. I've posted about this before in this forum with pics if you want to check it out. I also have a reminder about this over the power button so I don't forget to remove it before I power on the printer. That's a scenario I don't even want to think about!
This keeps my 'clogs' or 'drop-out's to a minimum that almost always respond to a standard-level cleaning from the control panel. I did drop the PK/MK channel once, which returned after a couple of cycles of resting/cleaning/printing (one day rest, one day cleaning/printing no more than 2-3 times followed by another day of rest).
As my home is an open floorplan, humidifying the entire place would be impractical. I'm in the Northwest US so we're pretty mild in the summer and pretty dry in the winter. I"m convinced my little trick has kept my 4900 happy.
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Has anyone here ever had a cartridge fail and not deliver ink? My LLK cartridge is at around 50%. Is there a way to test a cartridge?
I was at the end of an 8 image print job when the LLK just stopped printing. The last two images were distinctly lacking something and when I ran a nozzle check LLK came up.
I've had clogged nozzle issues that were as persistent as this one that "seemed" to go away when I changed an almost empty ink cartridge. That could have been a coincidence though it has happened more than once.
I'm still dealing with 0% ink flow on LLK. I've got to start printing for a contest (I hope) by the 10th.
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Trial and error has informed me to only execute a head clean as a last resort. I live in Florida, so humidity is not an issue. Try printing a gray patch. If you get nothing, turn off the printer and wait twenty minutes and try again. Still, if that doesn't work, execute a head clean. Then print a nozzle check. If nothing happens turn off the printer and wait twenty minutes. Then print a large swath of LLK. If that doesn't work try removing and reinserting all of the cartridges in that bay. Turn off printer and then turn it back on. If that doesn't work, see if you can borrow carts to replace the ones currently installed in the bay with the LLK cart. I once had trouble with LLK not printing and it turned out that the real culprit was another ink cart. Something whacky may have happened to a chip. Finally, as a last resort, replace the damper. There are some youtube demos that show step by step how to do that. I do not suggest multiple cleanings if nothing appears to be clearing up. The cleaning process is actually fairly destructive, it should be used only when absolutely necessary. If I get a faulty nozzle check, my first action is to print large patches of that color and include smaller patches of the adjacent colors. 80% of the time that works for me. Again, after printing the swatches, power down the printer. When it starts up again the air compressor comes on and that helps equalize the ink lines. It's really important to print at least an 8 X 10 or a nozzle check five days out of seven if you are in a dry climate. I'd consider getting a humidifier with a hygrometer to maintain humidity levels in your work space.
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I think it's time to try something new. I've done countless cleanings, prints, check prints (with roll paper), etc. I even changed the offending ink cartridge even though it wasn't even close to the end of it's life. LLK is still WWW (white white white). Nothing prints. Not even a hint of ink under magnification.
There are three parts that I could replace that may or may not get the printer back up and running
Head: No thanks... not yet anyway
Selector unit (w/dampers):
http://www.compassmicro.com/parts_detail.cfm?ID=6812&form.mfg=Epson&form.printerstyle=Inkjet&form.printername=Stylus%20Pro%204900
Pump Unit:
http://www.compassmicro.com/parts_detail.cfm?ID=6811&form.mfg=Epson&form.printerstyle=Inkjet&form.printername=Stylus%20Pro%204900
I'm not sure if I should replace the Selector Unit and Pump Unit or start with the Selector Unit
Would anyone care to spin the roulette wheel?
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Just another option to consider - have you tried Qimage Ultimate? Mike Chaney has added a routine to print individual (or all) color patches in specific patterns to try and eliminate ink clogs.
You can try the 14 day free trial to see if it helps or fixes the problem.
http://www.ddisoftware.com/qimage-u/downloads.htm (http://www.ddisoftware.com/qimage-u/downloads.htm)
Jpegman
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I haven't but I won't be able to test it. He only makes Win7 or Why8 versions. I'm on a Mac and I don't run windoz emulators
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Apparently but not surprisingly preventive maintenance, or the lack of, is the root cause of a lot of nozzle clogs. Since I haven't done any PM to the printer that gives me a place to start.
I think this says a lot...I made a quick snap with a 180 macro lens and ring flash. The 180 was too long for a good view of the entire area but the rest looks about as bad.
I see all kinds of "advice" on the web as far as cleaning solutions. The Compass Micro video showing how to clean a capping station says the solution they use is a 1:1 mix of Simple Green and water.
Thoughts?
(http://wildlightimagingstudio.com/img/s2/v50/p651551252-5.jpg)
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Michael,
I finally got fed up with my Epson 4800 and replaced it with 3880. I must say I got years of use and did not print every day so I guess I can't complain. My Epson 4800 now resides in my 6th grade classroom here in Yosemite. I've instructed the kiddos not to throw pens, crayons, or assorted plastic math manipulatives into the printer and that if I can fix it we can start to print photographs in the style of Ansel Adams. I started out by using cleaning fluid in separate carts that I purchased from MIS. This did start to unclog the machine but not completely. I am planning on trying it again but letting the fluid sit longer to give it time to break up any ink globs. I also have tried the simple green solution which has really cleaned up the dampers. I plan to start this process again after I receive a chip resetter. No you don't need to buy a new maintenance tank. Instead just reset the chip and fill it with paper towels. The fact that Epson wants you to buy a new maintenance tank is really irksome, and not to mention environmentally wasteful. Take what I say with a grain of salt. I'm a better sixth grade science and math teacher than an Epson engineer. For now I'm glad I have the 3880. Good luck and I feel your pain.
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The 3880 is nice but I'm not ready to throw in the towel on the 4900. Considering my "batch usage" history it's been a decent printer.
BTW
I found these during my searches
Hex and RGB Values for these 10 colors
Light Light Black, Hex Value: #c6c6c6 (R:198 G:198 B:198)
Light Vivid Magenta, Hex Value:# ff80ff (R:255 G:128 B:255)
Light Cyan, Hex Value: #80ffff (R:128 G:255 B:255)
Light Black, Hex Value: #808080 (R:128 G:128 B:128)
Matte / Photo Black, Hex Value: #000000 (R:0 G:0 B:0)
Cyan, Hex Value: #00ffff (R:0 G:255 B:255)
Vivid Magenta, Hex Value: #ff00ff (R:255 G:0 B:255)
Yellow, Hex Value: #ffff00 (R:255 G:255 B:198)
Orange, Hex Value: #FFA500 (R:255 G: 165 B:0)
Green, Hex Value: #008000 (R:0 G:128 B:0)
Link: http://www.marruttusa.com/printer/support/epson-stylus-pro-4900-help.php
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Hi Michael,
Thanks very much for posting that link to MarruttUSA. I like their generic advice on printer usage and maintenance and clog clearing; also, the free downloads they provide look useful. I wonder whether any one reading this thread has experience using their Magic Bullet solution in an Epson 4900. Their demo videos are for an R3000. I may just inquire of them whether they warranty the product in respect of causing damage to the print head; that said, I haven't yet experienced the kind of problems severe enough to require cleaning products; but who knows....for future reference good to have an arsenal.
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Hi Michael,
Thanks very much for posting that link to MarruttUSA. I like their generic advice on printer usage and maintenance and clog clearing; also, the free downloads they provide look useful. I wonder whether any one reading this thread has experience using their Magic Bullet solution in an Epson 4900. Their demo videos are for an R3000. I may just inquire of them whether they warranty the product in respect of causing damage to the print head; that said, I haven't yet experienced the kind of problems severe enough to require cleaning products; but who knows....for future reference good to have an arsenal.
No problem. I appreciate your help. I've downloaded the manual and 4900 adjustment program. I'm going to clean what I can. Hopefully that will clear the blockage. I've got to decide on a cleaning solution. The 1:1 Simple Green / Water seems like a good start. I may wait for a response concerning the Magic Bullet solution though.
I would caution anyone that reads this thread that there is a lot more bad or useless advice on the web (present site excepted) than useful. I found one YouTube link that will send you a video for how to replace the ink supply unit if you buy it from them. The problem with is that their price for the unit is very high when compared to other sites.
I may replace the ink supply unit and selector unit. It's a lot cheaper than replacing the head and my maintenance negligence may have caused more problems than I can solve with cleaning. When I print a check page I have a couple of other nozzles that are showing clogs but not blocked. I've been wasting a lot of ink with a net result of causing other problems. The upside is that the best method of maintaining a healthy printer is to use it... I know how to do that :)
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Another great resource of info is Joe Rodriquez (JToolman) on DPReview.
He has some 17+ Epson and Canon printers in his house and has published dozens of youtube videos on maintenance and 3rd party inks.
His VIDEO CHANNEL. PRINTING and personal videos. are https://www.youtube.com/user/cheo1949 (https://www.youtube.com/user/cheo1949)
Jpegman
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Success...
I spent quite a bit of time cleaning the pad that ink is purged through when you select cleaning, the capping station, and the wiper. The wiper was nasty. I went through a lot of Q-tips before the wiper stopped inking the Q-tips. Both ends of around a dozen Q-tips.
I purchased the Service Program for the printer and used it to move the wiper and capping station into cleaning position (one at a time).
Once I had everything cleaned I ran a print (10 channel that I downloaded from MarruttUSA). The print had an LLK stripe but it didn't look right so I did a nozzle check. There was about a 1/16" stripe of LLK and that was it. I saw that as success.
I used the Service Program and did a CL3 clean on LLK/Y. Then I printed the 10 channel sheet (clean then print, clean then print). I could tell that I had a much better LLK stripe. The nozzle check confirmed it. No more LLK clog. I have a little bit of a C and PK clog, more on PK, but I'm hopeful that can be cleared easily. The printer is off now and I'm going to let it sit for a few hours before I work on C and PK. When I start the printer again I'm going to put the 50/50 mix of Simple Green and water into the capping station and I'll clean the wiper just in case. Then I'll do a head cleaning if nozzle check shows the C and PK nozzle have issues.
Does anyone know which colors got to which area of the capping station?
Somewhere on this site I read something about filters on the dampers???
From now on, I'll print much more frequently. Even if it's just a test document. I have a jpg that is wide range of small images that will work perfectly for exercising the nozzles.
Simple Green can be found in the automotive section of Walmart. I tried the cleaning isle but it wasn't there.
This doesn't have a lot of info for how to clean but I took my lead for what to clean from this
http://www.digital2you.cc/blog/epson-790099004900-clogged-ink-jet-head.html
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I had two channels on my 4900 drop out, a couple of cleans and still nothing. I contacted the local Epson dealer, but they stated they weren't able to deal with the 4900.
I found the service program, I can't remember the name or link but I will look. There was a charge to download it. It allows a recharge of either the left or right side or both together.
It did the job.
i had left the printer on in order for Harvey Head Cleaner to run, but it didn't seem to run.
I don't know if there is a difference when the printer is ON compared to Off, but I guess that the ink moved back down the lines, therefore repeated cleanings may have brought the ink back, but I have read that repeated cleanings are not recommended.
I do not print every day, and have found that if I know that I am going to do some printing to do a nozzle check the day before. If there is a blockage then run a clean, then a nozzle check, and if the block isn't too bad just leave it till the next day.
Ray
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Ray- that's what I've done for the last 3 years and this year- it bit me in the posterior regions. Maintenance and consistent printing are the key to 4900 longevity (I hope)
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Yes consistent printing is the key. But not always possible.
The program is the Epson 4900 Adjustment Program
http://www.2manuals.com/product_info.php?products_id=1365
Ray
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Yessir. That's where I got the adjustment program from.
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I wish you continued progress.
Regarding the test patterns, if you don't need a roll in so it can print unattended things (like Harvey Head Cleaner) 8.5x11 xerox paper works great! You can load it as a cut sheet, and once loaded, change the printer to see it as a roll to advance it an inch or so past a previously printed test pattern. In the future, flipping it upside down, you can come at it from the other direction. 5 test patterns per side, and use both sides. Can't get cheaper than that, I think.
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No clogs detected. Check pattern was perfect. I'm sold on the cleaning trick and NOT using the clean function for clogs.
I checked out Harvey Head Cleaner and it's not Mac compatible. The website indicated that they are working on it.
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Which cleaning trick?
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This one (should have said maintenance because that's what it really is). A dirty wiper will cause a clog
I spent quite a bit of time cleaning the pad that ink is purged through when you select cleaning, the capping station, and the wiper. The wiper was nasty. I went through a lot of Q-tips before the wiper stopped inking the Q-tips. Both ends of around a dozen Q-tips.
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OK, thanks Michael.
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FYI you can get $20 replacement wiper blades at https://dtgprinterparts.com/index.php/en/wide-format-parts/dtg-printer-parts/wiper-blades/epson-7700-wiper-blade-detail (https://dtgprinterparts.com/index.php/en/wide-format-parts/dtg-printer-parts/wiper-blades/epson-7700-wiper-blade-detail)
Not related to them - that's just where I've gotten mine.
Perhaps cleaning it gets the job done, but I could see nicks getting in the rubber blade over time, etc.
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Thanks for the link but they don't have a 4900 wiper
and... these guys do and are cheaper on the other parts: http://www.compassmicro.com/parts_search3.cfm
I wouldn't mind knowing the life span of the wiper. I've got a little over a 1000 prints through my printer according to the counter.
I still can't get over how many times I had to clean it to get all of the ink off of it