Luminous Landscape Forum
Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Printing: Printers, Papers and Inks => Topic started by: alifatemi on March 07, 2014, 05:36:42 pm
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How to Permanently Resolve Print Head Clog, Nozzle Clog & Banding on Epson Stylus Pro 9900 Printer at last:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf6kOEtgQqE&app=desktop
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I can totally understand doing that !!!!
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I absolutely love "Jeff's" demeanor during his head-clog tutorial. ;D
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Great video, too bad he didn't say what the "repaired" printer was replaced by.
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Thank you for that link.
My guess is that he halfway stopped reading the thread > Epson 7900 from the inside - out < and decided that a head to head approach would waste less time for everyone and deliver the same result.
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Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst
http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
January 2014, 600+ inkjet media white spectral plots.
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He should've ripped out its still beating heart and sent it back to Epson. Make non cutsomer support to at least acknowledge that, yes there are problems out here.
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Funny but ultimately kind of a waste of 5 minutes. I was really hoping he had a useful tip. His delivery was excellent!
My 4900 was absolutely driving me nuts with clogs. I found keeping the machine running all the time (no power off) and printing a small target twice a week solved that problem. Not sure if the 9900 is a totally different beast but I'm at this point not ready to take a sledge hammer to the 4900.
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Helped me to appreciate the comparative minimal cost for once in about 5 years HP belt replacements.
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;D
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;D ;D ;D
I doubt if I'd ever buy some Epson that needed annual $1,800 printheads. The 3880 is enough, and yes mine clogs at times. I'd move to Canon for anything over 17" since I can change the heads in those myself.
I've often wondered if it is the Epson ink at times?
Hope Epson has seen this video too!
SG
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Hilarious video, well thought out and superbly presented. Even though you knew what was going to happen, you just had to keep watching.
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...My guess is that he halfway stopped reading the thread > Epson 7900 from the inside - out < and decided that a head to head approach would waste less time for everyone and deliver the same result...
Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst
meanie!
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I am much more interested in what led up to this. The printer history,not his state of mind.
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meanie!
Eric,
Up to approximately page 20 of that 74 pages thread I contributed my wisdom on the subject. Including the emphasis on the horrible wiper construction which led to IMHO the best part of that thread for practice; the wiper replacement got attention and you gave the instructions for that replacement. At page 9 however I wrote this: "I fear that Eric's brave adventure and the life report may enter another mood when the end of this thread comes closer", not expecting another 65 pages for that to happen. Sure, an entertaining story with tenacious bravery and good humor all the way. You know a lot more about Epson head technology now but it did not do more than what the entertaining sledgehammer video does for DIY repairs. This video may have more impact on Epson's service policies I hope; short story, acted well and with a bang at the end. The DIY attempts to solve flawed Epson technology have no future, that at least is the outcome of your adventure and that is also an achievement.
I am much more interested in what led up to this. The printer history,not his state of mind.
Do you expect a unique story that sets it apart from the other printer misery reports in this list? The man must have made the calculations and the sum was negative. The video and the man show enough restrained behavior that this is not done on an impulse and I doubt that he regrets this act for one minute. Both he and Eric are heroes in my opinion. Different ones though and the video man had it easier; he could build on Eric's research.
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Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst
http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
January 2014, 600+ inkjet media white spectral plots.
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I can appreciate the thoughts, but would dare not go that far.
My 9900 at just over 2 years old still throws me curve balls. Just the other day, here is a typical situation.
Printer is left on BTW unless bad weather is inclement.
Had to make 3 30 x 40 prints.
Ran a nozzle check, all colors showed 100%
Made 1st print, all fine.
Made 2nd print, obviously something was wrong with the sky.
Ran a nozzle check, results all Cyan gone, just gone except mabye 3 bars. (Now explain this as it tend to happen once a month and during a print process)
Throw away large piece of 36" Canson Platine
Switch to Maintenance Mode
Run CL2 on Cyan/Magenta
Ran a nozzle check, almost all cyan recovered, but still showing a few deflected nozzles and now PK is showing deflections
Run a CL1 on Cyna/Magenta
Run a CL! on Pk.LK
Ran a nozzle check, all colors are back
Power off, and come back up and normal mode
Finish job
To me is not acceptable and pretty much points to a major fault in the ink delivery system of the 9900.
This same pattern happens, with yellow and sometimes LK, with always after one or two good prints.
I still get PK black fallout after a Matt to PK switch, even after the required nozzle check is run by the printer. Again never happens after the first print, but instead after 1 or 2 prints.
Can't really call for a tech even though I am under last year of extended warranty as you can't recreate the problem.
If I could afford a switch, I guess I would move to Canon, I am just tired of this type of problem.
Paul C
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Paul, I am also thinking switching to Canon, my friends too but what is the situation over there? Are the Canon owners happy or having deferent sort of problem of other kinds?
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To my wonder, if you have problem with say, Phase One and mention it here, it takes less than an hour someone from them reply and ready to help either from PhaseOne dealers or the company but there are millions of thread hear complaining about Epson, to my knowledge, never, neither from Epson nor any dealer/distributor has been here to help or reply, as if they know very well that there is no help; it is as it is!
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To my wonder, if you have problem with say, Phase One and mention it here, it takes less than an hour someone from them reply and ready to help either from PhaseOne dealers or the company but there are millions of thread hear complaining about Epson, to my knowledge, never, neither from Epson nor any dealer/distributor has been here to help or reply, as if they know very well that there is no help; it is as it is!
Does make one wonder about Epson. The internet era sure can present faulty customer service these days and problems with their products. For Epson to say "No problems" to the guy in the video is questionable at best if Epson ever bothered to look on the web.
I know when I had an old Canon printer die and called Canon support it was far better and they did return calls and emails. Turned out the unit was old, no longer made, and toast, but they did offer me a newer model at wholesale cost on some VIP program they had. Can't imagine Epson doing that, or HP either.
Too bad there isn't as many aftermarket ink carts, etc. available for Canon over Epson. Inks too. I've have two local Canon sales offices and they pretty much say the same thing. No local Epson printer sales office here. Maybe a smart businessman wouldn't want to be in Epson sales either.
SG
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All in good fun Ernst. I have the utmost confidence you know my sense or humor by now. I am actually a fan of yours. By the way the most compelling thing that came out of that journey, to me, occurred on the very last day of it - we confirmed a terminal clog is not a clog at all. Back when you were contributing to the effort with your knowledge and advice, this is one of the things you hit on - a clogged nozzle could be a dead nozzle, an overheated nozzle, failed piezoelectrics. It took too long to get there but we did finally confirm exactly that. Good fun.
On the topic of the sledge hammer video, I bow down in admiration. Personally I have imagined, repeatedly, pushing one off a cliff but that's because I live near the California coast. I agree, when you lose a head on a 4900 the machine is garbage. On a 7900 the machine is garbage. But on a 9900, if you do it yourself, could make sense fixing it. All depends on your courage and will to continue your faith in Epson.
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Eric
Wouldn't the head replacement be the same process between a 7900 and 9900?
Paul C
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Yes it is, but the 7900 is worth less so repairing one makes less sense. You wait around long enough you see 7900s for sale on specials that make repairing one less sensible. What's the most important part on an Epson Stylus Pro with an X900 head in it? ...the warranty. So when you measure the warranty (and ink) benefits of buying new, repairing for a little less and being left with no warranty doesn't pay in my book. You don't really own an X900, you lease it (with an extended warranty) for three years. Once that warranty expires your lease is up, you are now printing on borrowed time. Buy a sledge hammer, find a cliff - when the head "clogs" you'll know what to do.
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To my wonder, if you have problem with say, Phase One and mention it here, it takes less than an hour someone from them reply and ready to help either from PhaseOne dealers or the company but there are millions of thread hear complaining about Epson, to my knowledge, never, neither from Epson nor any dealer/distributor has been here to help or reply, as if they know very well that there is no help; it is as it is!
+1 on that comment. I have had (2) E 9600's, a 4000 and now an 11880. The 4000 died a month after the 1 yr. warranty. The 9600 were workhorses, and the 11880 is now 5yrs old and is now requiring lots of head cleanings & constant monitoring of heads throughout the printing day.
I think it maybe on the last leg. I bought an IPF 8300 2 years ago. I'll never return to the Epson line of printers. About Canon.....it just works without all the fuss!
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They all clog, it's just that Canon seems to have a better way of handling it. They map out the clogs until the head needs to be replaced and then "wow" they allow the end user to replace the head, that's an idea.
Following all the threads, and the epic written by Eric, I believe that a lot of the problems with Epson are not clogs, but instead issues with the ink delivery system, that develop over time. I also believe that the printer may be very susceptible to brown outs, or electric surges, which in turn may damage the pizeo head on the Epson 9900 family. Either the head or the channels that deliver the ink to the head. I also believe that it's possible that too many cleanings may damage the head over time. The fact that Epson has the CL-1 through CL4 levels for Maintenance mode only implies to me that they know this and are going to allow the repair tech a bit more leeway on number of cleanings. From the main LCD menu for pairs cleanings, you only get 2 levels, low and high.
Paul Caldwell
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They all clog, it's just that Canon seems to have a better way of handling it. They map out the clogs until the head needs to be replaced and then "wow" they allow the end user to replace the head, that's an idea.
As in case of SPx900 "terminal clog" theory, I don't think Canon print head really clogs that bad that it's remapping nozzles that can't be cleaned. I suppose it's remapping clogged nozzles while printing, and then it cleans them. Canon print head virtually never clogs, it just dies - it's suddenly loosing a half or a whole channel, and asks for a replacement. It looks like electric failure rather than clog, just like in case of Epson's "terminal clog" that's not really a clog at all. The difference is that Canon print head is user replaceable and doesn't cost a fortune.
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As in case of SPx900 "terminal clog" theory, I don't think Canon print head really clogs that bad that it's remapping nozzles that can't be cleaned. I suppose it's remapping clogged nozzles while printing, and then it cleans them. Canon print head virtually never clogs, it just dies - it's suddenly loosing a half or a whole channel, and asks for a replacement. It looks like electric failure rather than clog, just like in case of Epson's "terminal clog" that's not really a clog at all. The difference is that Canon print head is user replaceable and doesn't cost a fortune.
And if one channel stops working, shall you change just that channel or the whole head? How much $?
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There are 2 x 6channel heads, 400$ each
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HP as well, one head for each color - user replaceable, individually, @$70 per head.
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HP as well, one head for each color - user replaceable, individually, @$70 per head.
...one head for each a pair of colours (there's six heads)
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So it is 6x$400=$2400 for total heads?
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So it is 6x$400=$2400 for total heads?
There are 2x400$ heads in Canon iPF (6 channels per head), and 6x70$ heads in HP Z3200 (2 channels per head)
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Thanks for the clarity Czornyj
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There are 2x400$ heads in Canon iPF (6 channels per head), and 6x70$ heads in HP Z3200 (2 channels per head)
And how long do these heads work approx. before you need to change them in normal conditions?
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I've had my Z3100 for 7 years of moderate use. Just starting to replace print heads for the 2nd time. I have a friend with an ipf 8200, who has replace 4 print head modules in the last 3 years. I understand Canon now warranties their print heads to last at least 1 year. The Canon print head can be used in either channel, so keeping a spare is advisable to minimize down time.
Either alternative sure beats the cost of replacing an Epson print head!
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And how long do these heads work approx. before you need to change them in normal conditions?
In case of Canon there's no rule. They can last forever, or die pretty soon. If you print 24/7, Canon print heads can potentially last longer than HP, as there's more nozzles per channel - 2560 nozzles in iPF vs 1056 in HPZ. If you don't print frequently, it's a lottery.
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ipf 03 heads are $350 through alibaba - genuine Canon.
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OK, here goes. I posted this response to a similar thread a few months ago:
"We are a small Epson dealer in Pittsburgh, PA - we generally sell to end-users within our geographic area. I won't share total sales stats, but I will say that as far as I know from our experiences with our customers, we have had less than a 5 percent print head failure rate with the 79/ 9900 series printers that we have sold (in and out of warranty). One of them was one of our demo units (about 2 1/2 years ago) - it was used very infrequently, and the other was with a customer's printer* - the printer's head was damaged from a repeated head crash on a torn piece of heavy weight paper (the printer was running unattended)."
Threads like this really bother me - I talked to my Epson sales rep who just returned from a sales meeting in California. One of the topics that they covered was the reliability of the printers - and, based on their service records, they have about a 3 percent failure rate due to manufacturing problems. Epson's overall experience very closely matches our experience with these printers.
There are environmental conditions that will definitely cause problems, and there are operator errors that will cause problems as well. No specifics were given for the conditions under which this printer operated. It could have been abused (it definitely was at the end of the video), it could have been in a non-recommended environment, it could have been left to sit for long periods without recommended maintenance, or the problem could have been as simple as a bad capping station or a bad damper.
And, I guess that this is a problem with the internet in general, people who may or may not know what they are talking about become experts. And, people who may or may not realize this listen to their opinions and follow their advice. And, based on our knowledge and experience, I would be very reluctant to listen to a lot of the advice presented in this thread.
Tony
*our customer who had the 9900 with the head crash sold his printer for $1,000.00. Maybe the guy who smashed his printer could have done the same and donated the $1,000 to a charity. I guess that the video wouldn't have been as entertaining...
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....
And, I guess that this is a problem with the internet in general, people who may or may not know what they are talking about become experts. And, people who may or may not realize this listen to their opinions and follow their advice. And, based on our knowledge and experience, I would be very reluctant to listen to a lot of the advice presented in this thread.
Tony
*our customer who had the 9900 with the head crash sold his printer for $1,000.00. Maybe the guy who smashed his printer could have done the same and donated the $1,000 to a charity. I guess that the video wouldn't have been as entertaining...
Doesn't take "an expert" to find out ones head is plugged with a nozzle check. Even funky colored prints midway down a page due to inking issues of the heads or lines is another inexcusable matter. How to fix it is another issue, and can be quite costly to the point it is a disposable printer.
Actually, without the internet and forums like this, these companies might end up pushing more crap on the public and not standing behind them. I find the information very beneficial to future purchases. Epson's plug up. No question. Having to pay $1,800 every year to keep it running is ridiculous. Canon got the right idea on user replaceable heads and HP on some units too. Epson is still working the service lead and with not that much satisfaction either if you follow the feedback and read the problems with their products here: http://www.customerservicescoreboard.com/Epson (http://www.customerservicescoreboard.com/Epson) Canon is doing far better with customer satisfaction on the same site than Epson, so Epson has a lot of catching-up work to do.
Hopefully, Epson comes to grips with their customer dissatisfaction and engineering behind the plugging issues before it is too late. Dealers can say anything to sell them much like a used car dealer, albeit I wouldn't trust any of them if they say, "There is no problem with plugging heads. It's only 3% according to the factory (Like I would believe them!) -- and the internet is full of lies too." Really!?
More Youtube sledgehammer videos might just be what is needed too to wake them up. They had the option to set it right prior to the hammer, but failed. He proved "They do not care."
SG
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OK, here goes. I posted this response to a similar thread a few months ago:
"We are a small Epson dealer in Pittsburgh, PA - we generally sell to end-users within our geographic area. I won't share total sales stats, but I will say that as far as I know from our experiences with our customers, we have had less than a 5 percent print head failure rate with the 79/ 9900 series printers that we have sold (in and out of warranty). One of them was one of our demo units (about 2 1/2 years ago) - it was used very infrequently, and the other was with a customer's printer* - the printer's head was damaged from a repeated head crash on a torn piece of heavy weight paper (the printer was running unattended)."
Threads like this really bother me - I talked to my Epson sales rep who just returned from a sales meeting in California. One of the topics that they covered was the reliability of the printers - and, based on their service records, they have about a 3 percent failure rate due to manufacturing problems. Epson's overall experience very closely matches our experience with these printers.
There are environmental conditions that will definitely cause problems, and there are operator errors that will cause problems as well. No specifics were given for the conditions under which this printer operated. It could have been abused (it definitely was at the end of the video), it could have been in a non-recommended environment, it could have been left to sit for long periods without recommended maintenance, or the problem could have been as simple as a bad capping station or a bad damper.
And, I guess that this is a problem with the internet in general, people who may or may not know what they are talking about become experts. And, people who may or may not realize this listen to their opinions and follow their advice. And, based on our knowledge and experience, I would be very reluctant to listen to a lot of the advice presented in this thread.
Tony
*our customer who had the 9900 with the head crash sold his printer for $1,000.00. Maybe the guy who smashed his printer could have done the same and donated the $1,000 to a charity. I guess that the video wouldn't have been as entertaining...
I have no doubt you feel that Epson has a high end product, you are a dealer. However I do take considerable exception to your post that implies most of the information on the internet about the problems with the 9900 family are not correct.
I have worked with Epson's now for over 10 years, wides for 7 of those years. I own a 9900 and it has not been a easy printer to work with. I fully understand the environmental conditions that can impact these printers. I also believe that the post that was started by Eric G. about the 7900 has more information about the actual 9900 family than a Epson service manual.
To be honest, no printer, be it Epson, HP, Canon etc. should make a perfect print, then without changing anything else on the next print, totally block on color. This is not a clog, it's a ink system delivery failure. This has happened on my 9900 with Orange and Green, (do a search as this is this the most common type of this issue), LK, PK, MK and now Cyan. I use this printer daily in my work. I work with it in both matte and PK insets, so both sides are worked.
Net, the head itself is very durable, however the ink delivery system, either the channels or or the pizeo heads themselves can be damaged. The damage appears as a clog and users then possibly do more damage in trying to un-clog the printer with excessive cleanings.
It's good that your Epson salesman told you that these printers are great, and don't have problems. I would have been surprised if they didn't. Epson's failure rate I am sure is being measured for the 1 year warranty only. Most people using these printers are assuming a life of at least 4 to 5 years.
As for the internet and knowledge, I have learned much much more about how to get around problems with the 9900 family from the internet than trying to call Epson and getting someone on the phone who doesn't even know that the 9900 is a 44 inch printer. There are a lot of accomplished printers and photographers that are members here who have thousands of hours of experience working with the 9900 family of printers.
If you compare the number of issues around clogs with working running printers in the 9900 family to the older 9880/9800/9600 family I think you will find that the heads in the the older printers were much more reliable, were much easier to replace and to be totally honest, printed about 95% as good as the 9900 family.
Paul Caldwell
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If I had problematic x900 that's exactly what I'd wanted to hear to grab my sledgehammer (or something more destructive) - a principled opinion suggesting that the problem exists solely between printer and chair. I'm really glad that I quit using Epson SP since x880 (which also had given me a hard time).
OK, here goes. I posted this response to a similar thread a few months ago:
"We are a small Epson dealer in Pittsburgh, PA - we generally sell to end-users within our geographic area. I won't share total sales stats, but I will say that as far as I know from our experiences with our customers, we have had less than a 5 percent print head failure rate with the 79/ 9900 series printers that we have sold (in and out of warranty). One of them was one of our demo units (about 2 1/2 years ago) - it was used very infrequently, and the other was with a customer's printer* - the printer's head was damaged from a repeated head crash on a torn piece of heavy weight paper (the printer was running unattended)."
Threads like this really bother me - I talked to my Epson sales rep who just returned from a sales meeting in California. One of the topics that they covered was the reliability of the printers - and, based on their service records, they have about a 3 percent failure rate due to manufacturing problems. Epson's overall experience very closely matches our experience with these printers.
There are environmental conditions that will definitely cause problems, and there are operator errors that will cause problems as well. No specifics were given for the conditions under which this printer operated. It could have been abused (it definitely was at the end of the video), it could have been in a non-recommended environment, it could have been left to sit for long periods without recommended maintenance, or the problem could have been as simple as a bad capping station or a bad damper.
And, I guess that this is a problem with the internet in general, people who may or may not know what they are talking about become experts. And, people who may or may not realize this listen to their opinions and follow their advice. And, based on our knowledge and experience, I would be very reluctant to listen to a lot of the advice presented in this thread.
Tony
*our customer who had the 9900 with the head crash sold his printer for $1,000.00. Maybe the guy who smashed his printer could have done the same and donated the $1,000 to a charity. I guess that the video wouldn't have been as entertaining...
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Does anyone know if nozzle/print head clogs are covered under the Epson Warranty? Or do they try and claim "user error" or "improper maintenance" in an attempt to bill you either for parts or labour? It would appear to me that Extended warranty for Epson is cheap (+2yr = $1500) and necessary compared to Canon (+2yr = $2400+), but if the most common issue among printers involves print heads, then you really wouldn't need the extended warranty on a canon since it has more "user" replaceable parts/solutions. Or is my thinking flawed?
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Since I kept the humidity of my studio around 50% since last month, clogging problem has reduced dramatically, and I am very happy with my 11880. no banding or other problems here anymore. sometimes even after not printing for 3 days, have no clogging even with out dated inks! I need more time to confirm it for sure but so far so good.
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OK, here goes. I posted this response to a similar thread a few months ago:
"We are a small Epson dealer in Pittsburgh, PA - we generally sell to end-users within our geographic area. I won't share total sales stats, but I will say that as far as I know from our experiences with our customers, we have had less than a 5 percent print head failure rate with the 79/ 9900 series printers that we have sold (in and out of warranty). One of them was one of our demo units (about 2 1/2 years ago) - it was used very infrequently, and the other was with a customer's printer* - the printer's head was damaged from a repeated head crash on a torn piece of heavy weight paper (the printer was running unattended)."
Threads like this really bother me - I talked to my Epson sales rep who just returned from a sales meeting in California. One of the topics that they covered was the reliability of the printers - and, based on their service records, they have about a 3 percent failure rate due to manufacturing problems. Epson's overall experience very closely matches our experience with these printers.
There are environmental conditions that will definitely cause problems, and there are operator errors that will cause problems as well. No specifics were given for the conditions under which this printer operated. It could have been abused (it definitely was at the end of the video), it could have been in a non-recommended environment, it could have been left to sit for long periods without recommended maintenance, or the problem could have been as simple as a bad capping station or a bad damper.
And, I guess that this is a problem with the internet in general, people who may or may not know what they are talking about become experts. And, people who may or may not realize this listen to their opinions and follow their advice. And, based on our knowledge and experience, I would be very reluctant to listen to a lot of the advice presented in this thread.
Tony
*our customer who had the 9900 with the head crash sold his printer for $1,000.00. Maybe the guy who smashed his printer could have done the same and donated the $1,000 to a charity. I guess that the video wouldn't have been as entertaining...
"or the problem could have been as simple as a bad capping station or a bad damper"
That is just a simple $1500 or $2,000 fix from Decision One!
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Threads like this really bother me - I talked to my Epson sales rep who just returned from a sales meeting in California. One of the topics that they covered was the reliability of the printers - and, based on their service records, they have about a 3 percent failure rate due to manufacturing problems. Epson's overall experience very closely matches our experience with these printers.
You bother me.
I bought a 9890 NEW in November and I haven't gone through one printing session without some sort of clogging issue. I keep the printer on all the time, and humidity is ~55%. Now I've wasted the last 3 hours trying to unclog the CYAN channel, can't. And I have prints to deliver this afternoon.
These EPSON printers are COMPLETE PIECES OF SHIT and I regret not getting a Canon or HP.
Tell your __________ rep to get a clue - most other users experiences I'm sure more closely resemble my own.
"they have about a 3 percent failure rate due to manufacturing problems. Epson's overall experience very closely matches our experience with these printers"
BULLSHIT.
As much as I hate frivolous lawsuits someone should start a class action lawsuit against Epson !!!!!!!!!!!!
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After everything I have read (not a single forum without complaints about Epson), the responses to my own threads and that I recently found out that some of the print shops I have been researching replaced their Epson fleets (ie 4+ printers) with Canon's has really helped me make my decision.
The 3% failure rate figure sounds like it's based on a technicality/semantics. Meaning Epson doesn't recognize the clogging, ink pump and print head issues as a "manufacturing" issue. Which concerns me, because IF I had bought one, at what point during my warranty (1yr or extended) would Epson turn around and tell me this isn't covered...or only part of the repair is covered because they deem this to be more "user" error than anything else.
So Tony "TASTAR", I would be interested in you going back to your "rep" and asking him what the rate is of customer complaints about printhead clogs or other related issues. Not Epson deemed "manufacturing" defects (3%)....but how about the number of service calls (even in just the last year) for printhead issues. I think that would be a much more interesting number.
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The count of service calls will probably still be inaccurate for your question because how many people call and find out they need a printhead and just decide to replace the printer…
Jim
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The count of service calls will probably still be inaccurate for your question because how many people call and find out they need a printhead and just decide to replace the printer…
Jim
Very true, but it would still be more accurate than the 3% being touted by sales reps.
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I bought a 9890 NEW in November and I haven't gone through one printing session without some sort of clogging issue.
You may be in the 3% category, given the conditions under which the printer operates you shouldn't be having clogs every time you print, it should be covered under the initial 12 month Epson warranty so get Epson to make a service call and check it out.
Brian.
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You bother me.
I bought a 9890 NEW in November and I haven't gone through one printing session without some sort of clogging issue. I keep the printer on all the time, and humidity is ~55%. Now I've wasted the last 3 hours trying to unclog the CYAN channel, can't. And I have prints to deliver this afternoon.
These EPSON printers are COMPLETE PIECES OF SHIT and I regret not getting a Canon or HP.
Tell your __________ rep to get a clue - most other users experiences I'm sure more closely resemble my own.
"they have about a 3 percent failure rate due to manufacturing problems. Epson's overall experience very closely matches our experience with these printers"
BULLSHIT.
As much as I hate frivolous lawsuits someone should start a class action lawsuit against Epson !!!!!!!!!!!!
Why you keep your printer on all the time? Is it any benefit in it?
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It's supposed to keep the inks agitated and the print head from drying out
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You bother me.
I bought a 9890 NEW in November and I haven't gone through one printing session without some sort of clogging issue. I keep the printer on all the time, and humidity is ~55%. Now I've wasted the last 3 hours trying to unclog the CYAN channel, can't. And I have prints to deliver this afternoon.
These EPSON printers are COMPLETE PIECES OF SHIT and I regret not getting a Canon or HP.
Tell your __________ rep to get a clue - most other users experiences I'm sure more closely resemble my own.
"they have about a 3 percent failure rate due to manufacturing problems. Epson's overall experience very closely matches our experience with these printers"
BULLSHIT.
As much as I hate frivolous lawsuits someone should start a class action lawsuit against Epson !!!!!!!!!!!!
The lack of numeracy displayed by this post, the willingness to extrapolate from a single, personal bad experience to the universal and the wilful blindness to the simple fact that large numbers of prints are produced from large numbers of Epson printers is really quite staggering.
Jeremy
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Re. Dan Berg's post above:
97.10: list price for damper assembly (US $)
239.40: list price for capping station
14.99: list price for wiper
351.49: total cost of parts
250.00: 2 hours of labor (I don't know what Decision One's labor rate is)
601.49: total coat of damper, capping station and wiper replacement
Re. everyone else's comments: we work with photographers, offset printers, screen printers, and graphic design firms every day. We see lots of Epson printers, some that we have sold, others that we haven't. Our experience, and our observations of Epson printers in general, matches Epson's experience - there is a very low failure rate (printers running non-Epson inks (sublimation or third party inks) are not included in this statement!), and they are very reliable printers.
Tony
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Decision One is the killer. I remember the days when a TV man had to come to the house to fix the big Philco two or three times a year. There were dozens of TV repairmen listed in the Yellow Pages. They did not charge the 1962 equivalent of $300 just to cross the threshold into a customer's home.
I recently sold my four-year old 9900 for $125. I didn't want to pay $2K to replace the head. I paid $2K for a new 7890 instead. My days of 40" wide printing are behind me, and I am happy to have more breathing room in my office. When the 7890 blows up, if it is out of warranty, I'll probably replace it with something else.
It's a good idea to change the wiper blade once a year. It is also a good idea to shut the printer off when it is not in use. I have my printer plugged into a UPS, being in Florida the humidity issue is moot. I highly advise running at least a nozzle check every day. More than anything else, these printers like to be used on a daily basis.
There is a great thread about taking a 7900 apart on this forum. It took me a day to read the entire thread. One thing that I learned from reading it is that cleaning cycles are destructive to the print head. I've opted to limit my MK printing to a few times a year, as the printer will go into a cleaning cycle to rid the line of MK for PK and vice-versa.
Since following these procedures, I've only had one cleaning cycle over the past five months--and that was due to the MK/PK swap.
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The 9900, same as 11880 or any other of this series; is a water-based die ink system. This system is air tight except at 2 end points; the receptacles at the ink cartridge connection, and the print head. When the print head is capped on the pump cap feet and sitting idle, there is still a pocket of air at that connection. Water evaporates. And leaves behind the dye. The print head also collects dust and debris from the media through a static attraction as the platen runs across the paper.
Over time - the drying ink caked with dust and paper particles continue to build and collect until you end up with a gooey, thick syrup kind of resin. This builds on the print head platen, carriage, wiper blades, flushing box, rubber feet on pump cap, etc. it can sometimes even bridge between the carriage assy and a random edge around the printer's feed platen.
Floating nozzle checks indicate several things; most common of which is the wiper blades / print head platen are caked with ink (or air in lines). Instead of cleaning the print head during regular power cleanings, the wipers are just smearing the goo from one area to another. Static nozzle checks are more concerning as the debris on print head are either more solidified or have worked their way into the injection ports.
Resolve head clog permanently? Keep everything that touches the print head clean with routine, preventative maintenance, and keep ink flowing through the system instead of sitting idle for extended periods - run nozzle check/power clean minimum if not used. These machines are designed to be ran and are workhorses in production houses. Try to avoid media that releases a ton of particles in the printer, if possible... I wouldn't say this is permanent, a tiny head crash can zap a channel if the media hits a sweet spot. But you'll certainly get a lot more life out of your machine.
Another tip, don't put the printer under the air conditioner / heater vents! Not only is it bad for your media, but rains humidity and dry spells on your machine.
Hope this helps, probably stuff that's already been said anyway
good luck
Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner!!!! This post should be a sticky for anyone with an Epson LFP. The only change or addition I would make is that the ink is pigment not dye. Think latex paint - a pigment suspended in a vehicle. The pigments have been ground by Epson (OEM inks) to fit through the filters in the damper unless the ink has started to thicken. Nice job Chris!
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I really liked the video! Wish I could do that to mine, but I need it for my specific customer base! My head is probably a victim of the humidity issue. I have tried a number of things it is still dry as a bone where I am(kind of ironic as I live in Washington State, US). Will continue trying a few other tricks I have learned of recently, but I gotta admit to another frustration... I cannot find a reliable place to purchase a 9900 head from. I was technician in a former life and have serviced all manner of gear including inkjet printers of all sizes. Anybody out there know of a reliable source where I may get one? It appears that Epson has restricted access to this part!
Roger
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I really liked the video! Wish I could do that to mine, but I need it for my specific customer base! My head is probably a victim of the humidity issue. I have tried a number of things it is still dry as a bone where I am(kind of ironic as I live in Washington State, US). Will continue trying a few other tricks I have learned of recently, but I gotta admit to another frustration... I cannot find a reliable place to purchase a 9900 head from. I was technician in a former life and have serviced all manner of gear including inkjet printers of all sizes. Anybody out there know of a reliable source where I may get one? It appears that Epson has restricted access to this part!
Roger
Try here:
http://www.compassmicro.com/?gclid=CMee3LXSxb0CFTMV7AodkRIAUw
Also before replacing the head,try some of the cleaning solutions from 3rd parties, e.g., AIS ; it worked for my 4900.
Tom
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Re. Dan Berg's post above:
97.10: list price for damper assembly (US $)
239.40: list price for capping station
14.99: list price for wiper
351.49: total cost of parts
250.00: 2 hours of labor (I don't know what Decision One's labor rate is)
601.49: total coat of damper, capping station and wiper replacement
Re. everyone else's comments: we work with photographers, offset printers, screen printers, and graphic design firms every day. We see lots of Epson printers, some that we have sold, others that we haven't. Our experience, and our observations of Epson printers in general, matches Epson's experience - there is a very low failure rate (printers running non-Epson inks (sublimation or third party inks) are not included in this statement!), and they are very reliable printers.
Tony
Tony,
That is very resonable.
Decision One is who we are stuck with unless we want to pay you to come cross state or country.
I think the labor rate for Decision is $175.00 (A little steep for a $35.00 an hr. technician don't you think?)to come out plus a half days labor for that fix.
Still more then twice your estimate,crazy expensive.
To add a personal note. Since adding a humidifier my clogging issues with my 9900 have decreased by 75%
Thats major!