Another Epson 7900 question

[cybis]

...clean the wiper blade without bending it out of position. It is a pretty flakey little piece of sheet metal. This one little wiper blade is inadequate to function well with a 10 channel printer, so I would check that often.  .

All good preventive advices John. I've been intrigued / confused by the 'wiper blade' replacement recommendation. There is the 'Wiper Cleaner Assy' which is the black plastic user-serviceable device that holds the rubber wiper. It is recommended to change it regularly. It's cheap but I'm not sure why it cannot just be cleaned instead. Then there is a sponge like material, that is hard to access, held behind that 'flakey little piece of sheet metal' on which the rubber wiper blade wipes itself off. That sponge gets really nasty and as you mentioned is inadequate. It seems the idea was that the rubber wiper blade removes gunk from the printhead and transfers it to the tiny sponge. But the gunk accumulates on the sponge and now gunks goes from sponge to printhead. So yes somehow keeping that sponge clean is essential.  

[cybis]

Hi Luc - firstly, some very nice work on your website. I like those B&W aerials - most effective.

Now the warning on Windex containing Ammonia - for clarity, there is nothing vague about what I was told. I was told it could destroy the head. Now whether there are people on the Internet confirming that they destroyed their printheads in this manner to me wouldn't be a consideration. Once a trained professional in the service-end of the business who knows these machines from the inside out tells me that, I take it as "fair warning", not vague warning  :-). If you've used it and it hasn't destroyed your head, consider yourself fortunate so far - but if I were you I would stop using it.

Hi Mark, thank you for the kind words.

I hear you regarding the warning. I have purchased a $100 Epson Cleaning Cartridge, only to discover that it is useless on its own. It turns out the only way the printer will use the Epson cleaning fluid is if all 11 ink slots are filled with Epson Cleaning cartridges. No, thank you . So I've ordered refillable cartridges and will transfer the Epson fluid I have into the troublesome channel. I need to fill the other cartridges with something cheap in order to use the ink charge feature economically. I'm leaning toward distilled water, windex, or an homemade solution of water + diethylene glycol + glycerol.

It could be that the ammonium hydroxide at the concentration found in Windex has either no effect or is more helpful than hurtful. It could be that the concern regarding the x900 new coating is theoretical only. We do have Sportmaster first hand account of an extreme two months 'exposure' to Windex having only beneficial effects at minimal cost, but I'm still looking for a negative first hand report of an x900 exposure to Windex.

[Mark D Segal]

Hi Mark, thank you for the kind words.

I hear you regarding the warning. I have purchased a $100 Epson Cleaning Cartridge, only to discover that it is useless on its own. It turns out the only way the printer will use the Epson cleaning fluid is if all 11 ink slots are filled with Epson Cleaning cartridges. No, thank you . So I've ordered refillable cartridges and will transfer the Epson fluid I have into the troublesome channel. I need to fill the other cartridges with something cheap in order to use the ink charge feature economically. I'm leaning toward distilled water, windex, or an homemade solution of water + diethylene glycol + glycerol.

It could be that the ammonium hydroxide at the concentration found in Windex has either no effect or is more helpful than hurtful. It could be that the concern regarding the x900 new coating is theoretical only. We do have Sportmaster first hand account of an extreme two months 'exposure' to Windex having only beneficial effects at minimal cost, but I'm still looking for a negative first hand report of an x900 exposure to Windex.

That's fine - "forewarned is forearmed" :-) I hope you get it all going well again - but do look into that capping assembly before anything else.

[cybis]

That's fine - "forewarned is forearmed" :-) I hope you get it all going well again - but do look into that capping assembly before anything else.

Agreed

[enduser]

If there were only Canon and HP photo printers, and Epson didn't exist, this forum would have very little to discuss

[cybis]

If there were only Canon and HP photo printers, and Epson didn't exist, this forum would have very little to discuss

Can't argue with you there. 

[sportmaster]

Initially, for about a month, I used the original Windex with ammonia and followed the advise about gentle cleaning procedures, so as not to damage the head.   When those methods proved fruitless, and since my machine (4900) was gifted, I experimented by making stronger mixtures of alcohol and ammonia.  I also elected to gamble with more aggressive scrubbings of the head with soaked paper towel.

After reading so much about how easy it was to ruin a head, I was surprised my methods didn't result in failure. 

So far my machine works perfectly six months on.  I am now working on a second 4900 and am having some success.  Only time will tell.

[cybis]

Initially, for about a month, I used the original Windex with ammonia and followed the advise about gentle cleaning procedures, so as not to damage the head.   When those methods proved fruitless, and since my machine (4900) was gifted, I experimented by making stronger mixtures of alcohol and ammonia.  I also elected to gamble with more aggressive scrubbings of the head with soaked paper towel.

After reading so much about how easy it was to ruin a head, I was surprised my methods didn't result in failure.  

So far my machine works perfectly six months on.  I am now working on a second 4900 and am having some success.  Only time will tell.

Ok, I see. Thanks. I understand you didn't fill cartridges with Windex; You filled cartridges with Piezoflush or similar. The Windex was only used on the face of the printhead. So I won't fill my cartridges with Windex after all.

[sportmaster]

I injected both Piezoflush and Windex via refillable in carts.