EPSON Surecolor P7000 Green/Orange Channel Problem..

[zlich]

I've had a epson p7000 for about three years.
My problem is that the green/orange channel can't be cleaned.
Normal cleaning, Power cleaning, SS cleaning
Everything was useless.

As Gary said on the forum,
I tried to print the green color in size A4.
The green color came out yellow.

If you have experienced a similar problem or know the solution to the problem,
please advise me.

[Garnick]

I've had a epson p7000 for about three years.
My problem is that the green/orange channel can't be cleaned.
Normal cleaning, Power cleaning, SS cleaning
Everything was useless.

As Gary said on the forum,
I tried to print the green color in size A4.
The green color came out yellow.

If you have experienced a similar problem or know the solution to the problem,
please advise me.

Good morning,

Although probably not a good morning with your P7000.  My minimal amount of expertise in this area dates back to Jan. 2016 with my Epson SP9900 where the green channel dropped out and could not be brought back to life.  So as you might realize, I am indeed no expert.  However, the one thing that I look for in a situation such as this is the bulging vertical line that separates the channels.  I must say that I have never seen what you have displayed here, since in this case that demarcation line has all but disappeared.  You also have a number of dropped nozzle throughout the pattern, which does not bode well for the health of the print head.  You mentioned that you had tried a number of cleaning cycles, including the heavy duty approach.  Hopefully you let the printer rest between cleaning cycles as advised by Epson, in order to protect the overall life of the print head. 

Have you been in touch with Epson with this issue?  It would be a good idea to try that route as well and send these same images along to them to peruse.  Again, I am definitely no expert in this, so my opinion is based solely on my own experience with the 9900.  In this case my opinion, one which I imagined might be shared by others on this forum, is that you are looking at a situation that can likely only be rectified by installing a new print head.  If you search this forum you will find some information about a couple of procedures for cleaning the print head manually, but quite honestly I doubt that any of these "fixes" will work in this case.  However, it may be worth a bit of time on your part to at least try.  You will probably also find that the use of products such as "Windex" is common by some, which is NOT advised by Epson.  However, if you do want to try that method you should never use the Windex that contains ammonia.

I'm sure you will have other replies on both sides of the issue, but these are opinions, as is mine, so I do believe a call to Epson should be your next source.  I wish you luck with the printer and hope that somehow this issue can be fixed short of a new print head.  Please let us know how this progresses, it's all fodder for the forum and others with similar problems. 

Gary         

[Mark D Segal]

It could be the print head, but I wouldn't necessarily assume that. Orange and Green are the least used inks for most ordinary photographs, so it could be there is some kind of blockage or trapped air issue between the cartridges and the print head depending on how you use the printer, how old the inks are, etc. Gary's suggestion to call Epson Prographics is definitely the right thing to do. Their telephone advice is free. Although the visit of a technician is usually somewhat costly, it could end up being much cheaper than replacing a print head if the print head were not the problem. A trained technician can dig into the printer's ink transport system to properly diagnose what's going on.

[Garnick]

It could be the print head, but I wouldn't necessarily assume that. Orange and Green are the least used inks for most ordinary photographs, so it could be there is some kind of blockage or trapped air issue between the cartridges and the print head depending on how you use the printer, how old the inks are, etc. Gary's suggestion to call Epson Prographics is definitely the right thing to do. Their telephone advice is free. Although the visit of a technician is usually somewhat costly, it could end up being much cheaper than replacing a print head if the print head were not the problem. A trained technician can dig into the printer's ink transport system to properly diagnose what's going on.

Hi Mark,

Absolutely, all of your suggestions are valid, and my opinion was strictly based on my own experience, which was verified by Mark N., the tech we both know on some level and who's opinion we trust.  And of course it was Mark N. who installed the new head for the SP9900.  Mark and one of the Techs from Glodyne Decision One who he taught, were the only two techs I trusted.  I imagine D1 now has more and better trained techs, but I have no use for the company itself and the way they handled my particular issue.  Luckily Dave S. was the teach who worked on the 9900.  I didn't find Mark N. until Jan. 2016.  Haven't been in touch with him for a while, but I think I will email him today and perhaps have a chat. 

As I mentioned, I sincerely hope the OP will somehow be able to overcome the issue with the P7000, but my opinion of the situation still stands.  Hopefully I will be proven wrong.

Gary         

[zlich]

I live in South Korea.
There wasn't much information to solve this problem in South Korea, so I joined this forum.

I have been diagnosed with this problem by Epson engineer in South Korea.
He made a decision because of the head problem, and suggested replacing the head.
The cost of replacing the head is so expensive. ($2200)
I'd like to repair it without replacing the head.

When I used the sp4900 4 years ago, I used a windex for a similar problem.
But the head was completely damaged, so I wouldn't use a windex.

It would be nice if there was a way to repair without replacing head, but I still don't know how.
I need to find more ways.

Thank you for your advice.

[Mark D Segal]

Did that engineer come to your place and do a thorough analysis of the whole ink transport system for those two channels?

[Garnick]

I live in South Korea.
There wasn't much information to solve this problem in South Korea, so I joined this forum.

I have been diagnosed with this problem by Epson engineer in South Korea.
He made a decision because of the head problem, and suggested replacing the head.
The cost of replacing the head is so expensive. ($2200)
I'd like to repair it without replacing the head.

When I used the sp4900 4 years ago, I used a windex for a similar problem.
But the head was completely damaged, so I wouldn't use a windex.

It would be nice if there was a way to repair without replacing head, but I still don't know how.
I need to find more ways.

Thank you for your advice.

"Did that engineer come to your place and do a thorough analysis of the whole ink transport system for those two channels?"  Another good question from Mark.  If the tech diagnosed strictly on the evidence you have presented here I would look for a different tech if it were me.  Of course your concern about the cost of a new head is valid, but I share Mark's concern about the possibility that the diagnosis may have been made without actually seeing the printer and trying a few tricks that you might not have had access to.  Oddly enough, $2200 is exactly what I paid for the new head and installation for the SP9900 in Jan. 2016 here in Canada, so I doubt you could get a better price, except perhaps in the U.S.  Having said all of that, I think it might be a good idea to get another independent diagnosis before making a final decision.

Gary   

[jwittes]

I posted this "solution" to your problem on this forum some time ago.  I know it's not a fix but it might get you by in the meantime.  Here is my original post:

I’m the “proud” owner of (2) 9900’s. The oldest of the 2, bought in early 2010, finally had a printhead failure about 6 months ago with the yellow channel. I decided to keep it for parts in hopes to keep the other running for a least another year. Over the course of January the second printer showed signs of the orange channel going out. It was hit and miss depending on subject matter if the output was being effected. Last week the channel went almost completely out. Just 2 orange lines are printing top and bottom on the nozzle check. Unfortunately, I’m not in a position to replace the machines just yet. Replacing the printheads are out of the question given the cost (even if I attempt to do it myself) verses the cost of new machines. I had/have work in-house that still needed printed so out of desperation I deleted the printer from my system (Mac) and reinstalled it using the 9890 driver hoping that it would work given the printers are similar less the orange and green channels. To my amazement it worked and the output looks good. I’m not sure what the long tern ramifications of doing so are but given the printer was going to electronics recycling if figured it was worth a try. I thought this info might help someone out there with a bad orange or green channel.

Give your printer is the P7000 you might try the P6000 drivers.  If it works you'll at least be able to print with P6000 print quality and avoid wasted prints if the orange and green channels were used in the print.

Good luck...

[Panagiotis]

I posted this "solution" to your problem on this forum some time ago.  I know it's not a fix but it might get you by in the meantime.  Here is my original post:

I’m the “proud” owner of (2) 9900’s. The oldest of the 2, bought in early 2010, finally had a printhead failure about 6 months ago with the yellow channel. I decided to keep it for parts in hopes to keep the other running for a least another year. Over the course of January the second printer showed signs of the orange channel going out. It was hit and miss depending on subject matter if the output was being effected. Last week the channel went almost completely out. Just 2 orange lines are printing top and bottom on the nozzle check. Unfortunately, I’m not in a position to replace the machines just yet. Replacing the printheads are out of the question given the cost (even if I attempt to do it myself) verses the cost of new machines. I had/have work in-house that still needed printed so out of desperation I deleted the printer from my system (Mac) and reinstalled it using the 9890 driver hoping that it would work given the printers are similar less the orange and green channels. To my amazement it worked and the output looks good. I’m not sure what the long tern ramifications of doing so are but given the printer was going to electronics recycling if figured it was worth a try. I thought this info might help someone out there with a bad orange or green channel.

Give your printer is the P7000 you might try the P6000 drivers.  If it works you'll at least be able to print with P6000 print quality and avoid wasted prints if the orange and green channels were used in the print.

Good luck...

Ingenious!

[mearussi]

This does not bode well for Epson's new printer series if heads are starting to fail after only three years of use--sounds like the x900 series all over again. 

[Mark D Segal]

This does not bode well for Epson's new printer series if heads are starting to fail after only three years of use--sounds like the x900 series all over again.

Years isn't necessarily the determinative variable - depends also upon how much usage and under what conditions. I wouldn't jump to conclusions before knowing more.

[zlich]

I think that the engineer didn't thoroughly analyze and diagnose the whole ink transport system.
He opened the right side of the equipment.
He finished his diagnosis by looking at the green channel damper and the tube of the pump cap.

jwittes! Thank you for your solution.
I haven't tried your solution yet, but it looks like there's a possibility.
I'll post the results as soon as I try.

I also bought P9000 at the same time
P9000 is being used well without any problems.
Thank you for your advice.

[zlich]

I installed a P6000 driver as I advised on jwittes, but it was not compatible with my P7000.
I use Windows 10 64bit.
Although it even installed drivers, it seemed that P7000 did not recognize P6000 driver.
In addition, I turned off the P70000 for two days and turned on to check the nozzle. After cleaning, the nozzle was still blocked.
I'm thinking of disassembling the equipment and cleaning it up.

[JRSmit]

Just a check, is the date expired?
It is said that Orange and Green can sediment, and Them cause clogging.

[zlich]

Orange 20190112
Green 20200203

Both colors have not expired.
Green Color recently purchased and cleaned a new ink, but nothing changed.