Serious issues with P600 - please help

[Clark]

My printer has been inactive a lot in the last year. I try to do test prints occasionally but due to travelling I sometimes can't do this for up to 3 months 

I now have a situation where there's a strong cyan cast across all prints. You can see it clearly even in the individual colour channels in the attached test.

What on earth is wrong here?

[Clark]

Would like to add that just before the above test:

I ran a nozzle check - it showed only a few missing lines in the LLK.

I ran a head cleaning cycle.

Before this head cleaning, the only few breaks in the pattern were in LLK. All the VLM lines in the nozzle check were perfect.

After the head cleaning, LLK is now unbroken, as are all other heads. But the colour from VLM is completely gone. There is a very faint trace of cyan-grey where the VLM pattern should be. You can see this colour more clearly on the above "purge" swatches.

So what has happened? Someone please help!? 

[Mark D Segal]

The first image in your initial post, if a reliable representation, indicates that the LVM channel is not flowing ink through the printhead. If so, this would do it. You may need some power cleaning to fix it.

[Garnick]

Would like to add that just before the above test:

I ran a nozzle check - it showed only a few missing lines in the LLK.

I ran a head cleaning cycle.

Before this head cleaning, the only few breaks in the pattern were in LLK. All the VLM lines in the nozzle check were perfect.

After the head cleaning, LLK is now unbroken, as are all other heads. But the colour from VLM is completely gone. There is a very faint trace of cyan-grey where the VLM pattern should be. You can see this colour more clearly on the above "purge" swatches.

So what has happened? Someone please help!? 

Sorry Mark    I guess we were both writing simultaneously.

Hi Clark,

I agree, this is a very strange situation, and one I have never encountered and hopefully won't.  You mentioned that the printer has little use, which in my opinion could definitely be a contributing factor.  A couple of questions:

1. Did this particular issue manifest itself within the last day, or have you seen it previously?
2. Have you printed another test since this one, and if so what was the outcome?

I believe that when a channel disappears as in this case it could be an issue in the electronics.  In other words, that channel not receiving that necessary information to render it active.  Just a guess on my part, but I'm sure more knowledgeable members will chime in on that possibility.  You also mentioned that the printer is inactive when you travel.  Do you unplug the printer when you know it will not be used for a period of time?  I would suggest that you do that now and let it sit for a day and then try again.  It could perhaps be a calibration issue, where the printer cannot run the calibration cycle while you are traveling. By pulling the plug the printer should run the calibration when you start it up again.  Also, keep in mind that you should never run more than two successive cleaning cycles (especially power cycles) without letting the printer rest.  Apparently that sort of activity can be a load on the print head that could possibly render it useless.     

Again, just a few thoughts, and I know you will receive others as well.  Hopefully someone who has experienced this issue will chime in with more direct advice and revive your printer.

Gary     

[Clark]

The first image in your initial post, if a reliable representation, indicates that the LVM channel is not flowing ink through the printhead. If so, this would do it. You may need some power cleaning to fix it.

Thanks Mark for the initial thoughts. Just wanted to describe more accurately what is coming out. I've adjusted the attached swatch on the on the right to show how it looks on the paper, compared to the original digital file.

I've just eyeballed this of course, but it gives an accurate enough representation. Better than the poor quality pic from the OP.

- The cyan cast is strongly visible in the grey channels (and I believe also in the yellow)
- VLM is very pale cyan-grey
- VM very faded looking

Do you still think that the VLM head alone could be responsible for this?

Thanks again

[Clark]

I agree, this is a very strange situation, and one I have never encountered and hopefully won't. 

Haha, no I hope for your sake too 

You mentioned that the printer has little use, which in my opinion could definitely be a contributing factor. 

Yep, I have heard it's not good, which is why I mention it. I don't know if this is the cause of this problem, but it seems likely. Would be glad to hear any more theories though: I'm pretty dismayed at what a mess it is though.

1. Did this particular issue manifest itself within the last day, or have you seen it previously?
2. Have you printed another test since this one, and if so what was the outcome?

1. My first two posts were not super clear:

My last major activity with the printer about 4-5 months ago. Preceding that was also another fairly long idle time of a few months. I needed to clear a stubborn problem with the VM head with multiple cleaning cycles before I could run prints. Even when it appeared clear (perfect nozzle checks eventually), I felt I was noticing a slight "muddy" cyan look in the subtler colours (ie. skin tones.)

I ran out of time to actually fix the problem, and was forced to use adjustment layers on my print files to enhance the reds and yellows. I think quite typically in these cases though, it was somewhat diminishing returns and I wasn't very happy with the results.

Today is the first time I've run the printer properly in about the last 4 months (Done a handful of nozzle checks over this time, but I know this is not really ideal).

2. Will do another test in a couple of hours and see how it comes out.

Thanks too for the theories on the possible cause. I hope it's something simpler than electronics failure. I'm determined to find the cause and get my printer behaving well though!

[Mark D Segal]

Thanks Mark for the initial thoughts. Just wanted to describe more accurately what is coming out. I've adjusted the attached swatch on the on the right to show how it looks on the paper, compared to the original digital file.

I've just eyeballed this of course, but it gives an accurate enough representation. Better than the poor quality pic from the OP.

- The cyan cast is strongly visible in the grey channels (and I believe also in the yellow)
- VLM is very pale cyan-grey
- VM very faded looking

Do you still think that the VLM head alone could be responsible for this?

Thanks again

Hi Clark,

Looking at the two Marrutt files side by side as in your JPEH here, I understand that the left version is the way the file should look, and the right one is what printed on paper. Assuming that understanding is correct, both the LVM and VM channels are starved. I don't know whether that is air blockage or dried ink, but one of the two. Cyan and yellow are also showing inappropriately low saturation, but that may just be a paper/profiling issue - nothing else wrong with the printer. To clear-up LVM and VM, you will need to plan on attending to this over a period several days and be prepared to expend a fair bit of ink on it. If I recall, this model does not allow selective cleaning of individual channel pairs, but it does have a power cleaning utllity that you access from the LCD. Do the following sequence starting this first this evening and next time tomorrow morning: (1) Run the Marruttusa target. (2) If not normal, commission a power cleaning cycle. (3) re-run the Marruttusa target, inspect it and if not normal proceed as follows. Shut down the printer until tomorrow morning. Repeat this cycle morning and evening for about three days. If after 6 such replications over a period of three days you are still not getting a perfectly normal target print, it may be necessary to purge the printer, trash the driver, and re-install as if a new printer. In any event before doing any such thing, call Epson tech support.

I don't think there is any reason to assume anything is electronically amiss with the printer because it hasn't been used over the periods you describe. As far as I understand, which is obviously limited because I am not a printer engineer or technician, there is nothing in the electronics to degrade over such a period of non-use. I am pretty much convinced this is a problem lodged in the ink transport apparatus somewhere between the cartridges and the print head, and most likely in or around the damper and the head.

[Clark]

Thanks again Mark for the step-by-step advice. Followed the first step (it's evening here in the UK)

First target printed exactly like the ones I posted earlier - cyan cast, big problems with both magenta.

Second target shows a huge improvement after the first clean cycle: Magentas looking magenta again, and the cast is gone from the grey channels.

Thanks again. 

[Mark D Segal]

Super. If you think it is completely back to normal you don't need to do any more of those; however, if you think there is a bit to go, one more in the morning should suffice - and this time perhaps just a regular cleaning.

[Clark]

As far as I can see Mark, the P600 doesn't have a "power clean" function. Just "head cleaning".

The colours are now looking much more normal.

However there is faint "barring" (?) visible in both magenta channels. Is this indicative of something? See attached photos.

[Mark D Segal]

Right - it appears that model doesn't offer power clean. Anyhow - the pattern you show indicates it needs another round or two of cleaning.

[Clark]

SO.. After yesterday evening's very promising test swatch, I woke this morning and enthusiastically fired up my printer.

I did not re-print the target, but ran a head cleaning directly. 15 mins later printed off the target swatch: The target has printed with exactly the same colour cast as previously.

I'm adding an attachment to show the results clearly. This is more or less what I see on the paper, with the steps noted below.

What seems strange to me is - if this is some mechanical problem with a blockage, is it possible to have this exact consistency with the problem colour cast?

Update: Nozzle check pattern shows VLM completely absent. I guess this can explain the consistency in the cast.

[dchew]

I suspect this is a different problem than a clogged head we are all used to since you’ve reported nozzle checks that look reasonable. I wonder if you have air or a clog somewhere in the supply line or ink cartridge itself. It can’t supply magenta ink in volume. What’s weird is it is not just vivid Magenta, but light magenta too. But as Mark said, there could be a color management issue contributing to the odd results. I have another ink-maintenance file that prints on 13x19. I will find it and post it up. Might tell you a bit more. Either way, I think Mark has you on the right path of purging to get things primed and flowing.

Dave

[dchew]

Here is another purge page from Wayne Fox:
cleaningpage_v2.jpg

[Mark D Segal]

If this happens again over tonight and tomorrow morning, call Epson.

[Garnick]

As far as I can see Mark, the P600 doesn't have a "power clean" function. Just "head cleaning".

The colours are now looking much more normal.

However there is faint "barring" (?) visible in both magenta channels. Is this indicative of something? See attached photos.

In Reply #9, on the bottom image I'm seeing light banding in the light black as well Clark.  Which makes me believe you should definitely be in touch with Epson on this one.  Mark has provided some very solid and standard advice which you have seemingly followed, but with no or few positive results.  I do believe that the issue is indeed somewhere in the ink flow, or lack thereof, either before or within the print head.  By following Mark's advice you probably should have seen some sustainable positive results at this point, but since that doesn't seem to be the case, I think Epson should be brought into the picture.  I imagine the first two or three questions they will ask will be as follows:  1. Are you using Epson Inks?  2.  Are you using inks past their expiry date, which by the way, in most cases has no bearing on anything.  3. How often do you use the printer?  4. How many cleaning cycles have you run, and in what amount of time?  In other words, how close together? 

If you have answers to all of these questions ready, you will save some amount of wasted time in my opinion.  I've dealt with Epson on a few occasions, and once you know the routine you can start to take control of the conversation.

Gary 

[Clark]

This evening's test again shows signs of hope. Colours are looking closer to normal - not as good as yesterday evening though.

The banding in both magenta channels is more pronounced. The banding is also visible in the grey now (you're pretty sharp eyed to have noticed this in the image I posted in reply #9 Gary, but it is indeed there also if you look carefully enough). I don't think it's visible in the attached pic, but I can see that the faint lines in the grey are cyan in hue also. 

The nozzle check pattern again shows unbroken patterns for all heads except VLM. There are many breaks in the VLM section, but more than half the pattern is there. Better than this morning where it was missing entirely.

Unless you guys think this looks like a special case (?) I will persevere with another overnight rest and cleaning tomorrow morning...

[Mark D Segal]

Considering that you re trying to recover a printer that hasn't been used for several months, your experience is unsurprising. I think you should persevere as I suggested above and if by then you are not fully satisfied, call Epson.

[Garnick]

This evening's test again shows signs of hope. Colours are looking closer to normal - not as good as yesterday evening though.

The banding in both magenta channels is more pronounced. The banding is also visible in the grey now (you're pretty sharp eyed to have noticed this in the image I posted in reply #9 Gary, but it is indeed there also if you look carefully enough). I don't think it's visible in the attached pic, but I can see that the faint lines in the grey are cyan in hue also. 

The nozzle check pattern again shows unbroken patterns for all heads except VLM. There are many breaks in the VLM section, but more than half the pattern is there. Better than this morning where it was missing entirely.

Unless you guys think this looks like a special case (?) I will persevere with another overnight rest and cleaning tomorrow morning...

Hi again Clark,

Just thought of anther possibility, albeit rather far fetched.  Question - how is the printer connected to the computer, USB or Network?  It's not particularly unknown of that a USB cable bites the dust and often network connections can occasionally go south as well.  If you're using a USB connection, try another cable.  If it's a network connection check all of your settings again to see if anything might be out of order there.  The reason I mention this is the rather odd situation of producing an almost acceptable test print in the evening and then later back to the original issues.  If for instance there was a loose cable connection it's possible that the simple vibration as the printer works could perhaps produce such problematic results.  And again, something I have never experienced, but since we seem to be grasping, I thought it worth introducing one more straw.  Can't hurt to check.

Gary         

[Clark]

Just thought I'd stop back and update you guys.

The MarruttUSA target printed after this morning's head cleaning without any sign of problems.

Confirmed it with a quick nozzle check, and all heads spat out perfect patterns.

So yeah, happy to report the resolution of the problem, and thanks again Mark and Gary for the help!