Epson P7000 printhead clog

[biswas_arup]

This is my first post to the forum, though I had an article posted on the LuLA site few years ago. I am a part-time fine art photographer and print maker and exhibit/sell my prints in a local co-op art gallery in the San Francisco Bay area. Anyways, coming back to the point - I purchased an Epson p7000 printer in July 2017, after my Epson 7900 developed a severe nozzle clog that could not be removed after 7 years of use. I was very happy with the new printer, until 3 weeks ago, when it failed an automatic head cleaning while switching from Photo Black to Matt Black ink. After one retry, which also failed, I cancelled the automatic cleaning. I then tried a nozzle check. The photo black channel was showing a little gap in the nozzle check pattern. I tried a few cleaning cycles and power cleanings, still no improvoment. I tried cleaning the print head using a paper towel soaked in piezoflush overnight, still no improvement. When I reported this to the Epson certified technician, he recommened replacing the printhead and the capping assembly and pump. The cost of which would be exactly equal to that of a new Epson p-7000 :-( Since then, the gap in the nozzle check has gradually deteriorated. I am not ready to give up on the printer after little over 1 year of usage.  I think I got a lemon. Otherwise, how can one explain a printhead failure only after 13 monts of light usage? I am wondering, if anyone in the forum has had similar experience and know any way to clean this stubborn printhead clog. Any experience with Magic Bullet or cleaning cartridges from AbsoluteInkJet? I would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions.

[Mark D Segal]

It's not necessarily a print head failure. It could be a problem with the ink change selector in the damper. Before resorting to various cleaning solutions, using ink in the following manner may resolve it: do a power clean, make a print using a cleaning purge target which you can download from MarruttUSA, do a nozzle check. If not clear, shut the printer overnight. Next day do another nozzle check. If not clear repeat the above. Repeat this same cycle once daily over three days. If it still isn't cleared, I would call a technician to examine the damper assembly. If this became defective, much cheaper to change than a print head and the problem would be solved. Or the technician may find some other issue in the ink transport mechanism other than this. The print head is the least likely component to be defective, so it remains the last possibility. If it comes to that nonetheless, you should review your usage history with Epson and discuss with them what they can do for you, if anything.

[biswas_arup]

It's not necessarily a print head failure. It could be a problem with the ink change selector in the damper. Before resorting to various cleaning solutions, using ink in the following manner may resolve it: do a power clean, make a print using a cleaning purge target which you can download from MarruttUSA, do a nozzle check. If not clear, shut the printer overnight. Next day do another nozzle check. If not clear repeat the above. Repeat this same cycle once daily over three days. If it still isn't cleared, I would call a technician to examine the damper assembly. If this became defective, much cheaper to change than a print head and the problem would be solved. Or the technician may find some other issue in the ink transport mechanism other than this. The print head is the least likely component to be defective, so it remains the last possibility. If it comes to that nonetheless, you should review your usage history with Epson and discuss with them what they can do for you, if anything.

Thanks, Mark, for your thoughtful recommendation. After following  the first cycle in your recommendation, i.e., power clean -> print black purge target -> nozzle check, the nozzle check pattern for the photo black channel showed more gaps. So, I did another head clean (PK+LK) -> nozzle check. Now, the nozzle check pattern looks similar to the pattern prior to this iteration. I have shut down the printer and will check back tomorrow morning. However, it appears, power clean seem to deteriorate the condition. I was led to believe that printhead was clogged by the fact that the gap in the photo black channel happens in the same place time and again. But, I have very little knowledge about Epson printhead internals. I will keep the forum posted about my findings.

[Mark D Segal]

There could be a clog in the printhead, but there could also be an air pocket preventing ink from flowing through it. When we see gaps in a nozzle check we have no obvious way of knowing whether the gap is being caused by ink transport failure, air bubbles or dried ink - and exactly where in the system this is happening, though I would tend to agree that if it shows in the same nozzles all the time it may well point to one of these issues being lodged in the printhead, or printhead failure of those particular nozzles. The point of letting the printer rest after a power clean when you are having stubborn problems is to give the ink time to settle-out through the system. You'll know better if this has made progress when you print your first nozzle check in the morning.

[biswas_arup]

Hi Mark,

After doing two more iterations of power clean=> print purge target => nozzle check => shut down the printer for 6 - 10 hours, nozzle check does not show any improvement. Is it reasonable now to assume that the problem is either a clog/deposit on print head or a print head failure?

Thanks,
-Arup

[Mark D Segal]

Hi Arup, that's unfortunate, and yes, it's time to have another chat with Epson. I still believe print head failure should be treated as the last resort cause and they should send someone to your place to check out everything before coming to quick conclusions that the print head needs changing.

[biswas_arup]

Yes, I agree, the Epson technician very quickly concluded that the print head needs replacement. It seems people don't believe in diagnostics any more and try to take the easy way out. I am going to chat with Epson again. Thanks for your help though! Happy holidays!

[Mark D Segal]

Yes, I agree, the Epson technician very quickly concluded that the print head needs replacement. It seems people don't believe in diagnostics any more and try to take the easy way out. I am going to chat with Epson again. Thanks for your help though! Happy holidays!

You are welcome and same to you. Please let us know the outcome.

[faberryman]

Yes, I agree, the Epson technician very quickly concluded that the print head needs replacement. It seems people don't believe in diagnostics any more and try to take the easy way out. I am going to chat with Epson again. Thanks for your help though! Happy holidays!

Can you replace the printhead yourself, or do you have a local technician?

[biswas_arup]

I don't think the printhead is user replaceable. Anyways, the cost of replacing the printhead + capping assembly + pump is same as a new Epson p-7000. So, it does not make sense to replace the pritnhead. If Epson does not work out a reasonable solution, I am going to cut off my  15 years relationship with Epson, buy a canon printer and warn as many people I can about their poor customer support.