Printing Problem with P800 and Hot press Natural

[Frenchfriedfoto]

Hi everyone!
I have an Epson P800 printer for 2 years and I'm printing mainly on Epson Hot Press Natural using the RIP from Colorbytes.
I started having problem printing 1 month ago by trying to print images that have deep black areas.
There are fainted scratches in those areas and scuffs in the borders (see pictures circular scratches). The are invisible to really odvious depending of the incident light.
Same problem on Hahnemühle photo rag.
There is no problems on thiner matte paper like the ultra presentation matte. No problem either on glossy paper.
I spent hours on the phone with the Epson guys trying to change platen gap, update the driver....Nothing worked.
The tech guys told me this printer is not really meant to be fixed either.
Any thoughts? Do you think it is fixable?
Thank you!

[Mark D Segal]

In what country is the Epson support you spoke with located? I've never before heard a blanket statement that these printers are not meant to be repaired. Don't you think it should depend on what the problem is and how much it would cost to fix? Very strange.

You mention adjusting the platen gap. Have you also adjusted the paper thickness? When dealing with thick heavy media you need to adjust both. Also which feed are you using? Are you using the Front Fine Art feed for those papers?

[howardm]

If you haven't done a cleaning of the head w/ Windex & paper towels, you might want to do so.
You may have rag dust accumulation and gunk down there that can act as an abrasive.

[Mark D Segal]

If you haven't done a cleaning of the head w/ Windex & paper towels, you might want to do so.
You may have rag dust accumulation and gunk down there that can act as an abrasive.

No you do not want to do so. Windex contains ammonia and as I said above, it can dissolve the laminates in the printhead. Advice independently received from a highly reputed inkjet printer repair person and from Epson's higher level technical support. I know some people are tone-deaf about this, but I advise taking it seriously and not doing it. Simple Green can be used for cleaning the pump-cap station, but even that not for the print head.

[JayWPage]

No you do not want to do so. Windex contains ammonia and as I said above, it can dissolve the laminates in the printhead. Advice independently received from a highly reputed inkjet printer repair person and from Epson's higher level technical support. I know some people are tone-deaf about this, but I advise taking it seriously and not doing it. Simple Green can be used for cleaning the pump-cap station, but even that not for the print head.

Mark, what do you recommend using to clean the print head? Sometimes it gets dirty and it has to be cleaned, otherwise you will end up wasting a lot of paper.

[Mark D Segal]

Mark, what do you recommend using to clean the print head? Sometimes it gets dirty and it has to be cleaned, otherwise you will end up wasting a lot of paper.

My sources recommend not using anything that contains ammonia. They also advise that running ink through it with properly orchestrated cleaning cycles is the only approach Epson recommends. That said there is a third-party head clean fluid on the market (if I remember correctly called Magic Bullet), non-ammonia, which one hears is safe, but I have no first hand experience with it so couldn't recommend. You may find some useful ideas in this article: Print Head cleaners

[JayWPage]

They also advise that running ink through it

A good reason to print some Christmas cards!

[Frenchfriedfoto]

In what country is the Epson support you spoke with located? I've never before heard a blanket statement that these printers are not meant to be repaired. Don't you think it should depend on what the problem is and how much it would cost to fix? Very strange.

You mention adjusting the platen gap. Have you also adjusted the paper thickness? When dealing with thick heavy media you need to adjust both. Also which feed are you using? Are you using the Front Fine Art feed for those papers?

Thank you Mark for taking the the time,
I'm in the US. It was actually confirmed by Epson guys I saw on the Photos Plus Show.
Yes I play with both settings platen gap and Paper thickness. I'm using the Front Fine Art Feed.

[Frenchfriedfoto]

If you haven't done a cleaning of the head w/ Windex & paper towels, you might want to do so.
You may have rag dust accumulation and gunk down there that can act as an abrasive.

Thanks Howard,
A guy from B&H told about this technic, I was afraid to do it but I think I gotta to try it.

[Mark D Segal]

Thanks Howard,
A guy from B&H told about this technic, I was afraid to do it but I think I gotta to try it.

Of course there isn't a 100% probability that it will destroy your printhead, but from all I've been told by professionals in the field, there is a non-negligible probability that it will cause substantial damage, so you only "gotta" try it if you like playing roulette with your printer.

[Mark D Segal]

Thank you Mark for taking the the time,
I'm in the US. It was actually confirmed by Epson guys I saw on the Photos Plus Show.
Yes I play with both settings platen gap and Paper thickness. I'm using the Front Fine Art Feed.

I seriously wonder what they were smoking. You see, if the problem is what Howard thinks it may be - and I believe he has a point especially as you appear to be loading and adjusting the paper settings appropriately - then what you may need is a non-destructive solution to remove the gunk, not a new printer. People who make statements about the inability of fixing problem equipment without an iota of diagnostics are not to be taken seriously. If I were having your problem I would want to get it diagnosed before making any decisions.

[David Good]

No you do not want to do so. Windex contains ammonia and as I said above, it can dissolve the laminates in the printhead. Advice independently received from a highly reputed inkjet printer repair person and from Epson's higher level technical support. I know some people are tone-deaf about this, but I advise taking it seriously and not doing it. Simple Green can be used for cleaning the pump-cap station, but even that not for the print head.

Distilled water is what a good friend (who ran his own commercial printer repair service) recommended to me, definitely not Windex.

Dave

[Frenchfriedfoto]

Distilled water is what a good friend (who ran his own commercial printer repair service) recommended to me, definitely not Windex.

Dave

Thank you Dave,
I couldn't find isopropyl alcohol this morning so I'm going to try distilled water.

[Frenchfriedfoto]

Of course there isn't a 100% probability that it will destroy your printhead, but from all I've been told by professionals in the field, there is a non-negligible probability that it will cause substantial damage, so you only "gotta" try it if you like playing roulette with your printer.

I was thinking trying with distilled water as someone said. Definetely not windex as you mentioned before.

[Frenchfriedfoto]

I seriously wonder what they were smoking. You see, if the problem is what Howard thinks it may be - and I believe he has a point especially as you appear to be loading and adjusting the paper settings appropriately - then what you may need is a non-destructive solution to remove the gunk, not a new printer. People who make statements about the inability of fixing problem equipment without an iota of diagnostics are not to be taken seriously. If I were having your problem I would want to get it diagnosed before making any decisions.

Thanks Mark!
I appreciate your feedback.

[Mark D Segal]

You are welcome. And David is right - thanks for reminding me David - if we have the same person in mind he did recommend distilled water.

[Frenchfriedfoto]

I cleaned the head and at the beginning it seems that I had less scratches. I made a few prints and they seems to be okay still a few scratches.
However now I have uneven black in areas that were supposed to be pure black.