SureColor P9570

[langier]

The head on my second-hand 9900 finally after a decade of printing, gave up. Just couldn't get the head clean any more and so I called my expert and asked his advice. I was considering a couple of second-hand 9900s, one about a two hour drive that was on eBay and for sale by a hobbiest. 

Since he had serviced this machine several years before his advice was to replace the head. The head is "new and improved." Besides, I've run out of friends to be "pall bearers" to remove the old 9900 up the steps and bring a new one back down. Then there's the disposal problems with such a beast....

I can tell you a new head was worth it! Despite the costs, including a service call, it was all done in a couple of hours! Checking my custom profiles, they are still fine so I didn't have to redo them all again. Did this two years ago and it's doing as well if not better than when I first brought the 9900 home.

The new head is indeed improved and needs fewer cleaning cycles. Overall, this was the best solution for me and money well spent. If I get several more years of printing with it, I'll be pretty happy! As a back-up, I purchased a P900 17-inch printer for sheets and backup. When I ordered it, it took several months to ship, just like when I bought my Epson 4000 nearly 20 years ago.

So far, both printers are working well and I should be printing trouble-free for years.

[ssgphoto]

Epson just quietly released a PDF about printing on fine art papers with the 9570 and details the media installer. It mostly references things we have learned the hard way over 2 1/2 years and insufficient honest support from Epson, but this will be a helpful reference. It's attached here.

[Rand47]

Epson just quietly released a PDF about printing on fine art papers with the 9570 and details the media installer. It mostly references things we have learned the hard way over 2 1/2 years and insufficient honest support from Epson, but this will be a helpful reference. It's attached here.

Thanks for posting this.  Where did you find it, how did you become aware of it? 

Rand

[ssgphoto]

Hi Rand, We received it from one of our distributors.

[deanwork]

How sweet of them after 2 1/2 years. Oh man. Sounds like they are trying to cover themselves legally.

I’d be highly doubtful that it solves half the problems.

Epson just quietly released a PDF about printing on fine art papers with the 9570 and details the media installer. It mostly references things we have learned the hard way over 2 1/2 years and insufficient honest support from Epson, but this will be a helpful reference. It's attached here.

[hubell]

Epson just quietly released a PDF about printing on fine art papers with the 9570 and details the media installer. It mostly references things we have learned the hard way over 2 1/2 years and insufficient honest support from Epson, but this will be a helpful reference. It's attached here.

Thanks. It is a helpful reference in terms of identifying the various Printer Settings (outside the printer driver) that impact the potential problems with thicker fine art papers. However, the PDF still leaves it to individual users of these printers to determine in key areas exactly which settings to use for a specific paper. For example, there are five different settings for the Platen Gap ranging from 1.2 to 2.4. The PDF notes that a bigger gap than the "standard" gap for the recommended media type may have to be used to avoid head strikes, but there is no recommendation of the Platen Gap for specific 3rd party papers. The PDF tells you to run tests, but also notes that using a bigger platen gap may create banding in the prints. The third party paper manufacturers have also been notably unhelpful. They could run their own tests with their papers and provide a recommended Platen Gap. Same with the settings for the Platen Gap Offset, Paper Suction, and Back Tension.

[ssgphoto]

Although it tells you to run tests it says nothing about the Epson media installers pathetically limited space to save different papers ands settings makes testing all the more difficult and time consuming. There is no documentation I know of that actually lets you know how many media types you can save, which is a critical oversight.

[Rand47]

Although it tells you to run tests it says nothing about the Epson media installers pathetically limited space to save different papers ands settings makes testing all the more difficult and time consuming. There is no documentation I know of that actually lets you know how many media types you can save, which is a critical oversight.

You can gain more "space" for custom media in the Printer / EMI by going into EMI and deleting a bunch of the Epson media types that you'll never use.  I cleaned out at least 20 of them.  It's a pain in the butt, but it works.

Rand

[Ignotus_Mago]

A new head into the 9900 is on order. Thanks for the replies. Will let you know how things go.

Installed the new head and have been printing for about a month. Definitely seems like the right decision. The Epson-certified technician who installed the head for me said as much. In his experience, the 9570 was an advance in printer technology that was not yet fully functional. Evidently the last few years have brought him many service calls.

Though I did install my own new ink selector assembly recently, installing a print head seems much more involved. It's not just a question of getting it in place, but of testing and calibrating. Calling in the service tech was definitely worth it.

I expect to go on for two or three more years with the 9900 with a new head, scrupulously printing every day or two, shaking carts, running nozzle checks, keeping constant 50% humidity in the studio, and performing all the other rituals that keep the printer printing. Right now the results are as precise, bright, and detailed as ever. I'm not sure the 9570 would have been an improvement, despite the wider gamut.

This was my second 9900, 7 years on the same head. Meanwhile, I have my first 9900 in the studio with a cyan head that doesn't print. I have thought of converting it to third party inks, particularly Jon Cone's piezography inks. A printer I talked with in Florida was converting 9900s to dye sub and printing heat transfer images for t-shirts. All very interesting, but I probably just need one printer.

Thanks again for the good advice. It really helped me to make a decision.

[Rand47]

Excellent news!  Here’s to trouble free printing for a few years yet.

Rand