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Author Topic: P9000 persistent issue in Orange  (Read 921 times)

Stephen G

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P9000 persistent issue in Orange
« on: December 07, 2020, 10:01:06 am »

On my P9000 I have a nozzle drop out in the Orange channel that is persistent. Just one, bottom right on the pattern. It's clear in the attached pic.
I have tried everything I know to clear this, but it steadfastly refuses to clean up.
I've tried regular and heavy cleans. I've tried pushing orange ink only through, using QTR. Printing for 6 hours solid makes no difference.

I can't see any signs of delamination, which would mean the head is on its way out. I seen this before on a previous head so I know what to look for.

Compare the Orange with the LK and MK next to it. Does the OR look 'smudgy' in places to you? I printed this pattern on good paper, for a sharper/clearer pattern.
I've never seen a pattern like this, and wondered if it rings any bells for anyone here.
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deanwork

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Re: P9000 persistent issue in Orange
« Reply #1 on: December 07, 2020, 01:44:25 pm »

Doesn’t look like delamination. How full is your ink cart? I’ve seen this happen when the ink level is low.




On my P9000 I have a nozzle drop out in the Orange channel that is persistent. Just one, bottom right on the pattern. It's clear in the attached pic.
I have tried everything I know to clear this, but it steadfastly refuses to clean up.
I've tried regular and heavy cleans. I've tried pushing orange ink only through, using QTR. Printing for 6 hours solid makes no difference.

I can't see any signs of delamination, which would mean the head is on its way out. I seen this before on a previous head so I know what to look for.

Compare the Orange with the LK and MK next to it. Does the OR look 'smudgy' in places to you? I printed this pattern on good paper, for a sharper/clearer pattern.
I've never seen a pattern like this, and wondered if it rings any bells for anyone here.
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Ryan Mack

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Re: P9000 persistent issue in Orange
« Reply #2 on: December 07, 2020, 03:44:34 pm »

Yeah it looks like there's a dozen or so orange lines that aren't sharp. I'm not sure what to make of it. I've seen that happen to one or two lines on my old 3880 and a cleaning cycle would usually fix it.
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JRSmit

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Re: P9000 persistent issue in Orange
« Reply #3 on: December 07, 2020, 03:48:32 pm »

Is the Orange INK over date?
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digitaldog

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Re: P9000 persistent issue in Orange
« Reply #4 on: December 07, 2020, 03:55:53 pm »

Try another Head Alignment then a cleaning and nozzle check once more.
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Stephen G

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Re: P9000 persistent issue in Orange
« Reply #5 on: December 07, 2020, 11:54:50 pm »

Thank you all for the responses. I feel a bit silly: I've had this machine 3 years and I've always assumed there was actually a password on the Administrator Menu, where the Power Cleaning is hidden. Attempts to guess passwords in the past resulted in 'Access Denied' responses from the printer. There is no password. Just hit 'OK' and you're in. Doh.

A single Power Clean on the OR/GR pair appears to have resolved the issue. Nozzle check this morning (I'm on GMT+2) is good, but that smudgy look remains in the OR channel. And maybe the yellow too. I'm going to run an alignment later and see if that improves things.

The orange ink is full, and is a recent cart. BB date is April 2022. This issue began while the previous OR cart was in use, which was also fresh ink. BB date April 2021.

 
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Ryan Mack

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Re: P9000 persistent issue in Orange
« Reply #6 on: December 08, 2020, 10:13:31 am »

Yeah definitely try to run alignment on it. There are some pairs of adjacent line segments in that nozzle check that are lined up when they should be offset.
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datro

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Re: P9000 persistent issue in Orange
« Reply #7 on: December 08, 2020, 09:53:07 pm »

I don't think doing an alignment will help with this at all.  You don't "align" individual nozzles, only the head and carriage mechanism.

I think there is a good chance you have some accumulated fuzz or debris on the Orange nozzles.  My recommendation would be to try the head clean technique in this link from Inkjet Mall.



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Mick Sang

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Re: P9000 persistent issue in Orange
« Reply #8 on: December 08, 2020, 11:11:05 pm »

Quote
On my P9000 I have a nozzle drop out in the Orange channel that is persistent. Just one, bottom right on the pattern. It's clear in the attached pic.

We have had almost exactly the same issue with our 7900 i.e one nozzle loss. However,  for us it is the top left corner of the orange. We also tried all known cleaning solutions to no avail. It has been like that now for the past 4 years. Epson told us "it is the head." I don't think they were saying the head was dead. But if they were they were dead wrong. However, it is a defective nozzle in the head. All other nozzles on the head of that machine have been reliably clear or at worst have needed one regular cleaning to clear out any and all other slight clogs. That one orange nozzle has become a simple fact of life with our 7900. If your printer's head has a similarly defective nozzle, it will simply stay that way. However, we have never seen any result from that in prints from that printer,.

I hope this helps,

Mick
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Stephen G

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Re: P9000 persistent issue in Orange
« Reply #9 on: December 09, 2020, 01:21:52 am »

I did an alignment and, as datro predicted, it made no difference. The smudgy look and vertical misalignment in OR is still there. It has no noticeable effect on print quality (that I've picked up so far, anyway) so I'm gonna just live with it.

I watched the video, thanks for the link. I already clean my wiper regularly, but I've never known how to tackle the flushing box, cap and head. What is Piezo Flush? I'm wondering what it's made of, so that I could perhaps find a local substitute. I'd rather not order internationally.
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datro

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Re: P9000 persistent issue in Orange
« Reply #10 on: December 09, 2020, 09:09:07 am »

...What is Piezo Flush? I'm wondering what it's made of, so that I could perhaps find a local substitute. I'd rather not order internationally.

From inkjetmall.com:
Quote
PiezoFlush solution was invented by and is manufactured by InkjetMall. This is an innovative solution that can be used to clean inkjet printers, flush inks from systems, or be used to safely store inkjet printers with a solution that does not promote drying out of the inkjet heads.

Not sure where to get it outside of the U.S., but I know at one point InkJetMall had a dealer in Europe.  Contact them to find out.

Whatever you do, do NOT use any ammonia-based cleaner.  You will find references on the internet to people using Windex (glass cleaner) for the head wipe procedure, but DON'T use Windex.  Not good for your head.
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deanwork

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Re: P9000 persistent issue in Orange
« Reply #11 on: December 09, 2020, 01:37:15 pm »

One of the best and safest solvents in the world is water. I have cleaned my cap station and the bottom of the heads with a lint free cotton cloth dampened with distilled water. I do this after any big job or once a month if seldom used. I just now replaced my head. The last one lasted me 8 years.

For nozzles that won’t budge I try piezo flush in a refillable cart and a couple of power cleans. That’s a last ditch effort .

John



From inkjetmall.com:
Not sure where to get it outside of the U.S., but I know at one point InkJetMall had a dealer in Europe.  Contact them to find out.

Whatever you do, do NOT use any ammonia-based cleaner.  You will find references on the internet to people using Windex (glass cleaner) for the head wipe procedure, but DON'T use Windex.  Not good for your head.
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langier

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Re: P9000 persistent issue in Orange
« Reply #12 on: December 09, 2020, 04:03:12 pm »

From what my Epson guru tells me the newer heads on the 7xxx/9xxx series are an improvement, less likely to clog or suffer other issues.

He told me that it is generally not a nozzle clog but debris on the head. He uses Windex which has a little ammonia in the mix and good-quality paper towels to clean the build-up.

I've replaced the head wiper, an easy fix, before I had him replace my head. My 9900 is 12 years old and I've had it 10 and figured I got my money's worth from it.

Since I was about to print canvas today, I ran a test and a cleaning cycle. The test showed 3-4 channels with 1-2 small gaps in each and looking at prints down just before, I could not see any problems.

For years I had one channel with 1-2 nozzles that didn't print and the prints did not show any problems. After a professional cleaning and other minor replacement parts were installed, the clogs went away but overall with all the canvas I was still running, there were still some cleaning issues.

With the new head, which is the new and improved version, there seems to be fewer cleaning issues now, but that could also be on account of doing less printing for much of the year due to the shut down. One or two clogs isn't a problem you can easily see on a print. However, it could indicate a good and careful cleaning of the head and the capping station is in order since the inks combined with paper and canvas link likes to gum things out and though it is a messy job to clean, it's fairly easy to do.

As always, YRMV and you are on your own if you do your own cleaning and/or repairs!
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Stephen G

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Re: P9000 persistent issue in Orange
« Reply #13 on: December 10, 2020, 01:11:34 am »

This I can do. I've got decent lint-free cloths, and the water is easy to come by.
Thank you all again for the responses.

One of the best and safest solvents in the world is water. I have cleaned my cap station and the bottom of the heads with a lint free cotton cloth dampened with distilled water. I do this after any big job or once a month if seldom used. I just now replaced my head. The last one lasted me 8 years.

For nozzles that won’t budge I try piezo flush in a refillable cart and a couple of power cleans. That’s a last ditch effort .

John
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George Marinos

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Re: P9000 persistent issue in Orange
« Reply #14 on: December 10, 2020, 02:51:39 am »

From what I can see on your nozzle check in Orange some fragments are not sharp and some others are not aligned with the others. I hope I'm wrong but I am afraid you can't fix that.
Of course water is free so it does not hurt to try...
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Stephen G

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Re: P9000 persistent issue in Orange
« Reply #15 on: December 10, 2020, 11:40:36 pm »

Idololab: I agree with your description, and I also suspect it is not fixable. But fortunately it has very little, if any, effect on output quality.

I will try the clean at some point, as shown in that video, and I'll report results here
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