Vertical Banding on Epson 3880

[fastbilly]

I am printing color photographic JPEGs through Photoshop CS5 on my Epson 3880 (Windows 7) and am seeing vertical banding in my prints.  I am printing on Epson Ultra Premium Luster with the Epson Luster profile, Luster media setting.  The bands are about ½ inch apart and alternate light/dark, blending smoothly into each other. (They are not head strikes, scratches, pizza wheel marks or roller marks.) There is improvement if I use print quality 2880 dpi instead of 1440, but there is still banding. When printing I have unchecked “high speed’, I have selected “photoshop manages colors, and ink levels are adequate (relative colormetric, BP on). I have performed nozzle checks (results look perfect), and run a head cleaning (just in case). I have run the Auto print head alignment process 3 times with no improvement and I have uninstalled and reinstalled the printer driver (and then run nozzle check/auto print head alignment once again). The printer was purchased in July of 2011 and I have not noticed this problem occurring until a few days ago.

To be sure this does not have anything to do with my images I have created a test block of a single color in photoshop and this shows banding as well (it is even more obvious with the single color).

Epson service lines are not open today (Sunday) but I plan to call them tomorrow. I thought I would post this to see if anyone had any feedback in the interim. Thanks!

[adamideas]

I am having this exact problem, you described it perfectly. I have also done everything you stated to fix it, apart from uninstalling and reinstalling the printer driver (which I was about to do). I also printed test sheets of solid colors and gradients and 2 of these strange vertical lines (parallel with paper feed direction) always seem to appear about 1" from the right edge of the block of color no matter where I put the color test blocks on the paper (I've tried it on the left, center, and right. top & bottom).

I have even set my paper width to thicker and platen gap to wider, and my drying time up to 35.  No change at all.  I am using PS5.5 and Windows 7.

Anyone else ever encounter this?  This printer is now 3 years old and out of warranty.

[huguito]

I think that a clogged jet or jets will give you horizontal banding, para;e; to the direction the head moves.

I would try to make sure you don't have lint or dry ink debris on the face of the head.

First make sure wiper is clean, and not moving garbage across the surface of the print head, I have an Epson 9600 so can't help with locating the wiper in your 3880.I am sure a member of this board can help you with that.  few files

Next I would park the head over a folded paper towel impregnated with Windex. Only use the Classic version of Windex, no fragances or additives. leave it parked over the towel a couple of hours and then return to park position. I have used this procedure on my 9600 a few times.

After that print  a few images in any old piece of paper just to get all nice and flushed.

Hugo

[martin archer-shee]

Hi fastbilly

I am no expert (3880 or otherwise) but do have and love my 3880. I also downloaded , for free, a service manual for 3800,3800c and 3850 models. It might not be exactly the same as a 3880 manual but i am sure it is very close. Has lots of illustrations and take down clues.

the section dealing with vertical banding symptom suggests there is something wrong with the carriage unit movement and has a number of suggested remedies


Check the CR scale (SCALE, CR) for attachment condition, scratch and dirt, and
fix any abnormality.
Check the CR timing belt for scratch and foreign substances, and fix any
abnormality.
Check the carriage shaft for foreign substances, and remove them if any.
Check that the carriage shaft and the contact points between the carriage unit and
the main frame are properly lubricated.
Check the position of the FFC holder of the ink tube, and correct it if it is not
positioned as specified. See Chapter 4 "DISASSEMBLY & ASSEMBLY".


I do not remember where I downloaded this from. If you cannot find it let me know and I will send you a copy.

Good luck
Martin

[martin archer-shee]

Hi adamideas

Had not noticed the date on the OP but see you have the same problem. Please consider my offer open to you also.
Martin

[fastbilly]

Hi,

Since my original post back in 2011 here is what I found:

I brought the printer in to be serviced and the servicer replaced the print head. The issue remained. Since the printer was under warranty Epson sent me another 3880. The same issue occurred. So then they sent me a 3rd printer. And I found the same banding issue in the 3rd printer. At the time I was taking a class at the New England School of Photography and had access to many Epson printers, so I tested them all. I found that this issue occurred in the 3880 model but not in the 3800, or the 2880. I also own a 4880 and this model does not seem to have the issue either - it seems to be only with the 3880 model.

Again, this issue is very subtle and difficult to see unless you are printing large solid or gradient areas such as skies or underwater areas (which I do a lot of) on luster/gloss paper and are looking under a good direct light. And if you are printing matt ink/paper it is not noticeable.

My solution has been to dedicate my 3880 to matt printing and my 4880 to luster/gloss. Not a great solution, but since I am lucky enough to have 2 printers it works out for me.

Epson was very willing to send me replacement printers so I can't complain about their service at all. The service people I dealt with did not seem to acknowledge or be aware of this issue. And in all other respects I love and am very happy with the 3880 and I am still using it for matt prints. Nozzle checks are always perfect, never need head cleanings. Not temperamental at all.

Hope this helps.

[bmad]

Thanks for the update. Very interesting.