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Author Topic: Epson 7900 from the inside - out  (Read 1092837 times)

disneytoy

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Re: Epson 7900 from the inside - out
« Reply #1500 on: January 23, 2015, 03:58:15 pm »

Thank you Gary,

This is my first time in thew Service mode and was warned to be careful!

So after I do the Switch button, I need to do a cleaning or not?

But you said I can do a Nozzle check from the driver.

Thanks again.

Maxi

UPDATE:

Okay

1) Switched inks in Service mode  (CHECK)
2) Nozzle check from Driver (CHECK)
3) my PK nozzle check is not perfect, while in Service mode how do I clean just the PK (I know they are paired)

Thanks again....
« Last Edit: January 23, 2015, 04:11:00 pm by disneytoy »
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Garnick

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Re: Epson 7900 from the inside - out
« Reply #1501 on: January 23, 2015, 04:28:39 pm »

Thank you Gary,

This is my first time in thew Service mode and was warned to be careful!

So after I do the Switch button, I need to do a cleaning or not?

But you said I can do a Nozzle check from the driver.

Thanks again.

Maxi

UPDATE:

Okay

1) Switched inks in Service mode  (CHECK)
2) Nozzle check from Driver (CHECK)
3) my PK nozzle check is not perfect, while in Service mode how do I clean just the PK (I know they are paired)

Thanks again....



Press the right(White) arrow button, then press it again.  Scroll down to Cleaning.  Once you are in the Cleaning menu, scroll down past "Standard Cleaning" to "Pairs Cleaning".  Then to the PK,MK,LK pair selection.  Press the right arrow button again and chose either CL1 or CL2.  CL1 is usually enough to fix a nozzle gap, unless it's a really stubborn one.  In that case you may want to try CL2.  Once you have made that choice push the right arrow button again to Enter.  However, remember to always run a full colour print between cleaning cycles.  That seems to exercise all nozzles and can sometimes helps clear the problem nozzle as well.

One more suggestion -- it's a good idea to put the Epson Printer Utility in a place where it will be easily accessible.  On the Mac you will find this utility in the Applications Folder>Epson Software Folder.  Drag the icon down to the dock.  Not sure about the PC, but I imagine the Epson Software Folder would be in the Programs Folder.  From there you can drag it out to the desktop or any other accessible spot.

Gary    

« Last Edit: January 23, 2015, 04:30:23 pm by Garnick »
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disneytoy

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Re: Epson 7900 from the inside - out
« Reply #1502 on: January 23, 2015, 04:37:29 pm »

Thanks again.

I went to CLEANING, PK, and I needed to clean the LM, so selected the LM/LC> then C1.

I will do a print once it is complete.
Thanks.

Update: Everything looks good. Thanks for directing me through those menus!

Maxi
« Last Edit: January 23, 2015, 05:53:19 pm by disneytoy »
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A_Mikulic

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Re: Epson 7900 from the inside - out
« Reply #1503 on: February 17, 2015, 03:27:17 pm »

Hello,

here is another guy with Epson 7900 problems.
First problem was in the clogged ink cartridge (Matte Black) but I disassembled the whole right side of the machine to realize that.  ;D
I bought the new cartridge, but the Matte Black was faulty. Maybe 2,3 stripes on nozzle check. Ok, I returned everything back and reconciled with myself: from now you will use photo black. Mainly I use my Epson for plotting technical drawings (70% of jobs).
Few days ago I was bored and knew that there wouldn`t be any work for that machine so i decided to clean the head to revive the Matte black.
Took out the head, cleaned it.
Nozzle check before that was ok (maybe 1 or 2 missed stripes).
After cleaning and drying tried the first nozzle check and I lost the Photo black ( colors are fine).
I tried all the cleaning operations available by the machine.

In a video I watched (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLytOfTFvac) guy only vacuums (don`t know the right word for that) the lower line of pipes, so I did the same thing.
Is it ok to do the same for the upper one (marked with red)?





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jferrari

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Re: Epson 7900 from the inside - out
« Reply #1504 on: February 17, 2015, 04:51:10 pm »

Each one represents a color channel. You would need to flush all ten to perform a complete job.
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jmlamont

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Re: Epson 7900 from the inside - out
« Reply #1505 on: February 26, 2015, 03:13:04 pm »

I would like to lubricate the CR Guide Shaft on my 7900. When printing the full 24" width after some time only printing smaller widths, there is a distinct squeak at the far end of the print head's trajectory. So far, after about one and a half 20" by 30" prints, the squeak disappears. So I think it is caused by a lack of lubricant at the far end of the rail, caused by my only occasionally printing at the full width. I am concerned that if I do not deal with it now, it may cause a serious problem later (e.g., Eric in another post has described a similar situation in which ultimately the drive belt failed due to the increased friction of inadequate lubrication).

Anyway, I have examined the Epson Service Manual, which tells me to use either G-71 or G-84 lubricants for the CR Guide Shaft (the manual appears to be inconsistent as to which is to be used; both are available from PC Parts) and shows me a very cryptic diagram that I cannot locate with respect to the actual machine. What it does not tell me is exactly where and how to apply the lubricant and how much. Could someone give me a few pointers on how to do this?

Has anyone actually lubricated their 7900? Epson says quite clearly in their manual that this is an important activity, and I do seem to have a potential problem requiring lubrication.

Thank you.

Jim
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cybis

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Re: Epson 7900 from the inside - out
« Reply #1506 on: February 28, 2015, 01:27:08 pm »

Hi Jim,

I lubricated my 9900 once. You only need the G-84, it costs around $90 for a small container that is just big enough for one or two applications. I don't recommend using anything else but G-84 as it has a very specific consistency I haven't seen in any other grease. I used a glue syringe with a fine needle to measure and apply the grease.

I thought the service manual (9700_ESP77_79_97_99_SERIES_I.pdf) has pretty good directions on where to apply the grease. Look for lubrication 7 to 10 in section 6.5. (Lubrication 6 is above my pay grade as it requires removal of the carriage unit.)

You first need to remove the side, front, and top cover. After you do that the service manual illustrations will make a lot more sense.

Remove and clean as much of the old grease as possible, especially on the rails.

Lubrication 7 is a little tricky as it's supposed to be done with the carriage unit removed. But it's possible to do with it installed as there is a little play between the CR sliders and the guide shaft.

Note the amount of grease needed for lubrication 8: 4 x 1.5cc = 6cc. That's a lot of grease! All that grease fills little reservoirs in the fittings around the rail. As you inject the grease into the reservoirs with the syringe, some of the old dried out grease will escape the other side, so be ready to catch that with a towel.

Lubrication 9 and 10 are self explanatory.

Hope this helps,
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jmlamont

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Re: Epson 7900 from the inside - out
« Reply #1507 on: February 28, 2015, 02:24:20 pm »

Thank you for your reply. Wow, that sounds quite complicated and frightening! I'm hoping I don't need to do such a complete lubrication job as you did, and therefore can simplify and de-risk the operation.

If I only want to lubricate the far end of the CR rail (i.e., Lubrication 10), would I still need to remove the side, front, and top covers?
How much grease would I apply to each of the two points on the two rails?
With what should I smear it around the rails?
Finally, is the diagram for Lubrication 10 shot from the top of the printer or the front side?

Thank you again for your help here. (I am astounded that a supposedly routine operation should be so complex; sort of like having to pull the engine block to change your car's oil. Astonishingly bad engineering! Epson should be ashamed of themselves...)

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cybis

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Re: Epson 7900 from the inside - out
« Reply #1508 on: February 28, 2015, 08:23:08 pm »

If I only want to lubricate the far end of the CR rail (i.e., Lubrication 10), would I still need to remove the side, front, and top covers?
How much grease would I apply to each of the two points on the two rails?
With what should I smear it around the rails?
Finally, is the diagram for Lubrication 10 shot from the top of the printer or the front side?

It might be possible to perform lubrication 8 through 10 without removing the covers. For 10, it should be fairly straightforward, just apply the grease with whatever means and spread it with your fingers. The picture is from the front with the covers removed.

For 9 you would need to unlock and move the carriage unit to the left.

It might be possible to perform 8 without removing the covers with the use of a curved syringe if you can find one. If you zoom in on the two bottom pictures in lubrication 8, the red dots on top of the rail is where I inserted the tip of the syringe (inserting the tip about 1/4" inside the opening) and injected the grease. After injecting a couple cc of the grease, the old grease would start oozing out of the bottom opening, I kept injecting until fresh grease came out of the bottom.

I don't think there is a way to do 7 without removing the top cover.
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andrewparsons

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Re: Epson 7900 from the inside - out
« Reply #1509 on: March 04, 2015, 08:47:53 am »

I took my Epson 7900 apart and cleaned the head and flushed and checked the dampers.  Then re-assembled it and powered it up.  It powered up just fine but just as I was scrolling down the cleaning menu to the power clean there was a sound like a blown fuse from within the machine and everything went dead.  Everyone's nightmare. 
It is not the fuse (8A) on the power supply board as I have both replaced and checked this.  When I hit the power button on the operators panel there is a click from within the machine but not a glimmer from the screen or any other activity at all.  This makes me think it is unlikely to be the main board - everything is just too dead.  Anyone know of any other fuses or had any similar experiences - with happy endings?

I don't know if my cleaning was successful as I wasn't able to run the power clean of print anything before the chilling sound. 

Thanks
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provatebydesign

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Re: Epson 7900 from the inside - out
« Reply #1510 on: March 06, 2015, 01:49:48 pm »

So I have been having head issues with my 4900 for a long time, but am now at a point where I need to do something else. I recently ran out of LK and despite the fact that I had a perfectly clean head pattern prior, when I took one genuine Epson cartridge out and put a new genuine one in I have several blocked jets in LK, I also have a persistent couple of blocked jets on the Y nozzle too.

I have been working my way through this monumental thread but am only half way so far so I apologize if my question is already answered, but does anybody know what values of colour each jet is? For instance if I want to print a page of just LK what fill layer would I make in PS? Same for all the colours, it seems this would be an easy way of just working one channel.

Also, if anybody has any good advice, I have been very conservative with cleaning cycles so find it hard to believe I have damaged the head and haven't ventured into maintenance mode at all as all my issues so far have been overcome with patience and persistence, neither of which is working this time. I have done 800 odd prints in total on the machine and it is around 3 years old.

Many thanks.
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davisstew

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Re: Epson 7900 from the inside - out
« Reply #1511 on: March 10, 2015, 10:30:16 pm »

Hi everyone.
So a few months ago I purchased a 7900 on craigslist for super cheep because it had a clogged LLK and the guy couldn't get rid of and he didn't have time to fix it.  I did a little research before hand and saw that this seems to be a common issue but figured I could  handle it (i have a descent amount of experience with 7880's) and if worse came to worse, I would replace the head.
So.. I started with cleaning the wiper blade and replacing the cart. Ran a dozen or so pair cleanings in maintenance mode at differing levels. Ended up pumping about 3/4 of a new LLK through the head and down the drain....  And the clog only got worse.. I have used the Windex on a paper towel trick on the 7880 but read in a couple places that it doesn't work on a 7900's. Still I decided to try it and..... SURPRISE! it didn't work.
After all this the nozzle check is worse off than when I first got it (see attached pic). I know the guy I purchased it from tried cleaning it multiple times and have a feeling he did a SS cleaning in his attempt to clear it.
My assumption at this point is that the head needs replacement based on the face that I was able to pump 100mL + through the LLK head but when I print a nozzle check only a few nozzles are actually able to fire. 
Does this sound like a reasonable conclusion?

Finally, If I do purchase a new head has anyone purchased one through http://www.zhenxiongltd.com/ ? I read about them from a post on http://myx900.com/ . It appears they are based out of China and im assuming would be cheaper than buying direct from Epson.

Thank you all in advance for your help. This seems like a great place to gain knowledge on these printers.
Cheers, Davis
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highway0691

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Re: Epson 7900 from the inside - out
« Reply #1512 on: March 11, 2015, 12:39:56 am »

Don't waste any more time or ink, it must need a new print head. I've replaced one and it was good for 18 months then it clogged again. I bought a new 7900 and I'm sure the head will die sooner or later as well. Had a look at that Chinese Company website which supplies heads. would be very keen to find out what they charge for a new head and whether it is a genuine part as I'd like to have a new head in reserve for that special day which is bound to happen again, for the third time.
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disneytoy

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Re: Epson 7900 from the inside - out
« Reply #1513 on: March 17, 2015, 12:36:13 am »

I know how to go to service mode and do a paired head cleaning. But now i have my first bad nozzle check with 8 channels with missing nozzles.

What is the best practice when I need to do a general all or most color head cleaning?

Can it be done in regular mode or do I need to go to service?

What menus do I need to navigate to get back up and running.

I had turned off auto nozzle check per recommendations here.

Thank you

Maxi!!!
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disneytoy

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Re: Epson 7900 from the inside - out
« Reply #1514 on: March 17, 2015, 02:11:47 pm »

Okay,

I'm now trying a regular mode cleaning. I have 4 carts with the yellow warning. But still plenty of ink in them. Now it says not enough ink for cleaning and it wants me to replace all 4 now to continue. (I have the carts on hand)

Is there a better procedure for cleaning all heads? Service?

Should I replace all 4 carts even though I know I have say a dozen 30x40 prints left in those carts from my experience.

Thanks for your advice.

Maxi
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Garnick

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Re: Epson 7900 from the inside - out
« Reply #1515 on: March 17, 2015, 02:27:01 pm »

I know how to go to service mode and do a paired head cleaning. But now i have my first bad nozzle check with 8 channels with missing nozzles.

What is the best practice when I need to do a general all or most color head cleaning?

Can it be done in regular mode or do I need to go to service?

What menus do I need to navigate to get back up and running.

I had turned off auto nozzle check per recommendations here.

Thank you

Maxi!!!

Hello again Maxi,

The answer to your latest question is YES, you can definitely do all nozzles at once in "regular" mode.  As usual you would press the right arrow key first and scroll down to "Maintenance".  Then the right arrow key again and scroll down to "Cleaning".  Right arrow again and you will be presented with three options -- "Normal Cleaning", "Clean Color Pairs" and "Power Cleaning".  Select "Normal Cleaning" to do all nozzles.  Of course you know what the "Pairs Cleaning" is for, and the "Power Cleaning" is a sort of super duper cycle that pushes considerably more ink through the nozzles.  For the most part I do all cleanings in Service Mode, since it seems to be more efficient and uses less ink that in regular mode.  In my opinion you have definitely done the right thing by turning off the auto nozzle check.  That is, assuming you do a nozzle check before each printing session.  I always shut the printer down when I leave at night and then on again as soon as I get in.  Then before I do any printing I run a nozzle check and do any cleaning I deem necessary.  I have never done an all nozzle cleaning in Service Mode, but I'm pretty sure that would be done with the "Std. Cleaning" settings at the top of the cleaning dialog.  

I know I mentioned this previously, but I feel it deserves repeating.  No matter which mode you use to do nozzle cleaning, it is imperative to run a full colour print between each cleaning cycle.  One thing to be aware of though -- if you are cleaning in Service Mode be sure that when you run a print your printer settings are for the black ink you are currently running, MK or PK.  For example -- if you have just entered Service Mode to switch from PK to MK and you want to run a print following a cleaning cycle, make sure your printer settings in the print dialog are set for MK(the current black ink).  Otherwise the printer will automatically switch back to PK before running the print.  I have been caught on this a couple of times when in a rush.  In regular mode you can shut the auto ink switch off(which I did before I made my first print), but I have never been able find a way of doing that in Service Mode.  I hope I have stated this clearly, but if not just question me and I'll try again.  

Gary  
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Gary N.
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Garnick

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Re: Epson 7900 from the inside - out
« Reply #1516 on: March 17, 2015, 02:35:29 pm »

Okay,

I'm now trying a regular mode cleaning. I have 4 carts with the yellow warning. But still plenty of ink in them. Now it says not enough ink for cleaning and it wants me to replace all 4 now to continue. (I have the carts on hand)

Is there a better procedure for cleaning all heads? Service?

Should I replace all 4 carts even though I know I have say a dozen 30x40 prints left in those carts from my experience.

Thanks for your advice.

Maxi


I just read this one after I sent my previous reply.  In either mode you will have to replace the carts to run a cleaning cycle. Once you have a good nozzle check you simply install the older carts again, no problem.  Never ever discard the almost empty carts just because you needed to replace them to run a cleaning cycle.  It can be a bit of a nuisance when you have a number of carts flashing and have to replace all of them to clean, but it's a nuisance I'll put up with to save the cost of the ink I would have lost otherwise by discarding those carts.  When you take the "new" carts out put them back in the blue plastic bag and in the original box.  That will prevent any damage etc.  

Gary    
« Last Edit: March 17, 2015, 02:37:25 pm by Garnick »
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Gary N.
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disneytoy

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Re: Epson 7900 from the inside - out
« Reply #1517 on: March 17, 2015, 02:54:56 pm »

Thanks Gary. Your instructions on service more cleaning helped me clean just my Yellow the other day. I just didn't want to waste the remaining ink.

In fact, I have been on 1% for quite a long time on my LT Black, and have had quite a few 34x26 prints. I've only replaced the LT Magenta so far on this new machine. I do have back-ups for all colors.

I usually switch from roll to sheet and run a nozzle check before I print for the day. Being cocky, last night I didn't feel like switching back to sheet. So I printed a 34x26" and learned my lesson, covered in line drop outs:-(

What did Ben Franklin write "Penny wise, Pound foolish."

I'll definitely do my nozzle checks before printing a big print again.

Thanks

Maxi
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Garnick

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Re: Epson 7900 from the inside - out
« Reply #1518 on: March 17, 2015, 04:05:04 pm »


I usually switch from roll to sheet and run a nozzle check before I print for the day. Being cocky, last night I didn't feel like switching back to sheet. So I printed a 34x26" and learned my lesson, covered in line drop outs:-(

What did Ben Franklin write "Penny wise, Pound foolish."

I'll definitely do my nozzle checks before printing a big print again.

Thanks

Maxi


YUUUUP!!!  That's a lesson you generally only have to learn once ;^)  Have fun with your new printer and I'll check in a bit more often to see how you're doing.
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Gary N.
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disneytoy

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Re: Epson 7900 from the inside - out
« Reply #1519 on: March 17, 2015, 04:44:08 pm »

Thanks Gary,

I have the hang of it. I'm a LOOOONG time Epson user. I have really enjoyed exploring what my prints look like at such large sizes with the 9890.

I'm working on a show of 24 large photos. And the ability to do micro adjustments in LR or PS and get exactly what I imagine is great. So much better than sending out a print and crossing your fingers someone didn't decide you really need +25 on the saturation.

Thanks again.

Maxi

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