Marks on back side of print - Epson 7900

[bhbf08]

Hi guys.  I've searched for this and can't find much on it.

I'm printing borderless prints on my 7900 and on the reverse side (left side only - looking at the printer) it's leaving trail marks all the way down.  The marks are about 1 inch in and also right on the edge.   Sometimes as the marks goes down the length of the print it lightens, but then when the next print starts it's darker again. 

Is this caused by the pads that are there for borderless printing?  I believe they are called "Collection Pads".  If so, can I clean them or do I need new ones?

The prints are fine on the front, just this trail down the back is annoying and I want to make sure it's not a sign of something seriously wrong. 

Thanks

[Paul2660]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Epson.  Yes they are track marks and every Epson I have owned and worked with leaves them. Some worse than others and some make enough of an impression that you can see the imprint on the other side.  Especially with a pure glossy paper. On glossy you can see the imprints aligning directly to the track on the back of the print.  I believe that some printers do this worse than others.  My 9900 does it but nowhere as bad as my 9880's did.  I also don't know any setting nor did Epson that will fix this. 

I will always see them on RC paper, less often on a 100% cotton paper like Canon Platine.  My 9900 will leave them on roll paper worse than sheet, I assume it's due to the pressure from the roll feed.

I have opened 3 or 4 separate cases with Epson over the years, sent them many examples and had just as many service calls.  One of my main reasons for the move to the 9900 was that my last 9880 (which was a factory reburb due to other reasons) did this so bad I was not able to use many brands of paper since the imprints were so harsh. 

If you measure out, you will find the marks correspond to the raised portions of the deck that the print runs over. 

Nothing wrong, just Epson and no way to prevent them that I am aware of.

Paul Caldwell

[bhbf08]

Wow, well that stinks.   I was hoping it was at least something I could fix by cleaning something, or changing a pad maybe.  It doesn't affect the front of mine because I'm printing posters that cover it completely border to border, but it just looks bad having that on the back. 

Thanks for the reply.

[Farmer]

What the OP posted and "track marks" are not the same thing.  Track marks refers to star wheel marks which, in most cases, are invisible or require holding the print at an angle under certain lighting.  Not always, of course, but most would never be seen when displayed normally.

Anyway, the marks on the back are due to some ink overflow.  What size borderless are you printing to?  What media are you using?  If you just feed through some paper do you see the marks?

Most likely, somewhere there's a build up of dust or fibres that need cleaning - could be on a pad or on a roller or just on the paper path (you'll know the line of it based on where the marks are).  Sometimes, just feeding through old media or plain paper rolls will fix it, but it's usually best to see if you can spot where it is.

[Paul2660]

I call them track marks and they run most often the length of the print.  They are evenly spaced and equal the spacing go the raised portions of the printers deck.  As far as I know the large format Epson printers don't have the pizza wheel problem as they feed the same way.  This problem is only on the backlog the print.  And on certain glossy paper you can see the impressions on the front.  Epson PGP250 is terrible for this.  I have only found one RC that works without the issue,  Moab lasal 270 W.

It has nothing to to with ink or dirt or whatnot.  It's a fine scratch made on the back of the print. 

Every Epson I have owned does this and Epson basically stated that it's just the nature of the printer.  The 9900 I own does less by far than my 9800 or 9880 did.  But they are still there.  After my last service call with Epson where they sent me prints from 2 lab printers both which showed the problem, I realized there was no real way to avoid them. 

It's more noticeable on RC papers. 

Paul