Clogged nozzle question (hopefully different)

[Michael Lloyd]

My Epson 4900 tells me that my LLK nozzle is clogged. I've run it through the various cleaning modes and it's not clearing. When I do a manual clean the menu makes me select LLK / Y. But I'm not getting a Y clogged warning. If Y and LLK share the same nozzle how can LLK be clogged and Y not be clogged? If they don't share the same nozzle why can't I select LLK instead of LLK / Y?

I already had to do the Windex trick once. The odd thing is that I was printing 8 different black and white images and the nozzle appears to have clogged on the last one (streaking).

Does anyone know what the RGB values for LLK are? I might create a document with a band of LLK in it to see if it's printing.

[JayWPage]

I don't have the specific RGB values for the Epson LLK, but this link will give you something to start with: RGB Color Codes chart

[Mark D Segal]

The printer cleans nozzles in pairs of colours when you select Manual cleaning mode. LLK/Y is one such pair. The RGB values for gray are R=G=B, for example 128,128,128 for mid-range luminance. We do not have access to the dithering recipes in the Epson driver to know how it lays down LLK. The nozzle check test pattern provides the guidance about which channels are not printing fully. Do not resort to stuff like Windex. Clean-print-clean-print-clean until the ink flow returns to normal as shown by the nozzle check pattern. Iterating between printing and cleaning will prevent possible complications from successive cleanings.

[Michael Lloyd]

I see... they aren't the same nozzle.

I can put a gradient on a document and print that. I'm not sure why I didn't think of that to begin with

I've been cleaning but not printing the check pattern. If I could cut off the piece that has been printed and the 4900 would let me print on shorter paper I wouldn't mind doing that. I guess I should order a roll of paper just for check pattern printing.

Thanks for the response.

[Mark D Segal]

When you inter-space the cleaning with the printing, do not print only the check pattern. That's not good enough. Print a real photograph, or a printer test page that has a number of real photos in it.

[Michael Lloyd]

Ah! Very good. I can do that rather than a gradient too. If I'm going to use paper I may as well try to get something from it

Thanks again

[Mark D Segal]

Yup. Don't bother with gradients. Keep life simple.

[Michael Lloyd]

If anyone is wondering 153, 153, 153 will put you right in the middle of LLK.

I decided to try the gradient after 3 clean / print cycles and there was a definite white stripe where LLK is supposed to be.

Onward thru the fog

[Michael Lloyd]

Hold that thought... 153,153,153 prints... so it's lighter than that. Still getting LLK clog

If anyone is wondering 153, 153, 153 will put you right in the middle of LLK.

I decided to try the gradient after 3 clean / print cycles and there was a definite white stripe where LLK is supposed to be.

Onward thru the fog

[Mark D Segal]

If you run a standard "Print Check Pattern" in the Nozzle Check Menu, what does the result for LLK show you?

[Michael Lloyd]

Nothing is printed for LLK. Not even a hint of gray (I looked at it with a magnifying glass

[Mark D Segal]

This would indicate that the problem is not a clog, but a dropped channel. Based on other discussion of these kind of issues on this Forum it could be that a damper needs to be replaced. I recommend you call Epson ProGraphics for advice.

[Michael Lloyd]

i saw this happen a few months ago with one of the colors. VLM if I'm not mistaken. Absolutely would not print that color. After a few days of cleaning and checking it cleared up.

[Mark D Segal]

Did you try the "Powerful Clean" option for one or more of your cleaning cycles? Sometimes it speeds up repair. In any case, if it doesn't clear soon, calling Epson is free. They may have some other useful advice.

[Michael Lloyd]

I did early on but not since I started the print / clean routine

[Mark D Segal]

In my experience clearing these kind of channel dropouts, if after several print/clean routines nothing improves, power-clean/print several times clears it. For this kind of cleaning it is definitely necessary to print something between each power clean that tries to force ink through that channel. In fact I would inter-space with two prints between power cleans to try ensuring there is only ink in the lines and the print head. Once you get it back in good shape, there are two cardinal rules for an Epson 4900: humidity in the room where it is kept must be in the 30%-40% range, and it must be used for printing real photos at frequent intervals - don't let it stay unused for more than two or three days.

[Michael Lloyd]

Lately humidity has been a real issue. I need to find some "cost effective" paper to print on. The printer is about 2 years old and it has been a great printer. Some clogs but never this stubborn

Thanks for the help

[ThomasR99]

Michael, in response to your last post regarding 'cost effective paper', let me offer this:

I purchased a roll (approx 135 feet) of Epson Singleweight Matte, for about US$40.  As I'm an infrequent printer, that lets me print test patterns or 17 inch sample images every few days to keep the ink fresh and the printer happy.  Yes, if I'm doing serious printing for something I intend to keep or gift, I need to change paper, but that's a small price to pay for the peace of mind and ease it brings my maintenance.  Sometimes I'll tell the printer it's the singleweight matte to force a change to MK from PK to keep the MK flow fresh as well.  Mostly I just tell the printer it's a photo paper to use the PK.

In regard to keeping humidity high in the printheads' immediate environment I use a small plastic tray (like the kind you can get lunchmeat in now) filled with water and a big, thick industrial sponge in it to maximize evaporation.  I do not have a hygrometer so I can't make comparisons between 'internal' and 'external' humidity, but I do know I need to refill the container every 4-5 days, so the waters going somewhere.  I've posted about this before in this forum with pics if you want to check it out.  I also have a reminder about this over the power button so I don't forget to remove it before I power on the printer.  That's a scenario I don't even want to think about!

This keeps my 'clogs' or 'drop-out's to a minimum that almost always respond to a standard-level cleaning from the control panel.  I did drop the PK/MK channel once, which returned after a couple of cycles of resting/cleaning/printing (one day rest, one day cleaning/printing no more than 2-3 times followed by another day of rest).

As my home is an open floorplan, humidifying the entire place would be impractical.  I'm in the Northwest US so we're pretty mild in the summer and pretty dry in the winter.  I"m convinced my little trick has kept my 4900 happy.

[Michael Lloyd]

Has anyone here ever had a cartridge fail and not deliver ink? My LLK cartridge is at around 50%. Is there a way to test a cartridge?

I was at the end of an 8 image print job when the LLK just stopped printing. The last two images were distinctly lacking something and when I ran a nozzle check LLK came up.

I've had clogged nozzle issues that were as persistent as this one that "seemed" to go away when I changed an almost empty ink cartridge. That could have been a coincidence though it has happened more than once.

 I'm still dealing with 0% ink flow on LLK. I've got to start printing for a contest (I hope) by the 10th.

[BobDavid]

Trial and error has informed me to only execute a head clean as a last resort. I live in Florida, so humidity is not an issue. Try printing a gray patch. If you get nothing, turn off the printer and wait twenty minutes and try again. Still, if that doesn't work, execute a head clean. Then print a nozzle check. If nothing happens turn off the printer and wait twenty minutes. Then print a large swath of LLK. If that doesn't work try removing and reinserting all of the cartridges in that bay. Turn off printer and then turn it back on. If that doesn't work, see if you can borrow carts to replace the ones currently installed in the bay with the LLK cart. I once had trouble with LLK not printing and it turned out that the real culprit was another ink cart. Something whacky may have happened to a chip. Finally, as a last resort, replace the damper. There are some youtube demos that show step by step how to do that. I do not suggest multiple cleanings if nothing appears to be clearing up. The cleaning process is actually fairly destructive, it should be used only when absolutely necessary. If I get a faulty nozzle check, my first action is to print large patches of that color and include smaller patches of the adjacent colors. 80% of the time that works for me. Again, after printing the swatches, power down the printer. When it starts up again the air compressor comes on and that helps equalize the ink lines. It's really important to print at least an 8 X 10 or a nozzle check five days out of seven if you are in a dry climate. I'd consider getting a humidifier with a hygrometer to maintain humidity levels in your work space.