Digital BW, The Print

Jimbo,

Thanks for the help. I think I will try the PiezoFlush next and see if that
helps. I will also try the water to keep the other inks working. I have had
problems with the cyan but it usually comes back with a few cleanings. The
yellow just stopped and has not restarted now for two weeks. Still hoping to
come up with a solution. I do not have a maintenance contract and replacing
the head cost is not worthwhile compared to buying another one new. Counter
shows 850 prints over two years. Makes the cost of the print go up if I
can't get it working.

Thanks,

Gary Wagner

www.garywagner.com

 

From: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of mrjimbo2
Sent: Friday, February 07, 2014 10:58 AM
To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Epson 4900 not printing VLM or LC / Gary / Arthur

 

  

Hi Gary,

Given the series of the printer (4xxx) and my experience with this series in
low humidity and temp environments I'm not suprised. Again I honestly feel
the most important attribute you can have is patience with these guys when
they get stuck.. If you have not tried simple green on a paper towel I would
do that first..  Water has an effect on the inks but simple green literally
dissolves them.. If you have enough of it on the paper towekl a bit of it
should get into the head thru the nozzle openings.. 

 

Yes, Piezo flush is a great product and I would do that for sure before I
called the Epson guy..  Just do it to the one channel.. At least that way
you won't have to deal with getting the fluid out of the other channels and
it'll be easy to see in the Yellow channel. 

 

Another thought .. I'm in a really Epson hazord area here.. winter humidity
is less then 20% often 15% .. I know many people put a humidifier in the
room etc etc.. I do that also but in some situations is not that effective
or practical.. Soooo  I have several clear plastic silver ware trays that I
purchased from Bed Bath & Beyond.. their approx 2 1/2 to 3" wide, 2" deep &
maybe 10+  or so inches long. I also picked up several 1 1/2 inch thick
sponges from the hardware and cut them to fit the trays.. I soak them with
water and actually leave a puddle of water in the bottom of the tray so they
last longer.. These go in all my printers.. from one to several of them
depending on how they fit.... open the hatch put a few in and close the
hatch.. They last several days and in my case are actually more effective
then a humidifier.. but of course it's a PIA to say the least.

 

 Do you have a service manual for the machine.. Might want to look at the
dampers also.. something might have headed south their also.

 

This time of year is the hardest on a printer as far as functionality goes..
Whatever their used to from a humidity stand point typically they will get
less at this time of year..

 

jimbo

----- Original Message ----- 

From: Gary <mailto:gary@...>  

To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com 

Sent: Friday, February 07, 2014 10:52 AM

Subject: RE: [Digital BW] Epson 4900 not printing VLM or LC / Gary / Arthur

 

  

Jimbo,

Thanks for the info! My yellow nozzle test is completely blank. Have you
used PiezoFlush and do you think it would do any good? I am not sure if this
is a head clogging or if something else is broken or clogged and no ink is
reaching the head. When I do the paper towel soaking all of the other inks
are drawing onto the towel. One day it was working producing a good check
and the next day it stopped completely. 

Thanks,

Gary Wagner

From: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of mrjimbo2
Sent: Friday, February 07, 2014 9:40 AM
To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Epson 4900 not printing VLM or LC / Gary / Arthur

  

First to answer your question you can typically see it .. Open the hood and
look. I have a small flash light that I use on some printers where
visibility is difficult.. but it will show up.. A power clean typically will
get them out but you could also pull them out with a syringe but that in my
experience has gotten a bit messy with me at the helm...:-).. 

Ok I forgot something very important in my last post.. some how I was
thinking it was the 7900 not the 4900...Ok the 4900 does not have a
pressurized ink system.. (have the 4800 ) Anyway they use an ink reservoir
of sorts .. so repeated efforts at cleaning or nozzle tests can run the
reservoir dry especially if it's starved. So going slow with these guys is
in my experience the way to go.. If you seem to be going backwards then just
stop.. wait several hours and come back.. or the next day.. Also if the
channels that are giving you a hard time are low on ink..(pull the carts and
shake them to make sure your good to go)  put fresh carts in those channels
then after the issue is resolved put the old ones back in to finish them. 

Ok, one more thing.. this is for printers that set for some time.. I posted
this once before and freaked everybody out.. or think I did.. The inks can
settle in your lines. So they can get a bit sludgy on the bottom..  When
inks start moving thru the lines again I think it's possible that improperly
mixed inks are moving inside the tubes.. ( No I can't prove this ..it's a
theory) Anyway, I have a printer set up with K6 and if it sits for a while
the images are always screwy.. Soooo I now occasionally tape a battery
powered egg shaped vibrator that is adjustable ( yes it exactly what you
think it is) to the lines and let it run for 5 minutes or so... the
vibrations get to the entire line length and it put all the particles back
in suspension.. To be honest I don't really notice that much difference on
color images but I sure do on B&W .. 

jimbo

 ----- Original Message ----- 

From: Gary <mailto:gary@...>  

To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com 

Sent: Friday, February 07, 2014 9:43 AM

Subject: RE: [Digital BW] Epson 4900 not printing VLM or LC

  

Jimbo,

How can you tell if you have air in the line?

Thanks,

Gary Wagner

From: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of mrjimbo2
Sent: Friday, February 07, 2014 8:37 AM
To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Epson 4900 not printing VLM or LC

  

Arthur,

It winter , really low humidity and it sat for a while.. So a couple of
things you can do / try.. First make sure the two colors that won't show
don't have air in the lines.. 

Next wet the park pad with water.. really wet it .. ( I use an eye dropper
for this) Put the head over it for an hour or so.. Then try a nozzle test to
see if your getting anything if you start seeing a few lines go ahead and do
a regular cleaning cycle.

If that doesn't work , This one you'll want to keep an eye on so you don't
start wicking ink out thru the head.. wet a paper towel with a mix of water
and simple green... fold it in half to double its thickness... get that  in
the rollers manually...make sure it's good and wet even if you have to add
more with an eye dropper.... then  pull the head off park and let it set on
it for several hours.. (no windex or similar as that dries it out).

As far as Epson saying you need a new print head.. well too soon to say that
I think..... you might have a damper issue or simply struggling with air in
the line...

jimbo

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Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2014.0.4259 / Virus Database: 3697/7071 - Release Date: 02/07/14