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2012-01-01 by EdW
Happy New Year! The Holidays are over. I can't believe 2011 has gone by so quickly. It's time to start 2012 off right. I've created 2012 Calendars and Print Templates for Lightroom. Download them from my site, www.redphotographic.com. (free of course) Be creative and have fun!! It's a great way to share photos with family and friends. Drop me an email if you have any comments or questions. Keep shooting and sharing your work! Ed Weaver
2012-01-01 by Arthur Fink
I've heard of printer heads drying out when not used regularly, but
this is just the opposite.
I had been printing all day on my Epson 4000 (sorry -- with color
inks!), when all of the sudden I got a bad print, with banding,
etc. It looked like a clogged print head, and, indeed, a nozzle
check confirmed as much.
Two regular cleanings did nothing, but then a third seemed to produce
a good nozzle check. But ... the next print was bad again, and
another nozzle check looked just as bad as before.
So ... I ran Epson's "Power Clean" (which I'm told is power profit
for Epson). Now the Magenta part of the nozzle check is completely
blank. Ough!
Any ideas
1. What to do? (And, of course, I've got a hang a show
on Tuesday, for which I've not none several of the prints)
2. Why the nozzle would clog up in such a way.
Thanks for any help!
Arthur Fink
Arthur Fink Photography
Pictures of dancers, weddings, births, fish,
and other subjects of interest and amusement
Studio / Gallery in Portland, Maine, and also on Peaks Island
www.arthurfinkphoto.com af@... 207.615.5722
Read, and comment on, my blog: www.InsightAndClarity.com
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]2012-01-01 by Mark Savoia
Sounds like air in the line or that cart. Try another M cart. Mark http://www.stillrivereditions.com
On Jan 1, 2012, at 4:49 PM, Arthur Fink wrote: > > I've heard of printer heads drying out when not used regularly, but > this is just the opposite. > > I had been printing all day on my Epson 4000 (sorry -- with color > inks!), when all of the sudden I got a bad print, with banding, > etc. It looked like a clogged print head, and, indeed, a nozzle > check confirmed as much. > > Two regular cleanings did nothing, but then a third seemed to produce > a good nozzle check. But ... the next print was bad again, and > another nozzle check looked just as bad as before. > > So ... I ran Epson's "Power Clean" (which I'm told is power profit > for Epson). Now the Magenta part of the nozzle check is completely > blank. Ough! > > Any ideas > > 1. What to do? (And, of course, I've got a hang a show > on Tuesday, for which I've not none several of the prints) > > 2. Why the nozzle would clog up in such a way. > > Thanks for any help! > > > Arthur Fink
2012-01-02 by Mark MacKenzie
Hello Arthur. I have an Epson 4000 and have had something similar happen perhaps twice in total. In my case I finally tracked it back to what I think was a progressively clogged ink damper. I used an expended ink cart filled with flushing/cleaning fluid to first fill the line and magenta damper and then let it sit overnight and do a cleaning cycle followed by a number of solid magenta prints. Another time there may have been some air in the line or a problem in passing enough ink through the damper to actually pull ink or cleaning fluid through the line so I very slightly overfilled the magenta cart (with cleaning fluid I think) with a bit of air from a syringe, which with a full cart should mean it was very slightly pressurized. In my case this seemed to do the trick and normal printing picked up after clearing the cleaning fluid with a normally filled ink cart. BTW, I now use only third party inks (Image Specialist/MIS), make my own profiles, etc. and see no difference in performance or anything else with Epson inks except of course for the major price difference. Regards Mark MacKenzie Alcalde, New Mexico
2012-01-02 by Lutsky, Berel
if there is sufficient ink in the cart - You may have a clogged damper screen - good news is they are relatively inexpensive and easy to replace on this printer - Berel Lutsky Associate Professor of Art UW Manitowoc 920-683-4735
2012-01-02 by Arthur Fink
At 09:51 AM 1/2/2012, Lutsky, Berel wrote:
>if there is sufficient ink in the cart - You may have a clogged
>damper screen - good news is they are relatively inexpensive and
>easy to replace on this printer -
Thanks, Berel. Can anybody point me towards instruction on how to
replace the "damper screen", and where to obtain a new one.
Also, any Epson technicians in the Portland Maine area? I don't want
to have to drive me printer down to Boston, and then go back to pick
it up. In fact, I'd prefer not to have to carry it anywhere ... if
there is somebody who could come to my studio in Portland, Maine.
Arthur Fink
Arthur Fink Photography
Pictures of dancers, weddings, births, fish,
and other subjects of interest and amusement
Studio / Gallery in Portland, Maine, and also on Peaks Island
www.arthurfinkphoto.com af@... 207.615.5722
Read, and comment on, my blog: www.InsightAndClarity.com
Click on this link to
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]2012-01-02 by Arthur Fink
At 08:03 AM 1/2/2012, Mark MacKenzie wrote:
>I have an Epson 4000 and have had something similar happen perhaps twice
>in total. In my case I finally tracked it back to what I think was a
>progressively clogged ink damper. I used an expended ink cart filled
>with flushing/cleaning fluid to first fill the line and magenta damper
>and then let it sit overnight and do a cleaning cycle followed by a
>number of solid magenta prints.
All I have is a relatively full 220 ml cartridge. Can you recommend
a source for empty cart and cleaning fluid, or perhaps a cart filled
with cleaning fluid?
>Another time there may have been some air in the line or a problem in
>passing enough ink through the damper to actually pull ink or cleaning
>fluid through the line so I very slightly overfilled the magenta cart
>(with cleaning fluid I think) with a bit of air from a syringe, which
>with a full cart should mean it was very slightly pressurized. In my
>case this seemed to do the trick and normal printing picked up after
>clearing the cleaning fluid with a normally filled ink cart.
Can you be more detailed? You took a full cartridge, and put
additional air into the cartridge?
Arthur
Arthur Fink Photography
Pictures of dancers, weddings, births, fish,
and other subjects of interest and amusement
Studio / Gallery in Portland, Maine, and also on Peaks Island
www.arthurfinkphoto.com af@... 207.615.5722
Read, and comment on, my blog: www.InsightAndClarity.com
Click on this link to
<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/optin/ea?v=001RgvbKVLa7a7RR4E6BV8sKw%3D%3D>join
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]2012-01-02 by Paul
What is it with the 4000? It's the only relatively recent Epson printer that has had a reputation for clogging. As to magenta, they (well at least Epson and MIS) sink like rocks in my tests. My hypothesis is that the magenta is weak by nature and they make the particles larger to offset that weakness. Paul www.PaulRoark.com
2012-01-02 by joec@lagunaservice.com
The only way to tell what and where the problem is to Remove the print head Check the gasket on the ink dampers Gently syringe some cleaning fluid through the magenta nozzle if it is clogged you will not get fluid through. If it is delaminated you will get fluid around bottom of head or up another nozzle. if fluid goes through then you have electrical problem In my experience with the 4000 The heads can delaminate Electrically stop firing Have air leak where the damper connects with the head I've seen this happen a lot with magenta and black nozzles Hope this helps Joe cettina Laguna service
From: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com [mailto:DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Paul Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 11:20 AM To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Digital BW] Re: Epson 4000 -- Magenta cartridge not firing What is it with the 4000? It's the only relatively recent Epson printer that has had a reputation for clogging. As to magenta, they (well at least Epson and MIS) sink like rocks in my tests. My hypothesis is that the magenta is weak by nature and they make the particles larger to offset that weakness. Paul www.PaulRoark.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
2012-01-02 by Arthur Fink
At 01:08 PM 1/2/2012, joec@... wrote:
>The only way to tell what and where the problem is to
>
>Remove the print head
. . .
Clearly beyond my ability. And I believe I'd be foolhardy to go that
deep into my printer.
So, two questions:
* Are there any Epson service people in the Portland Maine area? (I
know there are no repair facilities, but I imagine there may be
somebody who works independently, or a service tech heading up to
Maine on a ski trip who wouldn't mind a service call.)
* How much might such a repair cost? And is it worthwhile, or is it
time to buy a new large printer?
Arthur Fink
Arthur Fink Photography
Pictures of dancers, weddings, births, fish,
and other subjects of interest and amusement
Studio / Gallery in Portland, Maine, and also on Peaks Island
www.arthurfinkphoto.com af@... 207.615.5722
Read, and comment on, my blog: www.InsightAndClarity.com
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]2012-01-03 by Mark MacKenzie
Hi Arthur. I am using Epson ink carts which I had used until empty (mostly) and then refilled with MIS (Image Specialist) ink after resetting the cartridge chip with a "resetter". I saved or I think actually received some empty carts (a full set) from an internet friend and then filled these with cleaning or flushing fluid also purchased from MIS. However, that is to make up a full set and you were asking after one cart. From the MIS site: http://www.inksupply.com/product-details.cfm?pn=CC-T5436 is the URL for a " *7600/4000 LT MAG CLEANING CART" *already filled with cleaning fluid. Currently listed at $24.00 With the above cart you shouldn't need a chip resetter device but if you go the route I did you will. The resetter will reset to "full" the normal Epson cart chip when the original cartridge is nearly empty. Directions are on the inksupply website in any case. Overfilling an ink cart is not for the faint hearted or the unluck*y *and I don't suggest you go this route, I regret mentioning this as the possibility for filling parts of your printer with ink which are not supposed to be so, is high. Good luck. I have survived some really stubborn clogs with my 4000 and know how frustrating and worrisome it can be. Knock on wood, since switching back to Macs and running a daily purge print I have not had a clog (got to be more a matter of luck but nice). Mark ** [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
2012-01-03 by Arthur Fink
At 06:56 AM 1/3/2012, Mark MacKenzie wrote:
> From the MIS site:
><http://www.inksupply.com/product-details.cfm?pn=CC-T5436>http://www.inksupply.com/product-details.cfm?pn=CC-T5436
>is the URL for
>a " *7600/4000 LT MAG CLEANING CART" *already filled with cleaning
>fluid. Currently listed at $24.00
Thanks for all the advice!
I did notice that the nozzle check does consistently show 4 line
segments (each a bit less than 1/8" long). It's not completely
blank. So, does this reliably indicate a clog, and not a broken head?
It sounds like I should purchase the Magenta cleaning cart (not LT
Mag, of course), and try to do a lot of printing with an image that
is just pure magenta (via CMYK color setting). Have I got it right?
$24 plus shipping is a LOT less than getting an Epson Tech here, or
shipping my printer somewhere!
Arthur
Arthur Fink Photography
Pictures of dancers, weddings, births, fish,
and other subjects of interest and amusement
Studio / Gallery in Portland, Maine, and also on Peaks Island
www.arthurfinkphoto.com af@... 207.615.5722
Read, and comment on, my blog: www.InsightAndClarity.com
Click on this link to
<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/optin/ea?v=001RgvbKVLa7a7RR4E6BV8sKw%3D%3D>join
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<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/optin/ea?v=001RgvbKVLa7a7RR4E6BV8sKw%3D%3D>list
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]2012-01-04 by Clayton Price
Arthur and all, I held off writing this until I could test my printer to see that the correction is still working - and I'm happy to say it is! Apologies - this is a bit long, but hopefully it will help you! First - I have beta tested a couple Epson printers in the past (not in the 4000 series), and when they occasionally clogged, I'd put a strip of paper towel on the track and parking pad impregnated with some Windex, and was able to remove any crusted ink from under the heads. Recently, I read somewhere that Simple Green would work better, and it does. I have an Epson 4880, and have been plagued with what I thought were clogged heads for close to 3 years. Magenta and often Cyan were the worst problem. Once near the start, a local technician came in (I'm in NYC) and showed me how to do the power cleanings, and it did work for a while, but I don't print every day, and often more a month goes by with no printing. The printer is left on, covered with a plastic sheet/ with water and sponges in a photo tray on top of the front paper feed. This has provided a certain amount of humidity control, but still the printer was jamming up. However, after going thru all those power cleanings, and huge amounts of ink, and making some decent prints, it sits for a few weeks and the first nozzle check alway comes out perfect. The second one shows some breaks in the lines, and then some - almost always the Magenta doesn't read at all. I made an entirely Magenta/Cyan file, to print only those colors, rather that waste so much ink with power cleaning. Making a print with that file, showed that zero magenta was coming through the head. Next I took a used magenta cartridge which I'm very glad I saved (perhaps there was 1/8 of the ink left in it. In the fitting where the ink exits the cartridge, one can gently push (with a straightened paperclip), what appears to be a spring-loaded seal. With that seal pushed in a little bit, and using a syringe with small rubber hose attached, I injected 3 or 4 cc's of the Simple Green into the magenta cartridge, and then attempted to clean the corresponding (male) piece in the cartridge compartment - with a little bit of the cleaning solution on paper towel. Next I inserted the old magenta cartridge back into the printer, and made a print from the magenta/cyan test file. First try, it worked perfectly, although the color was diluted slightly from the cleaning fluid mixed in with the ink. Next, I re-inserted the newer Magenta Cart, and did a nozzle test - 3 times. All were perfect. Next a 17 X 22 inch color print on Canson Rag Photographique, and it's one of the best prints I've ever been able to make from any printer. That was close to 3 weeks ago and the printer hasn't been used since that time. Today I ran a couple nozzle checks, which were perfect, and then printed my test file which also printed perfectly. My not too scientific analysis of this now stands that it was never a clog of the heads, as Epson (in some phone calls for help), the local tech guy, and my own efforts had assumed. Rather, the inks were clogging or at least drying somewhat where the cartridges meet the printer ink intakes. If the ink can not run thru from the cartridge, even if the lines beyond are filled with ink, I don't believe it will flow into the heads, because there's a vacuum being formed which prevents the ink from moving forward. Perhaps the clog was due to not using the printer very often, or maybe a flaw in the printer design - hard to know exactly the cause, but today, I'm celebrating that I will not have to get rid of the printer and look for another, because this method is apparently correcting the problem. To be clear with everyone: I am not a licensed repair person, can not take any responsibility for anything that might go wrong with your printer using this technique, nor am I suggesting that your printer will work if you repeat exactly what I did to mine. I also mention that it's possible to break certain pieces if you are not very careful when working with them. If you are not mechanically inclined, you may want to ask a printer technician to do this for you. If you do work on it yourself, you might want to wear rubber gloves, as this entire process was a little bit sloppy. I managed to get magenta ink on my fingers & hands while doing this work:-))) Clay Price