Digital BW, The Print

Hello all,

I use an Epson 1160 with a CFS running MIS FS-N inks.  It's been 
doing quite well printing mostly on EAM and Legion Photo Matte.  On 
occasion I would get a small bit of banding but then it seems 
to "clear up" later.  Last night a very interesting thing happened 
that I want to share.  I was printing out 15 Super A3 sized images 
for a print exchange.  It's a dark interior scene of Alcatraz prison 
and has mostly darker tonal ranges with some lighter highlights.  
The first few printed just fine.  I should mention that sometimes my 
1160 develops a squeaking noise as the rollers move the paper 
through between swings of the print heads.  By the third Super A3 
print this noise started up and slowly got a little louder.  After 6 
prints I examined closer and noticed that prints 3 thru 6 had 
banding that got progressively worse until print #6.  At first I 
thought this was a head issue so I did a nozzle check.  All looked 
fine.  I did a head cleaning to be sure, then printed another Super 
A3.  Still banding.  And still the squeak.  I decided to let the 
printer sit for a bit. About 2 hours later I printed one again, 
perfect, no banding.  Printed another, no banding.  A third.  Fine.  
But then on the fourth that squeak started up again and sure enough, 
banding.  So obviously banding, which I thought was a clogged print 
head issue, can also be a roller issue but I am still confused as to 
why and how this happens.  Somehow it seems my rollers get "tired" 
and start to less accurately move the paper forward after each head 
return.  But then later if I let the printer "cool down" it works 
fine.  In fact I finished my 15 print run of Super A3's finally but 
only doing 2 prints, then resting the printer for an hour or so, 
then 2 again.  Has any one else heard of or had this kind of 
problem?  Anyone have any clue as to what is happening and why?

Thanks.

Richard

>   Somehow it seems my rollers get "tired"
>and start to less accurately move the paper forward after each head
>return.

I wonder if this might be a lubrication issue?  Squeaking?  Sounds suspicious.



>But then later if I let the printer "cool down" it works
>fine.  In fact I finished my 15 print run of Super A3's finally but
>only doing 2 prints, then resting the printer for an hour or so,
>then 2 again.

My 1160 would intermittently stop dead, right in the middle of a 
print.  Turned out it was the silver platen bar that was needing 
lube.  Could your feed roller bearings need a drop of oil?

Peter

Saturday, August 24, 2002, 5:09:55 PM, Peter McLennan wrote:


>>   Somehow it seems my rollers get "tired"
>>and start to less accurately move the paper forward after each head
>>return.

PM> I wonder if this might be a lubrication issue?  Squeaking?  Sounds suspicious.



>>But then later if I let the printer "cool down" it works
>>fine.  In fact I finished my 15 print run of Super A3's finally but
>>only doing 2 prints, then resting the printer for an hour or so,
>>then 2 again.

PM> My 1160 would intermittently stop dead, right in the middle of a 
PM> print.  Turned out it was the silver platen bar that was needing 
PM> lube.  Could your feed roller bearings need a drop of oil?

PM> Peter


Yes, Peter, you could be right. Perhaps when the printer is started
up "cold" the lubricant on the rollers is well "established" but as a
few prints go through the lubricant is temporarily depleted, the
squeaking starts, and the rollers do not move so smoothly resulting in a
mis-movement and the resulting banding. Then if I turn the printer off
and let it sit the lubricant somehow "re-coats" onto the rollers. ????
This seems from what's happening to be the case, but I'm still puzzled
as to how. Also where in the world I would put a few drops of oil (let
alone which oil)?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Best regards,
 Richard  

mailto:richard@...

Have you tried squirting ammonia/water 1:9 directly through the
printhead nipples? It took two tries, but it seemed to have solved the
banding problem that couldn't be solved by any other method. I tried 'em
all. I'll keep you posted... I have noticed that ammonia dissolves
inkjet ink almost instantly, so it IS a good cleaner for these inks.

Jerry



rich8155 wrote:

> 
> Hello all,
> 
> I use an Epson 1160 with a CFS running MIS FS-N inks.  It's been
> doing quite well printing mostly on EAM and Legion Photo Matte.  On
> occasion I would get a small bit of banding but then it seems
> to "clear up" later.  Last night a very interesting thing happened
> that I want to share.  I was printing out 15 Super A3 sized images
> for a print exchange.  It's a dark interior scene of Alcatraz prison
> and has mostly darker tonal ranges with some lighter highlights.
> The first few printed just fine.  I should mention that sometimes my
> 1160 develops a squeaking noise as the rollers move the paper
> through between swings of the print heads.  By the third Super A3
> print this noise started up and slowly got a little louder.  After 6
> prints I examined closer and noticed that prints 3 thru 6 had
> banding that got progressively worse until print #6.  At first I
> thought this was a head issue so I did a nozzle check.  All looked
> fine.  I did a head cleaning to be sure, then printed another Super
> A3.  Still banding.  And still the squeak.  I decided to let the
> printer sit for a bit. About 2 hours later I printed one again,
> perfect, no banding.  Printed another, no banding.  A third.  Fine.
> But then on the fourth that squeak started up again and sure enough,
> banding.  So obviously banding, which I thought was a clogged print
> head issue, can also be a roller issue but I am still confused as to
> why and how this happens.  Somehow it seems my rollers get "tired"
> and start to less accurately move the paper forward after each head
> return.  But then later if I let the printer "cool down" it works
> fine.  In fact I finished my 15 print run of Super A3's finally but
> only doing 2 prints, then resting the printer for an hour or so,
> then 2 again.  Has any one else heard of or had this kind of
> problem?  Anyone have any clue as to what is happening and why?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Richard
> 
> 
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Saturday, August 24, 2002, 7:25:16 PM, Jerry Olson wrote:

JO> Have you tried squirting ammonia/water 1:9 directly through the
JO> printhead nipples? It took two tries, but it seemed to have solved the
JO> banding problem that couldn't be solved by any other method. I tried 'em
JO> all. I'll keep you posted... I have noticed that ammonia dissolves
JO> inkjet ink almost instantly, so it IS a good cleaner for these inks.

JO> Jerry


Thanks for the suggestion Jerry, but it's not a printer nozzle issue,
it seems to be a roller issue.  I just printed three more perfect
prints, no banding.  I stopped because as I mentioned earlier the
rollers started to squeak and that's when the banding starts. If it
was the nozzles then I would not be getting perfect prints at all I
imagine.

Best regards,
 Richard  

mailto:richard@...

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

From: "Jerry Olson" <jerryolson@...>
To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, August 24, 2002 7:25 PM
Subject: Re: [Digital BW] printer that gets "tired"?


> Have you tried squirting ammonia/water 1:9 directly through the
> printhead nipples? It took two tries, but it seemed to have solved the
> banding problem that couldn't be solved by any other method. I tried 'em
> all. I'll keep you posted... I have noticed that ammonia dissolves
> inkjet ink almost instantly, so it IS a good cleaner for these inks.
>
 Jerry,

Was that regular household ammonia from the grocery store or something
stronger?

Martin

(snip earlier)

Hi Martin,

Just household ammonia. I've heard that that's what the epson repair
people use when they clean heads, so it must be ok. They did say
"distilled" water, but I don't think that matters too much unless you
have terrible water. (Some North Dakota small towns have brownish water
with chunks in it, so Distilled water would be called for there. )

Martin Wesley wrote:

Richard, HOW do you get to the rollers in question? I can't see any.

Jerry

> Thanks for the suggestion Jerry, but it's not a printer nozzle issue,
> it seems to be a roller issue.  I just printed three more perfect
> prints, no banding.  I stopped because as I mentioned earlier the
> rollers started to squeak and that's when the banding starts. If it
> was the nozzles then I would not be getting perfect prints at all I
> imagine.
> 
> Best regards,
>  Richard
> 
> mailto:richard@...
> 
> 
> Please visit the Group Homepage to check the Files, Bookmarks, Polls and other resources as they are often being updated. The page is at:
> 
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint
> 
> If you wish to receive no emails or just a daily digest, or you wish to unsubscribe, please edit your Membership preferences by visiting this same page.
> 
> Please follow these basic guidelines:
> - Include your full name with your message.
> - Include the address of your website, if you have one.
> - As threads develop, trim off excess portions of earlier messages to keep them short.
> - As the topic of a thread changes remember to change the subject header.
> - Good manners are required at all time. No personal attacks or "flames."
> - Complete your Yahoo profile.
> - Before posting a question, search the message archives and the various resources on the homepage.
> 
> 
> 
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Hi Richard,

Ive recently bought the same setup as you and although I havent installed my
CFS yet, I experience the same problem last night when I tried to print with
original epson inks. What happened was that mid-printing the printhead
suddenly stopped moving for 3 sec, then resumed printing again, however i
noticed a slight banding afterwards at the position where the printhead was
interrupted.. I have no idea what interrupted the printhead, perhaps some
memory problem of some kind...

So if anyone has experienced this please let me know thanks.

Kevin.