QTR-Quadtone RIP

Hi-I'm using the K7 inks in 2400 and running on Windows XP.
Up until now I've generally gotten good results and have made some very 
fine prints. Suddenly, I can't get a complete print. The printer will 
stop at random stages with the error message "document failed to print".
I've never had this problem before and I'm not experienced enough to 
recognize a possible cause. The partially printed images look normal up 
to where they stop. The files I'm printing are small, ranging between 
10 & 20mbs. I made a few prints yesterday with no issues.
Is this a software problem? Or printer problem? Any suggestions?

How much room have you got left on your main drive? Especially if 
Photoshop is up ad running with a big temp file produced.

Could be you are running out of spool space

Hi Tim:
Thank you for your response. I thought at first space might be the 
issue but,I have 199GB of free space and 1GB of RAM. I usually close 
Photoshop before printing.
Under my printer properties I have the following selected:
"Spool print documents so program finishes printing faster" and "Start 
printing immediately". Would it make any difference to select 
instead "Start printed after last page is spooled"?
Just now I tried making a print. When I turned the printer on, the red 
paper jam light was flashing, even though I've not had any jams. I 
pushed the button and my print printed completely with no problems. 
I've since made 3 "perfect" prints.
 I guess paper residue can build up(I'm using Hahnemuhle photo rag bw)
and cause the paper to not feed, but I'm still puzzled why it would 
stop printing at random intervals.
Thanks for your input!
Jim
--- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "Tim Atherton" <timatherton@...> 
wrote:

>
> How much room have you got left on your main drive? Especially if 
> Photoshop is up ad running with a big temp file produced.
> 
> Could be you are running out of spool space
>

Hello, I have a R2400 as well and have seen what sounds like similar 
behavior. There have been times that it simply reboots itself. Could 
be during printing, or it could be sitting idle, could happen 10 times 
in a row if I let it. Has yours done it when it's idle?

--- In QuadtoneRIP@yahoogroups.com, "castlerockphotography" 
<castlerockphotography@...> wrote:
>Yes, I have noticed that. In fact, that happened while I was tweeking 
an image in Photoshop just before I started having problems with the 
printing. I've had the printer nearly 2 yrs and don't recall that 
behavior before.
> Hello, I have a R2400 as well and have seen what sounds like similar 
> behavior. There have been times that it simply reboots itself. Could 
> be during printing, or it could be sitting idle, could happen 10 
times 
> in a row if I let it. Has yours done it when it's idle?
>

I've had similar problems with an Epson 1800. In fact, I had posted here
asking for help, didn't receive any replies, then, by elimination, figured
out a fix. I, too, at first thought it might be a problem with RAM or hard
drive space, but cleaning out more space didn't help. The problem for me lay
with the printer not catching thinner paper and continuing to spool. I had
been trying to use the normal feed path as well. Currently, I'm using a
thicker paper, a 250 gsm paper, using the rear feeder on the 1800 to feed a
sheet at a time. If you're using the QuadTone RIP, set the source to Manual
Roll (Rear).  This has worked for me. The Piezography site has a workaround
using cardboard to help the printer catch paper, but this didn't work for
me. If anyone has other advice, I'm still open to  other suggestions. Next
time I need a printer, I'll look for one with a straight-through feed.

 

Marshall

 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

There are maintenance activities the printer may perform periodically 
that will cause it to start making noises doing whatever it's doing. 
During this maintenance no lights are flashing on the printer and my 
take is that this is normal.

The behavior we have been discussing (on my printer anyway) appears 
to be a reset or reboot of the printer. When it happens on mine my PC 
(XP Pro) gives an audible alert that a USB device has been 
disconnected and then a few seconds later another to indicate a new 
USB device has been connected. During this time the power light on 
the printer is flashing. These are the primary reasons I believe the 
printer is rebooting.

I ultimately disconnected the USB cable from the printer and plugged 
it into a different power source. I let it sit for a few days and 
observed the same reboots. That pretty much rules out everything but 
the printer as the problem. I opened a ticket with Epson and 
exchanged several emails with them. I think they thought I was crazy 
but I do have to admit it's hard to communicate well via email. They 
never did give me anything else to try or provide any new ideas.

When I needed to I started printing again and have only seen the 
issue once or twice in the last 6 months. In other words I never did 
get any resolution and the problem hasen't occurred enough for me to 
make it a priority.

Sorry I can't be more help but it sounds like you might want to 
disconnect it from your computer and see if it still happens. At 
least then you'll know if you can eliminate the computer, it's 
resources and software as the problem.
  
Thanks.