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Epson 7880 nozzle cleaning hazard

BANKER1

Member
My epson 7880 printer exhibited a few lines missing on a nozzle check, so I went to YouTube to find a solution. It was advised to fold three plies of a paper towel about an inch for each fold. Then, you are to apply window cleaning liquid and bring print head over the folded paper towel. The next step is to work the paper towel back and forth to clean the print heads and print another nozzle check. I repeated this step two more times trying to get 100% of the lines to show up on the nozzle check. Unfortunately, I was not able to get to 100%.

After the third time, the printer stopped printing at all! The next step was to call Epson service, and the tech told me to wait until the next morning to see if the problem cleared. It did not. Again, I called the Epson tech and told him the printer was calling for three inks to be replaced for a power cleaning. Since I did not have a Cyan cartridge, it was impossible for me to do a power cleaning. He gave me instructions for a lighter cleaning, which I did. After two light cleanings of the heads, the printer started working again.

The next morning my first print was horrible. It was washed out and lackluster. The next print was almost in black and white. A nozzle check showed about half of the print heads clogged. A couple of light nozzle cleanings got me back to normal, and the following morning the nozzle check showed very few clogged nozzles, and the colors in my prints were amazing. At this point, I'm hoping I'm back to normal.

So, I wrote this thread to warn everyone about instructions found on YouTube. My suggestion is to use Epson's instructions to the letter and let the helpful techs walk you through problems on their telephone support lines. They have been very friendly and helpful and a great resource for me.

Greg
 

D&A

Well-known member
Greg, glad to hear you were able to get your 7880 unclogged and up and running again. In all fairness, the technique described on youtube or variations of it do work exceptionally well. Recently I assisted an acquaintance with his clogged 7880 and Epson came to the conclusion after he tried everything they suggested (various multiple cleanings and more), a new print head due to permanent clogging. What we did is saturate a folded paper towel with an ammonia based window cleaner like Windex as you did and moved the print head directly over the folded paper towel. The thickness was just so the nozzles would barely touch (rest) on the wet towel.

Here is where our protocol differed from the one you tried. We did not run the print head back and forth over the paper towel as dissolving dried ink takes time. We simply left the head sit over the paper towel for at least 24 hours. After this a couple of light cleanings and nozzle checks the printer was back to perfection. One though can often find a few nozzles clogged if printer is let to sit for a short time un-used. It all depends on the environment where the printer is stations (humidity etc.). That's why some have reoccurring problems with nozzles clogging and others don't and sometimes it's simply random.

Dave (D&A)
 

BANKER1

Member
Thanks Dave. Fortunately, I live in a fairly humid environment, so I have had relatively few incidents of clogged nozzles. Another useful trick is to dampen the pad where the print heads rest when idle. Somehow being a perfectionist, as most photographers are, isn't always helpful in wanting every single line to be printed in the nozzle check. I can't tell you how much I enjoy the 7880. Every time a print comes off the printer, seeing the colors and quality is always a thrill.

Greg
 

D&A

Well-known member
I couldn't agree more Greg! Dampening the pad where the print head rests is somewhat analogous to resting the print head on the folded paper towel that's saturated with Windex...and therefore by letting it sit overnight or longer, it does help clear away cogging. In dry environments, some also put a small dish of water inside the printer when not in use to help with the humidity and prevention of clogging.

Dave (D&A)
 

Wayne Fox

Workshop Member
Windex isn't the best idea. This is more important with the newer printers (4900, 78/9890 and 79/9900). I've seen many reports of ruining a print head. Something about the way these newer heads are built makes them more sensitive. I recommend sticking with distilled water. I also don't recommend paper towels. I use a microfiber cloth under the print head soaked in distilled water.

When you do this you will very often lose a lot of nozzles, in fact it is very common to lose 100% of them. The reason is the water is sucked back up into the nozzles so instead of ink coming out when you print a nozzle check, you get water - small enough droplets you can't even see dampness. It normally takes a few cleanings to get the ink flow again.

Another issue when doing this is actually freeing up dried ink and pushing it into the nozzles. It's better to soak the head for quite some time, trying to dissolve the dried ink, before scrubbing it.
 
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