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epson 9900 trouble

jlm

Workshop Member
got in some printing time for an overdo work project. wanted to make letter size prints, but could not get the 4880 to feed from the tray reliably (epson ex fiber) and manual feed was not happening.

gave up, went to the 9900. it had been idle for a few months, so ran a nozzle check did a cleaning and got it to manual feed...sometimes!@##%#.

long story, short version: the epson paper, new box, had a very slight curl toward the print side causing an edge to hang up inside and abort the paper load. that worked in the 9900, didn't get around to trying the 4880 again.

then a channel dropped out a couple of times, evidenced by a wacky print, so more cleaning (i had made about 30 prints) and finally the last nozzle check seemed to be entirely missing the first (left) square; no lines in that location whatsoever. still able to get a reasonable print, but i was not printing very full range images. i was pretty burned out, now 11 hours later, any idea what is going on?
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Heavy paper with edge curls up, are bad news for the Epson feed system because it needs to get back out the way it came in and there is a lip it can hang on if it curls up. Only solution is to remove the curl.

Re bad 9900 patch, has to be an air lock or bad head. If you have done it, load the latest firmware as it has a new "Power Clean" option for the color pairs so saves the other inks. You may to run that cleaning a few times to clear whatever is in the way -- probably air form sitting idle.
 

jlm

Workshop Member
did one run of the color pair: got the fist square to show about 3 lines! did another, same result. did a full power clean: all the lines, so good to go.

by the, what is your take on that exhaustive "Inside the epson 7900" thread on Lula?

latest is he is getting some insider info from an epson tech.

have you looked at that wiper and the tank they are talking about?
 

kdphotography

Well-known member
Hi John,

The LL thread "Inside the 79/9900" Epson printers is good for the most part, if you ignore the detractors and focus on Eric's experiences with his printer---and mostly the maintenance, repair, and usage tips.

The wiper assembly is extremely easy to inspect and clean. There is absolutely no reason why a 79/9900 user shouldn't be inspecting and cleaning the assembly every few months or as needed, and replacing the wiper assembly annually. It's about $15.

The cap station/flushing station is also not difficult to access and inspect. My thoughts here are to occasionally place a few drops of flushing or cleaning fluid on the pad itself. Jon Cone sells a flushing fluid (inkjetmall) and there is a cleaning fluid CLF007P at www.americaninkjetsystems.com This should be enough to keep the flush box itself clean, and then wipe gently around it.

There are a lot of other helpful tips as well such as monitoring humidity and keeping the printer area clean...

Aside from regular use, I've purchased a printer utility called Harvey Head Cleaner, Print head cleaning the easy way. No more clogged inkjets with Harvey Head Cleaner. for those times when my printer may be sitting around for a period of time. You simply leave the printer on with loaded inexpensive media and leave the computer on. The utility will print a nozzle check as scheduled by you. This helps to keep a small flow of ink moving through the head and the capping station wet, with the goal of avoiding print head clogs.

ken
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
I've been following the story as it unfolds and found some good information such as the wiper blades and video.

I upgraded my Epson 9800 to the 9900 last week of January just as I was finishing printing a batch of images for Jackson Hole. So far the only problem I've encountered is a faulty cartridge which was replaced overnight.

I had a few instances where I got a message saying I had clogs early on and preformed power cleanings to get rid of them. I also noticed my printing would stop intermittently to perform a cleaning then start up again. This was all with the original cartridges. I've since replaced all the cartridges and have had smooth sailing since.

I live a in relatively hot, dusty climate with little humidity and learned early on that air conditioning and a humidifier is my friend. I try to keep the studio between 70 to 74 degrees with humidity between 40 and 45 percent.

I also run a nozzle check prior to printing each day and keep track of the results. I've only had to do a pairs cleaning once so far and consider myself very lucky. I also checked while writing this and see that I've had 57 print jobs to date with 408 ml ink used and a total of 182 sq feet.

I've also had two instances were I was away from the studio for an extended period, one about 8-days and the more recent 18-days. In both cases I turned the printer on, printed a nozzle check which turned out perfect and went right to work. The samples here are from when I decided to keep a record with the first one March 27th and the most recent from this morning. There's some bleed through on the scans as I don't like to waste paper and print on both sides.

All in all pleased with the printer.

Don
 

Wayne Fox

Workshop Member
It's quite interesting how keeping the humidity levels at 40-45% affect these printers. My experience is much like Don's, once I installed a self filling humidifier and set it at 45% my clogs have pretty much disappeared.
 

jlm

Workshop Member
the harvey head looks promising, but the web site says no joy for Mac. also i did not see one for an 11 ink printer listed
 

kdphotography

Well-known member
the harvey head looks promising, but the web site says no joy for Mac. also i did not see one for an 11 ink printer listed
Version III of Harvey Head Cleaner will work with your 9900.

I don't know how much effort HHC is putting into releasing a Mac version, but maybe it might be worthwhile to pick up a cheapie pc laptop (ala Costco/TigerDirect). I use a laptop specifically outfitted for my K7 printer. But on extended trips, I plan on running USB cables from my various printers (9900, 4800, 9800) to this single laptop to run HHC daily....

ken
 

Dan Bellyk

New member
Just curious if anyone else has issues with vertical banding? Run a cleaning and it disappears but it's frustating and wastful of ink and paper.

Dan
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
Dan, no problems however I have noticed the 9900 is much pickier than the 9800 was and I need to be very careful as I set it up for printing. Then again I'm on a PC....
 

kdphotography

Well-known member
Dan,

If a nozzle check or cleaning takes care of the banding, then it is definitely not a printer feed or adjustment issue. If it is persistent, then I would inspect (and clean) the wiper and capping station/flush box for leftover debris that may be deposited on the head deflecting a nozzle on occasion when the head parks and when a dirty wiper goes over the head.

The 9900 is definitely pickier as Don says, and if you use fine art papers/canvas (as opposed to photo papers) you're more prone to dust and debris from the media getting into the printer, and murphy's law says it will find its way to the print head. I've gotten into the practice of using a small powerful handheld vac to clean the paper deck and even the media ends at every media change. It's actually pretty surprising how much dust/debris that collects on the printer just from the media itself.

ken
 

Woody Campbell

Workshop Member
My 7900 has worked like a champ with one issue that has recently developed.

the cutter periodically tears the heavy Harmon HP Barata that I print on. My guess is that if I fiddled with platen gap, vacuum and paper tensions I could solve the problem, but I don't know where to start. Of course I could also replace the cutter.
 

worldburger

New member
Hi John,
The cap station/flushing station is also not difficult to access and inspect. My thoughts here are to occasionally place a few drops of flushing or cleaning fluid on the pad itself. Jon Cone sells a flushing fluid (inkjetmall) and there is a cleaning fluid CLF007P at Inkjet inks, Bulk Ink Systems, Printers, Rip, Color Management, and Computers This should be enough to keep the flush box itself clean, and then wipe gently around it.

ken
Ken (or anyone else that can chime in):
Where is the cap station to check or add drops of cleaning fluid? I'm used to the 7600 where it was visible all the time but it seems my 7900 hides the cap station, or am I missing something?

Reason: I have a one color clog that I cannot seem to clear (tried cleaning the wiper blade, doing color pairs, doing SS cleaning...

Suggestions welcome!
David
 
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