epson p900 printer - test pattern hole

[inoneeye]

When I run a nozzle check i am getting a consistent result showing one blank area @VM near bottom row. After repeated cleanings it has not cleared up... and after restarting...

? Any thoughts

 

attn moderator please move to digital darkroom, thank you

Edited November 30, 2022 by inoneeye
Wrong forum

[digitaldog]

Odd. What you might try is removing that one ink and gently shaking the cartridge, then try again. 

[kmac]

I get those blank spaces quite often from my Epson R2400. The loss of ink during multiple cleaning efforts was frightening, so now I place a drop of Isopropyl Alcohol on the tube that the cartridge fits onto and clean it that way. Of course the cartridge needs to be removed first, and when the cartridge is refitted, the printer will go through the re-charge cycle wasting more ink, but with the alcohol, it will be ok then, no further work needs to be done.

A drop of cheaper methylated spirits might achieve the same result but I've never tried it, I may soon though just as an experiment, I can't see why it wouldn't work.

There's two reasons why my printer had those blank spaces, 1) Letting the printer sit idle for weeks at a time, and, 2) Low ink levels. Or a combination of both. Next time there's blank spaces, check to see if that color's level is low, changing the cartridge will probably fix the blank spaces. Otherwise, use a drop of alcohol.

In the case of expired ink, if you are using any, I haven't discovered any problems with them yet. I'm currently using inks that are 8-10 years past their date and they are not producing blank spaces any more than newer cartridges. But I do give the older cartridges more of a shake before inserting them into the printer.

 

 

[paddler4]

I'm guessing, but that looks like a nozzle problem to me. I assume that the test pattern is generated by using the same ink over the entire range of nozzles. If you are getting the blank spot in the same place in each test, that would be consistent with this hypothesis. If it were a problem with the ink supply, e.g., with the cartridge, one would expect the placement of the empty spot to be more random--or more likely, lots of scattered light or blank areas.

 

[inoneeye]

Thanks all. 
The ink cartridges are, were all half full or more. I have reinstalled the same cartridge in question with no change. Not knowing the mechanics of printers and printer nozzles I only ‘guess’ that it is related to the main board or a programming fault….? 

Edited December 1, 2022 by inoneeye

[frans_waterlander]

16 hours ago, digitaldog said:

What you might try is removing that one ink and gently shaking the cartridge, then try again. 

To me, this looks very much like one clogged nozzle, not any cartridge issue. If all else fails, you may want to try the Windex treatment.

[digitaldog]

2 hours ago, frans_waterlander said:

To me, this looks very much like one clogged nozzle, not any cartridge issue. If all else fails, you may want to try the Windex treatment.

 Johnathan Cone INKJETMALL.com Tech Forums area - written by Jon himself:

We do not recommend ammonia based products like Windex any longer. Epson's print heads are now extremely sophisticated and there is copper involved at a very small size - and ammonia can form a compound if it contacts copper. There are safer homemade solutions to make that you should research. Or use a safe professional strength chemical system which we supply called PiezoFlush. It is not clear ink base. It is an actual formulation we invented that is safe for long term storage in print heads, but also highly solvent to dissolve dried ink, while remaining compatible with the OEM and all of the inks we manufacture.

https://imagescience.com.au/knowledge/never-ever-use-windex-on-your-print-head

OMG NEVER EVER USE WINDEX ON YOUR PRINT HEAD!!!

"One of the most persistent myths in inkjet printing is that one can use Windex to clean a print head".

 

Now maybe, a dilution of Windex (with caution) or try these steps first before blindly using "the Windex treatment" not explained above:

https://www.allprintheads.com/blogs/news/how-to-unclog-epson-printhead-nozzles

Edited December 1, 2022 by digitaldog