Total clog in EPSON 890 with MIS refilled cartridges

[michael_meyer]

i am using MIS' FS inkset in my epson 890. i refill my cartridges. i

do not use a CFS.

 

i have been using this printer since i got it brand new a month or

so ago. has been working fine. been getting good prints.

 

yesterday, after the printer had been sitting two days, maybe

three, i ran a print through expecting a few bad nozzles. yup, the

black head wasn't firing any nozzles. all other "colors" seemed

ok. a cleaning cycle later the black looks perfect on a nozzle

check. but the Pc or M ink is now not firing any of its jets. so i did

another cleaning cycle. no dice. so i ran a print through. no dice.

another cleaning cycle. no dice.

 

thinking there was a problem with the reloaded cart (that had

literally put in five days before and had seen only 6 or 7 prints

through it) i changed carts to a fresh reloaded cart. let the new

cart sit for couple of hours. ran a nozzle check that showed the

problem head still not firing any jets.

 

i have let the printer sit overnight hoping it will clear itself, but i

am worried that i will get home tonight and see no improvment.

 

any thoughts about what the problem is or what possible

solutions are? i am pretty comortable doing anything short of

taking the printer apart.

 

thanks.

 

-m

[mark houtzager]

Did you switch off the printer? If you don't, the printer head will not return to the off position and will clog. Although cleaning cycles work, simply printing works better and it might be worth to sacrifice some paper. Alternatively, run cylcles with cleaning fluid.

 

 

Mark

[michael_meyer]

mark-

 

i thought the 890/1280 capped themselves after an extended

period of not being used, the same as though they had been

turned off. is this not true?

 

must the printer be shut off for it to seal off the head?

 

-m

[steven_clark]

Are you using a chip resetter or the method where you manually eject a new cartridge and replace it with the refill? If you are using that technique then the problem could be the fact that it doesn't do a charging cycle without a normal replacement. Often when I have the "moving gaps" I find that the charging cycle fixes it.

[cg]

I have a 1280 with Niagara CIS and MediaSt. Plug-n-Play dye inks. I have to print at least 1 page a day or turn the printer off at night or it will get major clogs. Turning the printer off at night has prevented major clogs and saves me lots of hassle, time and ink.

[michael_meyer]

i am using a chip resetter.

 

i feel like somehow air got into the head since the cartridge was

put in, made about 6 great prints and then after a couple of days

of sitting and a cleaning cycle decided not to work.

 

or it could be something ridiculous like a head failure or

electronic problem or even a silly software glitch. hopefully i go

home after work and it is magically working again. that would be

great.

 

thanks for the thoughts everyone.

 

-,

[michael_meyer]

hiflex-

 

i have had the printer on almost continuously since i bought it

over a month ago. i generally run a page through a day. i have let

the printer sit for two or three days at a stretch and not had this

problem before.

 

did you find that the issue of clogs got worse over time? do

printers age quickly and get ornery?

 

thanks.

 

-m

[mark houtzager]

Michael - I have not seen my 1280 returning to its 'shut' position with power off, and

powering off did help with my clog probs.

 

 

Mark

[david_f._stein]

That's why I like my Epson 1160-amazingly clog free with different ink sets; long sits!!!

I have also had good experiences with MIS inks re: lack of clogs. Try

www.inkjetart.com and look through links-there are many tutorials on clogs. Also, when

you do a Nozzle Check, see gaps, and then do Cleaning, do Confirmation-if there are

still gaps, do another Clean cycle RIGHT THEN. You must do Confirmations between

each Clean cycle without going out of the dialog-the printer "cleans deeper" with each

progressive try that way. I like the cleaning cartridges offered by

www.tylermartin.com-economical and you can use any extra fluid in them after a

reasonable number of pages for other cleaning uses, such as your refill supplies.

GOOD LUCK

[michael_meyer]

david-

 

yeah i understand about doing the next cleaning right away. i'm

cool with that.

 

so, if anyone cares: last night i got home and ran a print through.

looked like crap. so i did a cleaning immediately and then a

nozzle check. the head that wasn't shooting sunday night was

now perfect. sweet! however, another head was now shooting

nothing. ten or fifteen prints and several nozzle checks later

(including prints of solid color blocks to get particular inks to fire)

the printer came pretty close to life. but it still printed just off.

never perfect.

 

as this was a small favor for a teacher friend, i wasn't too worried

about perfection, though it would have been nice.

 

after doing this, i ran through another print on a different paper to

see if the paper had any effect on the ink shooting or not. epson

eem looked much better than the previous prints which had

been done on mitsubishi diamond matte. is it possible that this

paper was causing the printer problems with pigment inks? this

paper in the past looked fine with epson's own dye inks. could it

have been the paper that caused the printer to freak? should i

stick to nicer papers?

 

-m

[peter nelson]

I'm active on the Yahoo Black and White print group, and other photography forums, and this kind of stuff is all I hear! I use nothing but the Epson inks on my 870 and 2200 and I've never had a serious clog. The closest I've ever come was one on my 870 that took 3 heard-cleaning cycles to fix when I left it turned on and unparked for a MONTH! That was a year ago and it's never clogged since then. My 2200 never clogs.<P>

 

I think there's a "help me, my heads are clogged withg third-party ink!" message posted on SOME group I'm active on, every single day! Why? Can someone explain <B>WHY</B> these third-party ink makers can't seem to get it right?<P>

 

I doubt very much it's your paper. On my 2200 I print on <U>EVERYTHING</U> that will fit through the feed slot: grocery bags, linen, canvas, toothed pastel paper, (real, not Epson) watercolor paper, etc. I've been doing this since I bought the printer and I've had no problems.