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Author Topic: Unclog job Epson printer SC P600  (Read 3591 times)
HerrBill
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« on: October 07, 2020, 07:57:13 PM »

I ran an unclogged job today and the pattern is perfect i.e. no broken lines. For good measure, I also ran a series nozzle checks using the Epson utility but as you can see the Photo blacks have progressively disappeared. I am attaching relevant prints for your perusal.
Interested to hear what your conclusion is and what steps I should take.
Bill
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« Reply #1 on: October 07, 2020, 08:20:55 PM »

How low is the PK ink?  Our P600 gave up on the PK channel when the ink was still at around 25% in that cart.  We had to replace the cart to get it working again.  Our symptoms were the same.  Not sure if this is a common think with the P600.

Mike
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HerrBill
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« Reply #2 on: October 08, 2020, 09:28:05 AM »

Ye, I think that could be the problem. I shall replace the ink and let you know how i get on.
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« Reply #3 on: October 08, 2020, 07:18:27 PM »

Is this a new printer?  Curious if that PK cart was your first?  Maybe the included carts aren't quite up to capacity.  It pained me a bit to throw out a cart that was reading 20% to 25% but there was no other option.  Fortunately the replacement cart worked fine.  I just hope this isn't a trend: where carts go "dry" before the estimated ink level says empty.

Mike
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HerrBill
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« Reply #4 on: October 09, 2020, 04:41:32 PM »

This is a relatively new printer. Whilst I print on a regular basis, I would consider myself a low volume user.

I had just changed over from matt to photo black printing. And as I was about to run a test print for an ICC profile, I decide to run a nozzle check in advance as advised by the photo paper supplier. That's when I noticed the broken lines on the photo black pattern.

My ink supplier advised me to prime the cartridge and do a head clean which I did and I got the all clear, so I'm good to go.

A question for you. I thought that broken lines would show up routinely in unclogged print outs and that nozzle checks would become superfluous; obviously not. Am I right in assuming that the purpose of running unclogged routines is to keep the printer ticking over and thus avoiding clogged printer heads?

Bill
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« Reply #5 on: October 09, 2020, 06:26:27 PM »

Right.  The main purpose is to keep nozzles from clogging in the first place.  That said, you will see banding or breaks in the pattern if the nozzle check is as bad as the most recent one you posted.  You may not see any breaks in the pattern if you only have a few nozzles that aren't firing because the purge sheets are not designed to fire individual nozzles as they do in a nozzle check.

Regards,
Mike
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HerrBill
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« Reply #6 on: October 09, 2020, 07:47:17 PM »

Thanks, Mike. I will bear that in mind in the future.
Bill
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« Reply #7 on: October 10, 2020, 01:53:17 PM »

Final thought...  Normally I would suggest checking only black and running a purge sheet to try to clear the black, particularly if the black is low enough that the driver refuses to run a cleaning cycle.  But I could see that it was getting progressively worse as you printed more which is exactly what happened on our P600 and it's an indication that the ink just isn't getting delivered for whatever reason.  If you see mild banding and discover a couple nozzles not firing in the black nozzle check, it's worth doing that but not when it gets worse as you print more.

Regards,
Mike
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