A few days ago I replaced the Magenta ink cartridge in my Epson R3000. Before I replaced the cartridge I ran a full page with QImage unclog pattern - all looking fine. I then replaced the cartridge and ran a new full page unclog pattern but now, in stead of solid color columns, there are horisontal bands on a lighter color than expected. 

I then ran unclog pattern for Cyan only - no problems. So, as I suspected it seems related to the new cartridge - I ran unclog pattern for Magenta only which reproduced the issue.

In an old topic I created regarding clogging Fred mentioned air/foam can cause issues and adviced patience:
"I also suggest patience!   After doing a head clean, let the printer sit overnight. Many times, air/foam will work itself out."

"The foam sometimes shows up when the cartridges are shaken and charged in the printer."

http://ddisoftware.com/tech/printers/my-first-clog-issue-with-epson-r3000-need-advice/msg18186/#msg18186

So I guess this issue could be air/foam introduced by replacing the cartridge? - I did shake it as instructed .. maybe too much.

I've now printed several pages using the unclog pattern with the Cyan color only and letting the printer sit overnight. However, the last pages I printed today is now getting fainter in color and I'm thinking if continuing this can cause damage to the printer when so little ink is coming through?   
 
I'm tempted to take out the cartridge to check it but don't know if that is safe to do when it is full and the foil/seal is broken.

Any advice appreciated.

Many thanks Mike.

I took the cartridge out and the seal looks like it has broken - there was also a bit of wet ink. I compared with the old cartridge and couldn't see any difference. Then I tried to remove the seal on the old cartridge but the rubber insert also came off - probably not a good idea to do on the new cartridge then...

I can keep printing the unclog pattern for that color only to see if gradually gets better. Could there be any risk doing that if enough ink isn't coming through?
The ones I printed today was no better nor worse - still faint with horizontal stripes in the left most column.     

I've had the new cartridge as a spare for a year - the date on the package says 01.2019 so I assume it should be OK .. at least for January :-)       

Regards,
Lars

Good point. It does not look good - almost absent for that color. Issues with the black as well (minor in comparison).

All looked fine less than half an hour before I replaced the cartridge - unclog pattern as well as nozzle check. I assume the printer ran a cleaning cycle after the cartridge was replaced. It sounded that way and it took a while for it to get ready after I turned it back on.               

Many thanks for the advice. I'll give it a try but I guess it could also be that the new cartridge is faulty. I find myself wasting a lot of ink and time on cleaning cycles due to clogging etc. instead of printing. It's probably because the printer is not being used frequently. Usually I print the unclog pattern once a week - I'll try doing that more often.  

Last time I replaced a cartridge it actually fixed a clog issue at the same time. This time the printer was fine prior to replacing the cartridge and now I apparently have a clog issue due to replacing the cartridge. Unpredictable :-\