Mike Chaney's Tech Corner

Hello,

I'm new in this forum and hope I can get some advice on a clogging issue.

I have an Epson R3000 printer which is about 2½ years old now. I haven't used it as much as expected - to give you an idea: it was only recently the printer warned about "out of ink" for the first time - the VLM. However, I haven't replaced the VLM yet.
 
I perform nozzle checks regularly - approx. every 14 days but sometimes less frequent. Power is always disconnected until I need to print. The last few nozzle checks showed minor signs of clogging in the cyan and light blacks. I then tried to run the unclogging pattern in QImage but then the cyan nozzle check pattern went bad - it now only prints approx. half the pattern. The light blacks/greys are unchanged - still minor clog signs. For the unclog pattern in QImage I use plain paper and quality print - no color management.
   
I have only used QImage for some months now so I'm inexperienced - that goes for clogging issues as well. 

Before I waste my ink on running a head clean - are there any other ways of using the QImage features to solve the clog? Or other alternatives as well.

Any advice appreciated!
Lars

Hi Lars,
The unclogger in Qimage is basically designed with a sort of maintenance against clogging in mind.
If heavy clogs already exist, you should try running UNCLOG A FEW TIMES.
If that doesn't clear it, then you will have  to resort to the head cleaner in the Epson driver, and maybe run that a few times.
I also suggest patience!   After doing a head clean, let the printer sit overnight. Many times, air/foam will work itself out.

I hope that you let the heads park before you pulled the plug and left it.

Hope some of this helps...
Fred

Thank you very much Fred for the quick and useful reply.

Yes - I turn off the printer at the panel and let it shut down/park the heads before unplugging.

I get the impression from your reply that a clog is caused by air/foam in the tubes? If so, isn't there a chance that it solves itself over time if I repeat printing the unclog pattern - as maintenance as you say. What else can be the cause of clogging? Dirt and/or residues of dried ink on the heads?  

I've repeated the unclog pattern 6 times. 3 times with only the black/grey and cyan checked and the printed QImage unclog pattern looks fine. Then 3 times were I add blue and magenta - then the QImage unclog print pattern starts to look uneven. I would have expected an uneven pattern for the first 3 as well when I only choose cyan and black/grey which are the ones being reported as clogged in the nozzle check print.

Lars
      

Usually dried ink is the culprit. The foam sometimes shows up when the cartridges are shaken and charged in the printer.
Fred

Thanks again Fred - good to know the possible causes.

I got the cyan issue fixed - and (so far) I didn't resort to a head cleaning.
 
I simply followed your advice about patience and let the printer sit over night after I had run the 6 pages of unclog pattern in QImage. Today, 3 nozzle checks looked almost perfect for the cyan but still a few gaps in grey/black.
 
Then I printed the unclog pattern once more (cyan, blue, magenta and blck/grey) and it also looked mostly fine - however, the first inch or so looks a bit blurred/smeared. I then looked more carefully at the nozzle check pattern and realized that the cyan pattern is a tiny bit crooked vertically in the upper right corner.

I then decided I'd try a head alignment - first time for this as well. I'm asked to use a sheet of Epson Photo Quality Inkjet paper so I guess plain paper won't do. However I don't want to waste my expensive paper - I assume any photo grade paper will be OK?

One more thing - just curious. I sometimes cut papers into different sizes and I've wondered if paper dust etc. from the cuts can cause clogging issues or damage the print heads over time. 

Lars  

  

I didn't know what paper this was.... I looked it up.
I must have found something else... The paper I found called Epson Photo Quality Inkjet was $8.00 for 100 sheets of 8.5 x 11.

If that is what they ask for, then I would comply.
Your Printer is a fairly expensive investment. I would treat it well.

Fred

Apologies .. it was not my intention you should look it up for me. I went to Epson's home page and regarding head alignment and what paper to use they say:
"... Epson Presentation Paper Matte (or the photo paper you have on hand) in the sheet feeder. It’s best to use matte or photo paper for the most accurate alignment." 

As you say, it's a fairly expensive piece of equipment and I'm in the process of learning the do's and don'ts - thanks for your help.

Lars