9600 Dead Head?

Hi - When printing an nozzle check on our Epson 9600, I am getting no MK printing at all, and only the lower two lines for LK. See below for what I’ve already done to try to get it working. All of the other colors are fine. My question is whether it’s the head, or if there is something else to check or try before buying a head or another printer? The 9600 is really all the printer we need for what we do. It would be nice to be able to fix it.

Background: I was flushing the 9600 with Piezoflush in preparation for switching to your Pro ink. I have no reason to suspect that the flush has caused this problem. I just want to mention it so that folks will know how I got here and what I’ve done, so far. MK and LK were not producing perfect nozzle checks prior to the flush. MK was showing a few dots, and LK is about the same. I have replaced the MK and LK dampers, just to eliminate that variable. The printer is still set up with the Piezoflush carts. Piezoflush is being pulled through the MK and LK lines during cleaning cycles. I removed the head and gently pushed some flush through MK and LK. Nothing seems amiss. No apparent clogs. I cleaned the contacts on the ribbon cables. There are no errors being displayed. The printer has been running fine, aside from occasional clogs due to sporadic use. We try to keep the capping station damp, and it’s always recovered after a couple of cleaning cycles.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Dana & Owen

Hi Dana and Owen~

Thanks for the detailed information, this makes it easier for me to understand your situation to quickly help (without asking too many questions).

After reviewing your order history, I see you’ve purchased ConeColor K2 inks and PiezoFLush from us. What cartridges are you using? Are they new cartridges, or have they been previously used with another ink/fluid? What are you doing to flush the printer- power clean cycles, initial fill, etc? Did you prime the cartridge exit channels and open air vent holes prior to installing cartridges into your printer? Have you cleaned the capping station, flushing box, wiper blade and/or bottom of the print head by following our instructions? If not, I recommend you clean these parts. Here is a link to our cleaning/maintenance procedures: http://www.inkjetmall.com/tech/content.php?133-Printer-Cleaning-and-Preventative-Maintenance

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have questions, your results, or if there’s anything else I can help you with.
Best regards~ Dana :slight_smile:

Hi Dana,

Thanks for getting back to us. In the time between posting our question and your response, the printer had a paper jam and went into error 0001005, with a light puff of smoke as icing on the cake. Looks like there is more wrong than a few nozzles not working. Looks like it’s time for a different printer.

FYI - I had done all the things you asked about. The cartridges were previously filled with your K2, but each was drained and washed out with Piezoflush. There is was no trouble with the flow from the carts through the head during a cleaning cycle or when I manually manually applied suction on the hose that goes from the capping station to the pump.

Thanks again for your response.

Error 0010005 indicates the “CR motor is out of step”, which may be related to the paper jam you encountered. CR stands for carriage return. Have you tried sliding the print head to the far right side, turning the printer off then back on to refresh? Is the encoder strip correctly attached on both sides and in the middle?

If the dampers are new, you flushed the print head and didn’t have clogs/resistance, carts are primed and air vent holes open, and wiper/flushing box/caping station are clean, then other than possibly a bad connection or air in the damper/line, I can’t think of anything else that would cause the issues you’re experiencing with these two channels.

Best~ Dana