Ink clogs always in the same channel, MK

InkjetMall Customer Support Piezography Inks & Printing
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1

why is it always the same ink cart that develops clogs in my 4900?

my MK is always clogging, is there a reason?

thank you,

2

Hi stump4545~

After reviewing your order history, I see you purchased the set of 4900 refillable cartridges and Piezography Special Edition inks earlier this year.

The x900 series printers have many known issues, especially regarding flow and clogging, which you can find documented all over the internet. Piezography inks have been carefully formulated over the years to offer the best longevity, as well as good ink flow and not be prone to clogging. I have a few questions listed below to help me get a better understanding of your set up, and the answers you provide will help me determine if there’s something you can to avoid the clogging you’ve been experiencing, or if it may be specific to your printer.

  1. How often do you use this printer vs. how long does it sit unused?
  2. When does clogging occur- after the printer has sat for a while, or during printing, etc?
  3. What is the level of ink in your refillable carts?
  4. How often have you been agitating the ink carts?
  5. What are the temperature and humidity levels in your printing environment?
  6. When you experience a clog in the MK channel, is the whole position missing, 50% or more of the nozzles, or a few individual nozzles?
  7. How quickly/easily does the clog clear- after one regular or paired regular cleaning cycle, after a few regular cleaning cycles, a power clean cycle, or several power clean cycles, etc?
  8. How often do you remove the cartridges from the printer, and does the MK clog often occur shortly after that cart is removed and reinserted?

Please let me know this information to help me help you resolve this issue and get back to happily printing.
Best regards~ Dana :slight_smile:

3

  1. How often do you use this printer vs. how long does it sit unused?
    -I try to do a print session at least once every 2 weeks

  2. When does clogging occur- after the printer has sat for a while, or during printing, etc?
    -only when printer hasn’t been used for a while. the longer it sits the more it clogs.

  3. What is the level of ink in your refillable carts?
    -most are at least half full and 1 or 2 have about 15% of ink left

  4. How often have you been agitating the ink carts?
    -I honestly haven’t been agitating regularly

  5. What are the temperature and humidity levels in your printing environment?
    -I print in my basement which is about 70 degrees and not too humid.

  6. When you experience a clog in the MK channel, is the whole position missing, 50% or more of the nozzles, or a few individual nozzles?
    -mostly a few nozzles sometimes more depending on long my printer sits

  7. How quickly/easily does the clog clear- after one regular or paired regular cleaning cycle, after a few regular cleaning cycles, a power clean cycle, or several power clean cycles, etc?
    -clears after about (2) regular cleanings and maybe one power cleaning. the longer printer sits ideal the more cleanings needed

  8. How often do you remove the cartridges from the printer, and does the MK clog often occur shortly after that cart is removed and reinserted?
    -i haven’t been removing my carts much at all. only agitated about 1 time

just wondering why is the MK and sometimes the LC channel clogging? Why are those channels more prone to clog?

thanks a lot.

4

Thanks for the additional information, this is all very helpful.

I recommend you get in a routine of agitating ink carts and making a small print, or minimally doing 1-2 regular cleaning cycles every week to help avoid settling of pigment in the carts and internal ink system, and keep the print head moist to prevent drying/clogging. We both use our own products, and carefully track tech support to ensure the best quality inks and carts. We haven’t received other reports of Neutral shade 1 (Piezography matte black) clogging or having flow issues, and we have thousands of customers happily using Piezography in a range of Epson printer models, including the newer x890 and x900 series.

If you search online, you will find several reports showing the newer printer models (x890 and x900 series) have a lot of issues, and we have received an alarming amount of messages from people who have only ever used Epson ink (so, it’s not ink dependent), but seek our help in unclogging their printers, and it seems like most people are reporting problems with the LC channel.
Epson has designed the newer printer models to not be easily maintained by the user like previous models, and also changed many mechanical parts, which seem to be problematic and burdensome.
From what I have read, the wiper blade in the newer printer models is often the cause of many problems, and is not as easy to keep clean as it is with older printers. It may also be the black capping station (there are separate capping stations for each print head pair), not having a good seal with the print head, allowing air to dry the head when not in use.

I hope this helps. Please keep me posted and let me know if you have further questions or there’s anything else I can help you with.
Best regards and happy printing~ Dana :slight_smile:

5

Thank you.

But any idea why it is always the same MK channel clogging?

6

As I said, my thoughts are that it could be the capping station not sealing well with the print head, and/or the wiper blade could also be a factor. Though, it could also be something else related to the printer mechanics, as people who are using these model printers with OEM ink are also experiencing frequent flow/clogging issues, often times with one or two positions causing the most issues, though it’s not always the same position(s) with different printers.

~Dana