Problem printing 9890

InkjetMall Customer Support Printer Maintenance & Cartridges
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1

As you know we have a 9890 epson back in february we had a problem with cyan nozzle problems we kept cleaning and nothing happened we called in service and they had to replace the heard and other parts which all and all cost us $2650. 00 now only 7 short months later we are having same problem. I spoke to jhon and he told me the that we should do a fresh refile . We did that and still; the same problem. He also told me to order a new whipper blade which i did and change and still. The same problem please let me know what to do to fix the problem because im not in the mood of spending another $2000. Dollars

p.s. Please note that both time the problem are light cyan and cyan

2

Wells told me you called this morning and wanted to schedule phone support due to clogging with your C and LC channels. I have looked up your order and support history to refresh my memory of your situation, and what we’ve been thru in the past. After reviewing my records, I see I’ve worked with you a few times to trouble shoot issues you’ve experienced with your 9890 refill cartridge setup, though still have unanswered questions that I have asked multiple times since last November. Last November, you were experiencing missing nozzles in the center of your C channel on the nozzle check, and all other channels looked perfect. I asked some questions to get a better understanding of your situation, to help me determine and cause and solution, but I never heard back from you, so assumed things were working well again. In April this year you wrote again (first post on this forum) mentioning LK pressurization problems and that you recently replaced several parts in your printer. I again asked questions to better understand your situation in order to help determine the cause and solution, and didn’t get clear/full information from you. Based on what you said at that time, you were priming the carts with an “old syringe and pin” and experienced three different carts leaking, I felt you may have punctured the cartridge ink bag, causing the leaks, so directed you to our priming procedure to follow, and sent you replacement cartridges. In that message, you said you were happy with the results in November, then let the printer sit until April, when you noticed a puddle of ink under the printer. After sending the replacement cartridge and directing you to the proper priming procedure you should be following, I haven’t heard back from you until today.

I understand you are busy, but please understand that I am too, and work with all our customers to answer questions and resolve issues that may arise, to keep them happily printing. Without being at your printer and involved in your process/history, I must ask questions and rely on information you provide to better understand what is going on, which is necessary for me to determine the cause and solution of your issue. Without clear information from you, I am in the dark and unable to help. Please answer the following questions, which are very important for me to help you.

  1. How often have you been agitating the ink cartridges?
  2. How often is the printer generally used, vs. how long does it sit unused?
  3. When were all channels last fully printing on the nozzle check?
  4. When did you first discover the missing C and LC nozzles?
  5. Did the nozzles stop printing suddenly or gradually over time?
  6. What happened before the nozzles dropped out- had the printer sat unused for a while, was the printer used frequently, were cartridges refilled, did any cartridges become empty or nearly empty, etc?
  7. About how many individual nozzles, or what percentage of the C and LC channels aren’t printing on the nozzle checks?
  8. What have you done so far to try getting the nozzles printing again- regular cleaning cycles, power cleaning cycles, manual cleaning of the printer (capping stations, wiper blade, flushing box + bottom of the print head)?
  9. What are the humidity and temperature levels in your printing environment?
  10. Please remove and check your cartridges- are any leaking from the exit valve or air inlet point?
  11. What is the current ink level in your cartridges?
  12. Please confirm- are you using 700ml size refill carts in all positions, and a smaller 350m cart in the LC channel?
  13. Have you refilled cartridges, specifically the C and LC in question, since our last communication about 6mo ago? I see you last purchased PK, LC, LK + LM ink in April 2013, and a set of 700ml bottles in November 2012.

Please let me know so I can help.
Tanks- Dana :slight_smile:

3
  1. Twice a week
  2. 6 days a week average of 3 to 4 20x30 a day
  3. A bout 2 weeks a go
  4. Last week
  5. Gradualy
  6. We started seeing a red line and try to do cleaning thats when we realized can not clean . Never run out of ink
  7. A bout 50% of c and lc plots are missing in the middle
    8 .we kept cleaning and nothing happened we called in service and they had to replace the heard and other parts which all and all cost us $2650. 00 now only 7 short months later we are having same problem. I spoke to jhon and he told me the that we should do a fresh refile . We did that and still; the same problem. He also told me to order a new whipper blade which i did and change and still. The same problem please let me know what to do to fix the problem because im not in the mood of spending another $2000. Dollars we also have put a wet towel under the head over nite

9.room tempreture working enviorment
10. No
11. All aprox 80% full c 98% full llb 35% full
12. Yes
13. Yes . Like i said after our last conversation we had last we had dissision one changed heads and few other thing on the printer

4

Your system does not allow me to insert the image of nozzle chk

5

Any solution for me

6

Thanks for the additional information. I apologize for not responding sooner, your response came in after I left the office yesterday and I had a family medical issue to deal with this morning, so am now working from home for the rest of the day.

Based on the information you provided, you are correctly agitating cartridges and using the printer on a regular basis. The print environment humidity is important to track and maintain, as it’s important to the function of your printer, and fluctuates thru out the year. In our location, it can get VERY humid in the Summer months, so we have to run the AC constantly to keep it down, but in the dry Winter months, we have to run humidifiers constantly to bring the levels up. Dry air can easily cause ink flow and clogging issues, so humidity is especially important to monitor/maintain in the dry climates/seasons. Going by recommendations for printer, inks and papers, as well as our own experience over many years of printing- we maintain humidity levels between 40-60% for the best function of our printers, inks and papers.

Our approach is to determine the cause and repair it to resolve an issue (to learn how to fix + prevent the issue if possible), an Epson tech’s approach is to replace every part that could possibly cause the issue, and will not clean/repair parts or do much troubleshooting. When we first got our 7900 (which is physically made the same as the 7890/9890 series, just with two more channels) a few years ago, and I was just figuring out how it worked (still with Epson carts installed), it had all sorts of issues, and the repair guy had to come out on three separate occasions to replace the print head (twice), ink selector damper assembly, cap pump assembly (also twice), and even the main board- but it’s been working great since then (with ConeColor inks). If you search online, you will find many reports of people experiencing clogging and flow related issues with the 7890/9890, 7900/9900 and 4900 models, due to all the physical changes they made from previous models- apparently there are still some bugs to work out. We also have many users of these printers, who have only ever used Epson ink, but their printers are out of warranty and seriously clogged, contact us for help cleaning their printers. We have helped many clean their printers and get them working again with PiezoFlush, though some issues are more mechanical, and can not be fixed with flush fluid.

If this was my printer, I would install flush carts in the C and LC channels, do an initial fill and let the printer sit for a few hours with PiezoFlush in the lines/dampers, then print nozzle checks and do a few more cleaning cycles to see if PiezoFlush is able to get the channels printing again. I would also clean the wiper blade, capping station, flushing box and bottom of the print head, then do 1-3 more regular cleaning cycles before printing another nozzle check to see if anything has changed. It it’s improved, but still not perfect, let it sit overnight (off), then do a few more cleaning cycles and see how things look the following day. If the channels clear up and resume printing, you can eitehr reinstall your current C + LC carts and do another initial fill to fill the lines with ink again, or drain the carts and fill them with new/fresh ink if you wish (though, we haven’t had problems and have been selling/using these inks for many years, so don’t suspect they caused your issues). If the nozzles don’t return after cleaning with PiezoFlush, I would then remove the damper assembly (depending on your technical skill/comfort level) and use our print head cleaning kit to flush the print head, which has cleaned many clogged print heads in a wide range of printer models over the years. The print head cleanint kit can only be used on a pro model print head after the dampers have been disconnected from the head to access the channels (don’t try to force thru the lines and dampers).

I hope this helps. If you need to talk on the phone, I can call you tomorrow morning if you wish.
Best regards~ Dana

7

what is The print head cleanint kit and do u have instruction on how to do that we are very handy hear

8

The print head cleaning kit I mentioned is designed for desktop printer models (without ink lines and dampers), but CAN be used on a pro model printer if the dampers are disconnected and print head cleaned directly.
This is the cleaning kit I am talking about: http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.362672/it.A/id.6605/.f?sc=18&category=68410
We only provide instructions for using this kit with desktop printer models, but you can follow the Epson service/repair manual for instructions for accessing the print head by removing the dampers/ink selector unit. Once you have accessed the print head, you will want to place the folded paper towel under the head as per our instructions (to absorb fluid you inject thru the head).

All the best~ Dana

9

Hi Dana
can you please send me instruction how to do manual cleaning if the phizo flash does not work . and is it OK if instead of over tine the phizo flash sits there from today till Sunday since we are closed tommoroww

10

I am still working on writing cleaning/maintenance instructions specific to the x890 and x900 printer models, but have some information that I posted here: http://www.inkjetmall.com/tech/showthread.php?318-Epson-9890-Light-Cyan-problem&p=1568#post1568, and our general maintenance info can be found here: http://www.inkjetmall.com/tech/content.php?133-Printer-Cleaning-and-Preventative-Maintenance

Please keep me posted, best regards~ Dana :slight_smile:

11

hi once again its nice to get a response 3 days later while your machine is not working. in any case we spend close to 200.00 worth of new cleaning cartridges and phizo flash and cleaning kit. after doing all you said and even leaving phizo flash in the printer c and lc. and doing cleanings and power cleaning two days later my nozzle chks still the same. yesterday Sunday we took out the head and with your head cleaning kit put the phizo flah threw it and it flow threw the cyan and light cyan freely and nicely. but after punting it back together. still the same problem . in the process we saw that the cyan hose did not have any ink or phizo flas in it please explain.

12

as was turning off the printer to wait your reply it started leaking black ink from the back which from experience told me another cartridge bag is busted. after examining its the lite black cartridge this time.

13

I have been doing a lot of research on the X900 and X890 printers recently to gain a better understanding in hopes of finding the solution to issues with these models, and in the process am finding a huge amount of problem reports, many of which are people experiencing clogging with Epson inks/carts- which point to mechanical issues, not specific to the ink/carts used.

As I mentioned in a previous message several months ago, the number of cartridges you’ve had leak is very unusual, and I’m concerned about the priming method you used with the “old syringe and pin”- thinking the exit valve and/or bag may have been damaged with this pin. I suggest you get a new LK cartridge, and send me the current cartridge for inspection. If after examining the cartridge, I determine there was a failure of the cartridge, we will issue you a credit, but if my inspection shows damage to the bag or exit valve that is user caused, then I will let you know and be concerned about other carts that have been primed with this pin method. My mailing address is included below, please send the current LK cartridge to me after emptying the ink.

Best regards~ Dana

Inkjetmall
Attn: Dana/Testing
17 Powder Spring Rd
Topsham VT 05076

14

first of all we are using the new syringe system .secondly if there was a problem with the way we prime our cartridges we did exactly the way you show it on your YouTube video. and most of all i have a dead printer that caused by the ink after the head was replaced 6 month ago that’s all you could offer me.the way i prime me cartridge ???.

15

I am happy you have been using our priming tip and workflow since we sent the parts to you a few months ago, but am still concerned because you said you used a pin to prime them when we spoke in November, and I am just considering the facts that could have contributed to the high failure rate you’ve experienced with these carts.

In regards to your print head - this is endemic to this generation of printer platform. Customers of Epson inks are in the same position you are in with heads prematurely burning out.
If flushing as we instruct does not free up a print head, and replacing the wiper blade does not change the missing nozzles in the print head pattern - then most likely the issues are physical or electronic rather than ink related, and your print head has burned out.
We do know that repeated use of the powerful paired cleanings is known to burn out print heads, though there are also other reasons.
For some users, the print heads have failed in just the first few weeks of ownership (this happened with our 7900 when it was new several years ago)- this is not a printer to own without extended warranties.
We can only offer you suggestions. We sell a lot of flushing kits to current Epson ink users for this printer generation, and have a good success rate on these printer models, but can’t guarantee success.
I have been spending time taking apart an Epson 7900 and will later this month post pictures about what I am discovering.
But once a print head is burned out it can not be made to come back. These print heads are not like the print heads of previous generations which clogged and can be unclogged.
These print heads literally burn out and the piezo crystals which are affected are rendered permanently dead.
The previous generations of print heads did not use electrical stimulus to clean them, it does not look like this was a very good idea. We do know that there is a print head shortage and Epson is not allowing customers to buy them directly.
there is only so much we can do for you and I am trying everything I know.

If you would like to send me your cartridge which is leaking, I can examine it to find out if the leak is due to priming or due to manufacturing, to help understand and prevent it from happening again in the future.

All the best~ Dana

16

I’m not sure if you’ve seen this site, but MyX900.com has a lot of helpful information about these models, and a helpful/funny video that walks thru the print head replacement procedure: http://vimeo.com/59559486