Problems with yellow Conecolor Ink on a 9600

InkjetMall Customer Support Printer Maintenance & Cartridges
1

Hi, I am having repeated problems with my yellow Conecolor ink. At times, my nozzle checks are perfect, except that there is a magenta tint to the bottom rung of yellow hyphens. However, even with totally perfect nozzle check results, the yellow, more often than not, drops out of my print and creates a banding effect. With long prints, this can be on only a small portion of the image, but even with short prints, it can be more than banding, the yellow drops out altogether. I am eating up lots valuable time and paper doing this! How can it be remedied?

2

From what you explain, it sounds like you are experiencing flow issues, and since you reported magenta and yellow, which are always the thickest pigment inks (this is true even with Epson inks, and due to the natural pigments used), I question the dampers and printer’s maintenance history. After reviewing your order history, I see you have been using ConeColor K2 inks in your 9600 for several years now. When (if ever) were the dampers last replaced in this 9600? Have you cleaned (or replaced) the capping station, flushing box and/or wiper blade? Have you cleaned the bottom of the print head? On average, how often do you use this printer vs. how long does it sit unused? What is the humidity level in your printing environment? What is the ink level in your refillable cartridges? Are the air vent holes fully open for proper ink flow? How often do you agitate your ink cartridges to maintain in-suspension pigment?

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

3

Dana, I use the printer daily. Recently, I have had a new print head, wiper blade, and pump cap installed. A new damper for the yellow was installed as well. I have not the air vent holes open, but will start doing that immediately. I actually resolved this yellow issue by emptying almost all of the yellow ink out of my refillable cartridge and then filling it up again. With that, the yellow issues disappeared! I figure that the agitation I have done (I move the printer back and forth about ten times on a weekly basis) wasn’t adequate to keep the pigment particles suspended properly… I have no idea about the humidity level, but have heard that some put a damp kitchen sponge nearby the print head nightly in order to ward off clogs. I really don’t want to have to resort to a humidifier, so I am wondering what you think about that as a route to safe humidity for my 9600. I do clean the bottom of the print head regularly when faced with clogging.

4

Thanks for the additional information. Did you install the new parts into your printer, or an Epson service tech? Dampers should be replaced as a set, every 1-3 years, and should always be replaced when a new head is installed. It is VERY important that the air vent holes be OPEN on all refill carts whenever the printer is in use. The vent plugs should only be inserted when the printer is not being used. I have heard about the wet sponge, though frankly don’t feel that’s a good solution and humidity is important for the paper as well (and don’t feel that a moist sponge would give off enough humidity, plus it can get gross), so we recommend maintaining the recommended 40-60% level in the printing environment (not just inside/around the printer). You can get a decent humidifier for under $100 and a hygrometer for about $25- both are worth the investment.

5

The Epson service tech did the installation.