Qimage and pulsating purge patterns

As a Windows user who sometimes prints colour, I have a copy of the popular printing program QImage by Mike Chaney. A feature was recently introduced to allow people to selectively clear blocked nozzles without running cleaning cycles.

This intrigued me, as Qimage is not a RIP and uses the print driver, so how could it do this? Well, if you watch the support video (20 mins)
Qimage Ultimate - Print Unclog Pattern (Updated) - YouTube
he confesses that he doesn’t / can’t do this. His view is near enough is good enough in terms of targeting a single colour.

But what is interesting is that this new feature uses what he calls a pulsating purge pattern. I’ve attached a screen grab from the video that gives a rough idea. Rather than printing a solid block of colour/black, as you might do if you were using a custom QTR curve to print a rectangle of black to clear a single channel, it prints a rapidly repeating series of narrow gradients, as per the attached. His argument is that this turns the nozzles on and off in rapid succession and increases its effectiveness. I confess that I’ve not tried it, but as someone who is currently wrestling with printers that get gaps in the nozzle check far too quickly, I am certainly interested.

Have you heard of this? Views?


I have heard of Qimage, but have not used it myself, so have no personal experience. The idea of a pulsating purge pattern is interesting, and may be an effective way of exercising the print head channels on a regular basis between use.

It would be interesting to hear feedback from other customers who may have used Qimage, and have some personal experience to share, and please share your feedback if you decide to give it a try.

Best regards~ Dana

I’d have thought that a QTR calibration pattern on a moderately regular basis would be sufficient to prevent clogs. The pulsating purge pattern may (or may not) be useful to clear them. When I get some time I will try to create one and see if it helps, although I’m still inclined to print it through a custom QTR curve that targets the clogged channel rather than through Qimage that prints through the driver and so is less precise.

Yes, I believe printing the QTR all-channel flush image on a regular basis is good to keep all channels printing, to avoid drying and clogging. The nice thing about printing the purge pattern thru QTR Calibration Mode is that all channels are working equally, whereas printing thru the Epson driver doesn’t use all channels equally. I’m not sure if the pulsating pattern will give any different results, but please feel free to share your experience if you decide to give it a try.

Best~ Dana :slight_smile: