I have just tried to load my R2400 with Piezography inks. I ran a nozzle check before removing the Epson inks and it was OK. Having loaded my new carts, I’m a long way off a clean nozzle check. I’ve run head cleans but it just doesn’t get any better. Black and Magenta slots look good, LK is GO so i have no idea, same for yellow. The rest are all over the place. I need a little help in what to do next, please.
I’ve tried adding a PDF to show the print test but it won’t let me upload.
It’s always good to solve one’s own problems. A few more head cleans and gentle tapping of the carts, has done the job. I’m off and running.
Well that didn’t last long. Once I got a good nozzle check, I made one 12x12" print and turned the 2400 off for the night. This morning, the nozzle check was good. This afternoon, I swapped out the matte cart for a photo black. Now, I’m back to half the carts printing nothing. I can’t upload files so here’s a link to the images on my site. The first is the nozzle check, and the second is a screen grab of the state of my once full carts.
http://www.jeff-grant.com/ccf15012015#photo
http://www.jeff-grant.com/screen-shot-2015-01-15#photo
This printer was working perfectly before I put in the new carts. It worked perfectly for one print yesterday. I really need some assistance, please. All that I seem to be achieving at the moment is ink usage, and loads of frustration.
Here’s a bit more information. My LC and LM carts are both empty, and the yellow is heading that way too. How does that work. That would explain some of the missing print check.
I’m sorry to say Jeff that it sounds like the carts have drained, probably while sitting on the capping station. I’ve been having this problem on and off with my recently acquired s/h R2880. There are some threads about this. I haven’t really resolved it yet.
Why? Well there are a set of standard responses:
If you’ve done 1 & 2 already and BoM data suggest that humidity was mid-range, then normally I’d suggest you consider #4. But if it’s happening to quite a few carts, I doubt that a cluster of faulty carts is likely.
Brian, I’m wrestling with the possibles.
There is the sound of straw clutching being drowned out by ink going down the gurgler as I see it. I wonder how much ink I’m about to waste chasing wild geese. It occurs to me that most of the carts are probably leaking. I seem to have used a lot of ink for nothing but cleaning cycles. On the subject of instructions, the cart loading video is different to the latest instructions for refills.
Right now, I’m wondering what the return policy is. This is massively disappointing!
Yes Jeff, it is. I understand only too well. Perhaps we should let this thread rest and wait for Dana to comment. I’ll send you those GO files by email and also some other observations.
Hi Jeff~
I have to admit, I haven’t used our R2400 for quite a while (it’s been safely stored with PiezoFlush carts for months), but haven’t experienced leaking of the current model R2400 refill carts (there was a leaking issue with the previous design of this model cart, but that was several years ago, and resolved by the new design we’ve been selling for the past few years).
The latest written instructions for the R2400 + R1800 carts is current, though the video was made for a previous cartridge design (we have a long list of videos we plan to remake or make this year). We removed video links from the cartridge page and paper instructions, to avoid confusion.
Brian has some good input, after we’ve had many communications regarding his R2880 and R1900 setups (thanks Brian).
You said you cleaned the printer recently, but please clarify: did you do cleaning cycles thru the printer utility, and/or did you follow our instructions to manually clean the printer’s capping station, wiper blade and bottom of the print head?
What is the humidity and temperature in your printing environment (outside levels differ from inside)?
Your LC and LM carts are empty, and Y is very low- what are the physical ink levels of the other five carts?
Does ink leak from the cartridge exit valves when carts are removed from the printer?
Please let me know, and I will check our 2400 setup.
Best~ Dana
Hi Dana,
To answer your questions:
You said you cleaned the printer recently, but please clarify: did you do cleaning cycles thru the printer utility, and/or did you follow our instructions to manually clean the printer’s capping station, wiper blade and bottom of the print head?
I followed another set of instructions but they covered the capping station, wiper blade and bottom of the print head.
What is the humidity and temperature in your printing environment (outside levels differ from inside)?
Current humidity is 76%, with temperature in the mid to high 20s Every now and then I can’t bear the humidity and turn on the AC for a while
Your LC and LM carts are empty, and Y is very low- what are the physical ink levels of the other five carts?
LLK 1/3, LK 1/4, K full having just put in the Photo Black, C 1/3, M 1/4, Y 1/8
Does ink leak from the cartridge exit valves when carts are removed from the printer?
There is a little ink from some carts but a wipe on paper clears it and no more comes out. I have had the matte black sitting on a paper towel for 24 hours with no ink loss.
Having dumped all that ink, I will now follow your cleaning instructions on YouTube and install the waste kit.
I have just run a nozzle check, and it looks like B, C, and M are OK Y and LK are very light so it’s hard to tell, and LLB is invisible. So it looks like I now have two empty carts with the rest perhaps working. Is there a better test than the nozzle check? I have a test image for a colour environment which has bars of solid colour.
Just to complicate matters, I now have Epson Printer Utility Lite which seems to have replaced the old utility. It only has Nozzle Check, and Head Cleaning buttons. Thanks you Epson.
I have now cleaned the printer as per the YouTube, and can report that a couple of carts full of ink goes a long way. I have a bin full of bits of paper towel with black and red on them. As an aside, the Piezo flush comes in a bottle with the hole to take the blunt needle only so the syringe in the cleaning kit doesn’t fit.
I will now wait for an update from Dana. I’m not going to try filling the two empty carts again.
Presumably those carts read as full when you started, so most of the ink has gone in head cleans, and a little printing.
Can I make a suggestion? Head cleans are very wasteful, as you know. The issue with this printer is that Jon once estimated at 50% of the ink consumed by this printer in normal usage goes down the waste ink pipe. I assume that the other desktop printers of this generation and later are similar. So for this reason I try to avoid head cleans whenever possible. I’ve also had the experience, depending on the source of the problem, that head cleans can make matters worse rather than better, e.g. when there’s air in the lines. Epson of course love it when you do head cleans, so that’s all they really offer.
What I generally try to do initially to clear a printer is print a purge pattern, and only perform a head clean as a last resort. One way to do this with QTR is to print a calibration chart. This can help, bit it isn’t ideal as it fades from 100 to 0, and the bars are narrow. Dana recently published an article on how to use QTR to print a block purge pattern and how to print a purge pattern that targets just the problem channels. It’s not the only way to do this, but it’s probably the simplest:
http://www.inkjetmall.com/tech/content.php?166-Flush-individual-channel-using-QTR-Calibration-Mode
Just remember take your printer out of calibration mode before you do any more printing. I forgot on one occasion recently, and the results were a little odd, to say the least.
Thanks Brian. The carts were full to start. That link is what I needed, thanks. I’m now waiting to hear from Dana for the next move. I don’t want to muck around around with anything until my carts issue is sorted.
Here’s the morning update on the carts: LLK 1/4, LM 0, LC 0, LK 0, K, 2/3, C 0, M 1/8, Y 0 All carts in the printer are leaking. The only cart that isn’t leaking is Matte Black which is sitting on my desk. That’s roughly one bottle of ink donated to the gods so far. I’m going to pull all the carts out of the printer rather than dump more ink in it.
Continuing my conversation with myself, the carts have a bit of plastic over the exit valve. In the absence of any instructions, I left it there. They appear to be well adhered to the cart. Is that correct?
Hi Jeff~
Thanks for the additional information.
76% humidity is very high, and can cause swelling. I wonder if your capping station is swelling, and wicking ink out of the carts? (I’ve had this happen before)
Yes, you must leave the plastic membrane covering the exit valves, as it keep all the parts in place. The points in the print head will pierce thru this plastic.
Do you have the air vent plug removed, and other plug on top in place, or both holes on top open?
Have you vacuum filled the carts, or did you inject ink in?
Please let me know, thanks~ Dana
Hi Dana,
As I said, it’s probably less than 76% because I put the AC on to get rid of it. I can buy a hygrometer if needed. Sydney is having an excessively humid Summer. The air vent plug is out and the other plug is in. The carts were vacuum filled as per your instruction sheet, inserting the syringe into the cart, pulling up on the plunger and letting it go
Having had a discussion with Jon, I loaded another set of carts today. After a load of nozzle checks, and flush images I only have a couple of carts working cleanly. I’m assuming that all the ink running through the head has clogged them. I will try some piezoflush on them tomorrow. I’m at my wit’s end. I must remember the old adage about the first sign of madness. I’m expecting to find that these carts have drained by tomorrow.
This is insane! At this point macrame is looking like a nice way to spend my twilight years.
Possible, but unlikely in my view. Assuming the carts don’t drain again (fingers crossed) then it’s more likely air in the lines that a bit of patience and some purge patterns might fix. Pushing flush through may help to clear the lines, but in order to do that you’ll be triggering another compulsory head clean.
These carts are already half empty. I’m finished with experiments until I hear from Dana. Purge patterns haven’t achieved a lot so far. My nozzle checks are all over the place.
I know you’re getting frustrated, but a little more specificity is going to be needed in order to understand what is happening.
When you say that your nozzle checks are all over the place, do you mean that different nozzles on the same channel are appearing as gaps at different times, or the gaps are moving from channel to channel, or both?
The half-empty carts - do you mean the actual ink level or what the Epson status monitor s/w says, or both? Whichever, in your view are the carts draining, or has the ink gone in head cleans, or in printing purge patterns?
The nozzle check gaps are both symptoms. I’ll put a page on my site with supply levels and nozzle check prints: http://www.jeff-grant.com/portfolio373875.html. The cart physical levels are: LLK 75%, LM 50%, LC 60%, LK 60%, K 65%, C 65%, M 45%, Y 45%
As an aside, I am happy to buy a new printer if this proves too difficult with the time difference. Just point me at it.
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