Recent Odd Behavior - Cyan Channel Fully Dropping Out

InkjetMall Customer Support Printer Maintenance & Cartridges
1

Hi Everyone,

I’m having an odd issue as of last Friday where I will turn my 9900 on, and the cyan channel will be completely gone. So far, it has always fully come back after a single pair cleaning (low power), but the fact that the same channel is dropping out fully overnight while the printer is shut off has me scratching my head.

I did give the printer’s capping station a swab-down with Piezoflush last week (try to do this every 2-3 months), and I’ve just checked to make sure there isn’t any lint or debris stuck anywhere, and everything looks fine to me (nothing obvious anyway). I replaced both the capping station and ink selector unit just under a year ago, so they should still be in decent shape I would hope. I keep a humidifier running in the print room as well.

Could there be another reason for an entire channel to disappear and then come right back? I tried tracing the lines back with a flashlight and couldn’t find any air pockets. I did agitate the carts last Friday as well - I just checked the cyan cartridge and it seems ok to me. Could there be a failing o-ring somewhere? or should I try re-priming just to see if that helps?

It’s happened three times now which seems too weird to be a coincidence and has me thinking I might have upset something during my TLC session last week. Any ideas?

Thanks as always!
cjh

2

Hmm. This indicates something weird at the damper that is causing back pressure. It flows fine when you are printing? Just when it sits? This indicates some form of back pressure caused by improper alignment of damper (screw is loose or wrong in there, etc).

-Walker

3

Hey Walker,

It hasn’t dropped out on me while printing - not yet, anyway. When I turned the printer on this morning it ran a perfect nozzle check - because why wouldn’t it? haha.

Would there be anything else to indicate an issue with the alignment of the dampers? ink seepage, bubbles, etc? If it happens again, I will go in and make sure that all of those screws are fully seated - I know I was pretty cautious with them during the replacement, but the printer has been happy, healthy, and shockingly reliable (for a 9900) ever since.

Thanks again for your help!
cjh

4

This could have been an air bubble working its way out.

9900s like Piezo ink. We have ours going on 5 yrs with Piezo and not a problem on the head at all. Every other color (epson OEM or non-OEM no matter what) 9900 printer has gone kaput.

Best,
Walker

1 Like
5

Hey Walker,

While printing today, I did have the cyan channel drop out in between prints - the printer was maybe resting for 30-40 mins in between prints. The nozzle check wasn’t completely blank this time, but probably 90-95% gone. This clog (or whatever) was a little more stubborn - two normal paired cleans, and one powerful paired clean - but came back 100% afterwards. Would you say this still points to an issue with the dampers? I am only having problems with cyan - it’s pair partner (magenta, maybe, I think?) has been rock-solid.

Thanks again - always appreciate the help.
cjh

6

I think it’s dampers. It’s air that is getting into the nozzle plate and this suggests some back suction. Or it’s air getting directly into nozzle plate from a gap in the side-wall laminate of the nozzle plate itself.

Best,
Walker

7

Alright thanks! I’ll get in there tomorrow and see if things can be tightened up a bit.

cjh