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Lines on print (yellow channel), but nozzle check looks perfect?


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I suddenly have an issue with my yellow channel. Nozzle check for some reason looks perfect but I'm getting lines on my yellow which naturally affects other colors a bit as well.

Any idea what could be happening here? Doing a search on the forum and throughout Google has been tough because most people have some breaks on the nozzle check while mine looks fine.

I tried cleaning and changing cartridges but neither made any difference.

IMG_0215.jpg

Edited by Mdrake2016
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13 minutes ago, Mdrake2016 said:

I suddenly have an issue with my yellow channel. Nozzle check for some reason looks perfect but I'm getting lines on my yellow which naturally affects other colors a bit as well.

Any idea what could be happening here? Doing a search on the forum and throughout Google has been tough because most people have some breaks on the nozzle check while mine looks fine.

I tried cleaning and changing cartridges but neither made any difference.

IMG_0215.jpg

Well, coincidentally I am facing the same thing and diagnosing things. 
 

what printer are you using, inks, carts/dampers? 
 

A few things cause this I have found : 

1. poor ink flow- the head creates a small suction to print, when doing a nozzle check it’s much different than printing, so a very small amount of available ink works just fine, but when printing, if ink isn’t available quicker than it’s using it- this happens. In essence, it’s ink starvation. 
 

2. a weak or dying printhead. Printheads die in various ways, usually clogged nozzles well before they have other issues.

the micropeizo nozzles can become weak, overheated, overall just deteriorate for various reasons. All in all- it’s not able to withstand the continuous use, because it’s weak. That “suction” becomes weaker as the nozzles weaken, causing poor ink flow, or, “suction”. It affects full channels, but not necessarily the entire printhead. 
 

3. the printhead/cartridge/damper could have air within it. “ air lock” is a form of ink starvation, since it can block the flow of ink.   That’s why most printers, when doing a head clean “ suck” from the capping station, then release the nozzles so it has a “pull” to move any air lock along. Think micro bubbles.
 

4. Multiple things can aid in the above, including poor maintenance, poor capping station sealing or suction.
 

I am still in the process of learning about this myself, but overall it’s going to be some sort of ink flow issue for one reason or another.   
 

also- don’t miss it potentially being the white. The white may look fine- until you hold it up to a light. When color sits on white, the color can appear to have the lines in it due to the varying opacity in the white. 
 

best is to print white only and cmyk only- hold it up to a light and see through it. If you see lines- that ones the issue. 

Edited by johnson4
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31 minutes ago, johnson4 said:

Well, coincidentally I am facing the same thing and diagnosing things. 
 

what printer are you using, inks, carts/dampers? 
 

A few things cause this I have found : 

1. poor ink flow- the head creates a small suction to print, when doing a nozzle check it’s much different than printing, so a very small amount of available ink works just fine, but when printing, if ink isn’t available quicker than it’s using it- this happens. In essence, it’s ink starvation. 
 

2. a weak or dying printhead. Printheads die in various ways, usually clogged nozzles well before they have other issues.

the micropeizo nozzles can become weak, overheated, overall just deteriorate for various reasons. All in all- it’s not able to withstand the continuous use, because it’s weak. That “suction” becomes weaker as the nozzles weaken, causing poor ink flow, or, “suction”. It affects full channels, but not necessarily the entire printhead. 
 

3. the printhead/cartridge/damper could have air within it. “ air lock” is a form of ink starvation, since it can block the flow of ink.   That’s why most printers, when doing a head clean “ suck” from the capping station, then release the nozzles so it has a “pull” to move any air lock along. Think micro bubbles.
 

4. Multiple things can aid in the above, including poor maintenance, poor capping station sealing or suction.
 

I am still in the process of learning about this myself, but overall it’s going to be some sort of ink flow issue for one reason or another.   
 

also- don’t miss it potentially being the white. The white may look fine- until you hold it up to a light. When color sits on white, the color can appear to have the lines in it due to the varying opacity in the white. 
 

best is to print white only and cmyk only- hold it up to a light and see through it. If you see lines- that ones the issue. 

 

I'm using a P400 with carts. Originally, I had issues with the white ink slowly beginning to develop lines after a few prints. I did 2 things: cleaned the spikes that go into the carts and I used new carts. I'm not sure what fixed it but the white no longer does that. I'm thinking too much dried up ink on the spikes didn't allow a good seal with the carts.

Then immediately when the white seemed to be fixed, I noticed my yellow having the lines as you see in the pic. It could very well be the white which I have to try today but I only see it on yellow and just a bit on a basic red. Other colors seem to be mostly fine, other than my grays being a bit off since this began happening.

I have been taking extremely good care of this P400 since it was pretty costly. I also ordered carts from a different supplier which will be in next week and I will see if that makes any difference. The thing is I would be extremely surprised if the head is failing after just 1 month of using it. I haven't had a ton of orders (maybe 500 prints on this so far) so I'm thinking there is some clog on the yellow, but good idea on printing CMYK alone.... it will help me determine if the white could be the issue since that's what gave me issues initally. 

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12 minutes ago, Mdrake2016 said:

 

I'm using a P400 with carts. Originally, I had issues with the white ink slowly beginning to develop lines after a few prints. I did 2 things: cleaned the spikes that go into the carts and I used new carts. I'm not sure what fixed it but the white no longer does that. I'm thinking too much dried up ink on the spikes didn't allow a good seal with the carts.

Then immediately when the white seemed to be fixed, I noticed my yellow having the lines as you see in the pic. It could very well be the white which I have to try today but I only see it on yellow and just a bit on a basic red. Other colors seem to be mostly fine, other than my grays being a bit off since this began happening.

I have been taking extremely good care of this P400 since it was pretty costly. I also ordered carts from a different supplier which will be in next week and I will see if that makes any difference. The thing is I would be extremely surprised if the head is failing after just 1 month of using it. I haven't had a ton of orders (maybe 500 prints on this so far) so I'm thinking there is some clog on the yellow, but good idea on printing CMYK alone.... it will help me determine if the white could be the issue since that's what gave me issues initally. 

Right, I replaced the head on my P400 " just to see" because of the same issue, with carts. It had about 4,000-5,000 prints on it. So now I'm trying to clean out and test the old printhead, which appears to be working fine after soaking and cleaning it with new carts. The reason I thought My p400 did this, This particular one has been sitting for about 2 months, unused, not cleaned or wet capped. I know I printed with it for months without an issue, constant, thousands of prints. 

Yea, the ( I call them nipples) on the head " spikey thing" needs to always be clean, as well as the cartridge bottom. the system must be sealed, or it will leak/ and or suck air into the cartridge. Shouldn't be much buildup, unless you have some leaking going on when removing the carts or something. 

Something I'm thinking of, is the cartridge air chamber may be getting ink in them when they are filled, and since when they sit for extended periods, may dry out and restrict the flow- since that is where the air comes in and is exposed. Either way, I would say it's an ink flow issue in possible various forms. First thing I should have done was try new cartridges, but I didn't, these are the original set I have been using this entire time. The issues only started after it had sat for two months. 

For now, I have sat the P400 aside to further investigate and test and have been using the P800, which comes with it's own downfalls as well. it doesn't help that I have at least 15 printers hanging around, lol. 

Edited by johnson4
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Also, Something I recommend having, unassociated with your post- at least 2 spare sets of carts, at least 1 or 2 extra capping stations. Because when you need them, you won't be able to find them without paying 3-4X the normal price. New epson OEM capping stations are $50 from an online service center, at least while they still make them. They fit various printers, I have a few extra since my R2400 uses the same one. But, When they go, they need changed and no time for waiting around without seriously risking your printhead. Just a random bit of info.

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1 hour ago, johnson4 said:

best is to print white only and cmyk only- hold it up to a light and see through it. If you see lines- that ones the issue. 

This is more difficult to figure out than I thought. On regular paper, yellow looks perfect, no lines, but I don't know if it's because of the paper absorbing too much ink or if it actually the white causing an issue. Even with less ink coverage, it's difficult to see.

Either way, I'm thinking I will spend sime time cleaning the ink channels and we'll see if that makes a difference. 

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1 hour ago, Mdrake2016 said:

This is more difficult to figure out than I thought. On regular paper, yellow looks perfect, no lines, but I don't know if it's because of the paper absorbing too much ink or if it actually the white causing an issue. Even with less ink coverage, it's difficult to see.

Either way, I'm thinking I will spend sime time cleaning the ink channels and we'll see if that makes a difference. 

Best way to tell- print a CMYK test page- at the settings you normally use on film. It will show you which channels can or can’t  handle “full” demand in the form of lines. Works good for white too, since it’s four “shades” consuming varying ink amounts in white mode.

Edited by johnson4
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53 minutes ago, johnson4 said:

Best way to tell- print a CMYK test page- at the settings you normally use on film. It will show you which channels can or can’t  handle “full” demand in the form of lines. Works good for white too, since it’s four “shades” consuming varying ink amounts in white mode.

Just to be clear, CMYK with no white on film?
 

I figured it would be easier to see on plain paper but I guess I can just print it on the film and lay it over a white sheet to see more clearly. I’ll have to give that a try tomorrow. 

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25 minutes ago, Mdrake2016 said:

Just to be clear, CMYK with no white on film?
 

I figured it would be easier to see on plain paper but I guess I can just print it on the film and lay it over a white sheet to see more clearly. I’ll have to give that a try tomorrow. 

Yea- just cmyk. To see it clearer than paper hold it up to a light, then only White too. 
 

paper won’t work because it’s absorbs the ink and wicks, and as well would be severely over saturated- turning the ink down would create another variable. And potentially make the issues go away or be hidden further.  

Edited by johnson4
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