Cyan not aligning

[Ariel the Office Clerk]

Or something like that. I've cleaned the head a couple times, and realigned the head through the printer's built in function, but it stays about the same.

Model: WP-4530 Inkjet

Above is an image of the nozzle check pattern for the cyan, brightness and whatnot tweaked to make the lines more visible. Unfortunately you still can't see the vertical lines on the sides, but they're those scratchy faint lines from misalignment.

Anyone have a fix to suggest?

 

[cls]

inital charge to fill up the ink supply system
or your ink supply system may already been ripped with microfractures > RMA

 

[jtoolman]

Well you are also missing about 20% of your Cyan nozzles.

The misaligned lines on the nozzle check are due to the physical nozzle orifices themselves not being perfectly smooth any more. Any little bit of wear of deposit will deviate the little printed line so you get what you see.

This is impossible to align as well.

A service man would shoot head cleaner directly through the offending ink stem ( Cyan in this case ) and park the head over a folded paper towel wetted with cleaner and then laterally move the head over the wet paper towel in hope of dislodging offending debris. Then run more cleaner through the Cyan ink stem to clear off anything that was dislodged by the paper towel treatment.

If you have dirty nozzle orifices ( I do not mean clogs ), this might work. If the orifices are physically worn and or damaged, only a new head would solve that, and in the case of EPSON, well that basically means replacing the printer for a new one. Much cheaper option.

Joe

 

[Ariel the Office Clerk]

cls:
If by initial charge you mean prime, I have done that.
I'll see when the printer was purchased and whether it is under warranty or not.

It was a lot worse, but that was because the CISS wasn't hooked up properly before I got it. Now that it isn't ink starved it prints some cyan, but it has obviously not been restored to 100%. Would ink dried inside the printer from disuse possibly be the cause?

*chants quietly with fingers crossed "easy fix, easy fix, easy fix"*

EDIT
jtoolman:
I don't think that anything is clogged. I'll look up a walk-through for cleaning the head and try to figure that out. It is supposed to be pretty new, so I can't imagine it's damaged or worn. I really don't want to have to replace the whole thing.

 

[turbguy]

It appears that the Cyan nozzes are damaged (worn or obstructed with hard debris). If it is still under warranty, press a claim.

 

[jtoolman]

It's been running on a CISS!! Good luck!
Joe

 

[websnail]

Something else to consider...

Is the ink being used, dye or pigment based? Also, is it old or "new" ink.. Any ideas of expiry/bottling dates?

I ask because similar "behaviour" occurs with dye inks when the ink is aging and has developed algae. It was something I first saw in the R300 with some 2+ year old ink...

If it is an algae based issue you may find that sticking a tooth pick into the ink reservoir, gently stirring and then lifting the pick, will draw out a string of algae. If that's the case you'll need some serious flushing and new ink to resolve the issue.

 

[Ariel the Office Clerk]

I'm going to ask again when it was bought, but the one in charge if purchasing is so busy I don't know when if ever I would get an answer. I'll suggest using the warranty to replace it; that'll probably be best.
Still, I would like to fix it. Thanks for all your suggestions!

websnail:
It is dye based, and I know it's purchased as cheaply as possible, so I wouldn't be surprised if it were out of date. I'll use the "test" you suggested.

Thanks again everyone.