Epson EcoTank ET-8550

[dominoesdom]

I’d not received any notifications of these new replies so I didn’t know until now that you’d responded.

Yes, I’ve searched online for any information regarding this issue and I’ve also contact Epson UK support (they weren’t able to help). Although no references to this particular printer, there are plenty of posts relating to the same issue with various other Epson printers. So, clearly it is not an isolated fault.

Any relevant suggestions that I’m able to carry out I have tried but to no avail. I did come across some YouTube videos with advice to change some of the printer settings (via the touch screen on the printer) as well as a couple of settings within the ‘Options’ panel on the System Preferences (Mac OS).

The printer on-screen settings suggested are thus: Thick Paper On, Quiet Mode On, Ink Drying Time Longer, and Density –2. It’s interesting to know that these settings are there, but they did not make any difference at all.

Yes, I have tried Epson paper and that was fine, but that’s not a solution because I need to be able to use other papers, not just Epson branded paper!

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

there are plenty of posts relating to the same issue with various other Epson printers. So, clearly it is not an isolated fault.

Yes, I have seen similar reports as well, I don't know if that's a mechanical adjustment problem which could be corrected one way or another.
The traces of the pizza wheels are a paper problem, I don't think there is much you argue against, but since you say that your printer is new and freshly installed you may talk to the supplier and tell him that you want a replacement unit for the impressions of the pickup roller, I don't have such issues on my ET-8550, I'm aware of those and checked directly after installation, it was actually B-ware - a customer return I purchased directly from Epson at a good discount.

 

[maximilian59]

The cheaper the paper, the worse is the surface I found out. All these cast coated papers are weak compared to resin coated papers. The best I found up to know is the Sihl 0769 Quick Dry glossy. But its surface is also not very scratch resistant. Some of these papers are very stiff even with 240 g/m2 because of the card board used. That could be the reason for the visible rollers on your picture.
The pizza wheels are visible when the surface can be damaged easily. Sometimes they are also very good visible on even non printed areas.
The next point is that most of these papers have problems with the ink load for the normal glossy paper settings. Maybe you get acceptable with standard paper setting. If it is good with Epson papers, than the fault is on the non OEM paper.
You are right, sometimes the problem even exists with Epson papers, than it’s a problem of the printer, because Epson recommends their own papers for printing without problems.
So you have to dry other cheap papers to find out which one fits to your printer.
Cheers,
Maximilian

 

[houst1380]

I’d not received any notifications of these new replies so I didn’t know until now that you’d responded.

Yes, I’ve searched online for any information regarding this issue and I’ve also contact Epson UK support (they weren’t able to help). Although no references to this particular printer, there are plenty of posts relating to the same issue with various other Epson printers. So, clearly it is not an isolated fault.

Any relevant suggestions that I’m able to carry out I have tried but to no avail. I did come across some YouTube videos with advice to change some of the printer settings (via the touch screen on the printer) as well as a couple of settings within the ‘Options’ panel on the System Preferences (Mac OS).

The printer on-screen settings suggested are thus: Thick Paper On, Quiet Mode On, Ink Drying Time Longer, and Density –2. It’s interesting to know that these settings are there, but they did not make any difference at all.

Yes, I have tried Epson paper and that was fine, but that’s not a solution because I need to be able to use other papers, not just Epson branded paper!

Mine does the same, as did the 7750. Have you found a solution yet?

 

[dominoesdom]

If it's tracks by the pickup roller you then have these options - using the rear paper bin vs. the bottom bin and/or testing with other paper types specifically with and Epson paper, if you get these tracks as well with Epson paper you have a better argument vs. the seller for a possible replacement of the unit.
I'm not aware of any driver settings which would change the pressure this roller applies to the surface of the paper.
I recently installed an ET-8550 for myself, I don't have these tracks so there must be some mechanical differences between different printers. I'm using papers between 180-300gr - Canon PT101 or HP or various no-name products.

Just reading through the replies again to see if I can make some progress here. You mention that you've used various cheaper cast-coated papers sucessfully. Please would you let me have the details of these papers so that I can try them myself?

Thank you.

 

[dominoesdom]

Mine does the same, as did the 7750. Have you found a solution yet?

Not yet found any real solution to this. I found some paper that seemed better in terms of track marks (they're there still but less visible). However, this new paper has other issues whereby the ink doesn't fix to the paper properly.

 

[houst1380]

@dominoesdom try koala high glossy photo paper off Amazon 240gsm, seems to do the job in both A3 and A4

 

[dominoesdom]

Thanks for your reply. I have heard of this paper but not tried any yet. I'll look into ordering some to see how well it works.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I replenished my ink stock for the ET-8550 - there is still a significant pricing benefit using the ET-7700 105/106 inks instead - prices run at 9,5€/bottle for the 106 inks and at 12€/bottle for the ET-8550-114 inks - this without any performance difference - fading or gamut; these pricing differences may vary by country, I'm reporting here actual pricing on the German market.