Epson PX 830 FWD issue

[Bart33k]

Hello. Maybe someone kind could identify the issue I have with my printer and point me out in a direction of possible fixing it. Just to visualy explain my problem I attach a scan of 6 colours purge print scan. Could anyone tell me what may cause this issue? It seems like printer mixes mainly Light magenta and Cyan colours. And those cyan stains - seems like it leaks cyan colour (but that not worry me much like those mixed colours/lines on yellow/magenta/light magenta colours on attached "6 cloros purge" print. Thise cyan stains occur not many times). Nozzle check prints are like attached scan (missing lines and again Cyan mixed with light magenta - looks like in a part cyan overprint light magenta). I use CISS system for my printer - so far it was working OK. I didn't use printer for a while so maybe it affected with those print problems. Please help. If anyone need any more information or more printouts to see before trying to identify the problem please point that out. I'll provide any required info that could help.
P.S. I found this clip on yt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoO0op-z-G0
Has anyone experience with such "deep" disassemlby of a printhead? Is ir safe to do and what are possible dangers of doing it?

 

[berttheghost]

If your printer is mixing colors, you probably have an internal leak inside your printhead. The internal ink tubes leading to your printhead are pressurized, which may have contributed to the failure. I can't tell you whether the printhead leak was caused by too much pressure in the ink tubes or whether the CISS contributed to this.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

please do a nozzle check print, scan that part and add it here, there are probably nozzles missing. Are the vent holes open at the CISS ink reservoirs ? If blocked, you may be able to print something, and then the underpressure slowly sucks ink back in the resting position.

 

[The Hat]

Hi @Bart33k and welcome.

Your CISS unit has been left unattended and unused for some time and in the world of CISS units that’s a big no no.

You have a major leak in your system somewhere and as others have point out to you it could be anywhere, so it’s time to start again a fresh.

Completely remove the CISS and clean up the inside of your printer, giving the parking station special attention and then install new OEM cartridges.

leave the printer over night and then print the six colour test print again and see if things have sorted themselves out, you may need to print a half dozen test prints to get a good clean print again.

When you have it sorted the colours out reinstall you CISS again and this time don’t leave your printer unattended without printing something on it weekly, regularly check all of tubing and connection on the CISS and above all don’t even consider removing your print head unless you want to but a new printer IMHO..

 

[Bart33k]

Hello everyone. First of all thanks for any replies. I'm attaching a scan of # 2 nozzle check. Meanwhile I haven't printed anything since I printed nozzle check #1 attached to my initial post. As you can see Cyan is all over the place. It's partly over yellow, magenta and overcome light magenta in 100%.
It's a bad time for checks, prints and any work with my issue at the moment because of current christmas (family, guests and all that atmosphere) so my plan is to hit hard with this issue after monday. I'm still waiting for waste-ink which I've ordered yesterday so I can perform multiple head cleanings (i don't want to service block printer by overfilling that waste ink counter). I got already ordered cleaning solution, tubings, distilled water etc.My plan is to rip apart all those tubings, printhead CISS, flush it all with distilled water and cleaning solution. We'll see what it will do. Meanwhile I can upload more scans of nozzle checks and any other kind of prints if anyone would like to take a look at it and "diagnose" what nature of my issue can be. Thanks again for any replies and participating it this thread. I'm keeping my eye on it on daily basis so feel free to share your knowledge or ideas.

 

[Bart33k]

Today I was working a bit over my printer. What I've done is:
- I did this http://www.wasteink.co.uk/fix-epson-airlock-clog/
- then I took of whole printhead to see the nozzle plate and what I've noticed is that it seems like cyan ink is (slowly) leaking out of a printhead through nozzles. What may cause this? If i start to print and take off the power cord then set the printhead at the middle and slide a paper towel underneath then after some time it's clear that ink is leaking through nozzles out from printhead. Has anyone had something like it (with any epson model printer)? This way its clear why i have those cyan "stains" on printouts as I attached to my previous posts.

 

[websnail]

Hi @Bart33k I think it's you that I've been talking to via the OctoInkjet helpdesk system so just to add to some of the discussion we've had to date... You are by no means alone and I strongly suspect the problem is old gunked up ink in the printhead.

Both reports indicate that the ink is blobbing under the printhead and them splotching instead of creating the appropriate printouts so it would seem that ink is getting through the system to a point but a few things to note:

1. The Artisan/PX/TX printheads in the 700 -> 837 models have a system that stops ink being injected into the printhead under pressure so what I would term as "Active" printhead cleaning kits (the ones that inject cleaning solution into the system) won't work.
2. Ink has to be making it into the printheads somehow but instead of jetting it's as if it's being clogged up and then slowly seeping out to blob
3. Cyan has always been something of a "canary" when it comes to ink problems like algae in the past and in the past the indicator was nozzle checks on models like the R300 where the ink would jet out at weird angles creating a random pattern that looked like diverted nozzle firings.

So, with all this in mind I suspect the problem is a pretty dire one in that your options are limited.

Now two of you should be watching this thread with either PX830FWD's or an Artisan 837 (probably others too) and from what I can tell you've both done the manual purge routine to re-prime the internal CIS tubing so you know how to do that.

What I think you may have to do is remove the tubing connector block and then try creating a seal around the printhead with something that allows you to suck the contents of the printhead out via syringe or similar. If I'm right and the issue is algae then it should come back out of the printheads inlets a whole lot easier than trying to get it out of the nozzles.

Now, I need to clarify, this is COMPLETELY untested so it's very much at your own risk.

Beyond that, I would recommend completely replacing your Cyan ink with a completely fresh batch in the CIS system (I need to finish a video on that process but one is 95% done already). Then reinstall and re-prime the system. For those printers compatible with the TX700W, TX720WD and TX730WD AdjProg utilities you could (if you can source the relevant AdjProg) use the "Ink Charge" setting to flush through the system and re-prime the printhead and tubing but the manual option is available (again, at own risk!).

If my hunch is right and you can pull out all the old/gunked ink, you'll get some or even all of the nozzles back after a bit of printing of blocks of Cyan.. The critical issue is whether or not the printhead can be purged properly of all the crud.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is just a theory and it's at your own risk but I'm happy to provide tools and the like to see if we can nail this issue down and identify a workable solution as it's becoming a more frequent query and an unnecessary one at that.

 

[Bart33k]

Hello. Thanks for this worthy reply. Just as an introduction I just came back from pool. Was swimming for 2 hours so I'm kinda wasted, Can't focus much on a subject so i get back to your suggestions tomorrow morning. I'm waiting for some cleaning/unclogging solutions so I can't do any cleaning procedures at the moment. Just as an update I'm attaching 2 scans of latest prints. One is for 6 color purge pattern and the other one is for an nozzle check printout (i don't now why it's cutted on the right side but you can get the idea of a print quality). Cyan is all over the place. What I did was i soaked a bit of towel with a cleaning/unclogging solution and put that underneath printhead for a night and those are first and only printed today 2 prints I made after that. As you can notice it didn't help at all. I'm assuming that this solution is crap as it cost was very low. I'm waiting for something better atm should come tomorrow or day after tomorrow. Damn they start to look pretty scary with those smuges,stains. On 6 color printout there's no light magenta you can say. It's totally overcomed by cyan. Ok. That's all for this moment. I can barely focus. I'll get back to the subject tomorrow.
P.S. Can anyone help me out to find a shop where I can buy syringe with plunger top as shown at from 8:24 of this clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sdndHBmQB4&index=6&list=PLVQ78fuo47BttOQshQb_MJdTooJ0W4MpF
I could try his method. And as I'm not english native can you confirm that he says that he heat up that cleanig solution he uses ? He mention it at 9:11. And after that he says something I don't get it. What he means by saying that "if you do something too soon and it wet...". What does he mean by that?

 

[Tim]

I get those cyan smudges also after running a head cleaning. My nozzle check gives me five perfect squares and a blank spot on the far left where the cyan should be. Also, I removed the waste ink pad tray, and even with a tank connected to the waste ink tube, I get a lot of cyan ink leaking from the bottom of the printer, onto paper towels placed under the printer. When I get some time, I may put the printer onto a glass table, print some pages, and try to see where the cyan ink is escaping from the system.

 

[websnail]

I get those cyan smudges also after running a head cleaning. My nozzle check gives me five perfect squares and a blank spot on the far left where the cyan should be.

@Tim ... For clarity: Are you getting any of the cyan grid output on the far right in the same way that @Bart33k is?

Also, I removed the waste ink pad tray, and even with a tank connected to the waste ink tube, I get a lot of cyan ink leaking from the bottom of the printer, onto paper towels placed under the printer.

My guess is that you have one of the earlier Solo-X kits which only has a single connection to the main waste ink tube and not the Duo-X which replaced the Solo-X. The difference is that the Duo-X type hooks up to an overflow tube that is difficult to spot and connect to. There's no official word but experience has taught me that it has a role in dumping ink when the main tube is blocked or the pump isn't running while waste is pooling in the pad. Basically akin to an overflow pipe.

That's probably a side issue but it backs up some of my earlier points about the Cyan seeping through slowly rather than flowing properly...

Still points to the issue being algae or similar.

@Bart33k : The above said though, I have a concern that the latest nozzle check you posted, had a number of cyan nozzle check marks on the far right as if the cyan was firing at a point when it shouldn't be.

I'm wondering if there's a secondary issue here that indicates a problem specifically with your particular printhead and/or the ribbon cable running into the printhead. It could be a result of the Cyan issue or an indicator for a different cause.

Worth keeping that in mind and avoiding the temptation to ass-u-me that one problem fits both of you.