Epson wf1100 clog or air restriction

[robi1011]

Greetings! I have a epson wf1100 that will not print good nozzle checks. It is only black that is giving me trouble. I am using sublimation inks from cobrainks with refillable carts. I have used piezo flush as well as the folded napkin with windex method with no luck. Please see the attached results of my latest three nozzles checks. I am trying determined if it is a clog or air restriction. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

it seems that the blocked nozzles change from print to print, that is an indication for me that it is more a problem with the ink flow than blocked nozzles which you could free up with a cleaner. How often are you printing , every day or with longer idle times ? Since when are you using this ink ? I would try to restore normal operation, with regular inks first, with a different set of cartridges to get away from the current setup - these refill cartridges with these inks.

 

[robi1011]

I print 3-5 days a week with sublimation ink only. This printer is setup and allocated just for that purpose. I recently removed the carts from the printer to refill them. That could be the root cause of my problem. It was printing fine up until that point. I will get a new set of cartridges ordered and try that. Thank you much for your reply.

 

[apetitphoto]

How long were the cartridges out of the printer before you reinstalled them? If they were out "too long" there may have been some ink drying.

 

[berttheghost]

Your printer may be having trouble re-priming the print head after you refilled the carts. This might be caused by air leaking past a dirty capping station or the corresponding print head mating surface. Try cleaning the capping station.

 

[robi1011]

Thanks all for your replies! I don't usually let the cartridges sit out long when I refill them. I usually refill then put them right back in only a matter of minutes. I am not receiving pretty decent nozzle checks. However I am now experiencing a banding issue. I will clean the capping station and reply back with the results.

 

[robi1011]

By the way, I have bought and installed new pre-filled refillable carts. The same banding issue is occurring on my WF-1100 and WF-7010. Pics coming up....

 

[robi1011]

Please see the banding issues along with the nozzle checks. The nozzle check isn't perfect but I have printed with this pattern, and some even worse before.