ET-7750 Ink pool at hub causing ink smearing?

[turbguy]

"I'll get a substitute for Windex (Glassex, they don't sell Windex here) and see what that'll do. "

I don't know the formulation of Glassex. Original Windex contains a small amount of ammonium, which is critical to performance (IMO).

 

[Milena]

"I'll get a substitute for Windex (Glassex, they don't sell Windex here) and see what that'll do. "

I don't know the formulation of Glassex. Original Windex contains a small amount of ammonium, which is critical to performance (IMO).

Thank you for the heads-up! I've looked into it and found the following:

Glassex

• Water
• Solvent: Methoxyisopropanol, Propylene Glycol
• Soap: propylene glycol butyl ether, Capryl Glucoside, “Sulphuric Acid, mono-C10-18alkyl esters, sodium salts” (these are monoesters of sulfuric acid and alcohols with 10-18 carbon atoms), Sodium Laureth Sulfate
• Acidity regulator: ethanolamine, ammonium hydroxide (= ammonia)
• Solvent: 1-butoxypropan-1-ol
• Perfume
• Colorant: Coloring Agent.

Windex:

• Water. Provides a liquid base for a product.
• 2-Hexoxyethanol Cleaning Agent. ...
• Isopropanolamine Cleaning Agent. ...
• Ammonium Hydroxide Cleaning Agent. ...
• Lauryl Dimethyl Amine Oxide Wetting Agent. ...
• Sodium Dodecylbenzene Sulfonate Wetting Agent. ...
• Fragrance Fragrance. ...
• Liquitint® Sky Blue Dye Dye.

The ingredients don't say me much, but Glassex has some ammonia in it.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Wow, that all fits into one bottle ?..... jokes aside - I read about a complaint in the German printer forum that a user of an Epson printer running on 5 inks like the ET7700 but on cartridges exhibits the same problem - a build up of pigment ink smear on the cleaning pad, a residue which does not get removed via normal cleaning cycles. The user is just removing the ink smudge with a piece of kitchen paper towel frequently. Based on reading this I'm afraid that there is a constructional weakness with this type of printer mechanism. You might run a test avoiding prints with the pigment ink - normal paper or matte paper settings - and observe the situation - this just as a short term work around.

 

[Mark2d]

Hello all,

I just created an account because I'm hoping someone here can help me out. I actually have multiple questions.

Since the beginning of 2019 I have an Epson ET-7750 which works fine in general, very happy with it.
However, this ink pad (I'm not sure what it's called) where the printhead rests keeps getting filled with ink residue on the left side of the pad (Please see the images I have attached under the spoiler tag). This is not after a few cleaning cycles or anything, this is purely from printing! I think it cleans itself from time to time, but I did not manually let it clean/waste ink in the past few months.

1. What can I do to prevent this? Can I use a certain liquid to clean this pad so it doesn't build up again? What is causing this, anyway?

I think this is the cause of the ink smearing problems I'm getting from time to time. I have cleaned the printhead before with a paper towel and have ''cleaned'' the pad by letting a paper towel suck up some of the ink. Also, the maintenance box is not full yet. And I have had this problem since the beginning. It just didn't cause smears as often before.

2. Is there a proper way to move the printhead to the left side to get access to its ''hub''? I do not like unplugging the printer while it's printing, because after I turn it on again it takes a long time before it is ready to go again, making lots of noises. Once it didn't even want to print until I restarted it twice. Very worrisome!

3. Sometimes the rollers catch ink as well. Well I think it's certain rollers since when that happens it'll leave 1 or 2 straight stripes behind on the print. Which ones are these and how do I clean those? I find it hard to clean inside the printer.

In the last year of having the printer I haven't printed a lot (but kept it going and clean). From now on I will print larger quanities so I cannot have this problem where it creates a pool of ink and get ink smears on my prints. I mostly print on glossy paper with the ''Epson Paper Glossy'' setting to create stickers.

Thank you in advance for helping me! I will actively follow this thread so if you have questions, need more information or photos; just ask!

Spoiler: Photos

1. Paper towel 2. Photo from today (the bright one) and 3. Photo from a few months ago (the darker pic). 4. Example of 'minimal' ink smearing
View attachment 10658View attachment 10656View attachment 10657View attachment 10659

I have the exact model, and the exact problem, even after replacing the maintenance box. That spongy part where the printhead come to rest is over-soaked and the left side of it looks caked with excess ink. It leaves streaks on the right side of my prints, sometimes clumps of black ink. I am now going to attempt a paper towel cleanup of the excess.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I am now going to attempt a paper towel cleanup of the excess.

I think that's about the only type of action you can do in this case, on a somewhat regular base to prevent that staining; I think it's a deposit of the black pigment ink which does not get cleaned away properly.