Weird banding issue with ET-8550

[Ink stained Fingers]

But here is a commercial download at $5. And here is a free parts catalog.

I purchased the manual quite some time ago, and since I didn't need it yet for my ET-8550 it slowly went into a dark corner of a cabient.
The manual refers to the adjustment program which you have to buy separately, I don't have it.

 

[Epatcola]

Where did you find a copy of the service manual?

You can view it here and might be able to download via this site.

 

[Fried Chicken]

You can view it here and might be able to download via this site.

Worked perfectly, thank you! I'll store this away and hopefully never need it!

 

[thebestcpu]

Hi @hifivoice
Sorry, I am late to the game here.
No, what you see is not normal in "normal" mode printing for the banding lines or the text offset issues.
Since you are printing A4 paper and the 8550 could print A4 paper inserted into the printer in portrait mode (short side going in first) or landscape mode (long side going in first), it occurred to me that I should not assume one or the other. I am clarifying if the errant lines were in the direction of the paper movement or the direction of the print head movement. I apologize if that was already stated; I did not see it in the prior posts.

This may be a dumb question, yet are you running the latest firmware for the printer?

If the image with the banding were put in portrait mode, that would indicate a print head-related issue (the print head itself or the wiring and connectors to the printhead. Note that individual nozzle checks are good for finding clogged nozzles. Yet, it is not representative of failures associated with all print modes and simultaneous firing of a higher number of nozzles.

And you should be upset with the comment from Epson support; I would have felt pushed off with such a generic response that does not match the symptoms you are seeing.
Just my opinion of course.
John Wheeler