Faint high pitched noise after printing on Epson

[Steve Howard]

Hi, yesterday I purchased an Epson C43UX (in the US, it might be
C42UX).

It prints fine but I've noticed that after printing, it makes
extremely annoying high pitched noise for about a minute or so. After
that the noise stops by itself.

It happens every time I print something, and though it's rather faint,
it is definately there and loud enough to be irritating. (I find that
those high pitched noises are more annoying than the mid-frequency
noises)

I just phoned Epson and they say that if I go back to the store where
I bought it, they will exchange it with a new one if the noise is
indeed there.

Searching google, I found many postings regarding this noise (dating
back to 1999). Obviously this problem has been around for a long
time, and Epson have not managed to fix it yet. I am concerned that
even the new one will make the same noise and I would've wasted my
time going to the store for the exchange. Do you think I should get a
refund and buy a different brand? (Perhaps HP)

 

[Arthur Entlich]

No, I would not get another brand. It is probably a slightly dry driver
rod that the head unit bearing runs on, which is easy to lubricate with
some 3in1 or other lightweight machine oil.

I honestly don't think any of the major inkjet printer brands are
particularly better made than others, within similar price ranges.

Art

 

[Arthur Entlich]

I just realized I did not read your posting carefully enough. I thought
it said it was squeaking during printing. My error.

The sound you are hearing, I have heard on several other Epson's I own,
and I am not sure what it is from. It doesn't bother me, but it does
seem to have something to do with a cleaning process or something
similar. Some of my Epsons make a variety of higher pitched tones
during start up and cleaning. Perhaps it is the piezos being actuated
all at once...

Art

 

[buck]

No, I would not get another brand. It is probably a slightly dry driver
rod that the head unit bearing runs on, which is easy to lubricate with
some 3in1 or other lightweight machine oil.

I honestly don't think any of the major inkjet printer brands are
particularly better made than others, within similar price ranges.

Art

If you know anyone in the Army/Marines, they can get you
a can (about 1 litre) of OIL/MACHINE/TYPE 1 in an olive
drab can,(Im informed this practice is LEGAL now as the
soldier/Marine is allowed to PURCHASe said oil) and it
will lube printers, cdr drives, dvd drives, almost
anything with small moving parts.( I even use it in
antique watched. Similar to 3 in 1 but it stays put
better without being sticky or viscous.(Do NOT use the
GUN-OIL its more of a CLEANER than a lube)

On printer head travel rails I usually clean the rail
with the special cloth you get to clean your eye-glasses
(about $5 US) and then place a long needle in the can of
oil, let the excess drip back into the can and then draw
the SIDE (not the tip) of the needle along the rail.
Then cycle the printer in whatever way you need to, to
get the head to travel the full width ofthe carriage
several times. (printing a test page does it for me.

You CAN just put drops of oil on the rail with a
syringe, but that usually gets too much oil on the rail,
and you end up with oil streaks on the next few
printouts.

 

[Lukasz Spychalski]

The sound you are hearing, I have heard on several other Epson's I
own, and I am not sure what it is from. It doesn't bother me, but it
does seem to have something to do with a cleaning process or something
similar. Some of my Epsons make a variety of higher pitched tones
during start up and cleaning. Perhaps it is the piezos being actuated
all at once...

Hi,
I think one minute is too long time to keep piezos vibrating (this technique
is sometimes used to keep ink in nozzles in continuous motion without firing
to prevent clogging) - but if the head is already parked it's not needed.

I did not hear C43 yet, but IMHO this noise most probably comes from stepper
motors coils driven by PWM circuits.
After some time of inactivity the motors are switched off to save energy and
hissling sound disappears.

This kind of noise can be sometimes unpleasant, but I cannot imagine it
exceeds the printer's specifications.

Best regards
Lukasz

 

[Lee Babcock]

Hi, yesterday I purchased an Epson C43UX (in the US, it might be
C42UX).

It prints fine but I've noticed that after printing, it makes
extremely annoying high pitched noise for about a minute or so. After
that the noise stops by itself.

It happens every time I print something, and though it's rather faint,
it is definately there and loud enough to be irritating. (I find that
those high pitched noises are more annoying than the mid-frequency
noises)

I just phoned Epson and they say that if I go back to the store where
I bought it, they will exchange it with a new one if the noise is
indeed there.

Searching google, I found many postings regarding this noise (dating
back to 1999). Obviously this problem has been around for a long
time, and Epson have not managed to fix it yet. I am concerned that
even the new one will make the same noise and I would've wasted my
time going to the store for the exchange. Do you think I should get a
refund and buy a different brand? (Perhaps HP)

Epson's use a piezeo crystal to pump the ink. Makes a high frequency
sound. If you have excellent hearing, it can be aggravating as hell.
Nothing you can do. It's the nature of the design.
Regards
Lee

 

[Lee Babcock]

No, I would not get another brand. It is probably a slightly dry driver
rod that the head unit bearing runs on, which is easy to lubricate with
some 3in1 or other lightweight machine oil.

I honestly don't think any of the major inkjet printer brands are
particularly better made than others, within similar price ranges.

Art

Modern printers do not need lubrication. Older ones can benefit from a
small drop of sewing machine oil
Regards
Lee

 

[Yianni]

The noise you mentioned is 99% probably from the power supply. Many epson
printers suffer from this. Do you hear this noise even other times, e.g. if
you let the printer still for long time? Is this noise is something like
whistle/hiss. If yes, I inform you that there are printers that do this
noise allways, other never, others for short period. Feel lucky and keep
this printer.

--

Yianni
(e-mail address removed) (remove number nine to reply)

---

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Hi Lee,

I was wondering how modern you mean. I believe all fairly recent Epson
printers have a small oil felt integrated into the head unit to provide
lubrication to the head rail. This does both dry out and contaminate
over time, and the bushing can get stiff enough to cause stepper motor
positioning problems which will cause the head to start smashing into
the left side of the carriage end (doesn't seem to actually do any real
permanent damage, but it is a bit shocking and obviously the printer
won't work correctly when it is doing this). This is often resolved by
a touch of cleaning and lubrication of the print head rail.

Art

 

[Arthur Entlich]

If it is the piezo head itself, there may not be much that can be done,
since that is the method Epson uses to move the ink to the paper. You
may indeed have extraordinary hearing compared to most. I recall
constantly complaining to my local library about the high pitched sound
that no one on staff seemed to be aware of. It was eventually isolated
to be some "ultrasonic" fire detection system they used. I learned to
ignore it and as I aged, like everyone else, I no longer heard it.

I do hear this sound on my Epsons during cleaning, but that's the only
time I notice it (since the printing process itself is so noisy, I
suppose). But its 30 years since the library incident, and my hearing
is definitely not the same now, either.

Has anyone with dogs noticed they are annoyed or stimulated by Epson
printers in use?

Art