Epson Stylus Colour 880 banding lines.

[Alan]

Both of my four year old Epson Stylus Colour 880 inkjet printers have
began printing photos with a series of equally spaced lines all the way
down the page. I've used none Epson cartrages for most of their life.
Many, many head cleans and a driver update have not resolved this
problem. Is it likely they have come to the end of their useful life?

If I'm looking at replacing both of these, what would be a good photograph
printer choice with regard to both quality output, speed and cartrage
replacement costs.
AL

 

[tomcas]

Both of my four year old Epson Stylus Colour 880 inkjet printers have
began printing photos with a series of equally spaced lines all the way
down the page. I've used none Epson cartrages for most of their life.
Many, many head cleans and a driver update have not resolved this
problem. Is it likely they have come to the end of their useful life?

If I'm looking at replacing both of these, what would be a good
photograph printer choice with regard to both quality output, speed and
cartrage replacement costs.
AL

Before you toss in the towel, have you tried a cleaning cartridge? Also,
you mention running many head cleans but did you know that the pressure
increases with each successive uninterrupted head cleaning sequence from
the internal pump? In other words, don't stop each time to test it, just
run 5 or 6 cleanings in a row.

If you have tossed in the towel I suggest looking at the Canon IP series
printers starting at the model 4000 and up.

 

[Burt]

Alan - I had an Epson Stylus Color 900 for several years. As I recall, the
cleaning utility goes in a cycle of three. The first two are the same, and
the third is more extensive. After no more than two sets of three
cleanings, if the banding continues, you have to move on to more extensive
cleaning that is not included in the documentation or tech support. Look
for Arthur Entlich's latest post and email him. Ask for his Epson printhead
cleaning manual and follow the instructions. I restored my ESC900 to
excellent operation with his instructions and a few cents worth of stuff
most people have at home anyway.

I see that someone suggested a Canon ip4000. I have used a Canon i960 for a
year now with MIS bulk ink that I use to refill OEM or aftermarket
cartridges. Much better photo quality than the ESC900 when looking under
magnification, but if you are happy with the Epson print quality and can
restore your printers to proper function you should try Arthur's cleaning
techniques. Newer Epsons also have much improved print quality when compared
to the generation of printers you are now using. I like the six color i960
prints. I've read that ip4000 prints are very good and that the ip6000, the
Canon replacement for the i960, doesn't give as good results as the previous
generation i960. The 8 color printer in the Pixma series is reputed to give
the best color photo results of that series. I think that most people would
be very pleased with the ip4000, however.

I'd try to clean the printheads if the Epsons first with Arthur's
instructions if you would prefer to not spend the money on new printers.

 

[Alan]

Many thanks to you both, can I ask for the web link to Arthur Entlich's
cleaning manuel for Epson printers, as my personal email request has
bounced.

AL

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Sadly, this sounds like the "stuck nozzle" issue which there seems only
one real fix for, a new head.

If you wish to send me a jpeg of a 2 x 2" area or equivalent, showing
the defect in question you may do that so I can see exactly what it is.

This type of defect may come and go for a white, cleaning will not help.

If this type of printing occurs outside of the margins of the image,
raising the paper thickness lever doesn't help lessen or eliminate it,
or it may dissappear when you use lower resolution printing, that
implies the problem is as I stated above.

If you want to send me some print scan samples:

e-printerhelp(at)mvps(dot)com

(at) = @
(dot) = .

The 880 is a 4 color printer, and the last one with no chip in the
cartridge to prevent refilling, it isn't considered "photographic"
although you'd be hard pressed to know by looking at normal viewing
distances. 4 color printers save money and give a better color
permanence in inks of similar types. It will not be an easy printer to
replace.

Art


Alan wrote:

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Regarding head cleaning escalation, as I understand it, for this to
occur, a nozzle check must be done in between each cleaning.

In the case being referred to, I do not believe any head cleaning will
help, if I am understanding the nature of the printing defect, as he
explains it.

Art

 

[Alan]

Sadly, this sounds like the "stuck nozzle" issue which there seems only
one real fix for, a new head.

If you wish to send me a jpeg of a 2 x 2" area or equivalent, showing
the defect in question you may do that so I can see exactly what it is.

This type of defect may come and go for a white, cleaning will not help.

If this type of printing occurs outside of the margins of the image,
raising the paper thickness lever doesn't help lessen or eliminate it,
or it may dissappear when you use lower resolution printing, that
implies the problem is as I stated above.

If you want to send me some print scan samples:

e-printerhelp(at)mvps(dot)com

(at) = @
(dot) = .

The 880 is a 4 color printer, and the last one with no chip in the
cartridge to prevent refilling, it isn't considered "photographic"
although you'd be hard pressed to know by looking at normal viewing
distances. 4 color printers save money and give a better color
permanence in inks of similar types. It will not be an easy printer to
replace.

Art


Alan wrote:

**************************************************************************
Art

Many thanks, an image is on its way to you for analysis. Perhaps I should
mention that after every printer clean a test print was made.

AL

 

[Guest]

Sadly, this sounds like the "stuck nozzle" issue which there seems only
one real fix for, a new head.

If you wish to send me a jpeg of a 2 x 2" area or equivalent, showing
the defect in question you may do that so I can see exactly what it is.

This type of defect may come and go for a white, cleaning will not help.

If this type of printing occurs outside of the margins of the image,
raising the paper thickness lever doesn't help lessen or eliminate it,
or it may dissappear when you use lower resolution printing, that
implies the problem is as I stated above.

If you want to send me some print scan samples:

e-printerhelp(at)mvps(dot)com

(at) = @
(dot) = .

The 880 is a 4 color printer, and the last one with no chip in the
cartridge to prevent refilling, it isn't considered "photographic"
although you'd be hard pressed to know by looking at normal viewing
distances. 4 color printers save money and give a better color
permanence in inks of similar types. It will not be an easy printer to
replace.

Art


Alan wrote:

********************************************************************************
Art

Both attempts at emailing you off list were met with the following message
and it seems possible that you will not receive them now.
Can I instead ask for a copy of your cleaning manual for my Epson 880
printer please, which will allow me to try cleaning the printer heads.


This message was created automatically by mail
delivery software.
A message that you sent has not yet been delivered
to one or more of its
recipients after more than 24 hours on the queue
on violet.srv2.com.

The message identifier is: 1EDMg1-0002L5-3A
The date of the message is: Thu, 08 Sep 2005
14:42:39 +0100
The subject of the message is: Epson banding image
enclosed


Regards
AL

Reply email address:
a.v.l(at)btconnect(dot)com.
Please correct the obvious above.