PIEZOGRAPHY BW
LONG TERM PRINTING PROBLEMS / CLEANING ISSUES & TIPS
Please report errors or omissions to Bill Bergh - bill@cone-editions.com

As we print many hundreds or even thousands of prints on the Epson printers, there will inevitably come a time when cleanliness inside the printer will adversely effect print quality.

Professional printers like the Iris printer, are designed with daily cleaning in mind.  There is a built in vacuum with tubing for cleaning up ink spills and parts are made to be removed and washed in a sink.

The Epson printers have no user serviceable parts.  The print heads are not meant to be removed and rinsed out.  Ink splatters on the inside of the case during cleaning cycles and can build up over time.  The print heads are cleaned over the print head cap - and this same cap is used to seal the print head while the printer is off.  (More professional Epson printers like the 7000, clean the print heads in a flushing cup separate from the print head caps.)  Ink gunk can build up in the printhead cap and be transferred to the printhead.

One common symptom is a blob of dark ink in the middle of a print.  It is obvious from looking at the problem that this is not a printing problem, but a cleanliness problem. The splotch looks like a big drip that fell to the paper as the printhead moved across the sheet.

Other symptoms can appear as a black scuff or smear on the right side of the print, that results from the bottom of the printhead contacting the edge of the paper as it begins to print.  The rollers can become dirty and there are obvious streaks down the print that could only come from dirty rollers.

Sometimes the print heads can appear to be clean using the Epson utility nozzle checks but while printing, areas of the print appear posterized or solarized. This can be caused but a printhead that is being starved for ink during a period of high demand, which occurs while printing an image.

Nozzles can stop printing for an inch or two and then suddenly start working again.  This will result in a ruined print with a small white scratch like line.  Another variation of this, is a buildup on the printhead that deflects a nozzle.  In this scenario, the nozzle keeps printing but is deflected.  There is a small light scratch like line with a corresponding line adjacent that is dark.  The ink droplets have printed in the wrong place. These can often only be an inch or two long and then seemingly fix themselves as the printing continues.

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LONG TERM CLEANING ISSUES

1 - SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS WHEN USING THE CIS BULK FEED SYSTEM
2 - DARK INK SCUFF ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE PAPER
3 - PAPER DID NOT FEED AND PRINTER PRINTED INK ON ITSELF (especially the 1200)
4 - DIRTY ROLLERS LEAVE ROLLER MARKS ON THE PAPER
5 - SPLATTERED INK INSIDE THE CASE ON THE FAR RIGHT SIDE
6 - DRIPS OF EXCESS INK ON THE PAPER DURING PRINTING
    (cleaning the underside of the printhead, printhead cap)
7 - AGGRESSIVE PRINTHEAD CLEANING TIPS
8 - TIPS TO AVOID CLEANLINESS PROBLEMS

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SOLUTIONS

1 - SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS WHEN USING THE CIS BULK FEED SYSTEM
The CIS system adds external 4 oz. bottles, tubing, and a permanent cartridge system to the printer.  This reduces the cost of ink per print, and has the side benefit of making the remaining ink quantity easy to see.  The CIS system is a sealed system, and as ink is used at the print head, ink is drawn into the cartridges by a capillary action from the bottles.  There are vent tubes on the bottles so that a vacuum does not form inside the bottles.

One of the common tips, if there were problems when first installing the CIS system, is to raise the bottles slightly.  In general this should not ever be necessary - but some users have found that it helped considerably.  This should be used with caution.  If the bottles are raised too high, a gravity assisted ink flow can occur.  Some of the past problems that users have reported are blobs of ink on the sheet - and in a few rare cases - the ink has drained out overnight into the bottom of their printer.

PROCEDURE
If you raised the CIS bottles when first printing to try to establish a good ink flow, it is a good idea to lower them at a later date and see if the system will still print well.  There may have been some temporary issue that raising the bottles fixed, and then later the bottles can be dropped back down once the system was sealed and the proper capillary action is working.  The bottles should never be raised much more than a CD case height - say 3/8 inch high.  If you put your bottles on a 2 inch thick book, you are asking for a problem to occur.

Be especially careful when you refill the bottles, this has been a time when people who were printing well before, suddenly had a problem.  If you refill the bottles, we recommend that you put the bottles back on the table and reevaluate whether or not they need to be raised.

When refilling your CIS bottles, do not fill them to the brim - make sure that you don't over fill the bottles - we run them at about 3/4 full - near the rounded shoulder of the bottle.

Another problem that can occur over time is that the CIS cartridges themselves may work loose.  When the cartridge is successfully installed there is a seal created so that as ink is used, new ink is drawn into the permanent cartridge.  If the cartridge is loose and the seal is broken, air can get into the printhead and the cartridge itself.  After many hundreds of prints, this may occur.  Take the time periodically to manually press down on the permanent cartridges, and make sure that they have not vibrated loose.  Air in the print heads can lead to clogging problems, air into the permanent cartridge can dry out the sponge material inside.  Replacement cartridges are available if you think this has happened.

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2 - DARK INK SCUFF ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE PAPER
Typically this is caused by having a dirty print head and printing on really thick media or media that slightly curls at the edge.  The print head scuffs the paper, and because it is dirty on the under side, transfers ink to the edge of the sheet.

PROCEDURE
2.1 - If the problem is caused by really thick media, especially if you see printhead scuffs in the middle of the sheet, then you may have to set the printers paper thickness lever from the "0" to the "+" position.  This lever simply raises and lowers the printhead.  It does not have anything to do with the actual paper feed tension.  One note of caution - when this lever is moved, it greatly effects the print head alignment, and you will need to realign the printer using the Epson Page Setup alignment utilities.  Always make sure to align the printer on the thickness of paper you will be printing on.  The backside of a ruined sheet will do. The alignment pattern does not need to be printed on the normal printing side of a coated paper.  It is the thickness itself of the paper that counts while aligning.

2.2 - If the printhead is striking a curling edge of the paper, then the problem is the paper itself.  Try weighing the paper down under a heavy weight and see if the paper can be flattened out.

2.3 - To clean off the underside of the print head, refer to topic #6.

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3 - PAPER DID NOT FEED AND PRINTER PRINTED INK ON ITSELF (especially the 1200)
This problem is most often seen on the Epson 1200.  It seems to be unique among all the printers.  If the paper feed slips and the paper is not pulled into the printer, most all printers detect this and stop and light the paper warning light.  The 1200 skips this step and starts printing all over the black channel under the printhead.  The black channel has ribs and is designed to catch stray ink.  We have seen this happen occasionally on the other printer types, but it is rare.

PROCEDURE
Immediately stop the print job.  Clean the black ribbed channel with paper towels and Windex (Windolene) / Fantastik.  These two general purpose cleaners do a great job of cleaning up almost every ink we have printed with.

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4 - DIRTY ROLLERS LEAVE ROLLER MARKS ON THE PAPER
Occasionally a roller in the printer gets dirty and subsequent prints have ink tracks running down the sheet in a vertical direction.  How the roller became dirty can be mysterious, but the marks themselves are obviously caused by a dirty roller.

PROCEDURE
It is hard to clean the rollers in the machine because they are gear driven, and turn while the printer is printing.  So you can swab of the top of the rollers, but it is harder to clean them all the way around because they do not freely spin.

4.1 - EPSON STICKY SHEETS.
Epson sells a tacky cleaning sheet that has a slightly sticky surface.  Often times these sheets are bundled in with other papers.   Follow the Epson instructions to use these sheets to help clean the rollers.

4.2 - CHEAP TYPING PAPER AND WINDEX TRICK
One trick we have used successfully is to put a sheet of cheap typing paper in the paper feed and then press the paper load / eject button to cause the sheet to travel through the printer.  LIGHTLY SPRITZING the paper with Windex or Fantastic as it enters the machine helps dissolve the ink on the rollers and transfer the ink to the paper.  This can be repeated a few times until the rollers are clean.
Note - Common sense should prevail here.

First - Do not spray too much Windex or Fantastic on the cheap typing paper.  If it is heavily saturated the paper can fall apart as it is pulled through the printer making a mess.

Second - Do not flip the dirty sheet over to save paper - the wet inky side will make other parts of the printer dirty.  Use the paper once and discard.

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5 - SPLATTERED INK INSIDE THE CASE ON THE FAR RIGHT SIDE
All of these small printers have a rudimentary cleaning mechanism that attempts to keep the print head clean.  Most involve a shaft that spin and a rubber or felt wiper that flaps against the bottom of the printhead to clean it while running the Cleaning Utility accessed through the Epson Page Setup box.  If many cycles are run in a row - ink can splatter inside the case.  Most people never notice this and it does not cause much of a problem.  A few people have run 20 cleaning cycles in desperation and have a real mess inside their printer.

PROCEDURE
If the splattered ink inside your printer is bothering you, it can be cleaned up fairly easily on the smaller desktop printers.   NOT recommended for the Epson 3000.  The 3000 case is very tricky to dismantle.

5.1 - You can pull the top lid off the printer on most of the small printers by removing 4 screws, two in the front and two deeply recessed in the back.
WARNING NOTE  - Make sure to unplug the printer. It is NOT desirable to have the power ON while cleaning inside the printer.

5.2 - Use paper towels or a soft cloth moistened with Windex or Fantastik to blot up the stray ink.  Make sure not to dislodge the felt or rubber flap on the metal post.  If it does fall out - it can be placed back in its hole.

5.3 - Reassemble the case using the 4 screws.

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6 - DRIPS OF EXCESS INK ON THE PAPER DURING PRINTING
         (cleaning the underside of the printhead, printhead cap)
There are a number of reason that this can happen.  If you are using a CIS bulk feed system, make sure to read topic #1.  This problem becomes more evident after many hundreds of prints are made.  In general, paper dust and lint accumulate on the bottom of the print head and in the print head cap.

NOTE: Paper towels are made with many levels of quality.  Some really fall apart when wet and this type is not recommended.  There are many possible substitutions here, for example,  you could use photo wipes, lint free cloths etc.  We tend to have rolls of paper towels available next to the printer, and an ink sogged paper towel can be thrown away easily.  Use common sense, and what ever material you think best.  Some people have reported success using a foam paint stick to scrub under the print head, and these can be cleaned after use.  Use your ingenuity.

6.1 - PROCEDURE - TO CLEAN OFF THE BOTTOM OF THE PRINT HEAD
       SMALLER DESKTOP PRINTERS (760, 800, 850, 860, 1160, 1200 ETC.)

1 - Press paper button for 4 seconds, the print head should be to the left.
Note: Some printers have a special button for this purpose.

2 - Pull power cord

3 - Tear paper towel in 1/2.  (A full sheet is too thick when folded).

4 - Fold paper towel and lay it in the black plastic channel below where the print head travels back and forth.

5 - Work the print head up over the paper towel (We are doing this on a dry paper towel so we can get the print head over it about an inch or two.)

6 - When the print head is up on the paper towel, squirt some Windex on the paper towel, and then move the printhead back and forth to scrub off the bottom.

7 - Move the print head off the towel, pull the towel up and get everything cleaned up.

8 - Push the print head over to the right parked position.

9 - Plug in the printer and turn it on.

10 - Print the nozzle check and do a couple cleaning cycles as required to get any paper towel fibers off the bottom of the print head.  They clean right up - and are worth it because you have removed any large buildups from the bottom of the print head.

6.2 - PROCEDURE - TO CLEAN OFF THE BOTTOM OF THE PRINT HEAD
        LARGER DESKTOP PRINTERS (3000)
1 - Lift up the top hinged lid so that you can see the print head.

2 - Turn on the 3000. It will go through a quick cleaning cycle getting ready to print.

3 - As soon as the printer is ready, the pause light goes off - reach in and pull gently to the left on the feed tubes attached to the print head. DO NOT pull too hard. You have about 3 minutes to do this - and then the head gets locked.  If the head gets locked and you can not gently tug it to the left - turn off the printer and start over.

4 - Pull power cord

5 - Fold a paper towel and lay in the black plastic channel  below where the print head travels back and forth.

5 - Work the print head up over the paper towel (we are doing this on a dry paper towel so we can get the print head over it by an inch or two.

6 - When the print head is up on the paper towel, squirt some Windex on the paper towel, and then move the printhead back and forth to scrub off the bottom.

7 - Move the print head off the towel, pull the towel up and get every thing cleaned up.

8 - Push the print head over to the right parked position.

9 - Plug in the printer and turn it on.

10 - Print the nozzle check and do a couple cleaning cycles as required to get any paper towel fibers off the bottom of the print head.  They clean right up - and are worth it because you have removed any large  buildups from the bottom of the print head.

6.3 - PROCEDURE - CLEANING THE PRINT HEAD CAP
The print head cap normally should look clean.  The sponge material will look like a rainbow if you are using color inks, or all black if you are using quad black inks, but you should still be able to see the texture of the surface.  If the cap looks like there is a buildup of ink - then this buildup can be transferred to the print head while the print head is capped.  If you are having problem where a drip of ink lands in the middle of the print, this could be the problem.

PROCEDURE
1 - Follow the procedure for doing the Windex/Fantastik treatment.  In this case, our goal is not to unclog the inkjet nozzles, but to clean the print head cap.  Saturate the cap sponge, and blot the sponge with a paper towel.

2 - Repeat this procedure until any build up is removed.

3 - Run a nozzle cleaning cycle.

Link to the Windex/Fantastik treatment (The clog from hell)

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7 - AGGRESSIVE PRINTHEAD CLEANING TIPS
We have developed these tips mostly in our past experiments trying out every color inkset we can find.  As we experiment and flush and charge printers with all kinds of inks from many different manufacturers, we run into serious problems now and then.

PROCEDURE
Rather than a step by step instructions - this section will relate our experiences.  Someone attempting these methods, should feel they are good with using tools and taking things apart and putting things back together.  Use common sense at all times.

7.1 - One of the easiest ways to try to rescue a really plugged up print head is to put the Epson inks back in and print a number of flush images (made up of a lot of gradient bars) and cleaning cycles.  Alternate this with periods where the machine is turned off.  This is the least invasive of the methods, and has been known to work.  And if you need to call Epson, it is easier if you can truthfully say you are printing with their inks.

7.2 - Extreme Gamut (tm) color inkset once completely blocked up a cyan head in one of our 3000's.  Repeated Windex treatments to the printhead cap failed to solve the problem for over a week, and we seriously thought we would have to send the printer in for repair.  We decided to be bold first and see what we could do.  We moved the print head to the middle of the printer and pulled the power cord.  There are two screws on the lid of the print head assembly and opening this revealed the four ink lines and four ink reservoirs. The ink reservoirs simply pull off to reveal an ordinary print head assembly like all the small desktop printers.  The reservoirs press on to the same spikes that would normally pierce the small cartridges when they are first installed.  We worked a folded paper towel under the printhead.  Using a 60 cc syringe from a CIS kit and some clear tubing from the syringe to the spike with the hole, we forced Windex / Fantastik through the print head.  After we reassembled the printhead and reinstalled the lid, the first nozzle check showed a 90% recovery.  After the machine was left off over night, the print head was 100% functional.  The clear tubing can be found in hardware stores, or pet shops in the aquarium department.

This procedure is easier on the smaller desktop printers.  Removing the ink cartridge reveals the spikes with the hole that pierce the cartridges when first installed.  The methodology is the same.  This procedure has rescued a few printers that started printing small white lines in the print where a print nozzle had stopped printing for a short interval and then cleared.

Others have successfully forced hot water through the printhead, and rescued a malfunctioning printhead.

7.3 - We have seen Epson 3000's that did not successfully purge and charge all 4 lines when switching inksets.  Similar to the procedure above, we have removed the print head assembly lid, and pulled up on the ink reservoir's to pull them off of the spike.  The CIS kit comes with a syringe kit and the parts that are useful are the 60 cc syringe itself, and a small plastic cone that pushes over the end of the syringe.  The cone can be inserted into the ink reservoir and it makes a good seal.  Using the syringe we have been able to successfully prime the system manually by pulling the ink through until the reservoir is full.  The reservoir is then pushed back on the spike with the hole. Run a few cleaning cycles and let the printer set for a few hours.

This same procedure has been useful for CIS kits for the 1160 or 1200 etc., that have been removed from a printer and that sat in a box for months as the printer was used for other testing.  We pull some ink through to make sure they are primed with ink and ready to go when reinserted in the printer.

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8 - TIPS TO AVOID CLEANLINESS PROBLEMS
We would never mount a piece of paper to the drum of an IRIS printer and begin printing without first cleaning the sheet with a drafters brush.  After we had been printing a while on the Epson printers, we realized that we had not been giving them the respect they are due - and had casually stuffed hundreds of sheets of paper through the printer.  As the printers became progressively dirtier inside, we realized these printers, because they are not designed to be cleaned by the user, will especially benefit from keeping the  printer clean in the first place.

PROCEDURE
8.1 - Make sure to brush your paper your paper down with a drafters brush or equivalent to keep dust particles from accumulating to the bottom of the print head.  The cleaner the paper the longer between gunked up print heads

8.2 - It was very common in the old days of typewriters to cover the machine with a dust cover at night.  Especially if you have  high dust conditions, consider covering the printer with some sort of material while the printer is off.  The cleaner the printer stays inside - the longer the interval between required cleanings.

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