Epson RX640 Ink flow issue

Hello i have an Epson RX640 with a CISS installed and it's working perfectly until recently the Cyan color started to disappear.

I'm not sure how to describe what's happening but when i do a head clean then nozzle test i get perfect results in all colours including Cyan.
When i print a full A4 cyan test the printer start to print the colour normally then eventually the colour fade.
Then i do a nozzle check to find all colours are perfect but the Cyan is very bad or no Cyan at all.

I've changed the cartridges also changed the whole CISS and purged the air in many ways and many times but still can't get Cyan to function properly.

What could be the real cause of this?
Is it 100% air issue? or bad CISS? or it's something internal in the printer?

Please help cause i have many things to print but i can't

Thank you.

I've tried today new cartridges and it didn't help, i even switched Cyan with Light Cyan (working 100% cartridge) and i got the same results.
Is it possible that the printhead it self leaking air?

Please help me.

Does a bad ink result a bad nozzle or no nozzle at all?

danswano said:

Does a bad ink result a bad nozzle or no nozzle at all?

Click to expand...

I can't say that this is the same as your problem, nor am I pointing the finger at ink brands.

The problem I had with my older Pro3800 would only affect the LIGHT MAGENTA.

It would print lighter than it should, after a Power Clean from the menu it would return to 100% normal for a while.

I did try all sorts of remedies including two new carts thinking it had to be an air seal problem.

I was using Image Specialist ink then, I now use OCP ink and the problem has gone. This could be just a coincidence but

the printer now prints perfectly and it is the same as my other one.

What about the nozzle check? it was perfect after clean and bad after a print test?

Ok, my guess on this is that you're suffering from the age of the ink as the RX640 is an old, old printer and there's undoubtedly a lot of past-sell-by inks out there that sellers are ditching cheap instead of dumping it.

The Cyan is the canary of the Epson dye ink group, or at least that's my experience of it from the last decade. It usually develops algae as the inhibitor in it degrades so the nozzles start to clog with particulate matter and you get a reasonable nozzle check after a clean then it starts to gum up again.

Solution is a complete flush of your refillable cartridges/CIS using a cleaning solution and distilled water and then a fresh supply of ink from a reputable seller who can tell you when the ink was manufactured or at least warranty you that it'll be within shelf-life.

You'll also need to flush out the printhead nozzles for both the Cyan and Light Cyan which is a two way process.

1. The passive approach which involves:
   • Getting printhead off resting/cleaning pad
     (see this video time: 1:00 - 1:32)
   • Put small 2-3 layer square or absorbent paper towel on to resting/cleaning pad. Position it so that it won't be pushed off when the printhead is moved back over it.
   • Soak the square of paper towel with a suitable cleaning solution
   • Move the printhead back into it's normal resting/parked position
   • Leave overnight
     This allows the solution to wick up into the nozzles and break down and clogging/foam/etc.. much like soaking dishes in soapy water.
   • Move the printhead off the resting pad and remove the paper towel (check you haven't left any fragments)
   • Run a single printhead cleaning routine
     
   • Run a single nozzle check
   • Leave to sit for half an hour to let things settle
     
   • Use as normal
2. The active approach which should only ever follow the passive one as it can blow your printhead!
   1. Use a suitable cleaning kit which includes a syringe and adapter that can be attached directly to the ink receiver in your print head (the bit that pushes into the cartridge)
   2. Place some absorbent paper towel along the printhead path and move the printhead over it (This will catch solution as it's dumped through the nozzles)
      
   3. Fill the syringe with 5-10ml of cleaning solution
   4. Attach the adapter to the target ink receiver
   5. Very, VERY gently apply feather light pressure on the syringe to inject small amounts of cleaning solution into the receiver.
      DO NOT force it..
   6. Gently pull back on the syringe to draw air and any large particulate matter out of the nozzles...
   7. Check the tube/syringe for signs of obvious gunk/solids and if any are present try to dump these out of the syringe before repeating Steps 2.4 - 2.7
   8. If there's nothing obvious, use at least 5ml of solution to gently/still-feather-light feed into the receiver without drawing back. This will continue to flush the nozzles and also push out any air drawn in during step 2.6
   9. Remove the adapter from the ink receiver very carefully (always remove vertically rather than off to a side to avoid snapping the receiver off the printhead!)
   10. Repeat steps 2.2 - 2.9 as required for other inks
   11. Replace cartridges/CIS system
   12. Run a single printhead clean and one nozzle check
   13. Leave to settle for at least half an hour
   14. Try running 1 - 4 pages of A4 basic printhead purge pattern image (like this) to ease the printer back into working normally... Unlike Canons this is unlikely to harm the printer as the inks don't need to cool the nozzles.
       
   15. Repeat steps 2.12 - 2.13 (yes, including the resting period) until things are working again.

...and that should be that.

Hope that gives you plenty to chew on.

Martin

Been there, done all the steps. No joy.

It prints black, yellow, partial cyan, and only a few magenta rectangles.

What cleaning solution do you use?

BTW Check out my Brother Magic thread where I can use the printer without any color cartridges.

In terms of cleaning solution, not done any Brother printers so couldn't comment reliably on what would be best... You could try the dishwashing solution approach that was used to clear the clogs caused in the Yellow Jello issue for the Pro-100/CLI-42.

If your clog is being cause by physical size of crud in the nozzles unable to squeeze through then small amounts of gently push solution in, then pull out, dump result in syringe to waste container, replace solution in syringe, repeat might give results.

Total winging it suggestion but might help.

I'd like to add my tuppence. Thanks for the good advice on this page. I've learnt that the paper towel / toilet paper wicks the contents of the cartridges out, which is not necessarily a good thing as the cleaning fluid presumably gets diluted / flushed from the capping station. The solution is to cover the air holes in the cartridges with sticky tape eg insulation tape, ideally brightly coloured so it's not forgotten. Since the sponge / foam in the capping station can also hold a lot of ink I place sticky tape under the paper towel and over the sponge. This might prevent dilution of the cleaning fluid and also makes it clear at a glance whether or not ink is coming out. Otherwise there can be a black smudge on the paper towel which is no more than the contents of the sponge being drawn upwards.
One other tip - if using suction on the print head to remove air locks the perfect suction device already exists - the bit of sponge surrounded by a rubber seal through which excess ink drains down a tube. If you have access to that tube then connect a syringe and very gently draw air / ink out (when the print head is parked on top of the sponge / capping station). Alternatively a spare capping station and syringe can be used to do the same task when the print head is moved to the middle of the printer.
Finally, before using any cleaning solutions TEST them on a bit of paper that has some of your dried inks on, even if they're only blobs of ink shaken from the cartridge. Inks can have different compositions and cleaning solutions don't always do what's expected, whilst DIY cleaning solutions e.g. household cleaners can leave obvious residues which are not wanted.