Epson Stylus Pro 3800 not printing Photo Black

Hello everyone,

Last week my beloved SP 3800 started acting weird - pictures didn't look as "awesome" as always. After quick investigation I have discovered, that not all blacks are printing. I did a nozzle check, and the first block of black was missing completely. I Did power cleaning, didn't help. I have cleaned the printhead with isopropyl alcohol and lint-free wipes (was a little dirty but no excessive dirt). As most of my prints (like 95% of them) are done on glossy media, the Matte Black is in very rare use: the cartridge that came with printer in 2009 or so was still in use. I thought that, because of this very old ink, something got clogged. I have purchased new Matte Black, replaced it and did more investigation that came with the following facts and conclusions:

1) Matte Black is printing perfectly, no clogged nozzle
2) Photo Black still missing the whole block on the nozzle check print
3) Since the printer has 9 inks and only 8 color nozzles, Matte and Photo Black are using the same nozzle (obvious, but came to me only later - I was really scared that my printhead is clogged), therefore it cannot be the clogged nozzle that's causing the problem
4) Photo Black ink was in use on fairly regular basis (at least once a month recently). Before that the printer was left unused for longer periods of time (sometimes), but never had any serious issues with print quality and/or missing colors.

Looking at the above I came to the conclusion that the printhead is not the problem, but the supply of Photo Black ink.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, and please suggest the solution. I have read posts on different forums, but most of them related to blocked nozzles, which is not the issue here.

One more thing: I have always used original Epson inks and standard paper (Epson/HP)


Any help would be much appreciated

Thank you,

Marcin

Nothing wrong with the ink levels of PK and MK?
Whenever I hear about issues of the two blacks using one channel, I have to think of the switching mechanism...
http://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/my-r3880-could-be-dying.10163/#post-84572

Hello,

I read about the switching mechanism issues as well, but I don't see any staining or ink dripping on my prints. About the ink levels: MK was at approx 30%, it's replaced with new now. PK is at approx 15-20%, but you gave me the idea, that this actually may be ink level issue. I have taken out the PK cartridge and shaken it, at few small lines appeared on the nozzle check print. This is new to me, as I have always used my inks to zero, and there was no issues with ink levels given by the printer.

I will replace with new PK and I will let you know.

Thank you for the advice!

Hello all,

Now, an update to the issue. I have replaced Photo Black with refillable cartridge and ink from Marrutt. Changed from Matte Black, printed nozzle check - perfect. Printed few pictures - no issues at all.

After few pictures printer is not printing black again. Plain A4 pages with 100% black picture are coming out white.

Please help!