MP990 - Need Help!!! Desperately

[inkadinkado]

Thanking you in advance for your help.

I'm having a stubborn printhead problem and I'm stumped. The nozzle check printout prints the pigment black area incorrectly. Everything else prints fine.

The grid looking bars at the top of the nozzle check printout print with some missing grids near the top of the gridded area. And, it prints like this every single time. I've done some extensive cleaning of the printhead, thinking it was a clog yet it still does this. I'm beginning to wonder if it's truly a clog. Wouldn't a clog print the grid more spiratically, skipping grid squares differently everytime I print a nozzle check sheet, rather than skip the same spots every single time?

When I print a regular printout of a type written page, the line that prints faintly is about every 6th line.

Also, when I print using a higher quality print setting, everything prints fine. I think this is due to the printer mixing the other cartridge colors to make black. Is that a correct assumption?

Any help from the experts would be appreciated.

 

[turbguy]

We will need to see a nozzle test print. Please post an image of one.

Also, do you use new OEM carts or compatibles?

If you refill, do you refill OEM carts or Compatibles.

If you refill, what ink do you use?

If you use compatibles, what brand do you use?

High quality printing of photos do NOT use PGBK ink, but mix the other colors for black. PGBK ink is used ONLY for text.

Wayne

 

[inkadinkado]

Hi Wayne:

I've enclosed pictures that you requested to see my problem. As you can see in the first picture, when I print the entire nozzle check sheet it all prints fine except the portion of the pigment ink cartridge at the top of the sheet. I then printed that portion larger for you to see it better. This is how this prints every single time. Never a variation. Wouldn't a clog vary in where the skips were in the grid represented on the nozzle check sheet?

The last picture shows some actual type printed on a page which allows you to see the result when something other than a nozzle check is printed. About every 6th line is more faint than the rest. This printer has been doing this for quite some time. I've gotten around the problem by using a higher quality print setting, but at times I would really like to run the machine faster for things that don't need high quality.

I've cleaned the printhead, blown canned air into the pigment ink nozzle on the printhead, done several deep cleanings, and nothing works. Is it possible this is not a clog but maybe a problem with the chip reader that is on the printhead? I've had clogs before and never one I couldn't fix.

Any help you or anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated.

 

[turbguy]

Looks like clogged nozzles to me. I was concerned the missing lines would have a periodicity to them, indicating an electrical/electronic problem. A pigment ink clog can be very stubborn. Original Windex and soaking time (Overnight), repeated, are your best options other than renewing the Print Head. Note that EVERY horizontal line the the matrix represents a unique, individual PGBK nozzle.

Do not print anything expect nozzle tests until this is resolved. If repeated soaking/cleaning (try blowing air after soaking toward the nozzles, as well as the inlets) makes no difference ( no additional lines appear in the PGBK matrix), then a new print head may be in order.

Also, do you use new OEM carts or compatibles?

If you refill, do you refill OEM carts or Compatibles.

If you refill, what ink do you use?

If you use compatibles, what brand do you use?

 

[inkadinkado]

Thanks turbguy:

I never use anything but OEM carts. I bought virgin carts off ebay, removed their plugs, cleaned them, and have had no issues with the carts. These carts have been great. I refill the standard way, not the German method.

I use ink from Octoinkjet which has been great as well. I love dealing with Octoinkjet out of England. Products and service is great. BTW, their "easy refill" bottles with needles attached are very easy and convenient.

I have cleaned and cleaned this printhead. I will try it one more time leaving it to soak for a much longer time and I'll will try (again) to blow air through the nozzle. If this doesn't work, guess I'm stuck with buying a new printhead.

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[The Hat]

Sometimes these little clogs can be a bitch to clear if they have being there for a while and gone unnoticed.

Try using the BK black in your large cartridge instead of the PGBK ink,
just suck out the stuff thats in it now and refill with the BK black.

If you run a couple of test sheets with 1 solid black strips in Word and see if the clog disperses for you..

 

[mikling]

I suspect that the priming station seals are not perfectly sealing and allowing the pigment ink to clog. Sometimes even a windex soak is not adequate put a gentle pressure push after soaking will clear it up. This happens more so on those wide nozzle heads. So soak in windex then take windex and gently force it through the printhead inlet. If you can find a syringe that has a diameter small enough to fit around the inlet , cut it off cleanly so it fits around the rubber seal.and use the rubber seals as a seal, plunge down and the small force exerted on the system will force the particles out. Do check the condition of the seals and wipers to make sure that there is not excessive deposits there causing an air leak and smearing of sediment in the wipe operation.

 

[inkadinkado]

Thanks Hat for your suggestion:
My spouse and I print some art "how to" books as well as another book that is a print on demand situation. We have two of these printers and need both of them to print correctly. Thanks for your black ink suggestion. I had wondered if I could use dye based ink exclusively in the pigment ink cartridge. Would that be a bad thing? The dye based inks do not clog as badly, but I'm sure they are not as permanent as the pigment inks either. What do you think?

Mikling:
I will try another cleaning procedure using the "plunger" effect you suggest. I'm not one to give up easily and when I focus on a problem it sort of becomes an "it" or "me" war. I don't like it being "me" that loses. So, off to the races again. Thank you for your suggestion. I will let the printhead soak a while, try the plunger effect, and give eveyone who has responded to my dilemma an update.

Thanks to all.

 

[Grandad35]

Print a nozzle check, do a deep clean on the PGBK and repeat the nozzle check.

If you have a clogging issue, at least a few of the missing lines should reappear. If the two prints are exactly the same, you may have burned out heaters on the missing nozzles.