Pro-100 Clogging Mid-print

[t-flo]

Hi there!

I've owned my Pro-100 since 2016 when I bought it new from B&H. I've been using Precision Colors inks since then, in fact my cartridges are still the setup cartridges that came in the package with the machine that I drilled a decade ago. It was fairly reliable until I loaned it to a friend for a year—he didn't mistreat it, but I also don't think he printed much with it. Recently, it's been much less reliable in terms of nozzle clogs.

What's frustrating to me is that it will go from unclogged to clogged mid-print session. I can get a good nozzle check, print a page, and then print another page and I'll lose one of the colors mid-page. It's been group 2 (C, Bk, LGy, Gy) that's had the most persistent issues. Black always seems fine but the rest of the colors on that side tend to get clogged. Just today, I've used almost a full cartridge's worth of ink on cleaning/deep cleaning cycles. I can get a nearly clean nozzle check and then print for a page or two before the clog reappears. I've windex-soaked the printhead overnight twice, after that and a few cleaning cycles I can get some decent prints, but eventually the clog will return. It seems unlikely that it's simply drying out, because the clog will happen in the middle of a printing session, rather than after a week or month of sitting. See attached image for a clean nozzle check + a print that clogged midway through. I can attach images of pages and pages of lightly streaked nozzle checks if that's helpful.

Any more advice, or anything to try? The precision colors inks are a lot cheaper than OEM but I still hate wasting so much ink, not to mention the amount of time and paper I spend printing nozzle checks.

Incidentally, unrelated to this issue but since it's my first post I'll mention that I also have a (clogged) Pro-10 I got for free and haven't gotten around to fixing yet. I also have a Prusa Mini which strangely seems to be the most reliable printer in the house at the moment. I'm located in the USA.

 

[PeterBJ]

The error looks to me like ink starvation caused by a cartridge. I suggest to try another cartridge instead of the one of the failing colour. I think most ink starvation problems are caused by cartridges, not by a clogged printhead.

 

[t-flo]

@PeterBJ thank you, that makes a lot of sense, I hadn't considered the cartridges. Is there any way to recondition my existing carts or should I just get OEM ones and drill them once they're empty?

 

[PeterBJ]

You can flush the cartridges of old ink and recondition them. A Luer Slip syringe fits the fill hole on top of the cartridge perfectly after removing the sealing ball, so it can be used to flush water and a conditioning fluid through the cartridge.

Here is a post with recipes and instructions.

To make flushing until the water runs clear easier you could make something like this, click to enlarge:



After flushing with water use the syringe to blow out most of the water left by flushing and fill the cartridge with the conditioning fluid. Remove most of the fluid by blowing air through the cartridge using the syringe and drain the cartridge using the paper towel method, Leave the cartridge slightly moist and refill the cartridge with new ink.

Be careful that the chip is completely dry before installing the cartridge, as a chip not completely dry could be damaged or worse damage the printer. I once inserted a cartridge with a chip that was not completely dry in a printer. The chip was ruined and the cartridge rejected, but luckily nothing happened to the printer.