color stains with R2400

My R2400 worked always perfectly when,same time ago,it began to leave irregular stains of different color inks DIAGONALLY as to the printing direction.That happens not often,but from time to time,without apparent reason.I had the printer checked by Epson service and all was ok,but the problem has not been solved.They told me tht's a "software problem",that let it as mysterious as possible.
I've posted for help on yahoo groups,but with no results.Then,'cause I print with Quimage, I e-mailed to Mr. Chaney and sent to him a small section of the area of the image (the same I'm sending to you) and Mr.Chaney has been very kind and helpful.He wrote:
"That definitely looks like a printer problem to me. Clogged or intermittently firing nozzles can create very strange patterns sometimes and I've seen patterns very similar to this with a bad head or clogging nozzles and it doesn't always show in a nozzle test/check. The best way to narrow this down is to turn on your print preview in the print driver.If it is a repeatable problem that you can test, do this and if the print preview doesn't show the stain but the print does, it is 100% certain that the problem is the printer"
Now,I'd like to know your opinion(please Mr. Tapes),not because I don't trust Mr.Chaney,but I think I need a second reliable opinion to be able to ask Epson for replacing the R2400.
Thank you in advance.
Best regards

Luca


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Difficult to diagnose, without using the printer. If Epson have seen it, and they say the printer is OK, then maybe assume they are correct. However, many things to check for yourself.

You say diagonal stains. Any particular colour, is it at 45 degree, or just off of horizontal? Is the paper thickness set in the software correctly.

Have you done any 'methodical testing' , e.g. generate some large areas of solid colour in ps, and printed them?

It is not banding, by any chance, such as you get with an 8 bit workflow, in gradually shade changing areas.

Is a piece of chad caught in the mechanism, somewhere?

A clogged head usually means ink not flowing, staining implies too much ink flowing. Is the paper settings correct for the paper type and ICC profile. Try different pictures with the same settings, or the troublesome pictures with different settings and paper. Can you get someone to try the same image/settings on their printer.

Have you changed cartridges, sometimes they can have foam, which gives irregular ink flow.

try the head clean cycle. Run it three times, then leave the printer for at least 8 hours. without using it. It should get the air out of the cartridges. Is it Epson cartridges?

I do not have enough information here, its a bit like saying 'my car doesn't run too well, can you tell me what's wrong'.

Have you actually tried what Mike suggested, re checking the preview?

The quick way, however, if you can swing it, is to get epson to change it

Best wishes,

Ray (insert question marks, capitol letters and correk spelling as required...)

It would be very helpful to see an example of what you are talking about. Any chance of taking a quick photo of one of the areas with a DSLR and posting it where we can have a look at it? Offhand, it sounds like a problem with the printer itself, but without seeing it is hard to give an informed opinion.

Do you refill the cartridges? Epson ink or replacement? Does it happen on all types of paper, or a particular one? As a user of Qimage, I doubt there is any problem with that software. I print with it all the time, never a problem.

I wouldn't assume that Epson will give you the correct answer. Level I tech support from most companies isn't very good for anything but the most routine problem.

--John

color stains 2

Thank you Ray and John,
the issue happens time to time,and on different papers,Epson inks, about 45 degrees,magenta and green (?) colors.Recently all ok,I've always used the preview option in the driver and until now nothing gone wrong.I'm keeping my fingers crossed
I thought I had sent a section of the image with the stain with my previous message,but probably something has been wrong.I'm trying to attach it again.
Thank you very much indeed for the attention and the useful suggestions.

Luca

Hi Luca,

attachments don't work - use fifth icon from rhs - looks like an envelope with a stamp - to link to an image posted elsewhere.

Best wishes,

Ray

Hi Ray.
here the link to the section of the image with the stain.
Thank you very much again.

Luca

Hi Luca,

Thanks for the pm with the image, I converted it to jpeg and relinked it here, I hope thats OK (I think it may not like larger tifs)



My first thought it is grease or oil on the paper, maybe even some other chemical - bleach??. I think I would examine the rest of the sheets in the box, if all the problem prints were from one batch of paper, by holding upto light at angle, seeing if the reflection changes.

It does not look much like a print head type of problem to me. However, sometimes the cartridges get air inside them, causing 'foam'. The solution is to run the cleaning cycle three times, and then do not use the printer for about ten hours or so. But I tend to think its a paper problem (I guess the paper is suitable for pigment inks)

It seems everyone is giving different answers.

So, what brand ink, what brand paper, what print settings?

Can you give an idea of the size in mm/inches

Best wishes,

Ray

Another forum member had issues with color drops or stains which were fixed successfully by Epson Technical Support. If your printer is under warranty, I recommend you contact them and send it in for repairs. In my experience, it is very difficult to diagnose printer problems such as this one over email/forum posts.

Hi Ray,
I'm inclined to exclude problems with paper,as the issues happens with different papers (Epson Glossy,Ilford Smooth Gloss...),with different batches of paper, and and the stains are of different ink colours (always Epson inks).Also their sizes are various, from cm.2 (that one posted,on an A3 print) up to cm. 8-9 (on an A4 print).The weird is that the print next to the one stained is ok WITHOUT any cleanig of the head and with the same settings.Maybe air in the cartridges,but it happened also with changed cartridge...And all happens time to time,every 15-20 prints,until now...
Thank you again

Luca

Hi Alain,
I did it and they checked saying all ok.I think I'll contact Epson support for a second check.The problem is the desultoriness of the problem.Actually the proofs Epson sent to me after the check were perfect.
Thank you for the attention.
Best regards

Luca

Hi Luca,

Its got me beaten, too I'm afraid. I spoke with some folk I know, with more experience than me with the 2400, and they said they had come across situations where the 'ink pump cap' was not sealing, and ink stays on top of the cleaning pads, but that causes odd streaks generally towards the right hand edge of the paper.

If it were me, I think if it was in warranty I'd try and get epson to change the printer. If it is out of warranty, and as it now seems to be OK, I'd live with it, unless it returns.

If you find out the cause, please let us know.

Best wishes,

Ray

Hi Ray,
very useful tip about the "ink cap pump".It's a new hypothesis that I hope Epson service will be able to check.
I'm very appreciative of your concern.
Best regards

Luca