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Epson R2400 Tiny Ink Droplets on Print

John Hollenberg

New member
I have had an Epson 2400 for about 2 months. Everything has been going fine, except that it has needed 6 cleaning cycles already which is more than my 2200 needed for an entire year. Last night I had to do 3 cleaning cycles, then replaced a low cartridge this AM. One of the nozzle checks had a magenta droplet on it (approx 0.5 mm). The nozzle check this AM after replacing the low cartridge was perfect. However, when I made a print, there were about 6 or 8 black dots (approx. 0.5 mm) scattered over a 3 X 4 inch area of the sky. This was on a 12X18 print.

Does anyone know what is causing these droplets? I have never seen anything like this from any of my Epson printers. It may be a temporary aberration related to the cleaning cycles, but since the printer seems to be clogging quite a bit I am concerned the problem may continue or get worse.

--John
 

Alain Briot

pro member
This happens every once in a while. It's like a Ferrari backfiring. A hassle, but hardly preventable. When it does happen, I just reprint. I've never had it happen twice on subsequent prints.

Alain
 

John Hollenberg

New member
Alain,

Thanks. I thought there might be something wrong with the printer, since I have never seen this before. I posted in the Epson group on Yahoo, here is the answer that made the most sense to me (although who knows if it is correct):

"Probably excess ink on bottom of heads from cleanings"

--John
 

John Hollenberg

New member
Alain,

Unfortunately, looks like it is more like the engine blowing up. Printer got better for a couple of days, regular printing, then had one segment missing in light cyan. I did one cleaning cycle and the entire Magenta dropped out (it was fine before the cleaning cycle, and there is still 40% left in the original cartridge). I decided enough is enough. Epson readily agreed that the printer has a serious problem and arranged to send me a replacement under warranty.

--John
 

Alain Briot

pro member
I always say that diagnosing printing problems over email is virtually impossible. Your experience is a perfect example.
 

Harvey Moore

New member
When I have issues with a device not working properly, one of the troubleshooting steps is a visit to the manufacturers support forums.

I usually get faster, more specific replies there than at a more general forum like this one.

harvey
 

John Hollenberg

New member
Final outcome: I gave one last try to get the printer going while I was waiting for the replacement printer. Two or three cleanings later I had a perfect nozzle check, and has worked very well since then. I ended up cancelling the printer exchange. Have been making one 12X18 print pretty much every day and this seems to have made a big difference. I would rather put the ink on the paper than down the drain!

--John
 

Alain Briot

pro member
John Hollenberg said:
Final outcome: I gave one last try to get the printer going while I was waiting for the replacement printer. Two or three cleanings later I had a perfect nozzle check, and has worked very well since then. I ended up cancelling the printer exchange. Have been making one 12X18 print pretty much every day and this seems to have made a big difference. I would rather put the ink on the paper than down the drain!

--John


So I was right in the end ;-) The problem just took longer than normal to clear up.
 

Alain Briot

pro member
Harvey Moore said:
When I have issues with a device not working properly, one of the troubleshooting steps is a visit to the manufacturers support forums.
I usually get faster, more specific replies there than at a more general forum like this one.
harvey

I think this forum --right here-- rocks. But if you feel like moving to another one for "faster, more specific replies" don't hesitate. We love you, but you need to give us more credit ;-)
 

Harvey Moore

New member
I am impressed by the direction on this site Alain, if I offended you, please accept my apology.

My comment came from having been through similar problems with another product and being impatient to solve it. One of the reasons to query a manufacturers or a more specific forum is the sheer number of specific product users. With a forum populated by a high number of users of printer "X", a manufacturers defect will come to the surface quickly, the same with the quirks of using that product. They are also likely to have been talked about in historic posts.


Regards,

harvey



Alain Briot said:
I think this forum --right here-- rocks. But if you feel like moving to another one for "faster, more specific replies" don't hesitate. We love you, but you need to give us more credit ;-)
 

Alain Briot

pro member
Harvey,

No problem. Apology accepted. However, personally I have a lot of experience with printers. I have, among other endeavors, published diaries on the Epson 9600 and 4000 on outbackphoto.com. These are good references not only for these specific printers but for Epson printers in general. Here are the links:

Epson 9600 Diary:
http://www.outbackphoto.com/printinginsights/pi013/Epson9600_01.html

Epson 4000 Diary:
http://www.outbackphoto.com/printinginsights/pi030/Epson_4000.html

And if you enjoy reading these diaries, here is one more this time about how to move your studio:
http://www.outbackphoto.com/printinginsights/pi018/essay_01.html
 
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