Epson R2880 Banding Problem

[Dwayneb9584]

Hello all,

So I've had my R2880 for about 2 years now. This morning I did a nozzle check and cleaning due to getting banding on my print. I wasted a quarter of a 13x19 upon noticing horizontal lines. Not sure what the problem is because after cleaning and checking the nozzle it still appears on my print. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

-Dwayne

 

[shadowfox]

What level of cleaning did you do?
It's very ink-wasteful but the most intensive version of the cleaning cycle seems to be the most helpful in my experience.

Look closely at the nozzle check pattern to see if the line appear there also.

For your sake I hope you didn't end up throwing the printer in disgust like I did years ago (same model, similar problem). I'll never buy midrange Epson printer ever again. Non-replaceable inkjet heads, that's either greedy or idiotic design, but definitely not for the paying customer's best interest.

 

[GaryLH]

Alignment check?

Alignment check?

Just wanted to make sure... A couple of questions

- did u do print head alignment check?
- how long ago did u last use the printer? I leaned the hard way to send a test print thru my printer at least once a week using something which will use all the different colors. I forgot to use my 2200 for about 4 months and it clogged so bad..I ended up tossing it. But clogging usually does not cause banding, unless banding is related to missing color.
- I have been told that on some printers three consecutive cleaning cycles will force a much deeper cleaning cycle, not sure if this is true or not.

Good luck
Gary

 

[GaryLH]

For your sake I hope you didn't end up throwing the printer in disgust like I did years ago (same model, similar problem). I'll never buy midrange Epson printer ever again. Non-replaceable inkjet heads, that's either greedy or idiotic design, but definitely not for the paying customer's best interest.

+1

Gary

 

[Bob Michaels]

Can you confirm that you are repeatedly / consistently getting perfect nozzle checks but then banding on your prints? It would be worthwhile knowing how many times you get a perfect nozzle check then a banded print.

What happens when you see banding on a print and immediately run a nozzle check?

I know a little bit about Epson clogs / banding from the early model days. But I have not done a nozzle check on my Epson 2400 in 3 or 4 years. I no long bother because they were always perfect and my prints still are.

 

[Dwayneb9584]

Hey all,

Sorry to get back so late on this. It seems like i've fixed the problem or maybe not. But before I continue I wanted to post my results. First off I ran several cleaning cycles as GaryLH said to do on it. I then ran a smaller 5x7 and it looks good. As for the first run with the banding which you'll see in the image that is blue. That size print is 13x19. Not sure if I did everything correct but i don't see any banding in the 5x7 print. The last time I used the printer was 2 months ago. I haven't been doing my maintenance on it which I know is terrible. Let me know all your thoughts on taking the next step, or if I'm good to go.

Results

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwayneburgessphotography/8434892846/
Banding on first print (13x19)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwayneburgessphotography/8434892734/in/photostream/
Nozzle Check, You can see the Magenta and Yellow broken lines.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwayneburgessphotography/8433807901/
Auto Nozzle check and Head cleaning*


http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwayneburgessphotography/8434892494/
Final print after cleaning (avoid the ink smudge on the upper left)