sslug-teknik team mailing list archive

[Mogens Jaeger <mogensjaeger@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Kresten Skovsted Buch wrote:

> Men det løser desværre ikke problemet. Printeren vil når jeg skriver 
> en testside kun skrive med gult så jeg tænkte at dyserne er størknede 
> og stoppede. På min gamle HP printer sad der på patronen i hvert fald 
> en del af dysen som man kunne renst med sprit indtil der kom blæk ud. 
> Det er der ikke noget af her.
>
> Kan du måske hjælpe mig til en anden løsning på problemet?
Et forsøg: Jeg har sakset det fra et mail på Gimp-print-devel maillisten 
- fra 16. 09. 2004

In article <20040915142325.GO4615@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Patrick Shanahan wrote:


> > After six cleaning nozzles cycles and using 15% of my ink, the sixth
> > pattern is still not printed.  What other procedure exists for
> > clearing the nozzle.
>  

There are several methods recommended by serious giclee art printers: the 
commonest is the one you've discovered references to already ...

a] get the printhead to the centre of its travel [e.g. by pressing the 
cartridge change button] and remove power cord before it gets too far. 

b] raise the paper thickness adjustment to the max => + i.e. ensure the 
head is raised as far as possible.

c] get a piece of thick lint-free absorbent paper such as is used for 
coffee filters or similar and fold it to make a strip about 8-10" long and 
1/3-1/2" wide and maybe 1/16" or so in thickness. [In emergencies I have 
used disposable kitchen roll paper but it's not as good]. 

Place the strip into the recessed "track" below the print head and gently 
move the head over the strip.

d] grasp both ends of the strip of paper and gently push-pull on alternate 
ends so as to passs the strip back and forwards under the head maybe 3-4 
times. Do NOT exert more than gentle pressure. Keep your hands as close to 
the track as possible so that the strip remains as 'flat' as possible 
rather than forming a "U" shape around the head.

e] replace the strip with a clean one and *carefully* drip a few drops of 
uncoloured window glass cleaner onto the centre of the paper strip to cover 
maybe a 2-3" length [in the UK this cleaning product is commonly known as 
Windowlene Original, in the US I believe it's called Windex]: it's a very 
mild [5%] amonnia solution. Move the print head over the soaked portion of 
the strip and leave for about 2 hours. 

Remove the strip [use rubber gloves when handling - it will be soaked in 
ink] and use one or more clean strips to gently wipe the underneath of the 
head. Clean the track of the printer and the rollers carefully with a lint 
free disposable cloth or similar.

Beware, leaving the soaked strip in place usually "wicks" the ink from your 
cartridges, so you may want to remove them before starting step e].

Leave the printer head for about an hour to dry down before applying power.

Print test pages: the first few sheets will look 'odd'.

This really does work; however there's a major point to be made about 
inkjets. By the time most of realise just how quickly inkjets can clog and 
foul their nozzles or cause us other problems we've already made our major 
mistake: we aren't being sufficiently scrupulous about our care and 
attention to our materials and working conditions. In particular we don't 
handle our papers well: almost all uncoated papers on the market have dust 
or lint on them right out of the box. Even some of the coated papers can 
too. 
Plus most of us are lazy; we rarely cover our printers when they're not in 
use.

The result is that our printers accumulate fine dust and detritus in the 
mechanism which *will* cause us problems - either with inking etc on 
rollers or through clogged nozzles. The answer is to clean thoroughly and 
often, and to wipe papers down on both sides with an antistatic brush or 
cloth such as we used to use on vinyl records years ago, before printing. 
If you have an office/studio deioniser and/or airfilter then use it near 
the printer. And of course - keep your papers at the correct humidity/temp 
- if they dry out they *will* cause you dusting problems in the printer 
which won't be cured by wiping them down first. 

For what it's worth, I've acquired several Epson Sylus and Pro printers 
with allegedly blocked heads, either via e-Bay for pennies or for free from 
friends. With care and careful servicing they are mostly restored to life, 
or serve as a source of spares for the main printers.

Robert.


Så god 'arbejdslyst'

--
mvh Mogens Jæger