Epson 3000 - Magenta cartridge is banding, but 'Nozzle Test' shows all's Okay ????

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A_Newsreader

Can someone please help me with this problem that I have with my Epson
3000 printer;

My problem is that the Magenta cartridge produces banding - but the
funny thing is that when I choose to clean nozzles, and do a 'print
test pattern' first, it shows that everything is clean and that there
is no problem. Yet when I print something, then I get banding and to
find out who the culprit is, I print an a4 sheet with 4 large colour
squares (100% Cyan, 100% Magenta, 100% Yellow and 100% black) and
immediately see that the Magenta is the one that isn't working
properly and that it is this cartridge which is causing the banding.

I wouldn't say that this printer gets used much at all - in fact
although it is a 4 year old printer it is used very very lightly (say
maximum 100 A4 colour inkjet sheets a year).

Can anyone give me some ideas as to what may be the problem and how to
fix it. The printer is in North Africa so it isn't a simple case of
taking it to my local printer shop - i.e. I need to basically be able
to rectify this myself.

Thanks for any help.
 
Can someone please help me with this problem that I have with my Epson
3000 printer;

My problem is that the Magenta cartridge produces banding - but the
funny thing is that when I choose to clean nozzles, and do a 'print
test pattern' first, it shows that everything is clean and that there
is no problem. Yet when I print something, then I get banding and to
find out who the culprit is, I print an a4 sheet with 4 large colour
squares (100% Cyan, 100% Magenta, 100% Yellow and 100% black) and
immediately see that the Magenta is the one that isn't working
properly and that it is this cartridge which is causing the banding.

I wouldn't say that this printer gets used much at all - in fact
although it is a 4 year old printer it is used very very lightly (say
maximum 100 A4 colour inkjet sheets a year).

Can anyone give me some ideas as to what may be the problem and how to
fix it. The printer is in North Africa so it isn't a simple case of
taking it to my local printer shop - i.e. I need to basically be able
to rectify this myself.
Click to expand...
Is the banding white on the magenta patch (missing ink) or magenta on
the other colours (extra magenta).

If it is the former then closely examine the nozzle test pattern - the
distance between each of the horizontal magenta lines should be exactly
the same. Although all of the test lines may be present, indicating
that none of the nozzles are blocked, it is possible that some ink has
solidified on the surface of one nozzle causing the jet to deflect from
its true direction. This would result in a test pattern with one of the
lines unevenly spaced from the others. If this is the problem then one
way of clearing it is to take a paper towel and dampen it with Windex or
other clear ammonia or cationic surfactant based window cleaner, such as
some versions of Windowlene or shower cleaners. Start to print a nozzle
test on a normal sheet and then, when the printer head is half way
across the platen, switch the printer off at the mains - not the front
panel switch. This will leave the print head free to travel back and
forth over the page. Fold the damp paper towel a few times to thicken
it up and then place this on the platen and move the print head over it.
I can't remember if the 3000 has a head height control on it, for use
with thick paper and card. If it has, then it might be easier to raise
the head when you move it over the folded dampened paper towel, to clear
the edges, and then lower it onto it. Leave it for at least 30 minutes
and then wipe the head back and forth across the towel. You should see
some ink residue on the paper towel where the printer sat - if it trails
then keep moving the head until it stops doing so. This is intended to
first soften the dried ink and then clear it. Return the head to its
parked position, remove the paper towel, and then switch on the power to
the printer again. Run another nozzle check just to be sure - you might
need a head clean to prime the head and replace ink that has siphoned
out onto the towel - and it should be OK.

If magenta ink is being deposited on the other colour patches then there
are two possibilities - a small amount of lint may be drawing ink out by
capillary action, or the head or its drive circuit is damaged. You
could clear the former just by wiping the head across a dampened paper
towel as in the latter stage of the above solution. You don't really
want to hear about the solution if the head or circuit is damaged. ;-)

Good luck!
 
If after printing a page with banding magenta you get a good nozzle check,
99% the problem is a "leak" in the ink feed system. The ink don't leak,
insted air goes into the ink feed system. More frequent, the assembly that
fits to the printhead (the white plastic that has a transparent plastic film
letting you seeing the ink inside) is the problem. If you need more info to
find this assembly, ask about. Remove it, check the rubber washer that fits
airtight to the printhead. Usualy the small ring that holds the rubber
washer is loose. Use a little glue.
 
Sorry Guys I really mislead you all.

What the problem is is that I get Magenta Streaks along the print - I
said banding, I didn't mean to.

It happens on areas where NO printing was to be done at all and on
areas where printing was to be done - and these streaks vary in length
(i.e. width across the paper).

The streaks are very fine, like single 'pen strokes' - they are not
thick blobs of line.

Please if you could still provide me with some ideas.

Many thanks for the support you can give.

Regards.
 
Sorry Guys I really mislead you all.

What the problem is is that I get Magenta Streaks along the print - I
said banding, I didn't mean to.

It happens on areas where NO printing was to be done at all and on
areas where printing was to be done - and these streaks vary in length
(i.e. width across the paper).

The streaks are very fine, like single 'pen strokes' - they are not
thick blobs of line.

Please if you could still provide me with some ideas.
Click to expand...
Madame Speaker, I refer A_Newsreader to the last paragraph of my
previous post in this thread.
:-)

You could also take a look at Mike Jacoubowsky's tip which he suggests
cured a similar problem with his Epson 1270:

"I *may* have found a solution for the problem of my Epson 1270 printing
red lines that extend beyond the printed area (and all across the
printed section as well).

I'd tried all the usual stuff to make sure it wasn't clogged print heads
or debris in the printer etc., and had read posts here (found on google)
that it was due to a logic board gone bad. Thinking that a logic board
communicates with the printer in a manner that varies depending upon how
information is sent to it, I went into-

Printer Properties box
Advanced tab
Print Processor option (near bottom)
Changed "default data type" from RAW to NT EMF 1.008

Voila, seems to work! Don't know for how long, but if you've got the
same problem, it's worth a try. "
 
Hi Kennedy,

Ah !! Now that's more like it !!

A nice simple solution, that even I can deal with, I'll give it a go
and let you know how it went.

Best regards and thanks.
 
Kennedy McEwen said:
Printer Properties box
Advanced tab
Print Processor option (near bottom)
Changed "default data type" from RAW to NT EMF 1.008
Click to expand...

Oh my gawd !!

It fixed it !!!

Yippee :)

Thanks a million Kennedy.

Best regards.
 
Oh my gawd !!

It fixed it !!!

Yippee :)

Thanks a million Kennedy.

Best regards.
Click to expand...

Credit should go where its due - it was Mike Jacoubowsky's solution. All
I did was note the similarity between the problem he was having and
yours.

Glad it worked though - I'll remember the tip myself now, because at the
moment my printer is set to RAW. ;-)

Its probably unfair to ask you to take this risk, but since you have had
the problem its the only way of determining the actual cause - does the
problem return if you set it back to RAW? That might help to trace the
actual cause of the problem.
 
Kennedy McEwen said:
Credit should go where its due - it was Mike Jacoubowsky's solution. All
I did was note the similarity between the problem he was having and
yours.

Glad it worked though - I'll remember the tip myself now, because at the
moment my printer is set to RAW. ;-)

Its probably unfair to ask you to take this risk, but since you have had
the problem its the only way of determining the actual cause - does the
problem return if you set it back to RAW? That might help to trace the
actual cause of the problem.
Click to expand...

Hi Kennedy,

(My internet connection failed as I sent you my original reply to this
post of yours so excuse me if you are getting this twice).

Thanks to you I was able to solve this, I did do a seach on Mike's
name but found nothing about this problem. Even my wife knows how
frustrating this problem has been for us over at least 10 months so
she says a big thank you too !!

Anyway, I do notice that I have to keep going back into the Advanced
Tab each time I want to print something (to stop this problem from
returning i.e. it does *seem* (not sure exactly when) to reset itself
back to RAW for each new image that I want to print - I managed to
print 50 beautiful full colour A4 images using Photoshop yesterday).
But I noticed that every so often (usually for each new image opened)
I'd go back to the Advanced tab and reselect the NT EMF 1.008 Datatype
as it started to introduce streaking again (and very occasionally in
Black and not only Magenta).

Also, I noticed that when you do go into this dialog box (on the
Advanced Tab for the printer) the RAW Datatype is always highlighted
by default.

I'll see if this can be permenantly set somehow.

And oh yes, it seemed that the prints looked even more beautiful on
this setting (or maybe that was just my imagination !)

Once again, a big thanks to you (and to Mike - wherever you are !!!)
 
Kennedy McEwen said:
Credit should go where its due - it was Mike Jacoubowsky's solution. All
I did was note the similarity between the problem he was having and
yours.

Glad it worked though - I'll remember the tip myself now, because at the
moment my printer is set to RAW. ;-)

Its probably unfair to ask you to take this risk, but since you have had
the problem its the only way of determining the actual cause - does the
problem return if you set it back to RAW? That might help to trace the
actual cause of the problem.
Click to expand...

Hi Kennedy,

Yes but it was *you* who pointed me in that direction, after your
suggestion I did a Google NG search on Mike Jacoubowsky's name (after
you gave it to me) and couldn't find a sausage. So, please accept my
thanks (even my wife who knows of this problem we've had for ages said
'wow thank that guy who helped you'.

Yes, if it is set back to RAW then the problem does return. But the
funny thing is that it doesn't appear (to me) to be a 'set it ONCE to
NT EMF 1.008 and forget it' type operation. I need to set it
everytime I want to do a print (at least that's my experience at the
moment). When I go to the Printer Settings (BTW I am on Windows 2000
SP3), and to that Advanced tab I find that the Default Datatype is
always highlighting 'RAW' and that I have to select NT EMF 1.008 and
Apply it. I was using Photoshop yesterday and had to print 5 copies
of 10 images and I noticed that I needed to keep going back to the
Advanced tab and re-selecting the NT EMF 1.008 as the Default Datatype
else the problem would return.

I wonder if there is a way of *permanently* setting the Datatype to NT
EMF 1.008 ??

I have no idea what this Datatype thingy is doing (I'll do a Google
search to learn more) but I'm convinced that the quality of the prints
were so much better as a result of doing the above as well.

Best regards.
 
Hi Kennedy,

(My internet connection failed as I sent you my original reply to this
post of yours so excuse me if you are getting this twice).

Thanks to you I was able to solve this, I did do a seach on Mike's
name but found nothing about this problem. Even my wife knows how
frustrating this problem has been for us over at least 10 months so
she says a big thank you too !!
Click to expand...
You're welcome - glad to be able to help. I'll pass your comments on to
Mike too. ;-)

Anyway, I do notice that I have to keep going back into the Advanced
Tab each time I want to print something (to stop this problem from
returning i.e. it does *seem* (not sure exactly when) to reset itself
back to RAW for each new image that I want to print - I managed to
print 50 beautiful full colour A4 images using Photoshop yesterday).
But I noticed that every so often (usually for each new image opened)
I'd go back to the Advanced tab and reselect the NT EMF 1.008 Datatype
as it started to introduce streaking again (and very occasionally in
Black and not only Magenta).

Also, I noticed that when you do go into this dialog box (on the
Advanced Tab for the printer) the RAW Datatype is always highlighted
by default.

I'll see if this can be permenantly set somehow.

And oh yes, it seemed that the prints looked even more beautiful on
this setting (or maybe that was just my imagination !)

Once again, a big thanks to you (and to Mike - wherever you are !!!)
Click to expand...

The default setting can be defined if you set it using the Printers
dialog from the Windows Start|Settings|Printers menu. You might need to
reboot the machine for that to be locked in.

Looks like it is a corruption of the RAW print driver though, so
reinstalling the printer drives would probably fix it in any case.
 
I wonder if there is a way of *permanently* setting the Datatype to NT
EMF 1.008 ??
Click to expand...
When you reset it before, how did you access the printer menus? Did you
access from the print menu of photoshop (or whatever)? If so, you might
have more success permanently adjusting it by going into the printer
properties from Windows control panel.
 
Timothy Lee said:
When you reset it before, how did you access the printer menus? Did you
access from the print menu of photoshop (or whatever)? If so, you might
have more success permanently adjusting it by going into the printer
properties from Windows control panel.
Click to expand...

Hi Timothy,

No, by going into Control Panel, Printers, Properties, Advanced Tab
etc etc.

Even when I have *just* done the change to NT EMF 1.008 and clicked OK
and Apply if I then go back to that dialog box (whilst still in
Printer Properties) the RAW Datatype is highlighted......it just
doesn't 'look' permanent whatever I do.
 
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