# 2 white channels arnt firing



## Andy.m83 (Sep 8, 2006)

Okay problems guys 2 of my white channels arn't firing I didn't touch my printer for one whole day the day before that it was used I printed one dark shirt. 

Any ideas how to get them firing again??? Done numerous head cleans no budge.... do I have to flush out the heads?


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

I would put some cleaning solution in your capping station and let it sit for a bit, about an hour or so and see if it clears it. The way to do this is when you do a head clean, wait till almost the end of the head clean when the head goes over to the spit station, while the head is at the spit station, put the cleaner in the capping station. Once the head comes back over, turn the machine off. You want to do it this way so the cleaning solution does not get sucked down the capping station. After you put the solution in the capping station let it sit for an hour or two. Then try to see if it cleared. if it didnt I would flush the system with distilled water, and also check all of your white dampers to make sure you dont have clogged dampers. Usually it tends to be a damper more often then the printhead. If you need any instruction on how to do anything let me know, and I will try to help


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## Andy.m83 (Sep 8, 2006)

sunnydayz said:


> I would put some cleaning solution in your capping station and let it sit for a bit, about an hour or so and see if it clears it. The way to do this is when you do a head clean, wait till almost the end of the head clean when the head goes over to the spit station, while the head is at the spit station, put the cleaner in the capping station. Once the head comes back over, turn the machine off. You want to do it this way so the cleaning solution does not get sucked down the capping station. After you put the solution in the capping station let it sit for an hour or two. Then try to see if it cleared. if it didnt I would flush the system with distilled water, and also check all of your white dampers to make sure you dont have clogged dampers. Usually it tends to be a damper more often then the printhead. If you need any instruction on how to do anything let me know, and I will try to help


Thanx Bobbie Lee...... I've decided to flush out the print head but the two channels that are not firing arn't sucking the distilled water does this mean the print head 
is pretty much F'd


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

No it doesnt mean that, usually when they are not sucking water at all alot of times its just the dampers. I would try changing them and see if that fixes it as the dampers are alot cheaper then a printhead


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## zhenjie (Aug 27, 2006)

Only way to really know if the print head is f'ed is to flush and backflush the printhead direct from the nipples.


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## nedc (Jun 22, 2007)

OK, now I've got this same problem. I had one partially clogged white nozzle and now after many head cleanings, pulling off the offending gampers and flushing them w/ cleaning solution, etc. they are passing NO whirte ink at all. Should have left well enough alone i guess. I probably wasted $50 worth of ink. Arrgh!

So, first of all, does blasting cleaning fluid thru a damper ruin it? maybe that's my problem. I really don't want to purchase dampers @ nearly $50 each esp. since i spent over $500 on ink today. I thought these things were supposed to MAKE you money not TAKE yo' money! lol

What is the procedure for flushing the lines w/ distilled water? Do you fill emplty bulk bottles w/ the water and do head cleaning or what? 

Thanks for any help. Bobbi Lee, you seem to know these machines inside and out-help? This is a 4 month old Kiosk II that has been printing great but i have gone a couple of days without printing a few times.


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## zhenjie (Aug 27, 2006)

With these white ink nozzle problems, I almost always suggest changing the printhead. Its not worth the time, effort or frustrating trying to clean out the lines/dampers and print head.


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## nedc (Jun 22, 2007)

zhenjie said:


> With these white ink nozzle problems, I almost always suggest changing the printhead. Its not worth the time, effort or frustrating trying to clean out the lines/dampers and print head.


Well, that's REALLY not what i wanted to hear. How can a printhead go from being Ok to having two clogged nozzles in a matter of minutes? And what exactly clogs the nozzles-I would think the dampers would clog first?

Ok, where's the cheapest place to buy a printhead for a Kiosk II? Four months of service just doesn't seem right.


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

I seriously would change the dampers first. They are alot cheaper then a printhead and sometimes once they get clogged bad enough, there is just no unclogging them. You can find cheaper dampers then $50 a piece, look around  Also for printheads, if replacing the damper does not work and you have to replace it, you can get them for alot better prices at compass micro which is a authorized epson part dealer. It sounds to me that it very possibly is the dampers. I would also try putting cleaning solution in your capping station and letting it sit for awhile also and see if this helps. If there are two lines not pulling anything, its very likely to be the dampers but you also want to keep the printhead moist just in case. So if your printhead is still good, while trying to get new dampers, you dont want your printhead drying out.

You can also take your printhead out and flush it with a syringe, with cleaning fluid, thru the nozzles on top of the printhead. Just make sure to not get your ribbon cable connectors wet at all. Where the two cables come off of the printhead, be very careful of those slots. If you do end up getting any moisture on the slots, make sure to wait a while for them to be completly dry, or using canned air to blow them out and make sure they are dry because you can short out your cables or motherboard if any moisture is on them. If you are not comfortable with this, you shouldnt do it  There are some who are and some who would rather have a tech do it for them, or just replace the printhead and dampers. 

As far as flushing your system, yes you would fill your bottles with distilled water and cleaning solution and then do ink fills until your lines run clear. This is usually a good first step to take when having any type of clogging, and also a good thing to add to your maintenance schedule. I do this at least once every 4 to 5 weeks, as it keeps everything flowing well and really is alot easier to mantain this way. If I can be of any other help let me know.


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## mgarcia16 (Dec 31, 2007)

One thing that really works for me and learned from this forum is to soak a papertowel (I use those thick blue papertowels) with alcohol, turn printer off, move print head to center and gently press the the soaked papertowel under the printhead for about a minute. Then apply some alcohol on the caping station and let the printhead sit on it for another minute. Then turn it on, do a couple of head cleans and do a test print. This usually works for me, which reminds me, I need to do this first thing in the morning.


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

yep alcohol can work also, there is a thread here somewhere about different ways to use the alcohol


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## zhenjie (Aug 27, 2006)

WHen you removed the dampers from the printhead did you put anything on the nipples to stop the printhead drying out? 5-10minutes of low humid air can dry it out very quick.


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## nedc (Jun 22, 2007)

Thanks all for the suggestions. I did not cover the printhead connection when i took the dampers off. Probably no more than 3-4 minutes though. If a damper allows fluid to flow thru it from a syringe, is it still possible it is clogged?


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## FJV11 (Oct 15, 2007)

If you're getting fluid to go through the dampers without excessive force than the damper probably isn't the issue. I just went through the same mess you're in and it turned out to be a clog in the head. Are you getting any spray from the head when you push solution through using a syringe? You should see a bunch of fine lines of solution coming out. Don't force too hard or you might kill the head, I did. I would try soaking it in cps or windex for a while and then try pushing some solution through. You can try to suck distilled water up through the head also.

I would also try to tape off where the head connects to the ribbon cables when you are messing with liquid.


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## adrenaline (Aug 1, 2008)

Just a quick note when using windex and alcohol in the capping station this can cause the pad to swell then you can have wicking problems with the pad touching the print head drawing ink when not in use. Also after removing dampners you can get air in the print head which you want out. Do a ink fill with only the 2 white channels you have pulled off. Also if you have aset of flushing cartriges use these to do a printhead only flush. This will save on ink wastage. Personally if you do not know what you are doing I wiould stay away form a back print head flush as you could find your self replacing the print head cables and a main board if you get fluid in the cable plug slot.


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

I just wanted to clarify what I was talking about as far as the alchohol. You do not want to put it in the capping station, but only want to use it on the print head once the printhead is removed.


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## nedc (Jun 22, 2007)

Just wanted to give ya'll an update. I'm back in the 'printing on dark shirts' business! Ran some diluted cleaner and then distilled water thru the white lines with the other colors clipped off. Also did the alcohol deal on the bottom of the printhead a few times. I will now be MUCH more diligent about maintenance and regular head cleanings. These machines do not suffer fools or less than regular (daily) care. Thanks again everyone for all the help.


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

So glad to hear you are back to printing


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## bb2112 (Aug 14, 2008)

Hey there AUSSIE do you have $600.00 or a extra print lying around????


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## adrenaline (Aug 1, 2008)

Why would that be?? What have you done??


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## bb2112 (Aug 14, 2008)

Well Grant let me tell you.......The ? is what haven't I done?????? I have become very very very good at unclogging,very cloged print heads....So if you have any clogged heads lying around I'll take them of your hands. No need to THROW them out THROW them my way Let's just say you need good eyes, strong light and a whole lot of patients.......

Thx for quick response 
ps How is the weather over there?
Gina


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## adrenaline (Aug 1, 2008)

The print heads I have here are just simply worn out totally 1 is about 3 months old and has done over 5000 prints. So its fair to say it is buggered. It never clogged just starting to let out too much ink on a clean and contanimated other colours. I do have a spare 2 heads here but they are new so wont need unclogging as yet. Very good to see that you have sorted out the unclogging thing though. You must have alot more patients than me. LOL. I am glad you sorted eveythin out mate and good luck for the future. 
Grant


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## Mistewoods (Jul 7, 2007)

bb2112 said:


> Well Grant let me tell you.......The ? is what haven't I done?????? I have become very very very good at unclogging,very cloged print heads....So if you have any clogged heads lying around I'll take them of your hands. No need to THROW them out THROW them my way Let's just say you need good eyes, strong light and a whole lot of patients.......
> 
> Thx for quick response
> ps How is the weather over there?
> Gina


Can you describe your method for cleaning out the print heads? I use a syringe and flush fluid through it, but always open to new ideas.


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## adrenaline (Aug 1, 2008)

I really cannot understand how so many people have clogged head problems. How much use do your machines get with full colour prints on dark shirts using white ink?? Even if I am only doing a run of light coloured shirts that do not have a white underbase, I will always end the run with a dark shirt print of some sort using white unbase and have never had a clogged print head as yet. I know of 2 over here that have replaced over 2 heads each and there machines are only 3-4 mths old. They just do not print enough shirts to warrant even having a machine and this is where it stars to cost people alot of money. They do only 20 prints a week and it realy is not worth them having a machine at all. The ink wastage is way too much infact i reckon they waste more ink than what goes on there shirts. Any way if you run your machine say 4-6 hours a day and more then you will harldy ever have a problem. You will waste less ink and save print heads as well.


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## zhenjie (Aug 27, 2006)

So true Grant. I only get clogged heads at the end of the printhead life, around 15k prints or once its a year old.

I think a lot of the problems also stem from leaving the printer idle over the weekends. Not everyone has the resources to work over weekends and that can cause some real problems in ink settling. Another thing is enviromental factors. Here in Aussie land we're blessed with optimum humidity and temperature, while in the US it varies dramatically.


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## sunnydayz (Jun 22, 2007)

Well I have to agree with you both  The first time I replaced a printhead was after it was 11 months old and that was after I got sick and left my machine off for 3 or 4 days, which I didnt worry about because I was getting ready to replace it anyways. I never have any clogging in my machine. The only thing close was replacing a couple of dampers, one every 3 to 4 months. 

I think a major problem is the distributors teaching proper maintenance when they purchase. I have helped many people who have no ideas of what the right maintenance procedure is, and its not their fault. I really think that is the biggest problem, is that when they are trained on their machine, they are not given all the facts as to how to care for them, as I have seen this over and over again.


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## Mistewoods (Jul 7, 2007)

The only print head we have replaced in the last two years is one that delaminated when the printer got stuck doing repeated power cleans! Luckily there was no ink in it, just distilled water for my normal printer flush. It just kept starting over. When it decided to stop the print head was delaminated.

The only clogs we get are occasional minor ones when we cannot use the printer for a few days- but if there is ever any clog we get right on it and flush the print head and printer before it can become a more serious issue. However since so many people do have clogging problems whatever the cause- it is great to be able to share solutions, ideas, and techniques for dealing with clogs.


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