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by Primus on Tue Jun 16, 2015 6:50 am
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I am having a strange issue with my Epson 3880. Have not printed in almost a month (I know), and the image appeared very washed out. I checked the nozzles, did a cleaning (although the printer is supposed to be self-checking in this regard). Same.

Did a thorough nozzle check and all seems to be fine. -  no striped pattern but pure blacks are missing.  Printed test targets - both color and B&W, the color images look fine except where there is supposed to be near black in them. In such areas as well as in the b&W targets, the darker areas become bluish-grey. 

I thought my photo-black cartridge was bad so I replaced it, same problem. I thought it is the photo-black nozzle, so I switched papers and tried matte-black ink, same issues. 

I uninstalled the driver (I am on a Mac), reinstalled it, same problem. I printed through Photoshop, Lightroom, QImage (via Fusion), same. 

I tried different combinations of paper and ink and profiles, same issues. I am sure it is not a clogged printhead (at least I don't think so, as usually when that happens there is some ink on the paper and you get the 'striped' pattern suggestive of clogging). Could it be that the black nozzles are so horribly clogged that nothing is going through? Do the matte and photo inks use the same nozzles and it's only the lines and cartridges that are different? If so, that would explain why there is no change with switching from photo to matte.

On the Northlight Images B&W target, the greyscale wedge has no ink in the darkest portions and there is a bluish-grey halo around the darkest parts.

Not sure what is happening, I've tried power cleaning a few times but I am afraid that may not be the issue.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Pradeep
 

by E.J. Peiker on Tue Jun 16, 2015 7:09 am
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Sure sounds like a clogged nozzle. Are you sure the nozzle check was OK - you might be fooled since there is nothing at all there on the pattern making it look like everything is OK but an entire squiggly line segment on the end is good.

Do a couple more cleaning cycles and see if that starts to clear it.
 

by Primus on Tue Jun 16, 2015 7:40 am
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E.J. Peiker wrote:Sure sounds like a clogged nozzle.  Are you sure the nozzle check was OK - you might be fooled since there is nothing at all there on the pattern making it look like everything is OK but an entire squiggly line segment on the end is good.

Do a couple more cleaning cycles and see if that starts to clear it.

I think you may be right. I ran the nozzle print pattern from QImage and there is no 'dark black' and no missing spaces either. Will run the native nozzle check from the printer menu and see. I did do two power cleanup cycles too. 

Gosh, what a waste of ink! Lesson learned. Have had this printer for almost five years and never had this problem, usually the printer cleans itself before a job if it senses a clog hence never had to run a cleaning cycle on it.

Thanks EJ.

Pradeep
 

by Kerry on Tue Jun 16, 2015 9:48 am
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FWIW, I have a 3880 and I ALWAYS run a nozzle check if I haven't printed for a while (i.e. two weeks) before producing a print. In fact, I make it a point to run a nozzle check at least every two weeks (I'm often away for two-week stretches and can't run checks any more often than this) regardless of whether I plan to print something or not. This has mostly--not entirely--eliminated any clogging with the printer. I began using this protocol when I still had a 2200--which was far more susceptible to clogging, in my experience, than the 3880--and have simply continued it, with largely good results.
 

by signgrap on Tue Jun 16, 2015 12:52 pm
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I print a nozzle check every time I print with my 4800
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by Dave Kocher on Tue Jun 16, 2015 9:44 pm
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Check to see if the black ink cartridges really have any ink in them.  After 5 years, one of my 3880's developed a problem in the "Ink Supply Assembly" that allowed the photo black to drain out into the waste ink tank by gravity.  In my case, the matte black still worked fine.  My particular problem has been reported several times in various forums. Being handy with instrumentation, I ordered the service manual, the software adjustment program, and a new ink supply assembly.  The job took about 8 hours, cost around $200.  Estimate from Epson Service Center was $460.
 

by Primus on Wed Jun 17, 2015 12:01 pm
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I never experienced this problem with the 3880 before so it was a bit unusual. I also checked the nozzle pattern through QImage which misled me.

It was indeed clogged nozzles. I had done two power cleanings (the only option on this model) without any improvement and a manual nozzle check from the menu showed no ink in the black section. I changed inks from PK to MK but no change (suspect they share the same nozzle). I also changed the carts, putting in a new one but no difference.

So I tried what I've done on my 9900, which is the old Windex trick under the head. Also cleaned the wiper and purge pads with Windex as described here

Leaving it for several hours, the MK nozzle check was perfect. The B&W target also printed beautifully.

However, when I switched the ink to PK, same problem. This suggests that at some point there is a separation in the two black channels that can also get blocked. So I did the Windex thing again one more time, left it all day and voila, it worked! The nozzle check is almost perfect as is the B&W target on glossy paper. 

The only thing now is that the ink is puddling across the paper in streaks which never used to happen before. I suspect that is to do with the dampers not being sucked into the waste tank, will change that later today and see. 

The clogs have gone, the rest hopefully will be solved too.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

Pradeep

BTW, a very handy way to prevent clogging is to run the 'Print Unclog Pattern' on a scheduled basis from QImage. For Windows users, this would be a no-brainer since the program pays for itself in the prints it makes. You can set it to print a nozzle clearing pattern repeatedly at any timed interval and it will keep your printers free of clogs. For Mac users this works via a shell like Fusion but the problem is that the virtual machine goes to sleep and you need to remember to wake it up every few days, so the 'automatic' feature is pretty much useless. Still, a great idea and wish Epson would think of something like this. 

But then, that would make them lose money in the long run, no?
 

by E.J. Peiker on Wed Jun 17, 2015 12:23 pm
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Congrats on getting it mostly fixed. Just one thing, the nozzle check pattern should not be almost perfect, it should be absolutely perfect or you are likely to see some banding.
 

by Primus on Wed Jun 17, 2015 2:05 pm
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E.J. Peiker wrote:Congrats on getting it mostly fixed.  Just one thing, the nozzle check pattern should not be almost perfect, it should be absolutely perfect or you are likely to see some banding.
You are absolutely right. It was so near perfect that I did not want to waste more ink cleaning it out. So I let it sit for a while and then printed a B&W test target which came out perfect so I was happy.

Now to solve the puddles, hopefully will resolve too.

I am really shocked at how much trouble clogging can be. on this particular model I never thought it would be since it 'cleans itself' but I guess it can happen. 

My 9900 is still banding a little bit - seems like both printers decided to go bad on me at the same time - despite multiple cleanings, there are a few spots missing in the nozzle check. Will see if it sorts itself out. Helluva waste of ink. Lesson learned. Never leave it alone for more than two weeks (probably one week at most).

Pradeep
 

by E.J. Peiker on Wed Jun 17, 2015 4:50 pm
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Actually the 3800/3880 is MUCH better than some of the older printers like the old 2200.
 

by Dave Kocher on Wed Jun 17, 2015 6:29 pm
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Actually the ink puddle streaks with PK was a symptom of the problem I reported above.  I hope you don't have the same problem I had.
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by signgrap on Wed Jun 17, 2015 7:00 pm
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E.J. Peiker wrote:Actually the 3800/3880 is MUCH better than some of the older printers like the old 2200.
Or the 4800
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by Primus on Thu Jun 18, 2015 6:33 am
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Dave Kocher wrote:Actually the ink puddle streaks with PK was a symptom of the problem I reported above.  I hope you don't have the same problem I had.
Dave Kocher

Dave, I hope not. I am going to monitor the ink levels in the cartridges while they sit for a few days. I am terrible at repairing things and my time is really precious to me. If it looks like that is the problem then I would much rather just buy a new printer.

If you figure that it would cost $500 or so to have it fixed by Epson, then a new 3880 is probably a better deal. The new printer comes with $600 of ink carts (since they are all full) and of course with a warranty. I can use my existing carts too. That leaves the actual price of the new printer around $530 (my dealer has it for $1129 at present).

Pradeep
 

by Dave Kocher on Thu Jun 18, 2015 3:19 pm
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Pradeep:  Be aware that the ink level shown on the panel is computed from the amount of printing, and will not account for any leakage.
Fixing my machine myself required some risk in case I failed to fix it.  You are probably on the right path to buy a new printer if in fact the PK disappears from the cartridge faster than the ink level display shows.  My diagnosis of my particular problem was that the PK damper was stuck or malfunctioning somehow so it stayed open.  I studied the assembly construction, and while it might have been possible to replace the damper itself, instead of the whole Ink Supply Assembly, it seemed to be inviting damage to other parts.  In addition, individual dampers are only available as aftermarket parts, as Epson does not list them as a repair part.
Let us know how this turns out.
Dave Kocher
 

by Primus on Tue Jun 23, 2015 11:30 am
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Update:

The3880: I wiped the dampers, the wipers and the sponge bed with swabs and Windex, left the whole thing sitting for two days, then ran a nozzle check, it was 98% perfect. I ran some prints and there was no drips or blobs or puddles of ink. Thought I had won the day.

However, later the same day, suddenly the photo black ink has disappeared completely, not a single line. Tried purge printing, nothing. Will wait another day or so and then try it again, maybe swap the ink cartridge again (although this was a new one). Very strange phenomenon. Suspect it may be bubbles in the ink or something wrong with the cart.

9900: It still has a few nozzles that don't show on a check, mainly VM and LK. There is subtle but noticeable banding on prints especially of sunset/sunrise where the sky gradually darkens and has pinks and reds. Tried power clean three times, Windex on a paper pad three times, multiple purge prints but it is the same. The nozzles keep moving, i.e. it is not the same guys each time, but often two lines above or below. About 8-10 look to be off in each color.

I've got a headache from reading about all this on the net. Wonder if I should try the SS cleaning (the piezo cleaning method through the maintenance menu). However, from what I've read, wandering nozzles suggest bubbles or other ink supply related problem rather than a true clog, which would require a different approach.

For now, I am just going to print a lot of sample images and nozzle checks each day, turn the printer off at night and hope it will fix itself. Very frustrating. It's never gone this bad in the six years since I've owned it.

Pradeep
 

by japerry66 on Fri Jun 26, 2015 2:04 pm
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Dave Kocher wrote:Check to see if the black ink cartridges really have any ink in them.  After 5 years, one of my 3880's developed a problem in the "Ink Supply Assembly" that allowed the photo black to drain out into the waste ink tank by gravity.  In my case, the matte black still worked fine.  My particular problem has been reported several times in various forums. Being handy with instrumentation, I ordered the service manual, the software adjustment program, and a new ink supply assembly.  The job took about 8 hours, cost around $200.  Estimate from Epson Service Center was $460.
Hi Dave,
    I have the same problem with my 3880.  I am also handy with electronics.  Where did you go to get the service manual, the software adjustment program and the new ink supply assembly?  Hopefully I can fix my problem the same way you did.
Thanks,
John A Perry
 

by Primus on Wed Jul 01, 2015 11:36 am
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The 3880 is dead. I tried everything but the black channel will just not print a single nozzle. I've ordered the P800 from my dealer and the 3880 will now be an expensive paperweight. If it was one of the color channels, I could still use it for B&W work.....

The manual can be googled for - try 'field guide to epson 3880' or 'repair manual for 3880'.

Pradeep
 

by Dave Kocher on Wed Jul 01, 2015 4:13 pm
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Hi John:
The 3880 Service Manual and the 3880 Adjustment Software can be obtained from 2Manuals.com:
http://www.2manuals.com/advanced_search ... cription=1
The 3880 Ink Supply Assembly was ordered from Compass Micro:
http://compassmicro.com/
Compass Micro was very helpful. They said they can order anything with a part number on the exploded parts diagram except the print head. However, parts obtained this way are not returnable. My ink supply assembly was shipped directly to me from an Epson parts depot.
While I had my printer open, I chose to replace the clock battery (2032) also, since all the outer covers have to be removed to get to it too. It is near the rear of the main board, so I had to remove a set of ribbon cables and pull the board part way out to get to it. Be careful of the ribbon cables, they're fragile. Also be very careful removing the left and right lower paper guides. The retaining hooks can be broken off very easily. I broke some and had to glue the tips back on. As a backup, I bought a set of used guides (from a salvage 3880) from Compass Micro, but they arrived with one hook missing too. It's a common problem.
If my livelihood depended on my printer, I would have done what Pradeep has done. But I'm retired, and this is one of my hobbies.....
Let us know how it turns out if you go ahead with the replacement.
Dave Kocher
 

by Primus on Sun Jul 05, 2015 9:07 am
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Dave, I think my big problem was that I was not sure what was really wrong, whether it was the head or the dampers or the ink selector. Getting a tech in would have cost me at least $500 for parts and labor. A new printer makes much more sense in that case, coming as it does with full ink carts worth $500 or more - not to mention the new warranty.

My bigger worry now is that my 9900 is also giving me trouble, with nozzles dropping out randomly and the prints banding - subtly by for sure. Discussing this on LL the suggestions are variable, from replacing the print head to the main board.

These printers are great when they work but a huge PITA to troubleshoot.

Pradeep
 

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