Epson 7900 Experience - The Finale

If you have been following this series of posts, you know the problems that I have been having with my Epson 7900. This post serves as a finale (well, pretty much) to these issues and how they have been resolved.

First of all, the issue regarding what I described as 'black scuffing', but which has perhaps been more appropriately called 'zebra striping' by someone else with a similar problem, seems to have been resolved. That problem was solved by a fellow that goes by the pseudonym 'pivozone' on The Luminous Landscape forums. He had a similar problem which was solved by simply utilizing only the standard platen gap, not the wide or wider ones. I thought that I had tried every setting there was trying to get this issue sorted out...but apparently I hadn't. Since I use a wide platen gap with all my fine art papers on my 7600, I had assumed that the same would hold true with the 7900. I must have simply started with the wide platen gap and adjusted everything else, because, as pivozone suggested, setting the platen gap back to standard made the 'zebra striping' totally resolve! Problem fixed. Why it was occuring with the platen gap set to wide, which was also intermittently giving me 'ghost images', is unclear to me as well as to the Epson tech.

Second, in regards to the head clogs and frequent automatic cleanings, the autop nozzle check and cleaning is now turned to off and I will print nozzle checks intermittently myself from the front panel of the printer. The auto checks do seem 'quirky', to say the least, but my machine diagnostics checked out OK. I am still having problems with frequent nozzle clogs in the green color despite multiple cleanings. It does not appear to be a printhead issue as the affected nozzles tends to change. More likely than not it is related to some small air bubbles in the line which will resolve. The tech thought a power clean would likely remove them and I made a call to Epson HQ and they are being kind enough, given the problems with clogs I was having, to send me a set of ink carts at no charge which will more than allow me to do the power clean.

I consider the major problem (black scuffing or zebra striping) solved! I do have to say that the prints are really stunning and I can now print in black and white as well.

My next post will have nothing to do with the Epson 7900!