"Nozzles still clogged" on Epson 9900 ...but they are not!

[Idololab]

Happy new Year to all!
It is 3 days now that my Epson 9900 "claims" that some nozzles are clogged . But the nozzle check print is absolutely perfect . So every 2 or 3 prints i have to wait for a new , long check before I am able to print again, and the result is an important time and ink waste . Cleanings and power cleanings done.  Any thoughts please?

[deanwork]

Turn that damn nozzle monitoring junk off.

[DeanChriss]

Given the perfect nozzle check it seems like the auto ink detection (AID) hardware is detecting clogs when there are none. AID works by electrically charging the ink droplets to a known level and then measuring that charge on ink fired from the head. When the measured charge is lower than expected it means there is a clog, unless something is out of whack. You can turn off the automatic nozzle checks in the printer's menu but it will still perform them at certain times, like when you swap MK/PK ink.

[Idololab]

Thank you very much
If I remember (because I am not at the Lab now) I had turn off the auto nozzle check,but after every 2-3 prints it is there again.
I can print only in service mode continuously . Can I do something to fix it ?

[sfblue]

I had this problem when my 7900 was brand new.  The Decision 1 tech came out twice and couldn't figure it out so we just turned off the auto nozzle check/clean feature off.  It still ran very occasional spontaneous checks/cleanings for me, but nothing like every 2-3 pages.  Also, I couldn't replicate as it was infrequent-- with the exception of the cleaning that happens when switching from pk to mk or vice versa (it runs a cleaning on the switch, but inevitably runs another cleaning later when you go to print).

There were a couple of quirky things like that that I never solved which the tech chalked up to having one of the earlier 7900s when they just came out. 

[Wayne Fox]

Thank you very much
If I remember (because I am not at the Lab now) I had turn off the auto nozzle check,but after every 2-3 prints it is there again.
I can print only in service mode continuously . Can I do something to fix it ?

Is this a new printer or one that's older?  What you describe was how the printers functioned originally ... auto nozzle check didn't really turn it off all the time.  A firmware update in late 2009 changed it.  Is it possible you need to do a firmware update?  With ANC turned off, the only time the printer will ever perform a nozzle check and clean on it's own is when you do a PK/MK switch.

[Bob Smith]

I deal with several of the newer generation printers... 9900, 7890, 9890 and 4900.  The auto nozzle check function works well and predictably on all of them except the 9900.  It's the oldest of the lot but it has all the updates and works fine otherwise.  I keep that function turned off on that printer and treat it like the older ones.  I just run a nozzle check when I suspect a problem... or when the printer has been sitting unused for a while... or has just switched black inks.

On the printers where the auto nozzle check works... it really does work quite well.  I can't recall the last time I tossed a print because of an unforeseen nozzle problem on one of those.  If it detects a problem it does a "pairs" clean so its not blowing loads of ink and it doesn't waste any media.  Yes, it takes a short while for it to go through its gyrations now and then but it requires no input from me while its doing it.  It just does its thing and turns out good prints.  In the long run it seems to save time and hassle compared to manually making test prints and cleans from time to time.

Bob Smith

[Idololab]

Thanks
The printer is old but with the updated firmware . Now the anc is off . If i detect a problem i perform a manual nozzle check . If it is a bad one I perform a normal cleaning . Then I get a message of cleaning error or that "nozzles still clogged" I perform a check and usually it is perfect . But then after 2-3 prints , if I am not mistaken the printer does a long auto check and then says that some clogged nozzles are detected.It continuous to print and so on ! So maybe  the problem is that the printer is "convinced " that a clog exists and tries to clean it . But Wayne you probably know mutch better ,I read very often your useful information ! Thank you.

[jferrari]

Mine does the same thing. Big ink waster, maybe by design. Anyway, I just power down then back up again and all is well. My .02 cents...

[Idololab]

Back to the Lab and the nozzle check was set to Periodically .I am sorry for the confusion.
I will have a technician during this week and a will post the results