try the print purge and see if you get 4 bands of ink or fluid
if not you may have a clog
how long was the white in the lines if it was more that a week you need to really keep trying to get the cleaning fluid in the print head
test that purge and give us a result and we can advise u
There was no white left in the tubes...was all clear with fluid..now I have replaced fluid with white ink again, keep purging, and ink charging, but the white is still not opaque...it seems to be still cleaning fluid coming out.
try to run the ink charge program which is done using the Epson Adjustment software
dont worry the charge will fill the ink system
if your not going to do 12 or more black shirts just leave the clean fluid in the lines and wait till you get a few orders as the white is easy to dry up
2 to 3 days in the system for white at the tops
or you will clog up the system
do a line charge and then a purge and if you dont get the 4 bands white you have a clog. some times it will take 2 line charge but that will fill the dampers its like a barrel of ink for the head
hope this helps
Ken
Last edited by ken692; June 5th, 2009 at 02:02 PM.
I don't understand, so could I have clogged the printer even though I had cleaning fluid in it (all tubes had fluid also with no white ink visible)?
You shouldn't have a clog if they were filled with cleaning fluid. If you saw white ink run into the tubes, then you didn't have a clog (at that point).
Are you shaking your cartriges once a day? You could be feeding unmixed white ink into your system, giving you the watered down look. If your lines are all white, then more than likely, the cleaning fluid is out.
Like Ken said, purge all 4 chanels of white and see what you get. Even if you have 3 of the 4 giving you a white stripe, that should be enough for a nice base.
Also, try this to keep from wasting cmyk ink: Get a syringe (plastic) that fits snuggly into the white waste tube (that goes into the waste bottle). Gently pull ink into your syringe. This will pull the ink from all 4 cartidges through the printhead, and through the capping station. Then run a head clean. You should be able to see the ink moving in the tubes (negating a clog), and this will also not bother your cmyk (of course the head clean will use some cmyk). Someone else on another post recommended this, and it has worked wonderfully for me.
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY INSANE !!! I have had to waste a whole set of almost new ink cartridges by constantly purging and head cleaning..only then it fixed...I thought the point of the cleaning fluid was also to soak the tubes and stopping any clogging while you are away for few days...so basically I have to babysit this bloody machine, by printing something every day!
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY INSANE !!! I have had to waste a whole set of almost new ink cartridges by constantly purging and head cleaning..only then it fixed...I thought the point of the cleaning fluid was also to soak the tubes and stopping any clogging while you are away for few days...so basically I have to babysit this bloody machine, by printing something every day!
I'm sorry, hawrai. When I have cleaning fluid in, I pull the white ink through with my syringe, and I'm ready to go with minimal ink wasted.
it seems like a lot, but when you get it up and printing
it works awesome. you will make some nice prints
just press the shirt flat pretreat and print it
you will sell some and make $cash$
good luck
Sean, how many ink charges and head cleanings does it take you to get the white ink flowing, once you have replaced the cleaning fluid? Also, do you have any images regarding where I syringe the white ink and how do I re-use?
Sean, how many ink charges and head cleanings does it take you to get the white ink flowing, once you have replaced the cleaning fluid? Also, do you have any images regarding where I syringe the white ink and how do I re-use?
Thank You
There are 2 tubes that go from under your capping station to your waste bottle. On my machine, both tubes are clear silicon. The tube on the left handles the cmyk ink so it looks black inside, and the tube on the right has a red line on it and it handles the white ink. You can syringe either side, but to do the white, you want to use the tube attached to the right side (white) of the capping station.
If you use the syringe, you won't need to do an ink charge. Just gently pull the ink until you see the white go into all 4 of the dampers. Then do one head cleaning. Then do a nozzle check right on your glass top and see what white nozzles are missing. You don't need the nozzle check to be perfect on the white since you are using 4 channels to lay down the ink. But you should have something coming out of each channel. Do another nozzle check on paper for cmyk. I use a notepad piece of paper that is 3.5" square. This way my cmyk nozzles print on the paper and the white nozzles print on the table all in one step. The 4th white will print on the paper on top of the black so it's easy to see.
If you don't use the syringe, it will take 2-3 ink charges (Epson Utility) to get the white ink going. 2 is really all you need and the 3rd is for extra measure, but you are also "charging" your cmyk side. That's why I switched to the syringe method. Anajet didn't mention this, so again, pull the ink gently.
I don't reuse the ink. Once I get pure white into my syringe, I know I've done enough with minimal waste.
Occasionally you may need to do a head cleaning in the middle of a job to keep the nozzles clear.
Also, get a small mirror and a flashlight, and look at the bottom of the printhead. This will tell you immediately if your nozzles are clogged or not. Keep your wiper blade clean, and I mean pull it out and scrape off all the ink buildup. The white ink will dry on there and it's nearly invisible to see until you remove it and peel off all the old ink.
I've got more tips that I do, but this is long enough, so feel free to ask if this doesn't help.
Hi Sean, so I take out tube from bottle - (image SYR.jpg attached), the one with red line, and pull ink until I see white using a syringe?....Is this the Damper (image attached)?
This is so I do not waste CMYK inks correct? Could I not just pull out the CMYK cartridges while I am Charging?
Also Can you explain why it took me literally 10 charges and 5 cleans to get white ink flowing, after leaving cleaning fluid in machine for 6 days while I was away?
Hi Sean, so I take out tube from bottle - (image SYR.jpg attached), the one with red line, and pull ink until I see white using a syringe?....Is this the Damper (image attached)?
This is so I do not waste CMYK inks correct? Could I not just pull out the CMYK cartridges while I am Charging?
Also Can you explain why it took me literally 10 charges and 5 cleans to get white ink flowing, after leaving cleaning fluid in machine for 6 days while I was away?
Many Thanks.
Yes. Slowly pull the tubes out as they will splatter you with ink if you're not careful.
The picture on the right is the capping station. You have 8 dampers (one for each tube of ink), and they are located directly above your printhead.
You never want to run your machine without the cartridges in place. This will allow air in your lines, and, from what I hear, you don't want air going through your printhead.
I don't have an answer for your last question. From the looks of your capping station, I can see white around the edges, and that should be clean (no white). Make sure at LEAST weekly that you are cleaning the rubber edges of your capping station with your cleaning solution and the anti-static pads. The dried ink may be causing a "break" in suction. During a printhead clean/ink charge, your printhead is pressed down onto that rubber gasket around the capping station and creates a seal. The vacuum pump (if working) then pulls ink from the tubes, through the printhead, through the capping station, and into your waste bottle. This is done to loosen or dislodge any dried ink in your nozzles. If you aren't getting a good seal, then that could contribute to your problem.
However, I have never had that problem, so I'm not exactly sure what would cause that. Other users want to chime in? Or feel free to correct me.
Hang in there, we'll get you printing. I've had my trials, but the Anajet has made me a lot of money. Much more than my costs. Keep asking questions...
Sean is giving you some really good info here. understand that the pigment particles do settle. This is especially true of white ink... or at least it's more noticable. If you print white ink today, then go back to your machine the next day, you will see that the lines going into the top of the printhead (where the dampers are) are a little less than opaque. The pigment is heavier than the medium that caries it and it will settle in the dampers. The only way to stir it up is to keep the ink moving and to shake the carts once a day before you print. The dampers are designed to do 2 things, 1) make sure no particles that are too large to get into the printhead and 2) create turbulance in the flow of ink that mixes the pigment and carier so that the ink is consistant when it gets to the jets. If white ink sits, there will be more pigment at the bottom of the damper and less towards the top of the ink reservoir. A head clean or a test print will usually get everything stired and moving. this is why being able to read your nozzle check is so important. Being away from the machine for a few days is no problem, as long as you know to clean the capping station and wiper and understand that you need to plan for a little extra time to get up and running when you get back.
cleaning fluid cartridge problem 
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Re: cleaning fluid cartridge problem 
