I have to use or clean my HP inkjet color cartridge every two weeks or
it will put white lines through the image. Is this just true of all
inkjet printers or what?

Why does the clogging produce the white lines which would imply
exactly one area on the head is clogged?

"Felix Oscar" <tree01@inreach.com> wrote in message
news:22986a60.0408281027.24d8037@posting.google.co m...
This is certainly not normal. What model of printer do you have?

- Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP

It's odd I didn't see the original post on this one. An inkjet head has
tiny nozzles which push or spray paint onto paper. You can think of it as a
collection of lots of little tiny pens all squished together. When the
print head starts drying out, some of these little nozzles get clogged, so
that those specific nozzles are not transferring ink to the paper. The
result is that you have lines across the paper (usually white, as the paper
you are printing on is white) where the specific nozzles are clogged. -Dave

In article <22986a60.0408281027.24d8037@posting.google.com> ,
tree01@inreach.com (Felix Oscar) wrote:

I have never had to do that with any of the Epson ink jet printers
I have owned. I clean them only once in a blue moon when I notice
the print quality is diminished.

To try to avoid the next phase of printer brand wars, having worked with
many Epson printers, and literally thousands of Epson printer users, let
me just say that Epson printers vary considerably in serviceability
based upon, the environment they are used in (dry, dusty, etc), the
model of printer, and inks involved, how close the manufacturing
tolerances are so that the head caps properly on shut down, the amount
of use they get, and how well instructions are followed regarding use
and shut down.

These many factors can lead to people having very opposite results from
one another.

Art

Shawn Hearn wrote:

Shawn Hearn <srhi@comcast.net> wrote in message news:<srhi-94769B.09030029082004@news-40.giganews.com>...
I just had a C82 Stylus go bad on me. I don't think it was clogged
print heads, but after going online to get tips on what the problem
might, I found a lot of people complaining about clogged heads on
Epsons. But even among those complaints, it appeared the biggest
cause of trouble was third party cartridges. Epson touts their
pigment based "Dura Brite" ink, and many say that the nozzles don't
tolerate substitutes well.

Inkjet nozzles, regardless of brand, will be prone to drying up and
possibly clogging after extended periods of non-use. And a couple of
weeks may be considered an "extended period" for some printers. But
hell, they can clog with regular use too - The C82 we had, and the C86
we have now will briefly pause printing to touch up the heads in the
middle of print jobs.

"Curtis CCR" <curtisccr@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:c678797a.0409031336.146eb341@posting.google.c om...
Maybe this can help EPSON users. It's not mine. I copied it off the
internet, but it has good pointers.....
First you have to realize that any Non-Epson Ink or Ink Cartridges is not
the same ink formulation as the ink in the Epson Cartridges. Epson Ink Jet
Style Printers are one of the few printers on the market that seem to have
so many problems with non-manufactors inks. Epson Printers use a completely
different printhead inking system than most other brands of printers. Epsons
"Micro Piezo Ink Jet Technology" and the ultrafine 4-picoliter ink droplets
used in most of the Epson Ink Jet Style Printers, just don't always work
well with Non-Epson Inks. Most, if not all of the other manufactors, use
thermal or bubble jetprint heads and because the other brands use a totally
different system, they don't seem to have as many problems using refilled
inks or non-manufactor's ink cartridges. No matter what anyone says, all
blacks and colors are not the same. Printer manufacters do not make
available their ink formulation and in most cases, the formulation is
patented. Any difference in the ink formulation can clog the small printhead
nozzles or damage other critical components. One individual printhead nozzle
is so tiny, that it will not accept a human hair, so you can see why they
can get clogged so easily, or even why the nozzles can be so easily damaged.
Epson has many different formulas just for its black ink, for all the
different Epson Printers, let alone for their colored inks. Generally if you
are using Non-Epson Ink Cartridges, or refilling your old cartridges, you
are using the wrong ink for your printer and sooner or later you will have
some type of problems, almost everyone does. You are taking your chances by
using Third-Party or Generic ink cartridges, or even by refilling your old
cartridges. I understand the differences in the costs of the Non-Epson Ink
and Ink Cartridges, compared to the Epson Ink Cartridges and the choice is
always yours to make. It really does not matter to me what type of ink
cartridges you decide to use in your Epson Printer...You need to run a
Nozzle Test and see how that pattern looks. If there are "Void Lines" or
"White Lines" thru the blocks of colors then you need to do the Print Head
Cleaning Cycle and then the Nozzle Test again, to try and clean out the
print heads. You may have to run several sets of these tests to try and get
rid of those void lines. If after 5 or 6 sets of tests those lines are not
gone, then you might have a bad cartridge, or a possibly clogged print head
assembly, theres no way to really know. It's possible that you may even have
an actual HARDWARE PROBLEM [parts problem], but normally the most common
problem is clogging of the print head nozzles. You might want to try using
the Epson Stylus Head Cleaning Solution, available through the home page on
"fixyourownprinter.com", at " http://fixyourownprinter.com/ ". When it
opens, click-on Epson, under PRINTER REPAIR KITS. Then click-on "Epson
Stylus Head Cleaning Solution" and that page should then open correctly. The
Epson Solution sells for around $10.00 plus shipping. It includes a syringe
and some Epson Printhead Cleaning Solution, which is designed to dissolve
most clogs, especially if you were using Epson inks. This is the same
chemical used by Epson in their service department. You can try it if you
want to and see if you can get the printhead nozzles to open up again. If
you want to see what's involved in print head cleaning, Wes has supplied a
link that might help: http://www.epsonhelp.web1000.com/printhead.html and he
also suggests trying the SSC service utility form here
http://www.ssclg.com/epsone.shtml...ON THE OTHER HAND: If that Nozzle test
comes out looking ok, then that indicates that your printer is normally
working ok. You have to realize that your printer simply receives DATA from
your Computer System, which tells it what to print. Usually, what you see on
your Monitors Screen, is close to the image that is printed out by your
printer. That image cannot always be matched exactly thru the Software Data
sent to your printer. Its possible that settings may not be correct in your
computers software, or possibly even corrupted Printer Drivers. You can
delete your old drivers and download the latest available drivers from the
Epson Home Page at http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/index.jsp . As drivers
are FREE, I usually recommend trying those first if you have a communication
problem. Bad or corrupted drivers can cause many problems. "DEINSTALL"
[remove] your old drivers/printer first and then go to the "EPSON.COM"
web-site. Look under "DRIVERS AND SUPPORT" and then click-on "DRIVERS AND
DOWNLOADS". Look under the "Ink Jet Printers" for your "Epson Stylus Photo
820" and click-on it. Once the "DOWNLOAD PAGE" opens, read the INFORMATION
to locate your particular SYSTEM [Win's 95,98,ME,2000.etc.] and then
click-on it. Follow the directions and read all the available information
concerning your systems driver downloads. Finally at the bottom of the page,
click-on "Printer Software Installation for Windows ___ [Epson Printers]",
or the "Download" option button. After the downloading utility opens, read
the download information available, make your choices and complete the
installation...Good Luck! Denny Conway...P.S. Check for an e-mail from me,
with some additional information on the print head cleaning solution, in
case you need to use it.

On Sat, 28 Aug 2004 11:27:58 -0700, Felix Oscar wrote:


The print head is apparently getting dirty. Find the source of the dirt.

Perhaps the paper is dirty? Some papers disintegrate and produce paper
dust which clogs HP inkjet heads. Cheap and recycled papers are notorious
for this.

A dirty environment will allow dust to get into the printer.

If you have very hard water, your clothes washer becomes a clothes grinder
and all your fabrics will produce lots of dust that goes everywhere very
quickly. You will need to put the printer somewhere there are no fabrics
and where airflow will keep dust out. Plus it should always be covered
completely when not in use.


Just remembered: Recycled cartridges and refilled cartridges also do the
same thing. I remember also a inkjet used in a totally dry environment
(0%rh) would have the print head dry out and it would have to be cleaned
before every printing.

=-=

On Sat, 28 Aug 2004 11:27:58 -0700, Felix Oscar wrote:

This is not normal and would indicate some problem with the cartrdige or the
pritner.

If there is a regular pattern of missing lines it would normally indicate an
electrical contact issue, with perhaps corrosion building up on the cartridge
contacts. Perform a diagnostic self test as shown at:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...c=en&lang= en

If there are regular repeating areas missing try cleaning the contacts as shown
at:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport...ectID=bpa02060

If the missing nozzles are randomly distributed it may be that your service
station is not properly sealing the cartridge. Check to make sure the rubber
caps in the service station have not become dislodged.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP
MS MVP Printing/Imaging

jdj wrote:
Well, there is no totally dry environment. Even an extremely dry area
has a relative humidity of 5 percent and there are not many areas like
that in the U.S. Western dry areas have rh of about 25-35 percent and
the inside of a house is usually much higher. I live in a dry climate
(Boise, ID) and my printer (HP 970) has needed a cartridge cleaning
only once and I often do not print for several weeks, sometimes
sseveral months. Oh, by the way, we also have hard water, but I don't
see much clothes "grinding."

On Sat, 02 Oct 2004 23:01:54 +0000, George E. Cawthon wrote:


Yes, there are totally dry environments. One of my jobs was to ensure that
one of them remained perfectly dry. Not an easy task when they insisted on
using hydrophilic materials like paper and water-bearing materials like
printer ink.

There are parts of the U.S. where the water mineral content is so high
that the water is abrasive. That is "very hard water". Even polyester gets
ground up. Clothing lasts no more than a year. Mirror finishes on pots
becomes dull within weeks. Glass looks like it was scrubbed with emery
paper. Water valves wear and leak, water heaters get filled with a white,
almost concrete-like material that causes them to leak and becomes
rock-hard after it is drained out of the heater. A renter ignored a
leaking diverter spout and a jet from the spout drilled a hole through the
bathtub in just a few months. Shower heads clog with minerals monthly.
Soak in vinegar, the vinegar quickly becomes a gel and has to be changed
frequently. "CLR" is no better.

BTW, I have observed pure water--absolutely pure, 100.000000% hydrogen
hydroxide-- drill holes through steel disks in less than an hour at
1300psi.

=-=

jdj wrote:
None of which is relevant to the discussion.

jdj wrote:


Just one question... do you think that harder water would put a hole in
the same steel disk quicker thah regular or "soft" water?

Art

On Mon, 04 Oct 2004 00:26:58 +0000, George E. Cawthon wrote:


maybe ya shouldna brought it up then...

Apparently you can't follow a thread. I didn't bring up the nonsense
about hard water and low humidity, jdj did.

Vikas wrote:

On Mon, 04 Oct 2004 23:32:33 +0000, George E. Cawthon wrote:

Well, you did open the door...

And it was still somewhat relevant to the topic...

Illustrative example and all that...

Not too far afield, yet...


Be nice.

How come your addy shows up on the spammer list?


==-==

On Tue, 05 Oct 2004 00:31:13 -0700, jdj wrote:

u b nice. look like u have a problem.

we donot spam. we only send emails to customers.
why dont u talk to our layer?