Technical Information - General

Printer Head Cleaning

Before each printing session, carry out a nozzle check to ensure that all ink channels are firing. If they are not, make sure that you have not run out of ink, and then perform up to a maximum of four nozzle checks and cleans to restore a good nozzle print out (when you replace a cartridge, you may need to carry out a couple of cleaning cycles to get rid of air which will inevitably enter the system during the changeover process) . Also, make sure that the blue lever at the right hand side of the printer is set to zero (on most Epson desktop printers) - If this is unsuccessful, read on:

THE BEST TIP OF ALL :

Problem prevention is always better than problem solving!

Turn you printer on for a few minutes once every few days - especially when you are not using your printer for long periods. When you turn a printer on, it goes through a mini head-clean which can prevent the build up of dried ink on the underside of your ink head. - If you go on holiday, why not leave your printer switched 'on' and connect your print to the mains through an inexpensive central heating timer switch, set to turn on for a few minutes every other day - when you return, your print head will be in perfect order, ready to print.

We sell Lyson Printer Cleaning Cartridges, which flush your print head internally.

Printer Banding / Incomplete Nozzle Check

The aim of this printer head cleaning technique is to attempt to force ink through the nozzles, thus clearing any dried ink.

Problem with a single channel (e.g. black):

Produce a solid block of the colour you are experiencing problems with in Photoshop. This is done using the paint bucket tool.
Print it up to 12 times A3 size on 1440 dpi
Keep printing until you get a solid colour
If you are experiencing a problem with a certain channel using a bulk system please ensure the bottle is filled to the top, and your breather tube is not block or pinched off in any way. Check also that your ink feed line in not clamped off by mistake.

If you have problem with more than one channel you may like to run a purge file at 1440dpi in order to gain a complete nozzle check. Right click here and select "save target as" save this in any folder or on your desktop - you can then open this up in Photoshop for printing. Print this up to 6 times or until your nozzle check come good.

If this technique fails to produce a solid colour, please refer to the next technique below:

Clearing Dried ink using Windolene Spray*:

This printer cleaning technique requires Windolene spray and a piece of cloth – 10cm long by 1.5cm wide by 2mm thick. This technique is excellent for softening dried ink under the print head that can cause blockages. Please see below the technique for Epson 2100, 1290, 1270 and 1160.

*Spray Glass Cleaner (Windolene or similar)

Epson 2100:

Turn the printer off.
Switch the gray leaver at the back of the printer to the CD position (there is a picture of a CD) this raises the ink head.
Facing the printer, so the ink head is on the right hand side, you will see a small white lever that comes out of the bottom of the printer on the left hand side of the print head. This stops the ink head from moving to the left. Push this lever down – you can now manually move the print head.
Soak the cloth in Windolene.
Place the Windolene-soaked cloth on the left hand side of the printer so it lies on the bottom where there is a sponge-like material. Make sure the cloth is a flat as possible.
Manually move the print head over the cloth
Switch the gray lever at the back to the paper position so the ink head lowers down onto the cloth.
Preferably, leave the printer in this state overnight.
In the morning, raise the head (put the gray lever in the CD position) and move it to the right of the printer. Then return the gray lever to the paper position.
Remove the cloth - it should be completely saturated with ink and dried ink deposits.
Turn the printer on and perform a nozzle check.

Epson 1290/1270:

(Performed while the printer is turned on)
Switch the Blue lever on the right hand side of the printer to the + position, this raises the ink head.
Soak the cloth in Windolene.
Place the Windolene-soaked cloth on the left hand side of the printer so it lies on the bottom where there is a square of felt-like material. This position is where you normally change your ink cartridges.
Press the yellow so the printer head moves over the Windolene-soaked cloth.
Switch the blue lever at the back to the 0 position so the ink head lowers down onto the cloth.
Preferably, leave the printer in this state overnight.
In the morning, raise the head (put the blue lever in the + position) and move it to the right of the printer by pressing the yellow button.
Remove the cloth. And return the purple lever to the 0 position.
Turn the printer on and perform a nozzle check.

Epson 1160:

(Performed while the printer is turned on)
Switch the purple lever on the right hand side of the printer to the + position, this raises the ink head.
Soak the cloth in Windolene.
Place the Windolene-soaked cloth on the left hand side of the printer so it lies on the bottom where there is a square of felt-like material. This position is where you normally change your ink cartridges.
Press and hold the middle button for 3 to 5 seconds so the printer head moves over the Windolene-soaked cloth
Switch the purple lever at the back to the 0 position so the ink head lowers down onto the cloth.
Preferably, leave the printer in this state overnight.
In the morning, raise the head (put the purple lever in the + position) and move it to the right of the printer by pressing the middle button.
Remove the cloth. And return the purple lever to the 0 position.
Turn the printer on and perform a nozzle check.

C.I.S Ink Reservoir Recovery:

Epson 2100

If you have a Continuous Ink System and you are experiencing a lack of ink in one of your channels you may have lost your ink reservoir:

First of all clamp all tubes.

To recover this reservoir, you must take out the cartridge and place it upside down (so the nozzle is facing up) on a piece of tissue paper.
Release the clamp off the tube of the channel that is causing problems.
Gently blow down the breather tube (which is the tube that comes out of the bottle - empty of ink) until you see ink coming out of the top of the cartridge as a continuous trickle of ink (not just foam).
Clean the ink off the top of the cartridge and ensure that your cartridge chip is perfectly clean and put the cartridge back in the printer.
Release all clamps.
Perform a nozzle check.
If the nozzle check is not complete after no more than 2 head cleans please call: 01326 375657 (Int: 00 44 01326 375657)

Epson 1160/1270/1290/870/890

Gently blow down the breather tube (which is the tube that comes out of the bottle - empty of ink) of the colour bottle you are experiencing problems with.

Raising Epson 2100 Printer Wheels

Why?

A very small percentage of photographers use the Epson 2100 to print on CDs. However, this does cause printing problems when printing with some media causing roller marks on the print. As the vast majority of photographers do not use their Epson 2100 for this purpose, it is advisable to raise the wheels used for CD printing. This will enable your Epson 2100 to print on a wider range of media with no roller marks. Please view the step by step instructions below for directions:

	Which Wheels? Looking at a Birds eye view of the printer, you can see their are 12 wheels which have black rubber around the circumference. They are identified in the left picture by the white arrows. These are the largest wheels and they are solely used for CD printing. These are the wheels that need to raised.
When you put your finger into the front of the Printer (where the paper comes out) and you can move these wheels (see right pic) in an upward direction slightly.
	The left picture shows how the wheels are positioned in the usual state (when they have not been raised) Looking at the wheels, you will see their is an axle which goes through each wheel (this is actually a spring). One side of this spring needs to be raised above the metal plate, which results in the wheel being raised. (see below picture)
How? Put your finger into the printer (where the paper comes out) and lift the wheel (hold you finger until the wheel has been raised) - see "The Wheels" picture above. With a knitting needle or scalpel blade (or thin object e.g. a thin coat hanger made into a hook shape) prick up the left side of the wheel so its above the metal panel as the picture on the right illustrates. Repeat this process for all 12 wheels (Take care not to damage the film strip which is stretched across the printer above the platen rollers)

Inaccurate Colour:

Desktop inkjet printers do vary quite noticeably one printer to another, so it may be best to commission one custom ICC printer profile for your favorite inkjet media to guarantee best possible colour accuracy and image quality.

Please ensure you are selecting the correct profile and have the correct printer settings in Photoshop for that profile (correct media type, resolution, colour management settings...) - if you are unsure of these please call: 01326 375657 (Int: 00 44 1825764057).

We have two specialists who look after professional photographers, and one profiling specialist who assists enthusiasts (non-professionals). Please Click here for their links ????????????

ICC Profiles Explained - Trouble Installing / Selecting Profiles:

A Profile is a file that describes how an input or output device handles colour. As all printers come with colour biases, colour errors etc. it is necessary to install a profile to achieve accurate colour from your printer.

Profiles needs to be installed into your hard drive and then selected in Photoshop . The profile is installed by dragging your profile(s) into the correct folder, and can be confusing as it depends on your operating system, the paths to get to this folder are found below:

PC Users:

Windows XP = my computer - c: - windows – system32 – spool – drivers - then drag and drop into the color folder

Windows 2000 = my computer - c: - windows – system32 – spool – drivers - then drag and drop into the color folder

Windows 98 = my computer - c: - windows – system - then drag and drop into the color folder

Mac Users:

Mac OSX = MacHD - Users - imac(home) - library - colour sync - then drag and drop into the profiles folder

Mac OS9 = MacHD - system - then drag and drop into the colorsync profiles folder

Selecting your Profile / Photoshop Advice:

You need to ensure that after you've installed your profile you re-start photoshop (if already opened). You also need to ensure you select the profile in Photoshop . For Photoshop versions 7, CS and Elements 2 the profile is selected in: File, Print with Preview, (making sure you have show more options ticked and colour management selected) print space – profile.

For earlier versions of Photoshop the profile is selected towards the bottom of “Print” dialog box where it says “space”.