printer banding

I have followed this forum for a few years now. Not only there are so many remarkable photographers but computer and techno wizards as well. I have huge problem I hope to solve. I have an Epson 1280 printer just about 2 years old. Has been running flawless up to two months ago. When I started receiving horizon blue banding going across my images. Sometimes its one two or three bands not in a row. Sometimes it appears across the whole image about 1/32 of an inch apart. I‘ve done multiple head cleaning. It helps some but is never a cure. I spent 1 hour with an Epson tech we did some printing and checking he said it was and adobe problem. (I’m running CS3 now) but it also did it on CS. I spent over an hour with an adobe tech. They think it may be a corrupted file or a printer hard wear problem.ie printer head assemble. Has anyone heard or see this problem before and do you have any ideas on how to get to the bottom of this. If it is the printer I will be very disappointed because I bought this on Epson’s reputation. Do they not make printers to last more then a couple of years? Thanks much, Sorry so long
Joe

It sounds like the head is clogged or worn out. Most likely clogged. But some clogs may never clear.

Either way, most likely an issue with printer hardware, specifically the head.

In addition to cleaning do a head alignment, if the printer allows it.

I seriously doubt it has anything to do with software (although the Epson driver could possibly cause problems like this based on your operating system). But for the Epson tech to say it was an Adobe problem honestly sounds a little ridiculous.

How much have you used the printer? The 1280 is not one of Epson's professional grade printer and thus is not designed to last more than a few years with heavy use.

The 1280 design is nearly 7 years old. If there is something wrong with it you're better off not trying to find parts/replacement heads etc. You might consider buying a new printer.

Epson's newer prosumer models like the R1800/1900/2400 will last longer.

And I'll add that the R1800 is a great printer and I've heard its replacement the R1900 is even better. I've had my R1800 for about 3 years now and its doing fine.

Thanks Nat and Mel Sound advice. I have printed about 200 8x10 images in 2 years.check ed out a repair company in the area.Will fix it for about $165.Not sure if it is worth it,- half the price I paid for it.Sounds like the 2400 may be the way to go. Thanks again

Joe

It isn't worth $160 to fix it. I just got my R1800 and it was a display model which hadn't been used for a while. It took several cleanings and a print head alignment and it runs fine now...I love how it prints. One of the biggest problems with any inkjet printer is heads drying out. You need to run at least one print per week with a fair amount of color to keep it running smooth. I would highly doubt that Adobe is the culprit though...sounds like a standard tech support answer..blame it one the other guy.

Jack

Joe, I had a similar problem with my 4800 and got the same answer from Epson Tech support. If fact the tech guy told me it was most likely the head and it would cost about $1000 to fix it. I called the authorized repair center in Dallas and the tech there was a lot more helpful than Epson's tech department. He suggested that I run the head alignment program built into the printer and that cleared up the problem.

A couple of points:

The printer is only 15 months old and the Espon tech wanted to know if I had the extended warranty, if so he would ship out a new printer, if not, tought luck. He also said they do not make a big point of offering the extended warranty and in fact it is on their web site, but not prominent. I have never been a fan of extended warranties and feel a pro series printer like the 4800 should have a warranty longer than one year at least on the head that is not replaceable like the HP and Canon printers.

Based on my research and experince with Epson's first level tech support, I will look very hard at the HP and Canon printers on my next purchase.

I've tried both Epson and HP printers and have been more happy with HP. My Epson 2200 clogs routinely unless I use it regularly. I recently had occasion to speak with one of the HP engineers at the recent NANPA Summit in Florida and asked specifically about head clogging. He said they've designed the printer's firmware to regularly detect any of the 1000's of nozzles and self-clean just the clogged holes with minimal ink wastage. I upgraded that day to one of their 13"-wide models with the built-in spectrometer. Not only will this model self-clean itself, but will self-calibrate the colors as well. I believe the model number is B9180.

Ken

Thanks Tom and Ken very helpful information. I will look very closely into the HP or Canon printers.
Joe

I do not have any recent experience, but I will share what caused me to change from Epson printers. I too had problems with printing. I had problems ranging from banding to complete loss of a color. I moved to Denver from Austin, Texas, and had no similar problem before I moved to Denver. I narrowed it down somewhat. If I only left the printer on while I was printing, the problem was minor. However, If I left the printer on between print jobs, I could count on having to run through a clean cycle. If the printer had been left on for a couple of hours between printing, I often had to run through two of more deep clean cycles to restore the ability to print. I even found an Epson rep at he now defunct store who admitted to having the same problem. He had no problems while he was home in Florida. I changed to Canon printers and have not had that problem since. The current Canon printers have the ability to power themselves on when required and power down after some time period. I do not know why Canon did this as my last Canon printer did not have that feature and did not have the banding problem.

I have no experience with the newer Epson printers and can only guess that the ones I used had problems with the ink drying. Whichever route you follow, I wish you good fortune.