Epson 4900 Printer Extreme Clogging Problem

[EOTS]

Hi there,

after 5 months not printing (travelling, photographing, developing, scanning) etc,
I tried to reactivate the Epson 4900 again, which I bought in May 2011.

I printed a nozzle test pattern and only 4 nozzles are clear,
the other 7 are 100% clogged, i.e. 0% ink on the paper!!!

Warrenty is only 1 year, so I'm a bit desperate.

I now know that regular printing seems to be a _must_,
before I only thought that some clogging will appear,
which can be fixed with a couple of powerful cleaning runs...


Hmmm what issue could that be? Extreme clogging in the head and within the hoses between ink and head?

Has anyone experienced something like that?


Does anyone have a 4900 repair manual / service manual?


Best,
Martin

[EOTS]

Here's what the nozzle test page looks like:
83314

[EOTS]

10 forced clean runs and letting the printer sleep did not help...

Shaking the old inks did not help ...

Tried to put in fresh inks, but that hasn't helped either.

No matter what I do, the pattern stays the same ...

Best,
Martin

[wager123]

contact jon cone at ink jet mall and get his cleaning set up also they have you tube veido on cleaning printers. his sstuff fixed my 4880.
mitch

[Greg Miller]

If you run several nozzle cleaning cycles and clogs remain, just let it sit overnight. The clogs will moisten from the fresh ink being pushed in the system and then loosen. If clogs still remain, then run a power cleaning cycle.

Shaking the ink cartridges isn't a bad idea but won't fix a clog (nor will fresh ink cartridges). The clog is in the print head, not the cartridges.

[EOTS]

Thanks for your help guys!

Hi Mitch, will look into it!

Hi Greg, I did 10 cleaning cycles and then let it sit overnight.
No change in the pattern.
Then again did two cleaning the next day, let it sit ... no change ...

Also tried shaking ... no change ...

[Peter De Smidt]

There are a number of things you can do, but, imo, the best idea is to get a set of cleaning cartridges. Load them up and let the cleaning solution sit in the lines, dampers and head for a couple of days. Then run a cleaning cycle. With some patience, this should work. The down side is the cost of the cartridges. Here in the USA, you can get refillable cartridges for a 4880 (which is what I have) for about $130, and cleaning solution can be made very cheaply. I don't know the cost for a 4900. By doing this I recently resurrected a 7600 that had been sitting unused for years.

[Jon Shiu]

Wondering if you did a Power Cleaning, or regular cleaning cycle?

Jon

[Doug Fisher]

I don't have that printer, so I don't know if the following is viable for that model, but have you done research on the method where you soak a paper towel with Windex, get it situated under the head and then let it sit overnight? This goes after the clog from the other direction (in other words, from the front side of the nozzles).

I just fired up my R2400 for the first time in probably 9 months last night. Luckily, the K3 ink gods were with me and the clogs blew out by four or five total head cleanings. Lots of ink wasted though. It seemed that any color which had a cart that was close to empty was the most problematic. Hopefully you can get up and running fairly quickly.

Doug

[Peter De Smidt]

I don't recommend Doug's suggestion. I've recently read about a couple of people who've done that with the bigger printers, and all of their ink got wicked out of the head and onto the floor. I would try the puddle method first. Unplug printer. Release the head. Move head to the middle of it's run. Place a few drops of cleaning solution on the capping station. Move head to capping station. Let sit for a few hours. Turn on printer, run a cleaning cycle, and do a nozzle check. If things are getting better, then repeat.

Putting something up against the heads is an absolute last resort. It can very easily lead to damage.

[Joe Smigiel]

I had to run 7 powerful cleaning cycles to get a 4900 printing again. The regular cleaning cycles did not produce any effect that I could tell. At one point, the printer was so clogged that it didn't print any nozzle check pattern with any of the inks. Then it gradually came back after the third power cleaning. That was 2 months ago and all seems fine now.


Wondering if you did a Power Cleaning, or regular cleaning cycle?

Jon

[EOTS]

I did over 15 powerful cleaning cycles over 5 days,
yesterday I focused on the cyan/VM only,
and I only did the normal cleaning cycles (around 20).

Always did two in a row and then let it rest for 30min.

Now the Cyan is coming back to live (only 10% missing of the pattern).
However, the Vivid Magenta which is paired with Cyan is still 100% clogged after all these runs...

[EOTS]

Woo, now the VM is coming through (20% ink) after 4 additional cleaning cycles...

It really seems to pay off only concentrating on one single pair (C / VM) ...
And to wait 30min after three only partially successful runs ...

Here in Austria we have a saying:
"Tediously the squirrel nourishes itself!"

[SAShruby]

I think you're using too much ink, running 10 cleaning cycles in not advisory, too bad for head. As Doug said, spray Windex on paper towel (Bounty is the best), let it stay for overnight (prevent spilling ink from head on carpet I guess), clean your capping station, clean the rubber blade. After having paper towel underneath the head overnight, have another paper towel with windex and run slowly head back a forth to clean the head. Run one cleaning cycle and it should be working like a charm. If not, run the same process again, second time you get the results.

I also suggest increasing humidity where priner sits to maximum. If not possible have a cup of water somehow in head area.
I just restored a two year old sitting 4800 in a dusty garage with 3 cleaning cycles with perfect nozle check...

My two cents.

[EOTS]

Hi!

Thanks all for the suggestions!

Hmmm. Is the Windex just a regular random glass cleaner?
http://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/wp-content/uploads/windex.jpg
Is there something special about this one or does any glass cleaner do the job?

I think it's not available here in Austria (/ EU) but I'll watch out for it ...

Doesn't the ink spill all over the interiors of the printer then?

Best,
Martin

[sanking]

"Hmmm. Is the Windex just a regular random glass cleaner?
http://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/wp-content/uploads/windex.jpg
Is there something special about this one or does any glass cleaner do the job?"

I suspect that the agent which helps to unclog the head is ammonia. You could make a similar cleaner by mixing some ammonia, distilled water and perhaps some vinegar.

Sandy

[Andrew O'Neill]

The window cleaner method should do the trick. I've used it a few times with great success. For the worst case, I did a soak for a few hours. Make sure you clean the capping station as it can get quite gummed up.

[EOTS]

Thanks guys!

[Peter De Smidt]

I recently used the following as a DIY cleaning fluid:
Super Tech. RV and Marine Antifreese 1+1
with distilled water, along with a shot of household ammonia. The
Super tech has ethyl alcohol, propylene glycol, water and di potassium
phosphate in it. It's about $4 a gallon.

[EOTS]

Hmmmm. Cyan / VM did clean ... PK does not clean after 3 days of cleaning runs ... and orange / green is also not coming ...
So although I'm a chickenshit bastard and am expecting to ruin the 4900, I think I'll finally try the chemical method now ;-)

We have an ammoniak window cleaner (Ajax) here, but as this is corrosive,
wouldn't Isopropanol also work?

Best,
Martin

[EOTS]

I did it!

Two fresh towels for a minute and now a third fresh one soaked in the glass cleaner which I now leave in for a longer period...
At least some color came already onto the towels ...

Let's see if that will help!
*hands-folding* *praying*

Best,
Martin

[EOTS]

Thanks for all your help.

But now giving up on the printer ...
Tried the towel method for a week (over the nights), but OR / PK did not clean up,
the others did however.

I managed to get hold on a service manual / service software,
and cleaned the wiper blade and the flushing box.
Everything looks tidy in there - and did so before, only hints of ink on the wiper blade ...

Using the software, I also tried an initial flush to get rid of air in the ink tubes ...

Here you can see the latest state with the nasty OR/PK:
85201

I'm selling all the 4900 ink now, and decided to switch to a HP Z3200ps.
I hope I will have more luck there, and looking forward to the onboard spectro,
as I want to try some Canson papers...

Inks are available here in case somebody is interested (only shipping within EU):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/281036609768
http://www.ebay.com/itm/281036624297
http://www.ebay.com/itm/281036631612

Best regards,
Martin

[EOTS]

Already ordered and looking forward :-)
I'll open a new thread regarding paper choices

[paulr]

Martin, do you have a sense of the humidity level where you keep your printer?

[EOTS]

Around 30%

[photobymike]

I am watching this thread with interest... i have a 4800 that has been sitting for months without use. When i get the income tax return i am going to invest in the ink conversion using the 4800 to cone mono inks

[EOTS]

From what I've read I think the x900 series are especially prone to clogging problems,
as the nozzles are even finer as f.ex. the x800 series.

So I guess you're good, photobymike.
However with Epson, I would print a test pattern of color clusters every three days or at least week,
and never let it idle around.
Think 'Tamagotchi' ;-)

Best regards and happy Xmas,

[paulr]

From what I've read I think the x900 series are especially prone to clogging problems,
as the nozzles are even finer as f.ex. the x800 series

John Cone posted about this on his blog. He hasn't had bad problems yet with his 7900s, but is concerned based on everything he's hearing from other users. And apparently Epson has made them much less user serviceable than previous models. He's recommending extended warranties, which can be a serious expense. It's all pretty disappointing.

[Peter De Smidt]

I've said this before... With the bigger printers, having a set of flushing cartridges is a very good idea. They can be old Epson cartridges. Fill using a MIS bottom fill adapter and use a chip resetter. Effective cleaning solution is very easy and cheap to make. Don't run a ton of cleaning cycles, as they cause head wear. Cleaning the bottom of the head can very easily cause more damage. It should be an absolute last resort.

You can use Quad-toned rip to print with only one ink, if needed, which is helpful if you only have one bad channel.

I recently rehabbed an old 7600 that had sat with ink in unused for about 5 years. It took a little patience, but now it's printing like a champ.

[paulr]

Here's a good DIY formula for cleaning / flushing. It avoids the ridiculous expense of commercial solutions and the mystery ingredients of home cleaning products.

-3% glycerine or propylene glycol

-20% isopropyl alcohol (pharmaceutical grade without any additives), if you can not obtain it: 96 % potable alcohol (expensive !)*

-distilled water to make 100%


you can add 3 drops of concentrated ammonia per 100 ml if you want a greater cleaning power.

Source discussions:

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3211

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=56002


My version (based on what I have around):

isopropyl alcohol (20%)
Diethylene Glycol (3%)
photoflo (0.5%)
Distilled Water (to make 100%)

Add ONLY for externally cleaning stubborn clogs:
household ammonia (20%)

[neil poulsen]

This thread sure brings back my Epson 4000 days. (Maybe it's the 4xxx series printers.) I went through TONS of ink with cleaning cycles. An Epson technician with whom I spoke suggested that the problem could be air leaks into the ink lines.

Anyway, It became just too expensive to continue with that printer. So, I purchased a 3880, and it's been great. I've left the 3880 unused for months, and I've never had a problem. Others have the same experience.

Hmmm. This makes me ponder whether Epson is leaving technology out of the 4900 that they've included in the 3880??? They make a lot of money from ink clogs. Does it make sense that there would be such a huge difference (regarding ink clogs) between the two printers?

[paulr]

This makes me ponder whether Epson is leaving technology out of the 4900 that they've included in the 3880??? They make a lot of money from ink clogs. Does it make sense that there would be such a huge difference (regarding ink clogs) between the two printers?

I've spent a lot of time over the years fantasizing about hideous deaths for Epson executives. But I doubt the 4900 problems are deliberate. Epson has a lot of competition these days, and whether it's justified or not, Canon and HP seem to have better reputations when it comes to clogs. Epson has already lost customers over this.

I suspect they just messed up. They made some improvements in the x900 series heads that ended up causing problems.

When I very briefly thought about getting a 7900, I chatted with a salesperson at B+H. He pretty much told me I'd be crazy. He said their floor model needs to have clogs cleared between demo appointments. This was not the case with most of the earlier large format models.

[Peter De Smidt]

Paul's recipe looks good to me.

[EOTS]

Well ...

sold the printer causing this thread for 200 bucks and got an HP Z3200 ...
sadly not without issues ...
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?98496-HP-Z3200ps-DOA

Best,
Martin

[ssimoncini]

Here's a good DIY formula for cleaning / flushing. It avoids the ridiculous expense of commercial solutions and the mystery ingredients of home cleaning products.

-3% glycerine or propylene glycol

-20% isopropyl alcohol (pharmaceutical grade without any additives), if you can not obtain it: 96 % potable alcohol (expensive !)*

-distilled water to make 100%


you can add 3 drops of concentrated ammonia per 100 ml if you want a greater cleaning power.

Source discussions:

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3211

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=56002


My version (based on what I have around):

isopropyl alcohol (20%)
Diethylene Glycol (3%)
photoflo (0.5%)
Distilled Water (to make 100%)

Add ONLY for externally cleaning stubborn clogs:
household ammonia (20%)

hello. I had similar problems with my 4000 a while ago. It was sentenced To need a head replacement by a service center. What I did instead was to order new dampers in china for 1euro each, disassemble the print head, clean it with an ultrasonic washer using distilled water and ammonia and reassemble the whole thing together. it took me four hours to get the job done, but the key is to use the ultrasonic washing machine. since you cannot dump the head into the liquid, you just have the printhead touch the cleaning liquid surface while the machine is running, and it destroys any clog inside. you can check the progress by pushing and pulling liquid with a syringe mimicing the ink lines (just attach a small tube to the syringe and to the ink feeding tube on the rear of the head). thats all you need.
Even just distilled water works fine with this procedure.
happy new year to everybody here!

[neil poulsen]

hello. I had similar problems with my 4000 a while ago. It was sentenced To need a head replacement by a service center. What I did instead was to order new dampers in china for 1euro each, disassemble the print head, clean it with an ultrasonic washer using distilled water and ammonia and reassemble the whole thing together. it took me four hours to get the job done, but the key is to use the ultrasonic washing machine. since you cannot dump the head into the liquid, you just have the printhead touch the cleaning liquid surface while the machine is running, and it destroys any clog inside. you can check the progress by pushing and pulling liquid with a syringe mimicing the ink lines (just attach a small tube to the syringe and to the ink feeding tube on the rear of the head). thats all you need.
Even just distilled water works fine with this procedure.
happy new year to everybody here!

This is quite interesting.

What's been the history of the 4000 since that time? How often do you use it? Does it still clog, if it isn't used within even a day or so?

Do you think that, by disassembling the print head, you may have also reduced or stopped possible air-leaks into the ink lines?

My 4000 has been sitting on the floor in a spare room for months. I may try the same approach.

[Greg Miller]

My 4000 was terribly clog prone. It was replaced with a 4800, which has been has been very clog free. My memory is that most people with 4000's have had clog issues.

[ssimoncini]

This is quite interesting.

What's been the history of the 4000 since that time? How often do you use it? Does it still clog, if it isn't used within even a day or so?

Do you think that, by disassembling the print head, you may have also reduced or stopped possible air-leaks into the ink lines?

My 4000 has been sitting on the floor in a spare room for months. I may try the same approach.

I think there are a lot of things where the DIY approach may be better. In my case, the printer was not printing four out of eight channels, no matter how many cleaning cycles I ran. So I took it to a Epson center.the guy there put it back to work at the expense of more than 300 euros. right after I took the printer back home, one channel was misfiring. In a couple of days it was back in the condition as before. I already had the ultrasonic washing machine, so I decided to give it a try. as an additional measure I ordered the dampers on ebay to complete the job as it was meant to be done, which had not been performed as it should have been by the service center.

It's been two years now that I did this and I only had repeat the procedure once. the machine is still there, I did the same on another 4000 equipped with Piezography K7, but these inks do not clog that much as the UC.
I use it quite often to print digital negatives, like every other day or so, and so far some issues (missing channel, for example) have been resolved by performing some cleaning cycles, no major clogging since.

If you look at the service manual, they recommend to change the dampers every year or so, and there is a reason: inside the damper there is a stainless steel filter which prevents any particle of impurities to get to the head. In my case the yellow damper was quite blocked, as it was difficult to get the ink flowing even with the syringe.

When you change the dampers you have to prime them with the sringe to get the ink back in them before reassmbling, and there it is your opportunity to get a good job done in removing air bubbles. as you suck ink to the damper, you we'll be able to see the air bubbles, if any, flowing thru the tubes. from how the dampers are designed, however, I really doubt that air in the conduct is a real concern until it reaches a certain point. Why? just because the way the dampers sit in place:

ink comes from above in a little chamber and is sucked thru the filter in a lower chamber. so, even if an air bubble gets there, it's not likely that it will stop the ink from flowing, unless of course there is enough air to empty the chambers.

it will be pretty straightforward, when you look at the dampers, on how to arrange things in order to fill them with ink before putting the head back on.

Pieces of advice
1) NEVER loosen the attachment between the ink lines and the dampers while the ink levers are down, as it will suddlenly empty the ink lines and you have to repeat the disassemble procedure from scratch
2) if you perform the procedure you will have to get the printhead back to firing inks, which may take several cleaning cycles. so after you put things together again, just go for a power claeaning cycle, oyu know the one where you have to raise the levers a couple of times. It's a bit more expensive, but it will fill back your print head with ink. at least it's what happened with mine.
3) when the print head comes in contact with the fluid in the machine, you will be seeing ink flowing back FROM the head and pouring thru the channel-to-damper connectors; you can play a little harder by placing a tube to the connectors and having a push-pull action with a syringe which adds power, I think, to the ultrasonic washing action.
4) my notes are for a 4000, which I think it's prone to clogging just because Ultrachrome inks clog. But I think that it could be applied to any Epson large printer where you have a piezo head and dampers.

In my case it prevented me to go for a new printer as the guy suggested ("go for the 4900, which is absolutely free from clogging")... which takes us back to the title of the thread :o

[ssimoncini]

My 4000 was terribly clog prone. It was replaced with a 4800, which has been has been very clog free. My memory is that most people with 4000's have had clog issues.

it sure is. I think it's the ink's technology more than the printer itself. as the 4800 uses k3 maybe they are differently engineered and pose less problems.

[Alan Frank]

I consider myself a binge user. Gone for weeks on a trip then return to print results. Last time out, over a month, the 4900 would not clean up after many cleaning cycles. Contacted the local repair center, they said replace print head. Bottom line warranty replacement of entire printer. New printer working fine.

What to do for next trip?

Discussion with Epson customer service really had no good suggestions. No procedures listed for long term storage.

The fellow did note that there is a cleaning cartridge, part #1537913, but currently not in stock. He said four such cartridges were necessary and there was a software for a cleaning process that only the service centers would have access to it. Sounds like they might be working on the problem but not yet shipped. Or perhaps over subscribed.

My thought is that going through a cleaning procedure with a cleaning solution before a trip. But then not completing the process by recharging with ink would leave solvent in the print head. Then recharge after returning. Any such procedure would be costly in ink but might save the head.

Any thoughts or comments?

[Peter De Smidt]

I don't know about what's possible with the newest printers. With my 7600 and 4880, I load cartridges with storage solution, much like Paul's listed above. I do an initial fill, and the I leave the printer sit. When I come back, I re-install the ink cartridges and do and initial fill. So far, this has worked really well. The downside is that it uses a lot of ink, but then so do endless cleaning cycles and trips to the service center. I only do this for an extended printing hiatus of more than a couple of weeks.

[trev2401]

Just my 2cents here. I'm a proud owner of 2 x 4880 printers. one purchased from the lovely chaps at MPEX almost 5 yrs back.

That unit has been "on" for almost it's entire lifespan, yes, 5 yrs, with an APU powering it should there be a power failure. I"ve been posted away for work for 3-6 months at a time, and the unit has still remained "on" with my wife and parents assisting with the occasional look-see.

No clogs (knock on wood) nor issues with it as of yet. Just thought that this might help anyone here.

But then again, the unit's also sitting in Singapore, South East Asia, where humidity is 80-105%.

[Edziu60]

Okay, I've read this entire thread from the beginning looking for a solution to my 4900 clogging problem. This past Monday (5/25/13) the yellow ink in my 4900 clogged. I've had minor clogging problems from time to time that cleaning the head fixed, however, this was a complete clog...no yellow at all in the test page. {Even when I'm not printing a lot I tend to print test pages nearly daily in the hope of avoiding such a problem.} So, I did what you all would do...I tried normal and powerful cleanings but to no avail. I focused only on cleaning the yellow and then tried the whole head...nothing. On Tuesday, the PK started to block-up so I hit the internet looking for solutions.

To my dismay, I found a number of you out there and was none-to-happy to hear that folks where actually giving up on the 4900 because the cost of a new head vs a new printer was negligible. How could Espon allow such a printer to be produced if the heads where going to be such a huge problem after such a short time in use. What a hit to their reputation. So, here I am with a 4900 that, after 4 days of not getting the tinniest amount of yellow ink on my test page, is printing beautifully again. I can't offer you a concrete solution, just tell you what I did so maybe it works for you too.

First, I ordered cleaning solution, but I knew I would grow inpatient for that to arrive so I looked at other remedies in the meantime. There are some who suggested using the windex method of placing a wet paper towel sprayed with windex under the head to loosen the clog from that end. Some suggested not using that method for fear of damaging the head, but I figure why not give it a shot. If the head isn't cleaned it's all but useless anyway. So you might as well give it a shot, but as a last resort after I first use the cleaning solution.

Nothing else really stood out until the end of the thread. I live in Michigan and my house is closed up in the Winter. The humidity upstairs where I use my 4900 is lower than the rest of the house. So I put a Honeywell humidifier, set on low with the door to the room half open, and left it there for 4 hours. When I came back I ran a cleaning and a test page. Nothing. So, instead of Manually cleaning the head I put it on Auto-Cleaning and then ran a test page. For the first time in 5 days I saw a couple of small lines of yellow. I ran two more Auto-Cleanings and a Nozzle Check. The Nozzle Check came back "no heads clogged." I ran a test page and all the colors look great.

So, that worked for me. I truly hope it works for you. And to the guy from Singapore who's humidity is 80-100% thank you!

[EOTS]

Great! Good to hear you could fix it with the humidifer!

If you're referring to mine, I've already sold it and switched to a printer with consumer-replacable heads.
I also tried the humidifier method but I guess my rooms are too large for it to have worked,
and the humidifier was actually an "air washer", so perhaps not the ideal choice for that task ...
I never got above 45% humidity in the room.

Best regards,
Martin

[Michael Lloyd]

Interesting thread. I've got a 4900 that sometimes sits for a month before I print. So far I've never had a clog as bad as I've read about here. A few times I had a specific color that wouldn't clear until i changed the cartridge. It was the cartridge that came with the printer and it was pretty old. Apparently Epson ships their old cartridges in new printers. I live near the gulf coast and humidity is typically around 40% - 50% in my house so maybe thats why I have better luck with clogs. I've got two more of the original cartridges installed and those seem to be the most problematic.

[gth]

I have an old HP DJ130 NR. It's a 24 in wide printer. Replacable print heads and carts.

As long as it is plugged in to the wall - but "off" - it fires itself up once in a while. Goes through a cycle of some kind and then goes back to sleep. Freaks me out waking up in the middle of the night and the hear the damn printer churning in my workroom!! Never has clogging problem. And I leave it "off" for months.

Don't get me started on Epson clogging in cheap "all-in-one" home office printers. Must have thrown out 3-4 of them in the last few years. At one point I figured it was cheaper to pick up a new one at Walmart, then buying ink for endless cleaning cycles. What a racket.

Then I finally got smart and got a Brother All-In-On for the office. Never looked back. Recommended!! Zero problems.

Quite amazing actually considering the time and money I have wasted on Epson's racket.

[Don Dudenbostel]

Theres an Epson repair center in my city. I had a 7000 that has terrible clogging and the tech at epsons repair center told me to puddle warm windex on the parking pad. He specifically said NOT to use windex with amonia and that it could damage the head. I used regular windex and heated it to about 135 degrees f and allowed it to sit a day. The clogs were cleared up and every time I had a clog it cleared it up with no problem. Each time after the windex treatment I ran a cleaning cycle.

I think it's the detergent that breaks up the clog.

My brother did the same treatment with his 2400 and it resolved the clog with no problem.

[Peter De Smidt]

Don, thanks for sharing that. I hadn't heard of the "heated Windex" tip before.

[Alan Frank]

I had a fatal clogging situation after a few week trip. After considerable back & forth with Epson they replaced the printer. They recommend humidity to keep it from happening. Tough in a desert environment! I discovered that a half gallon plastic milk container on its side will fit nicely along side the parked print head. A few holes in the top facing side and a half inch of water creates a local humid environment. I always replace the container when I turn off the printer, close all hatches and cover it. So far no clogging after a major summer trip.

[wgoh]

Something to share with everyone with Clogging Problem.
Like many of you, I have the same problem... under use, and over long winter season with heat blasting.
Last attempt before I put it out as trash.... something finally works.

So here is a list of things I've tried.
-Nozzle check,
-Clean Print Heads
-Print Head Alignment
-Days & days of the Windex trick with Humidifier
but I can never get it back to 100% on all the ink heads.

After weeks of weeks repeated attempt... nothing works till I found these simple method.

POWER CLEANING - Running Cleaning Cycles (Page 124)
Simple and it works. This give you the all the cleaning options

go to Control Panel and select the Ink menu button.Select the color pair or all color, and select Execute Powerful.
Works like a charm.

Good luck everyone

To download Epson Pro 4900 manuals

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/support/supDetail.jsp?infoType=Doc&oid=171983

[Michael Lloyd]

I should have never posted "never had a clog". My 4900 is down and has been for a couple of months. I feel like it's the pump but I don't know if I want to tackle installing a new one