Resolving Vertical Lines in Color Prints: A Comprehensive Troubleshooting Guide

Are you experiencing annoying vertical lines in your color prints that just won't go away, despite your best efforts with routine maintenance? Fear not! In this tech overview, we will walk you through a step-by-step process to diagnose and fix the issue. The conversation below highlights one such case and the effective solution provided by a helpful community member.

Identifying the Problem

Person 1: How do I prevent the vertical lines through the picture? I have tried all the normal maintenance functions but they continue to appear.

Person 2: Looks like some jets are clogged, certainly in your magenta. There is something odd going on with your yellow too. Can you do a print head nozzle check and post it?

Person 1: Do I just scan the print and post the pic?

Person 2: Yes, or even just take a picture of it with your phone and post.

Person 2: The good news is that it looks like you have no clogged jets. The bad news is, as you can see, that there has been some cross-contamination of black into your cyan and magenta at least.

The Root Cause

The conversation suggests that the problem is not clogged print nozzles, but rather a cross-contamination of ink colors, which is creating those vertical lines. Most likely, this issue is a result of excess ink buildup in the printer, especially in the rubber cup where the print head parks. The excess ink can flow back into the ink reservoirs and mix colors, causing unwanted lines.

What creates excess ink? Head cleanings and borderless printing. Head cleaning intentionally pumps ink through the nozzles, while borderless printing generates excess ink because it starts printing slightly before the edge of the page.

Step-by-Step Solution

Here's a comprehensive step-by-step solution to resolve the issue:

1. Stop Head Cleanings and Borderless Printing: First, stop all head cleanings and borderless printing to prevent further ink contamination.
2. Create a Test Print Page: Use a program like LibreOffice Draw to create a test print page with blocks of pure Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow. This will help get the ink that has back-flowed into the head back onto paper.
3. Cleaning the Print Head: You will need to get the print head off its parking position, which may require pressing and holding a specific button (varies by printer model). Be cautious not to force it or break anything. Once off, use cotton swabs and cleaning fluid (e.g., a mixture of denatured ethanol, glass cleaner, and ammonia) to clean the excess ink.
4. Cleaning the Rubber Cup and Squeegee: If possible, locate the rubber parking cup and the cleaning squeegee, and thoroughly clean them until no ink residue remains.
5. Reviving Soaker Pads: Some of the soaked-in ink can be removed from soaker pads using paper towels to make them absorbent again. There may be videos available on how to replace the waste ink pads for your specific printer.

The Aftermath

Person 1: It has been some time with blood, sweat, and tears, but I am glad I posted and read your reply and remedy. I read most of your replies as they appear to offer good advice, at least in my case it sorted the problem.

What a procedure to do a good clean, but after many tissues, paper towels, cotton buds, lots of cleaning fluid, and other stuff, it all came right. What a mess with cross-contamination of three colors. After the cleanup, I set things up, and the printer is better than new, well almost. So thanks again, and I will follow your advice and see if it stays good.

If you encounter vertical lines in your color prints, be proactive and follow these steps to resolve the issue. Remember to avoid excessive head cleanings and borderless printing to prevent ink contamination in the future. For more tech tips and troubleshooting advice, make sure to follow our YouTube Channel here and stay updated with our latest content on our Tech blog. If you're in the Greensboro, North Carolina area, feel free to visit us locally for expert assistance with your printing needs. Happy printing!