Epson L1800 DTF Printer Not Printing After Stripping Screws on Printhead Carriage – Could This Be the Cause?

Question:

My L1800 DTF printer is not printing anything. I’ve done multiple nozzle checks and print head cleanings, and there is definitely ink. Could the loose screws in the printhead carriage be the reason for this? I ordered a new printhead from you and a new printhead carriage from elsewhere, but if the parts don’t arrive in time, I’ll try the epoxy fix you suggested. I replaced the encoder strip about two weeks ago, and the non-printing issue started after I stripped the carriage screw holes (only the two front screws). Any advice on what could be causing this issue?

Answer:

Thanks for continuing to follow up with me. I am happy to walk through the more detailed troubleshooting steps.

Based on the information you outlined, there might be a few reasons why your printer won't print even though it is going through its cleaning cycle and also after trying several nozzle checks. Here are a few things That could affect the print performance:

1. Loose Screws in the Printhead Carriage

Indeed, it may even partially be due to those stripped screws in the printhead carriage. 

It seems only the two front screws are wrong; thus, epoxy-ing them may save this. The screws don't have any electronic contact with the printer, so it won't affect if your printer print or not. However, the screws decide the gap between the printhead and the platen. So you may have the printer out of alignment or prints fuzzy, but it doesn't affect whether it prints.  Just be careful not to put too much epoxy so you can keep the printhead correctly aligned.

2. The most likely explanation for a lousy mainboard fuse is that the driver chip is terrible on the board

If the epoxy fix does not solve the problem, the mainboard might have an issue. Printhead: Connect the signals to the printhead's F1 Fuse, and the mainboard outputs your signal through this fuse. This is the fuse that, when blown, means the printer can no longer print, although everything else works, like its cleaning cycles, etc. Unfortunately, if this power fuse is blown, you will not see any error messages about this, so it is a little more challenging to detect without checking the actual mainboard.

The fuse is one of many things that could fail on the driver chip. Maybe the chip is not signaling strong enough to the printhead, causing it to get jammed and print nothing. 1、F1 fuse burning the F1 fuse can lead to this situation, and we suggest replacing it. I can walk you through it here, but we also have a video tutorial if you are comfortable opening up your printer.

3. Capping Station Clog

Finally, a clogged sealing station is one anticipated issue after introducing a new printhead. The capping station is responsible for keeping the printhead clean and pulling ink through during the cleaning cycles. If the capping station becomes clogged with dried ink or debris, it will not create a vacuum, and therefore, the printer ink will not flow well through the printhead.

I suggest you take note of the waste ink line when you're doing nozzle checks and head cleanings. If no ink is drawn into the waste line, your issue is most likely the capping station rather than the printhead. Cleaning the capping station often fixes it and returns it to print like normal. You can find these videos on our YouTube channel, which covers the proper cleaning and maintenance of a capping station.

Steps to Take:

To keep the printhead carriage secured to make sure it is making proper contact with electrical connections, attempt to fix the stripped screws by applying epoxy.

When the problem happens, please check whether we need to replace the blown F1 or the driver chip issue on the mainboard.

Check the capping station for obstructions or dried ink impeding the proper flow of the capping station. This is the number one problem for starting up purges. If you don't notice ink being drawn into the waste line during cleanings, then this is most likely what's wrong.

I know it can be unpleasant, but I am sure your printer will start working again after using these methods. If you need help checking the mainboard or cleaning your capping station, our team can help. You can also have it repaired with us where needed, or I will guide you through rectifying it.

Thanks for getting in touch again; I hope that helps! Keep me posted, and happy researching.