Photo Black Not Printing on Converted Sublimation Printer?

Question: 
Everything worked fine on my printer, but my photo black ink suddenly stopped printing. I've already cycled a cleaning solution through the printhead. What can I try next to debug this issue? I suddenly need to work on a converted sublimation printer.
 
Answer:
Thank you for contacting BCH Technologies! I'm sorry to take so long before getting back to you to answer your question. Printer issues are critical and have time limitations, and I am here to give you a detailed, thorough answer. At BCH Technologies, we're grateful for your engagement and support, especially with our YouTube channel (https://youtube.com/@bchtechnologies). Your feedback helps us enhance our technical expertise and create better resources.
 
Next up, we need to troubleshoot the photo black ink issue.
Possible Causes and Next Steps
 
Check the Capping Station
Capping station: This component seals the printhead and ensures sufficient ink flow. If printed with a poor seal, ink may not be sucked through the printhead on printing.
 
Test the Capping Station Seal:

• While the procedure has a few steps, turning on your printer will allow the printhead to park naturally on the capping station.
• Extract approximately 2 ml of air from the waste ink line with a syringe and tubing.
• The capping station seal works if you feel some resistance and ink is pulled. Otherwise, the seal could leak, or the capping station may be blocked and need cleaning or replacing.

Prime the Printhead
Sublimation inks are more viscous than typical inks and sometimes need a flow helper.
Use a Syringe to Prime the Printhead:

• On the capping station, park the printhead.
• Attach a syringe to the capping station station's line and slowly pull 1.5 ml of ink through the printhead.
• Listen for a "crinkle" sound." The damper membrane emits when the nozzles are clear.
• Pull back on the plunger slowly until the syringe has drawn up to 2 ml, and hold it in place for 10 seconds to allow the ink to flow consistently.

Examine the Ink Supply System

• Please ensure no air bubbles or obstructions in the ink lines, as this can affect ink flow.
• Could you ensure the ink cartridge or tank is correctly primed and has enough ink?

Perform a Nozzle Check
A nozzle check can indicate whether the photo is dead or just printing fine.

• From your printer, could you run a nozzle check? This diagnostic step will help confirm whether the fault is in the print head deeper or the ink supply itself.

Inspect the Dampers
The damper is an assembly that controls ink flow to the printhead. To print be willed, the damper for photo black must not clog or malfunction.

• Could you fix it by replacing or cleaning the damper?

Experiment with a Different Cleaning Cycle
Sublimation ink usually needs to be cleaned more thoroughly to remove clogs.

• You can just run a light cleaning cycle from the printer's settings menu. Don't run cycles back to back, or the printhead will overheat.
• Please don't run another deep cleaning cycle for at least 12 hours to allow the printer to rest.

Check for Damage to the Printhead
If the above steps do not solve the problem, the printhead may have dried out or been damaged. Sublimation conversions are complex on printheads because the ink is thick, and they tend to clog quickly. If it is suspected to be damaged, it may need replacing.
 
Final Notes
Printer issues can be complicated, as the problems tend to be hands-on. So, we cannot help with remote troubleshooting, suggestions, or printer repair support. Local Diagnostic Facility:https://bchtechnologies.com/printer-repair-serviceAs provide in-person evaluation and repair services through our local facility. We have minimal availability, so we read on a first come ( --- first served). So, it may not be until the few weeks before we can get your printer to drop it off. We have a repair-style service, whether you enter a full printer or just a few parts with repair instructions. Adversely, we do recognize that we aren't the cheapest around. So, we're not able to help you by doing research online. Youtube: https://youtube.com/@bchtechnologies (Note: You can also search for video directly on the Youtube channel main homepage by hitting search icon next to "About" - right side of the menu bar) Every day I am asked dozens of questions about videos on topic areas. It's hard to recall every video I have made in the past nine years. So, it would be most efficient to use YouTube search. And YouTube may also recommend helpful videos from other channels.
 
Once again, we appreciate your attention to this! I hope this will guide you through fixing the photo's black ink. Feel free to reach out if you need any other help.