Printer problem

Simonnn · 11 Nov 2006 at 15:28

Ive got an epson stylus photo 2100 a3 printer, for a while now I've been having problems with the printing, I have been using non official ink but its from a company that has received good reviews in photography magazines so don't think thats the problem. Everything I print seems to have a pink tinge to it and quite often get streaks in the print outs despite using the nozzle cleans and checks. Ive replaced all the cartridges a couple of times and also tried using some of that solution stuff you pump into the heads to clean them, all with no luck.

Any ideas to what could be the problem?

skankmaster · 12 Nov 2006 at 16:05

Has the problem co-incided with the use of third party cartridges?
In the past, I have found my photos appeared to be more yellowy. Ive also had the streak problem. This was due to the ink consistency not being correct in the compatible (and stinky) cartridges. Have you had this problem with the original cartridges?

Simonnn · 12 Nov 2006 at 16:10

When I first started using the cartridges it was fine the problem just seemed develop after a time, I should try getting a complete set of epson cartridges and seeing what happens but I don't really want to have to spend the extra money doing this if its not

ChroniC · 12 Nov 2006 at 16:54

Ok, the streaks i cant explain, yet.
Couple of questions first.
Are you editing in a photo program b4 printing, or printing straight from camera jpeg?

Have you installed a new monitor or graphics card, or installed photoshop or anything similar that could have change the calibrated colours of the monitor you were used too?

Have you downloaded a file to calibrate xp to the maker of the monitor.

What type of paper are you using, is printer set to that,
Have you changed any of the quality settings in the printer settings?

Simonnn · 13 Nov 2006 at 13:44

It happens with all images, Ive tried it on photos, edited and unedited, also diagrams I've rendered from programs such as sketchup and 3dsmax. I had one diagram of a framework which was just white with black outlines and the grey shadows and all the shadows came out pink when printed.

It started happening on my old laptop but I have a new desktop now so I don't think its related to the actual computer? But I do use photoshop, I can't remember now if this started happening when I upgraded to cs2 which I did have on the laptop?

Have you downloaded a file to calibrate xp to the maker of the monitor

I havent done this, where would I go to do it? I have a large Sun microsystems monitor. Can't find exact model atm am at uni.

The paper im using is some quite cheap a4 at the moment whilst im trying to sort the problem, but I have tried it with some photoquality paper with the appropiate settings changed and theres no difference

ChroniC · 13 Nov 2006 at 18:54

The i would say your printer is broken, whether it be a dodgy cable or not, can you possibly change the connection from usb or parellel. If thats nto possible id connect another printer to it and attempt something, if it works fine your printer is broke.

Johnny|lucidcomposure · 13 Nov 2006 at 19:59

Or your inks are causing nozzels to clog (typical 3rd party ink problem but not always the case)

DizMatt · 13 Nov 2006 at 20:38

it's an epson (this is the cause and the effect) and this happens to them all in my experience. the older ones anyway

does the test sheet still do this?

have you tried printing out blocks of colour
pure black
cyan
magenta
yellow
then try on the same sheet
red
green
blue
orange
etc

this should show which colour is not forthcoming
as far as I Know there is there no way to properly clean the epson print heads in the machine and they use about 1/20 of a cartridge for a full nozzle clean, which is the reason I don't buy them myself even aside from the print quality (harsh hat on today)
had one a long time ago go wrong, 2 others at work did the same thing. professional ultra sonic cleaning didn't help

they weren't high end epsons though to be honest. still see it happen though

however, the above test should identify what the problem is hopefully

ChroniC · 14 Nov 2006 at 02:38

DizMatt said:
it's an epson (this is the cause and the effect) and this happens to them all in my experience. the older ones anyway

does the test sheet still do this?

have you tried printing out blocks of colour
pure black
cyan
etc etc etc

Very true, but if his test prints where perfectly fine, then really the only other thing that could cause the red to turn to pink is a fubared printer.