C7500 Plugged Nozzles

Plugged nozzles are the mostly likely service issue we’ve experienced with the C7500 or C7500G printer. 

C7500 Nozzle Check

When this issue occurs in the C7500, generally, I recommend first a manual cleaning.  To clean the nozzles on the C7500, use the right arrow on the front panel to select Menu, then the down arrow to select Maintenance and then select Manual Head Cleaning.  Or you can go into the driver to select Manual Head Cleaning as well.

C7500 with Rewinder

If the manual cleaning doesn’t work, I sometimes recommend “Ink Recharge” selection from the Maintenance menu in the LED Operator Panel.  Ink Recharge forces ink into and through the printhead to eliminate any air in the ink lines.  Epson has told me that air in the lines can create similar missing dots.

Nozzle Check Setting

Also, I’ve recommend disabling the auto cleaning function to see if the printer can “print through” the plugged nozzle problem.  I’ve seen nozzles clear up by printing.
 
If the manual cleaning and ink recharge doesn’t work, the next option has been to contact Epson Advance Technical support for service on the printhead.  This service involved shipping the printer to Indianapolis or getting service on-site by a third party.  Now, we have another option to eliminate plugged nozzles.
 

General Data Service

General Data Service Department offers now a remote tool that may be able to unplug nozzles and improve print performance.  According to Bradley Whited, Technical Support for General Data, “Specifically for Epson printers we have been provided with a tool that assists with our depot repairs to make fine adjustments to the printer after any hardware replacements. This tool does include a function that can force a harder cleaning on the printer to try and clear clogged nozzles. In order to do complete this work, we connect remotely, install the tool, run the cleaning, and then uninstall the tool before disconnecting.”  Although we’ve sold hundreds of the C7500 printers, I didn’t know this capability exists.
 

GDC Service Team

When asked about training on the C7500, Bradley said, “We actually have 2 technicians in the depot including myself that have gone to Epson’s repair center in Indiana for certification on the Epson C3500 and C7500 printers.  In addition, we’ve trained other depot technicians; including one in California.  Overall, General Data has experience working on Epson label printers as well as from all major manufacturers. We are able to service all types of printers including thermal, line, laser, and solid ink as well as copiers and scanners.”
 

GDC Service Fleet

After hearing about the remote possibility to clear up plugged nozzles, I asked Bradley, when should you not use the remote capabilities.  Bradley said, “Remote service cannot assist with any issues determined to be hardware related.”  If hardware is the problem, General Data offers Return to Depot service or even On-Site service if the customer is local to a trained GDC technician.  Continuing, Bradley adds, “GDC is partnered with Epson and are able to get OEM parts to use in our repairs.”
 
If you have plugged nozzles, we charge $140 per incident currently to use the remote tool to unplug C7500 nozzles. 
 
According to Dennis Moore, Regional Service Representative for Epson, “The advanced cleaning tool is a last resort option for clearing nozzles on a C7500 or C7500G.  It is a valid option/utility before resorting to on-site or return to depot service.”
 
It’s great to hear that we now have another tool to help our customers with potential issues with C7500 printers.  Contact us if we can help.
 
Guy Mikel
855-962-7670
info@colorlabelsolutions.com