before I say anything else let me say this:
– PLEASE DON’T TO SS CLEANINGS ON YOUR MACHINE –
OK moving along now..
MYX900.com is dedicated to helping Epson Stylus Pro 4900, 7900, 9900 and 11880 users work through some of the typical problems which can stop your printer dead in it’s tracks. Clogs. Chances are if you are here you have clogs and you need help clearing them. First please refer to the red text just above – do not do SS Cleanings. More on this later. Second, refer to the side bar on the right to navigate your way through learning some not so common points about maintaining/repairing/and keeping your Epson Stylus Pro printer out of trouble once it’s up and running again.
Here’s a feedback email from happy camper number I can’t even count anymore, Rick Robinson, who just fixed his Epson Stylus Pro 9900 all by himself (with a little help from MYX900.com 🙂
“Hi Eric,
Well this is me, happily reporting from the end of the rainbow.
I did in fact call Epson on my own, I really didn’t think they would sell me the printhead. I thought they would insist
that I go through their DecisionOne service company, but to my great surprise they did not.
The printhead arrived 24 hours after I bought it, and I spent an other 24 hours trying to find a #1phillips head
screw driver with a shaft at least 6 inches long, the most frustrating part of this exercise (Radio Shack has them), except for the price of the printhead!!
I must say that I followed your directions to the letter, and am very happy to tell you that the entire operation went off perfectly.
It is only with your detailed instructions on the video that I would have attempted the process.
The head registration, through the “Servprog” program went flawlessly, and once I ran several pairs head cleanings to
charge the head with ink, the nozzle patterns were perfect, and the prints are flawless and I didn’t even have to run a
head alignment.
I took the old head and cleaned it, flushed it with distilled water, using a syringe and small plastic tube.I am keeping it
I would love to know if my attempts to clean it were successful, but I’m not going through that process again until I have to (hopefully never).
I thank you very much for bothering to make the video in the first place, it was invaluable.
please fell free to post this note on your site if you wish.
I will be contributing to the cause
Cheers
Rick”
No thank YOU Rick. And thank you to the many others who also have benefited/contributed to/supported myx900.com. I have to say there are few better ways to wake up in the morning other than to a thank you email stating that someone has just revived their Epson from the dead, and are successfully printing again because of the work we have put in here. …Never surrender,
Eric
If you feel you’ve got something valuable from MYX900.com, please help keep it alive! Any donation you feel is appropriate will go toward funding the research, development, and maintenance of this site. For your security and convenience we accept paypal donations, please follow the link below. And thank you for helping back!
MY X900 
I have a 7900, that I’ve just given up on. Had a printhead clog, went to remove printhead to clean, and got distracted, and never got back to it, still partially disassembled printhead mech, and probably have lost some pieces. Free, as-is, where is, upstate NY Contact me if you want to come get it. I’d rather see it go to somebody for parts or repair, than scrap.
-Bill
Sign Me Up Express
Thanks for the heads up Bill. I think I know a guy who might want your mother board… 🙂
if somebody wants it, I’d prefer they come get the entire thing.
Hello Eric, I have a problem with an epson stylus pro 9900, a few weeks ago I cleaned my head manually, when I reinstalled it everything worked, the problem started when they changed the ink in my cartridges, before installing them I reset them and also the printer, but at turning on marks an error in all the cartridges, however if I remove one it registers the other 9, but it asks me to install the remaining cartridge, I also wanted to apply a color cleaning and it shows me an error 1439. I need your help I already tried everything and nothing It works 😦 and I’m afraid I also tried to run ss cleanup but it doesn’t run. It points to the error mentioned above. Help 🙏
The annoying missing cart trick, brought to us by our favorite printer on earth. It’s a pretty random deal some run across after working under the hood of these beasts. Could be static discharge, nobody has nailed the reason. But the fix seems to be the mother board.
Hello,
I am not sure if you received my email requesting your video on the 9900 print head replacement. I did not get a confirmation.
Robert Weiss
Sorry Robert I was at a race. Sent you a response this am
Hi Eric,
I emailed you requesting the ServProg.exe file – will it be windows 10 compatible or do I need to find an old computer to use it with
Your email went to spam. Weird. I found it after getting this post and responded with links to software and manuals. Thanks for reaching out
Eric
Epson support tricked me into updating my firmware… Printer doesn’t recognize some carts that have been reset with a reset-chip tool. Where can I find, 2012/2013 firmware for the Stylus Pro 9890 for I can downgrade my firmware? Thanks!
Hi Eric I’m in search of a print head for my 7900 if you have any information on where I can purchase from would be greatly appreciated. Also
Call Epson directly. They have been the only source for new heads up until recently. Hopefully that has not changed
Hello Eric,
Where can I send you an email?
There’s an email contact link top right of this page, Pasc
Hi Eric
I just got myself an Pro Stylus 9890, but it hasen´t been used in a few years. I have a few questions. Do you know anything about this model?
Best regards Henrik/Denmark
9890s are very similar, email me directly and I’ll hook you up with some manuals
Hi Eric
Thank you.
Den tor. 14. apr. 2022 kl. 22.55 skrev MY X900 :
> Eric commented: “9890s are very similar, email me directly and I’ll hook > you up with some manuals” >
Hi Eric
I dont know how to email you directly, I cant find your email?
https://myx900.com/contact/
Hi Eric, great forum you have. Thanks for your tips and expert advise.
I am trying yo solve issues with my 9700 missing nozzles. The configuration of the nozzle check MMCCPkPkYYMkMk keeps failling randomly. I read that its due to ink back flow from pressure. Is there any way to stop this?
Email me directly brother I’ll send you some docs to help
Hi Eric, I rented your video instruction to prepare myself for a printhead replacement in a 9890. I hope you can help with the servprog.exe file. I send some emails to the mail link that you mention on this site but haven’t seen a response yet. Thanks for your help so far. The video is very helpful.
Thanks for the heads up Dirkjan. Found your email in the spam folder. Responded with the program. Thanks, Eric
Buona sera, avrei bisogno del tuo aiuto,ho un Epson Stylus Pro 7900, dopo aver smontato la testina di stampa per fare la pulizia approfondita con il detergente adatto dopo l’assemblaggio della pompa alla tesina ho fatto tutto delicatamente e ho messo i fili tutti al loro posto, appena o avviato la stampante non solo non mi riconosce le cartucce ma mi da il code 1439, come posso risolvere il problema grazie. Cordialmente Giuseppe Gangi
Hello.
I hope you could help me with a predicament.
I own an Epson SP 9900, and about 3 weeks ago a pink stripe has appeared in every print. This stripe is located around 16mm from the border of the paper where the printhead starts the job, and it appears no matter what combination of paper or color profile I use.
The strange thing is that if I left a margin of 17mm for the print to start, the stripe does no appear anymore on the rest of the print no matter if it’s a 4×6” or a 30×40”.
Since this problem started nozzles clogged more frequently.
Also since 3 days ago the yellow color has clogged partially and no cleaning cicle is able to solve it.
Apart form this the machine has worked flawlessly for about 6 years.
A guy at Inkjet Mall was kind enough to answer an email I sent them and told me that this indicates a pre-delamination of the print-head and It’s on its way to going kaput.
Please if anyone here has experienced a similar problem, tell me if there is a solution other than changing the printhead or if you think the pre-delamination diagnosis is accurate.
Several head alignments have been done and changing the suction of the paper with no success.
Best regards to everyone.
Hi Eric, I am about to chase a problem on my Epson Pro 9900 (error 1439 the home position of the cap not detected) and was about to buy the servprog.exe on Ebay and then I came across your website and thought… for $40 bucks more I get a head replacement video and the servprog.exe with you – is this correct?
I understand i don’t have head problem at this time, however I do have a spare 9900 with a head problem and I want the servprog.exe to potentially force a firmware upgrade.
Thanks,
Simon
Yes Simon. With the video rental I send you the program. Also field and service manuals for your specific machine. Just email me after you rent and I’ll take care of you
Hello Eric, I have just purchased the rental, please email the servprog.exe when you can. Thanks!
Hello Eric,
My printer 9700’s matte black will have half gap on nozzle check after printing 1 file, later I will matte black cleaning (powerful mode) it will show clean nozzle check then I’ll print fine for 1 file, after that, matte black ink will have gap again, I change the damper already before and it work for few months, then the gap happened again, is it the dampers or pump station have problem, I bought a new capping station set but no idea how to install it and don’t know if that’s the problem.
I don’t think the printer head is the problem because it shows clean nozzle check after some powerful clean. I need your opinion
Hi Eric, My husband removed a printhead in 7900 to clean it. After reinstalling doing head cleaning, nozzle check etc. He went to fill the cartridges. He has the same error and I’ve seen others have which is upon putting in the 11th cartridge it says cannot recognize cartridges —all of them. Do you know the solution? If so I will gladly pay the $45
email me off this site Jennifer. I’ll send you some helpful docs.
Eric
Hello and thank you for this informative page!
I just had my 7900 printhead out for cleaning. I have done so succesfully on another 7900, but this time, after reinstalling, it prints only BLANK pages. NO trace of ink at all..
How do I determine whether it is a bad cable connection to the print head, or if it is missing pressure/ink flow..?
Thanks a lot
Ronald
Hi Ronald. Sorry for your challenge here. You could be firing blanks for lots of reasons. It’s important to diagnose from the most basic reasons, to the most complex. IE, when your car suddenly stops running, don’t check the transmission. Check the gas tank. So in your case here, check if the head has ink. Shine a flashlight on the lines just before the head and see if you can see air gaps. That’s a good step 1
Thank you for the advice.
When you talk about lines just before the head.. do you mean the intakes on the back of the head or on the lines coming out of the damper assembly?
Follow the lines as far as they stretch, check everywhere. But especially closer to the head.
Oh, ai was assuming you wanted me to look with the flashlight while the dampers were disconnected from the head.. but you mean inspecting with the flashlight while both print head and damper assembly is installed..?
I will do so first thing tomorrow!
So, I just checked the ink lines, and there is no air trapped in the tubes.
I realized that I had missed tightening two screws close to the connection between the damper assembly and the print head and hoped that caused a pressure leak or something, but that has not helped.
Should I try to do a ‘Power clean’ to rebuild pressure?
I am afraid that I did something bad to the electronics/contacts. I read somewhere that can cause blank pages without any error messages..
Update: After installing brand new maintenance tank I realize that NO INK is coming through to either print head or maintenance tank.
There seems to be lots of ink in the cartridges and in the tubes all the way to the print head, but how can I be certain?
Does anybody have an idea on how to troubleshoot this?
I’d try power cleaning next. You can read what Power Cleans do on this page: https://myx900.com/cleaning-cycles/
Thanks, Eric.
I did try that. No ink is coming through the heads or even to the waste ink (still looks new after several tries..)
I took the whole printer apart. The pressure pump on the back seems to work.
I wonder if it is a pump that sits on the two tubes going to the drain?
Does that have any effect on the ink going to the head?
Hello Eric,
I need some advice, everty time I do nozzle check, one half of the Vivid magenta lines is blank, anything I can do? Thank you
Daniel Elma
What machine Daniel?
Thank you for your reply, Epson 9700, refurbished bought in Asia, PX-F10000, I bought a new printer head already DX6 still waiting for it to arrive, I plan to rent your video on how to install, I have no experience , hope all things go well
I took out the printer head and soak it in solution, but still the same result blank magenta, I think over used my printer head
It’s usually under-use that breaks these heads, but anything is possible. They are fragile beasts. If you’ve already removed the head, you’ve gone beyond any experimental advice I can offer you. Typically I tell people to do pairs cleanings in service mode, and compare a series of nozzle patterns. After pars cleanings and multiple patterns printed, compare them to see where you stand. If there is slight improvement, keep going. If there is no improvement, your head is probably dead. If the problem is worse, your head is definitely dead.
Should be definitely dead, because I clean it many times and always same blank result, I’m also wishing for slight change but no, for the installation of the head, does it apply on all version? Because I bought my head from China and I doubt it’s plug and play, so I will rely on your tutorial when it came. Thank you for your reply Eric
You should be fine Daniel. But if you’ve already removed your head and reinstalled it, you really don’t need the video
Hi, what means SS cleaning? Thanks
Follow this link: https://myx900.com/ss-cleanings/
Hi Eric,
Gday from Australia, Just rented your video and am waiting for new heads to turn up, I noticed you say that you can help with the servprog.exe program I’m sure I’m going to need these for 9900 and 9890 (I’m doing a total of 4 machines) if you can help with that that would be awesome! Not sure what you need from me to prove rental? Let me know cheers Geoff (I also sent email but maybe check junk mail folder)
Email me directly and I’ll take care of you brother.
Eric
Eric, I did at eric@gotagteam.com, but got no reply is that the right address?
I got nothing. Will check spam now
Yup, found you in the spam folder. Check your email I just sent you all you need and more. Good luck Geoff
How tick/gram are your media? Have you tried to adjust platten gap from normal to wide/wider?
Hello Eric,
I have a 8yr old 9890 that gets used 10-15 times a year, only printing luster media. My prints are now showing a 1/2 wide horizontal strip about 1 inch down from the start of my print. My nozzle checks all come back good. I tried turning off high speed mode as well as printing in the highest resolution. Still getting the same strip in the same spot. You think this would only need a print head replacement?
Also, is this the only part I would need?
https://printheadprice.com/epson-printhead/epson-9890-print-head-dx6-f191010-f191040.html
I have had a 9900 for seven years now. It hardly gets used. I used to do some canvases on it every so often, now it only gets fired up a few times a year. It still makes great prints, but it is incessantly going through cleaning cycles. I fired it up after four months and most of the colour pairs were blocked. One regular cleaning got most of it, then a colour pair cleared up the rest. But I just sent it a total of 30 16 inch by 7 inch prints, and the damn thing must have gone through at least 13 cleaning cycles on its own during print run. This run alone used up about 7 per cent of the maintenance tanks. I had to switch left and right just to use up the last few per cent.
I don’t do much printing these days, so what do I do? It still works, but the never ending cleaning cycles are bankrupting me every time I use it. Every time I turn it on, it burns through about $20 of ink just to clean itself. Help?
Hi, Thanks for this blog.
I had an issue with trying to unclog my 4900 which may have ended up being a bad ink damper or head. I put it in the back room and bought a Canon iPF 6450. That was 2 years ago. Overall I like the Canon. I love reprinting things from the hard drive. The prints are at least 95% as nice as the Epson. The clogging/head issues are 5% of the Epson. I have replaced one of the heads ( after 2 years of fairly heavy use, for $340 and ~ 5 minutes). I could have probably extended the head’s life based on what I now know. The main thing I miss from the 4900 is its great handling of both rolls and cut sheets. The Canon seems fine with rolls but cut sheets must be individually and laboriously loaded., ie one at a time with multiple button pushes per sheet to keep the thing going. I had some production jobs that I printed on the 4900 where I could load 100 sheets of 17 x 22″ paper and it would make 100 prints with only a little help with the output stack. Anybody know of a 24″ printer that can handle cut sheets like that?
So I pulled it out and plugged it in yesterday and no, no miraculous cures but I was surprised how quickly I got it back to about where it was when I abandoned it over two years ago (and I did nothing special to store it). Most colors missing a few segments, but zero ink printing on black.
Unless someone has a high probability fix up their sleeve I don’t think I’ll try to fix it. Instead of dumping it I’d be willing to sell it cheap, or parts off it, say for someone wanting to set up an alternate ink system that does not need all 10 channels etc. I’m in Alaska so sending the whole thing would be expensive, but I’d be glad to dissect it for any parts.
Jim
Hi Eric
I sent you an email and I’m desperately in need of a response. After watching the printhead replacement video I’m now having no ink at all. Machine has no error codes. I can not find the servgpro.exe. I have two machines and both are responding the same.
I must point out I have flushed the heads and not replaced with new.
Thanks
I found your email in the spam folder. Strange. I can give you the program but the program is not why you are firing blanks. I don’t know what you did, but your email says you have not bought a new head yet. So I assume you removed your original heads to clean them or something. This could have gotten air in your lines. Or if you did not reassemble the machine properly you may have no pressure in the lines. Like I said I don’t know what you did. Seems to be more than simply watching the video and now suddenly both your machines don’t work. Tell me more in email, I will respond there now as well.
Hello my name is Ken and I am haveing the same EXACT problem as this fellow. can you help me please.
Ken
Ken, have you taken your head out and forced ink through it to flush it? That’s a risky thing to do – kind of like jumping out of an airplane holding a bed sheet over your head as a parachute. Might work in theory, but in reality….
Take a flashlight, shine it on your lines in front of the carriage going into the head. Can you see air in the lines? If not you probably have ink in your head. If you have ink in your head, and you have pressure, and it’s not firing, and all your wires and ground are fastened properly, you most likely killed your head parachuting into the jungle