Horizontal Lines on ET-8550 Color Print

[William Baroo3 2]

I bought an Epson ET-8550. I am using plain paper to test it and Epson something or other luster paper for actual prints. I have run two prints on good paper. I have done horizontal and vertical alignments. I have run nozzle checks and a nozzle clean. I am getting thin white lines about one inch apart on an 8 x10 photo, and AI thought this was a horizontal alignment issue.

Any idea what's happening?

 

[TJMcG140 23]

Is this a new printer?
On two occasions, I have had a single line in a print, and a head cleaning fixed it. I would suggest you call Epson support, although I have not had to deal with them and don't know how good they are. It does sound like an alignment problem, but may not be.

This is what ChatGPT says:
Thin white lines at regular spacing usually aren’t alignment. That’s classic Epson banding from partial nozzle dropout or paper feed issues. Even if the nozzle check looks OK, one or two nozzles can misfire intermittently and create evenly spaced white lines.
Try:
• 2–3 head cleanings max (with time between them)
• Power off overnight, then recheck
• Set paper thickness to Thick and increase the platen gap
• Turn High Speed OFF (forces unidirectional printing)
• Make sure the media setting exactly matches the paper

 

[William Baroo3 2]

It is brand new. I have an inquiry in to Epson. I have read that this is a common issue.

 

[TJMcG140 23]

It is brand new. I have an inquiry in to Epson. I have read that this is a common issue.

That's what the chatbot says, although I have had great luck with my ET 8550. I have rarely had to run head cleaning, although if you run it, and it doesn't clear after a couple of times, you have to leave it overnight and then run nozzle check again. It has worked for me both times I needed to do that. Mine is over three years old.

 

[William Baroo3 2]

I just cranked out a print, and it's not good. It's better than good. It's gorgeous.

It turns out this printer, for all the sophistication of the machinery, does not have the greatest native software. The printer basically sets itself up, until you get to the point where you need to use it, and then Epson abandons you and lets you cope with the software settings in Windows, your photo software, and Epson's mess.

I was printing too fast. Naturally, there is a setting in the software that says "Click This to Slow Down for High Quality." NO THERE ISN'T. There's a box that says something like "Bidirectional Printing." You uncheck it, and the printer works. Now it takes about three years to print a photo, but the quality is perfect.