Printer Down, Updates Inside
A Quick Shop Update
Product restocks, new designs, and new products are on the way — but my printer is currently clogged and needs a few days of maintenance before I can get back at it.
What's Going On
I literally just finished printing new products yesterday and everything was working perfectly. Then, out of nowhere, the cyan stopped printing. Then the magenta. Black and yellow are still great, but cyan and magenta are both out. No clue what happened.
To make things more interesting, I ran three print head cleans trying to fix it — which, as I now know, can actually make things worse. Nobody I know who owns this printer has ever dealt with this, so I was flying blind. And yet, here I am. Lol.
The unclogging process can take multiple days because the printer needs 12 to 24 hours of rest between each purge session, so this isn't a quick fix. I'm on it though.
What I Learned (So You Don't Have To)
Printers are like cars and airplanes — they need to be used consistently. And when something goes wrong: do NOT run print head cleans first. Avoid them first. They waste a lot of ink. Especially power cleaning, these are a LAST RESORT.
The correct process, which I learned from JenniferMaker (her video and site have been a lifesaver during this — I wish I had found her first), goes like this:
To prevent clogs: Print CMYK test sheets (from Jennifer Maker), one page per color (5 total), once a week.
If a clog happens:
Print a nozzle check sheet
Print a purge sheet in the affected color up to five times on your best quality settings
If it's still not right, let the printer rest 12 to 24 hours
After resting, always start with a nozzle check sheet
Repeat daily with 12 to 24 hours rest between sessions until it's resolved
Instructions are from JenniferMaker — I don't own them, just passing along what's been helpful.
So yeah, I’m in the thick of it.
