Where are you from Phil? :) It would be nice to know :)
Well, have you tried cleaning? But first try the nozzle check and see what nozzles are missing. You can download the maintenance manual from the ColorPainter group at YahooGroups. If you don't want to bother, just email me, i can send it to You.
But first, try cleaning, normal, then print the nozzle check (press online to go offline, press the sequence Cancel, Shift, Cancel, Cancel, to enter the maintenance mode, then it asks for password, which is another sequence - Shift, Up, Down, Right - and then you will have the H.MNT menu (Left arrow) and the first option there is NOZZLE CHECK. Print it and see how many nozzles are in fact missing from your head. Press Online afterwards to leave Maintenance Mode.
If many - phone up with your service guy, if not many, try FILL CAP (as in the normal manual) and after some time (a night maybe) - try cleaning, again (of course first do the CAP CLEAN and WIPER CLEAN which are very important).
And make sure your head hasn't struck any rippled media very hard ;)
remember black is the first head printed and therefore the first head to ctach the media or any other problems as the head travels out of the capping station. if you have continual problems, look at the environmental conditions, as tempertature & humidity can have a major influence.
Recently, ie on friday, we had a problem that some fluff from an earlier printed banner (it was a wide roll cut in half by our supplier, so there was a lot of fluff at the edges) was stuck to the side of the carriage and the cyan head - it was causing a hell lot of problems and no cleaning helped. We had to switch on the CAP CLEAN option and then have access to the bottom of the carriage there on the right side where the wipers are. Then we could wipe the bottom, get all the fluff away, clean it a little, and of course it helped.
real black
, it's look like the head had some blocked nozzles.
?
