...we also cleaned out the plastic Ink damper. I believe the feed from the ink cartridges to the head is by pressure on the bag inside of the cartriges that pushes the ink though the lines to the damper and then to the print head. Please correct me if im wrong...
What is the purpose of the dampers and if the dampers got damaged how would they not let ink flow, cleaner fluid flows though them with force but not on their own.
I don't think anyone really answered your questions completely so I will try. Ink feed is by vacuum not pressure. There is a pump connected to the capping station that pulls ink through for cleaning the heads and priming the lines.
The dampers serve a few purposes.
One, there is a very small filter in them which obviously filters the ink. If it gets clogged you aren't going to get any ink flow.
Two, they will serve as the vacuum to suck ink through the lines. There is a very thin flexible side with a metal 'spring'. Look closely at the damper, you will see the side is slightly concave. If not, I'd replace the dampers. Probably something you should do anyway.
Three, They serve as a ink buffer for the heads. Unlike desktop inkjet printers the ink cartridges do not sit directly on top of the heads. The dampers store a little bit of ink for the head to use and refills on it's own as needed.
They should be approximately half full at any given time. If not there is an air leak somewhere. I've never tried it but I don't think cleaning fluid or ink will freely flow through a damper using gravity alone. Assuming you removed the dampers to clean them.
Are you getting any ink at all? Even with a nozzle check?
