epson printer problems

[imported_OWDouglas]

Last March I bought a cx4600, after the ink ran out I replaced them with an after market brand. It worked great until I did not use it for about 2 weeks. Now it wll not print, I tried cleaning the nossels it will print black only, very light, then stop again. Has anyone else had this problem? if so what was the resolve. Thanks.

 

[DUMBDOG]

I have a Brother ink jet combination printer, fax, scanner, etc. It worked fine until I used aftermarket ink in it. Ink started running, makes a mess, now the only thing that it is good for is sending a fax.

 

[Phils]

I've had the exact same problem. A few times. But only when I tried using aftermarket ink refills.

Epson also seems to be particularly vulnerable to the ink jets drying out/plugging up when the printer hasn't been used for a few weeks. I'd say it's a combo of both for you.

Phil

 

[Glenn9643]

I have a CX6600 that I bought a few months ago. I've found that if I don't print with it for a few days it requires a nozzle cleaning. I've not used any aftermarket inks in it. So far a cleaning gives me decent printing.

 

[Nasty135]

Douglas, One of the things that plagues all inkjets is low humidity and non-use issues, They dry out and some ink hardens in the nozzle, Sometimes with a printhead cartridge (printhead embedded in cartridge)First remove cartridge from printer then you blot a wet paper towel under the printhead it may soften the dried ink enough to let the ink flow again. If this doesn't work you can try to put water into a dish just enough to cover the bottom and set the cartridge in it to soak for awhile to loosen the ink and blot clean. If neither of these work the cartridge is either empty or defective....

For the type of printer that the printhead remains in the printer ie; epson you can try to clean the printhead manually by getting the printhead carriage in the open where you can reach it , If it will not slide out to a neutral position with any use of the software print a test page and pull the power when it is in the middle of the paper .... Then you will need to get a strong paper towel or cloth that you can dampen well , and slide it under the printhead between it and the roller and rubbing back and forth until it comes out clean(several cleanings) This should do it /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[rlk]

I had the same problem with an Epson C82 a year or so ago, except I had my Epson cartridges refilled. The first couple of cartridges worked o.k., but the more I printed the worse the quality became. The printer finally stopped printing altogether. I took it to a shop for them to look at it. They told me to scrap it as it would cost $50 just to analyze the problem. That plus whatever parts were needed for repair would not make it cost advantageous to fix.

The C82 was a great printer - I believe there was something about the ink that was used in the refilled cartridges that caused the problems.

Bob

 

[Soundguy]

I agree with nasty.. except that I use alcohol or ether to try to clean the print heads

Good luck.

For what it's worth.. we use a bunch of brother laser devices.. like printers and MFC's. I once tried to use staples brand ( new.. not remanufactured) toner cartridges, and the print quality on the brother MFC's dropped to nil.. had to go back to brother cartridges, and get a new drum... go figure... Brother must have figured out how to make their machines sense other brands of consumables /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Soundguy

 

[Lazy]

Hi
I had the same problem with a c-82 and the cx4600 this year. On both printers I did all the diagnostics and head cleaning then call Epson, they replaced both printers no charge and even paid for the shipping. I was told I should always turn off the printer when not using them and always use Epson Ink. For what the Ink cost they should give you a printer just for buying their Ink

Charlie

 

[Nasty135]

Nice to have a warranty /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Lazy]

Hi
The 82 was out of warranty and the 4600 was within 2 weeks of going out of warranty The folks I talked to were very nice and eager to help resolve the problem.

Charlie.