Reviving an old Epson Inkjet

[contink]

Just had a PM from one user with a couple of old Epson printers and given that:
a) his PM box is full
b) this is probably going to be quite useful for other folks
c) this is getting to be a common question

... I figured I'd post this up as a general guide to getting your Epson inkjet working again.

Required items:
- a cleaning solution* (my version)
- a lot of patience

Optional:
- Some refillable cartridges (fill with cleaning solution)
OR
- some flushed and refilled cartridges (with cleaning solution)


Ok... the whole process is pretty simple stuff.

1. Get the printhead unlocked and off the parking pad area.
Usually you do this by turning on the printer, wait for it to start going through the priming routine, moving off the pad and then yanking the power cable out. Easy


2. Soak a pad of kitchen towel in cleaning fluid and then place it on the parking pad then carefully push the printhead carriage unit back into park position making sure the pad remains underneath.
Note: Not too thick with the pad.. folded three or four times is plenty

This allows the cleaning solution to wick up into the printhead nozzles and really requires you to leave it overnight.


3. If you've managed to get some cartridges refilled with cleaning fluid then install those in the printer and leave them in... This allows the fluid to work on the ink receivers which will also be clogged. So you end up with solution working on clogs from both sides of the problem.
If you have a printer that's sat without cartridges for longer than a week or so this is no longer optional because the receivers will be clogged solid!

Hint: Always leave cartridges installed in any "stored" printers to reduce the chance of clogged receivers


4. Replace the fluid soaked pad in the morning with a fresh one and then leave for a further 12 hours.


5. Remove the pad, run a single cleaning routine and a nozzle check.
Hint: Never run more than two cleaning routines at a time. Epsons do different types/"strengths" of cleaning routines for the first 2 or 3 routines. Printing something/anything resets this to the first type which wastes less ink, which with a bag clog is all you need.


6. Print off a test purge print (4 colums of colour) and you'll hopefully see some ink colour or fluid being ejected in the appropriate pattern.
Ref: http://www.inksupply.com/html/zip/purge.zip (purge patterns)


7. Personally I go with another solution soaked pad for another 24 hours followed by another single cleaning routine and nozzle check and you're usually good to go..


The trick is to be patient and let the solution work its magic which of course takes time and a lack of user fiddling



If your printer is showing "service required" then you're going to need to reset the waste ink counter (in most cases the SSC utility does the trick)

...and fit a waste ink tank which is what I've been specialising in recently..
Ref: Waste Ink Kits for Epson Inkjet printers


That's about it really... Obviously if a unit has not been stored in a dry, protected environment then it's likely that rust and other problems may have crept in and made the whole exercise a waste of time so a little common sense may save you a lot of work for nothing.


Just to state the obvious, I am the face behind the Octoinkjet store so whilst this could be construed as a commercial posting I've had a couple of questions about this and similar printer issues already so I'm saving my poor fingers from repeating this again.


As for the cleaning fluid, that was a nightmare to source so if you do find something better, let me know

Hope that helps..

[Earthling]

Why on earth would anyone want to do this anyway?

Laser printers are so dirt-cheap these days, buy one, when the toner runs out, chuck it away and buy another.....or buy another toner cartridge, run that out, then chuck it away, get a newer model.

All that cleaning rigmarole, and all you end up with is an obsolete Epson inkjet, that needs cleaning again in six months.

[contink]

Why on earth would anyone want to do this anyway?

For art departments that have paid out for an R1800 or one of the other more expensive inkjets it makes a lot of sense as the colours, vividness, etc... are much better than you're ever going to get with any of the current stock of lasers. So, it makes a lot of sense for some but as always it's all up to the individual

Laser printers are so dirt-cheap these days, buy one, when the toner runs out, chuck it away and buy another.....or buy another toner cartridge, run that out, then chuck it away, get a newer model.

Excellent strategy for burying ourselves in electronic waste.

All that cleaning rigmarole, and all you end up with is an obsolete Epson inkjet, that needs cleaning again in six months.

LOL... Oh dear.. No offense but the newer Epson printers coming out now are failing at a much quicker rate than the older ones like the R300. Those are still good printers that can continue to work.

Just because Epson have brought out a clean, sparkly new toy doesn't mean we should all go out and buy one. All individual though

[jimmy_2k]

And this is why I ditched my Old Epson Stylus printer for an HP Laserjet 1010 back in 2004. Best printer i've ever had and just shows how often you really need to print colour. For me twice in 5 years!