Dried up ink?

[sippo]

I have been given an EPSON C68 inkjet printer for personal use, and even though I've put brand new cartridges in no ink is printed. I've cleaned the printer heads through the maintenance software, but any tips on how to clean them manually?

[CyberNerd]

go speak with the science techs and get some ethanol/methanol/isopropanol. dab some of the solvent onto the inkjet head with a cotton bud. only a small amount of solvent.

[lightinthedark]

Alternatively (if you're not on friendly terms with the science techs?) I have used nail varnish remover in the past which has worked well for me. Just a quick wipe and it should work better.

[plexer]

Thats the trouble with the epson printers the heads are in the carriage and not the carts so if they dry up they can be a bugger to clean.

Isopropyl is your best bet.

Ben

[contink]

go speak with the science techs and get some ethanol/methanol/isopropanol. dab some of the solvent onto the inkjet head with a cotton bud. only a small amount of solvent.

Nooo!!! Schtop that printhead is not ready yet!

You want to avoid anything with alcohol in it because it dries out the ink in the printhead nozzles and actually promotes clogging in the future. Some folks do recommend Isopropanol alcohol but I honestly wouldn't.

Instead what you need is a weak ammoniated solution or something that's been formulated specifically for dissolving ink blocks. I've got just the stuff for the C6x models (used it to great success on various C8x and CX models) if you want something that will definitely work but I'm not trying to sell on here so by all means look around.

In terms of using it to get the printhead declogged the way to use it is described here:
Reviving an old Epson Inkjet