Cleaning Epson Print Heads

By Author: Barry Shultz
Total Articles: 6
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Epson print heads are not removable by the user so I found a procedure that works
most of the time. Epson does not support this procedure so only use it if
you are ready to buy another printer or send yours in for repair.

The Windex Solution For Unclogging Epson Print Heads

Tools needed:

1 - 10cc Injector
1 - 4" - 5" of fish tank air line tubing (Wal*Mart fish department)
Windex (No Drip works best)

We are going to flush the print head out with the Windex cleaner.
Some people from outside the US may not know about Windex. It is a
popular window cleaner sold here in the US.

Cut four or five inches of fish tank air line tubing and attach it to the end
of the injector, remove the needle first. Pull 3 - 5 cc of Windex into the
injector. Hold the injector so that the tubing is pointing up and push the
plunger a little until all the air is out of the tubing. You don't want to inject
any air into the cartridge. Put this assembly aside for now.

Turn your printer on and hold down the paper feed button until the carriage ...
... moves to the cartridge change position. Unplug the printer. This is important, you don't want the carriage to move in the middle of the procedure.

Remove the cartridge that is giving you trouble. Look inside the carriage cavity for a small post that would normally be inserted into the ink port of the cartridge, in other words the post that supplies ink to the print head. You may need a flashlight to see it.

Attach the other end of the tubing (which is attached to the injector) to
the post inside the carriage cavity. Be very careful not to break the post.
If you do, GAME OVER. There is very little room to work but do the best you can. Try to get the tubing on the post firmly for an airtight connection. Slowly inject about 2cc of the Windex solution into the print head. Some of the Windex might leak out around the post, just try to get at least 2 cc
injected into the print head. It may offer resistance, just be patient.
Repeat this procedure for any other color that is not printing. Make sure
to wash the tubing between each color.

Put in a brand new cartridge, not refilled. Don't ignore this step or chances are the procedure will fail. New generic cartridges are ok.

Move the carriage back to the right position and plug in the printer. Run
three cleaning cycles with a nozzle check before and after. If there is
still a problem try running another three cleaning cycles. Then try a
test print. If it still has problems let the printer sit over night and repeat
the procedure. If the second day procedure fails then it's time for the
Epson repair shop, or buy a new one.

Sometimes this procedure will not work, we're not sure why. It may be
because there are other problems with the printer, not just clogged
nozzles.


About the Author Barry Shultz is the author of Atlascopy News, and President of Atlascopy, Inc. Atlascopy specialized in affordable alternatives to the high cost of printer supplies. Sign up for the Atlascopy Newsletter and get 10% coupons every week in your email. http://atlascopy.com/signup_new.htm
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