Unclogging printer

bjaynes RemoveThis @montanaport.net wrote:
>
> Hello,
> Someone has donated an Epson 2200 that has been out of use for quite a
> while maybe a year or more. I can't get it to produce a good nozzle
> check pattern despite many cleanings. I suppose it is clogged; status
> monitor says all the carts are above 20% full. Is this something worth
> pursuing?
> Bill


Hello, Bill:

Here's what I did, on my Stylus Photo 825, a few times:

Concocted a 50%/50% mixture of ammonia and Isopropyl alcohol (70-99%)
and injected it into the original (empty) Epson color and black
cartridges. (My Stratitec EIR500S refill kit's syringe was quite
handy, for this task.)

Stuck them in the machine, ran a couple of cleaning cycles, printed
a "nozzle check pattern," and was happy to see that all six colors
were "firing." Then, I put the Insten (generic) carts back in, and
did some more cleaning cycles/nozzle check patterns. (The entire
process may involve a large number of them, so, be patient.)

I came across this method, while doing a Google Groups search, late in
2004; the article's author was Arthur Entlich, if I recall correctly.

Good luck!


Cordially,
John Turco <jtur RemoveThis @concentric.net>
 >> Stay informed about: Unclogging printer 

JohnR66 wrote:
>
> <bjaynes DeleteThis @montanaport.net> wrote in message
> news:1155748137.121962.308430@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> > Hello,
> > Someone has donated an Epson 2200 that has been out of use for quite a
> > while maybe a year or more. I can't get it to produce a good nozzle
> > check pattern despite many cleanings. I suppose it is clogged; status
> > monitor says all the carts are above 20% full. Is this something worth
> > pursuing?
> > Bill
> >
> I had the Epson 820 photo with 6 inks. Produced beautiful prints, but I had
> to waste half the ink in cleaning (yes I turned it off at its own power
> switch). I had to remove two screws and two sets of ribbon cable to pull the
> head out. Soaked a rag in alcohal and wipped down the head. Put it back in
> and ran a couple more cleanings and it was fine - until the next time!
>
> I got mad one day and pitched it in the trash. I haven't regretted that yet.
> John


Hello, John:

As an often-frustrated owner of the Stylus Photo 825, I can hardly blame
you.

Epson is the evilest of empires!


Cordially,
John Turco <jtur DeleteThis @concentric.net>
 >> Stay informed about: Unclogging printer 

JohnR66 wrote:
>
> "judy" <jdytart.DeleteThis@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
>
> What printer do you use now? I'm waiting for the day my current Epson's
> nozzles clog to find a different printer.
>
> Judy

<edited, for brevity>

> I don't do my own photos anymore. I just take them somewhere. It is actually
> cheaper than the rip-off ink cartridges, but I have less control over the
> output.
> John


Hello, John:

If you're willing to deal with the hassles of refilling your empty
cartridges, home-brewed photos might be less expensive than commercial
ones, and also allow the "output control" you want.

Still, you can easily edit and crop digital images, before having them
printed -- which means that you won't be losing full control, in any
event.


Cordially,
John Turco <jtur.DeleteThis@concentric.net>
 >> Stay informed about: Unclogging printer 

John Turco wrote:

> JohnR66 wrote:
>
>><bjaynes DeleteThis @montanaport.net> wrote in message
>>news:1155748137.121962.308430@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>>
>>>Hello,
>>>Someone has donated an Epson 2200 that has been out of use for quite a
>>>while maybe a year or more. I can't get it to produce a good nozzle
>>>check pattern despite many cleanings. I suppose it is clogged; status
>>>monitor says all the carts are above 20% full. Is this something worth
>>>pursuing?
>>>Bill
>>>
>>
>>I had the Epson 820 photo with 6 inks. Produced beautiful prints, but I had
>>to waste half the ink in cleaning (yes I turned it off at its own power
>>switch). I had to remove two screws and two sets of ribbon cable to pull the
>>head out. Soaked a rag in alcohal and wipped down the head. Put it back in
>>and ran a couple more cleanings and it was fine - until the next time!
>>
>>I got mad one day and pitched it in the trash. I haven't regretted that yet.
>>John
>
>
>
> Hello, John:
>
> As an often-frustrated owner of the Stylus Photo 825, I can hardly blame
> you.
>
> Epson is the evilest of empires!

If you can ever get to where you get a decent print & can lock it in so
it's repeatable, it would be worth investing in a continuous flow bulk
ink system.
 >> Stay informed about: Unclogging printer 

no_name wrote:
>
> John Turco wrote:
>
> > JohnR66 wrote:

<edited, for brevity>

> >>I got mad one day and pitched it in the trash. I haven't regretted that yet.
> >>John
> >
> >
> >
> > Hello, John:
> >
> > As an often-frustrated owner of the Stylus Photo 825, I can hardly blame
> > you.
> >
> > Epson is the evilest of empires!
>
> If you can ever get to where you get a decent print & can lock it in so
> it's repeatable, it would be worth investing in a continuous flow bulk
> ink system.


Hello, no_name:

Would such a system prevent the print head from clogging, though? As
long as its ink is flowing freely, my 825 invariably generates dazzling
results, which are far more than merely "decent."


Cordially,
John Turco <jtur DeleteThis @concentric.net>
 >> Stay informed about: Unclogging printer 

On 8/16/06 9:48 PM, in article 9WPEg.7233$MZ.4230@trndny04, "Dave Cohen"
<user.DeleteThis@example.net> wrote:

> bjaynes.DeleteThis@montanaport.net wrote:
>> Hello,
>> Someone has donated an Epson 2200 that has been out of use for quite a
>> while maybe a year or more. I can't get it to produce a good nozzle
>> check pattern despite many cleanings. I suppose it is clogged; status
>> monitor says all the carts are above 20% full. Is this something worth
>> pursuing?
>> Bill
>>
> I'm not familiar with the Epson. I had a Lexmark and had limited success
> by soaking the head in a pool of ammonia solution (use a jar cover or
> empty jar). I found this such a pain compared to my laser printer that I
> chucked the ink jet and upload images to an on-line service. Laser
> printers run for ever and I can live without color.
> Dave Cohen


I had a similar problem with my Canon i850- all of a sudden photos were
coming out magenta colored. It took about 6 print head cleaning cycles
including 3 deep cleanings (using up 2 of the 3 color cartridges in the
process) but it finally solved the problem just before I was ready to buy a
new printer.
Alan
 >> Stay informed about: Unclogging printer 

>> bjaynes.RemoveThis@montanaport.net wrote:
>>> Hello,
>>> Someone has donated an Epson 2200 that has been out of use for quite a
>>> while maybe a year or more. I can't get it to produce a good nozzle
>>> check pattern despite many cleanings. I suppose it is clogged; status
>>> monitor says all the carts are above 20% full. Is this something worth
>>> pursuing?
>>> Bill

Find an empty cartridge for that printer.
Use a syringe to fill the cartridge with WINDEX
( some swear by ammonia )

Install cartridge, and run the printer thru several cleaning cycles.
If it's a multi-cartridge printer,
just move the cartridge from color to color.


<rj>
 >> Stay informed about: Unclogging printer 

Alan Briker wrote:
>
> On 8/16/06 9:48 PM, in article 9WPEg.7233$MZ.4230@trndny04, "Dave Cohen"
> <user RemoveThis @example.net> wrote:
>
> > bjaynes RemoveThis @montanaport.net wrote:
> >> Hello,
> >> Someone has donated an Epson 2200 that has been out of use for quite a
> >> while maybe a year or more. I can't get it to produce a good nozzle
> >> check pattern despite many cleanings. I suppose it is clogged; status
> >> monitor says all the carts are above 20% full. Is this something worth
> >> pursuing?
> >> Bill
> >>
> > I'm not familiar with the Epson. I had a Lexmark and had limited success
> > by soaking the head in a pool of ammonia solution (use a jar cover or
> > empty jar). I found this such a pain compared to my laser printer that I
> > chucked the ink jet and upload images to an on-line service. Laser
> > printers run for ever and I can live without color.
> > Dave Cohen
>
> I had a similar problem with my Canon i850- all of a sudden photos were
> coming out magenta colored. It took about 6 print head cleaning cycles
> including 3 deep cleanings (using up 2 of the 3 color cartridges in the
> process) but it finally solved the problem just before I was ready to buy a
> new printer.
> Alan


Hello, Alan:

You should probably buy an inexpensive inkjet refill kit and some
cheap, generic cartridges, and then use them just to run cleaning
cycles.


Cordially,
John Turco <jtur RemoveThis @concentric.net>
 >> Stay informed about: Unclogging printer 

In article <44FCFAC4.23631CFD DeleteThis @concentric.net>,
John Turco <jtur DeleteThis @concentric.net> wrote:

> Alan Briker wrote:
> >
> > On 8/16/06 9:48 PM, in article 9WPEg.7233$MZ.4230@trndny04, "Dave Cohen"
> > <user DeleteThis @example.net> wrote:
> >
> > > bjaynes DeleteThis @montanaport.net wrote:
> > >> Hello,
> > >> Someone has donated an Epson 2200 that has been out of use for quite a
> > >> while maybe a year or more. I can't get it to produce a good nozzle
> > >> check pattern despite many cleanings. I suppose it is clogged; status
> > >> monitor says all the carts are above 20% full. Is this something worth
> > >> pursuing?
> > >> Bill
> > >>
> > > I'm not familiar with the Epson. I had a Lexmark and had limited success
> > > by soaking the head in a pool of ammonia solution (use a jar cover or
> > > empty jar). I found this such a pain compared to my laser printer that I
> > > chucked the ink jet and upload images to an on-line service. Laser
> > > printers run for ever and I can live without color.
> > > Dave Cohen
> >
> > I had a similar problem with my Canon i850- all of a sudden photos were
> > coming out magenta colored. It took about 6 print head cleaning cycles
> > including 3 deep cleanings (using up 2 of the 3 color cartridges in the
> > process) but it finally solved the problem just before I was ready to buy a
> > new printer.
> > Alan
>
>
> Hello, Alan:
>
> You should probably buy an inexpensive inkjet refill kit and some
> cheap, generic cartridges, and then use them just to run cleaning
> cycles.
>
>
> Cordially,
> John Turco <jtur DeleteThis @concentric.net>

Or you could simply print off a picture once a week or so. This would
probably take less ink than a full cleaning and test cycle.
 >> Stay informed about: Unclogging printer 

Stewy wrote:
>
> In article <44FCFAC4.23631CFD DeleteThis @concentric.net>,
> John Turco <jtur DeleteThis @concentric.net> wrote:

<edited, for brevity>

> > > I had a similar problem with my Canon i850- all of a sudden photos were
> > > coming out magenta colored. It took about 6 print head cleaning cycles
> > > including 3 deep cleanings (using up 2 of the 3 color cartridges in the
> > > process) but it finally solved the problem just before I was ready to buy a
> > > new printer.
> > > Alan
> >
> >
> > Hello, Alan:
> >
> > You should probably buy an inexpensive inkjet refill kit and some
> > cheap, generic cartridges, and then use them just to run cleaning
> > cycles.
> >
> >
> > Cordially,
> > John Turco <jtur DeleteThis @concentric.net>
>
> Or you could simply print off a picture once a week or so. This would
> probably take less ink than a full cleaning and test cycle.


Hello, Stewy:

My Epson Stylus Photo 825 is prone to occasional clogging, regardless.


Cordially,
John Turco <jtur DeleteThis @concentric.net>
 >> Stay informed about: Unclogging printer