OT: New Printer or Clean Tubes

Here's the scoop . . .

We have an Epson CX6600. Wife changed the black ink cartridge and it no printy anymore. On-line helps states clogged ink transfer/suction tube. Preliminary cleaning showed clogged tube, but couldn't get everything out.

So the question, from the wife, is do we invest in a couple 6mm synringes with cleaning fluid - hoping that it works? Or do we just go out and buy a new printer? Thoughts or suggestions to fix or replace? And if replace, which all-in-one would you recommend?

Since we've had computers, we've always had Epson printers and really like them - this is our first problem ever with Epson is nearly 10 years.

AKPilot,

have your WIFE call epson support and play ignorant. I had a CX4600 that did the same stinking thing, and i futzed with it for 3 hours trying to get the new cartridges to prime to no success..

Wife called support and just kept telling the guy that nothing was working.... well they sent her a brand new CX4800 and told us to trash the old one. Must be some kind of unpublished defect that they are replacing printers. My printer was well out of warranty and they swapped it out. It would seem that once a cartridge goes bad in the printer, it fries something in the hardware that is causing Epson to replace them after some troubleshooting on thier part. I even went to the extreme of purchasing 4 new cartridges thinking that one was bad, but it wasnt the one that the printer was reporting.

I knew i had no patience to stay with the support guy, but the wife did and got us the new printer.

later
Jerryb

Originally posted by akpilot
Here's the scoop . . .

We have an Epson CX6600. Wife changed the black ink cartridge and it no printy anymore. On-line helps states clogged ink transfer/suction tube. Preliminary cleaning showed clogged tube, but couldn't get everything out.

So the question, from the wife, is do we invest in a couple 6mm synringes with cleaning fluid - hoping that it works? Or do we just go out and buy a new printer? Thoughts or suggestions to fix or replace? And if replace, which all-in-one would you recommend?

Since we've had computers, we've always had Epson printers and really like them - this is our first problem ever with Epson is nearly 10 years.

Click to expand...

I went thru several attempts at cleaning/replacing my CX5x00 copier/printer/scanner.

I now own an HP PSC 2355. I'll never buy an Epson again.

btt

They probably gave you a new printer because of this .

"Among other things, Plaintiffs allege that Epson inkjet printers and inkjet cartridges indicate that cartridges are “empty” and suspend printer function, even though substantial ink remains. EAI has denied and continues to deny the claims and any wrongdoing, but has decided to settle to avoid the cost and inconvenience of litigation. The Court has not issued any rulings about the validity of the claims."

I went back to HP after trying an Epson Stylus Photo 820. That printer was very clunky compared to my new HP Photosmart 8250 and the printer cartridges ran out after what seemed like very minimal use. I probably won't go back either.

If I remember correctly from a printer discussion on a card modeling forum that I belong to, Epson printers have the print nozzles built into the printer.

When they start to clog, considerable ink is wasted trying to keep them clean. The cleaning cycle squirts ink through the nozzles to try and disolve the old dried ink but it never gets all the old ink.

On other brands the print nozzles are built into the ink cartridge so you get new print nozzles every time you change cartridges.

My old Epson printer worked great for quite a while until the nozzles started to clog and after that, the print quality worsened and they had to be cleaned often. Even after cleaning, the print quality wasn't always that good.

I have a Lexmark all-in-one printer now and the print quality has been consistently good for a couple of years. I haven't ever had to run any kind of "cleaning cycle" to keep the quality high.

YMMV

Never had much luck with Epson. Pretty good luck with HP.

I have an Epson R200 and never had a problem with it. I can get all 6 ink cartridges for it for less then $25. I have a 8yr old HP that still works too but the 2 cartridges are over $50 and refilled new worked in it.

MArk

Only had HP. Had an 880 printer then upgraded to a hp 2410 all in one. Had an issue with the paper getting stuck as it was feeding thru the back roller. Did the online thing with the tech guy, they swapped it out. Never had a problem since. Me very happy.

Try the online tech support, can't hurt.

We use to have an Epson CX5200. The first one lasted about 4 months, then completely quit printing. Epson exchanged it under warranty, and the replacement got replaced a couple of months ago with a new HP. We went with the Epson, because of the individual inks. I got tired of our old HP running out of one color, causing the whole cartridge to need replacing. I've realized I'd rather have to replace a cartridge than a printer every few months And, our new HP takes up less space than the Epson did.

We had a CX5200 and it did that same thing. We ran the cartridge to long trying to make it last and we could never get a new one to prime in.

thanx, Ben

Originally posted by kelltym88
Only had HP. Had an 880 printer then upgraded to a hp 2410 all in one. Had an issue with the paper getting stuck as it was feeding thru the back roller. Did the online thing with the tech guy, they swapped it out. Never had a problem since. Me very happy.

Try the online tech support, can't hurt.

Click to expand...

Same, just got the new one hooked up cept my dad had it with the all in one and got a swap.

thanx, Ben

Has anyone here ever tried the Epson cleaning cartridges? I saw them at an online ink supply store and couldn't get much feedback about them.

WW

Originally posted by astrowolf67
We use to have an Epson CX5200. The first one lasted about 4 months, then completely quit printing. Epson exchanged it under warranty, and the replacement got replaced a couple of months ago with a new HP. We went with the Epson, because of the individual inks. I got tired of our old HP running out of one color, causing the whole cartridge to need replacing. I've realized I'd rather have to replace a cartridge than a printer every few months And, our new HP takes up less space than the Epson did.

Click to expand...

My HP Photosmart 8250 has individual ink cartridges. My Epson had a black cartridge and a color cartridge. When the color one would run low it wouldn't even let you print in black and white.

I use Epson and canon. For my money canon is the fastest and at least the equal in quality of any photo printer made. I use a Canon pixima IP4000 and it rips. The newer ones do better The individual ink cartridges are expensive i guess but the quality and speed are amazing. I use an Epson 2200 for larger prints and it is much slower but does a great job on 11x14. Epson usually comes bundles with Film Factory and that is the best user friendly photo software i have seen.
Cheers
Fred

Canon printers are very good. I really like my i860 (now discontinued, but new ones are just as good). I have an old HP (I just checked the date and it was made in 1998!) that only prints in pink or black because I refuse to change the color cartridge before I have to. Individual inks are great because you don't waste ink (or print in pink for months).

A couple notes in regards to Epson printers....

First, like any inkjet, they should be power-cycled weekly, to clear the nozzles -- every inkjet goes through a cleaning cycle at power-up. It wastes ink, but that's easier than the problem of clogged nozzles.

That said, the Epson should have a "robust" cleaning method. On my ancient Epson, it's entered by holding down a certain combination of buttons on power-up. It goes through a stronger cleaning cycle, and I've had that fix a problem a couple of times.

The trick is finding out what it is. Or, call Epson and ask for help. That's where I first learned about it.

-Kevin

Originally posted by troj
.......That said, the Epson should have a "robust" cleaning method. On my ancient Epson, it's entered by holding down a certain combination of buttons on power-up. It goes through a stronger cleaning cycle, and I've had that fix a problem a couple of times......

Click to expand...

On my old Epson 760 printer, when you lifted the cover to get at the ink cartridges, the "cleaning cycle" instructions were on a sticker on the underside of the cover.

Thanks for the responses. Not sure where we're headed, maybe an HP 6210, but we'll see.

Not impressed with Epson's customer service (overseas customer service agent), who read straight from a computer for trouble shooting. The problem we're having is well known and is even mentioned on their web site. The only joy we got was the fact that they'd let us buy from a "customer loyalty" web site - which took the prices down about $15 on avg. Additionally, they stated that they'd throw in a few extra ink cartridges if we bought from that site. Still doesn't make up for a known systemic issue and overpriced ink cartridges.

So we'll do so more research on the 6210 and see where we come out.

Any other suggestions still welcomed though . . .

Originally posted by troj
That said, the Epson should have a "robust" cleaning method.

Click to expand...

They do. However, as someone noted earlier, this uses ink. And to make things
worse, the Epson ink cartridges have electronics to 'measure' the usage. In
quotes, because it doesn't work properly.

I had to buy a new cartridge once to clean the heads due to one of those infamous
clogs. Imagine my surprise when (after just three or four cycles) the LCD panel
said I was out of ink and the printer stopped functioning!

I compared the cartridge weight to it's second in the multi-pak and they were
nearly the same. That was the straw the made me go out (that night) and
buy the HP.


BTW- I have the CX5400 boat-anchor still sitting here gathering dust....
Free to a good home- you pay shipping or pickup.

Originally posted by jerryb
AKPilot,

have your WIFE call epson support and play ignorant. I had a CX4600 that did the same stinking thing, and i futzed with it for 3 hours trying to get the new cartridges to prime to no success..

Wife called support and just kept telling the guy that nothing was working.... well they sent her a brand new CX4800 and told us to trash the old one. Must be some kind of unpublished defect that they are replacing printers. My printer was well out of warranty and they swapped it out. It would seem that once a cartridge goes bad in the printer, it fries something in the hardware that is causing Epson to replace them after some troubleshooting on thier part. I even went to the extreme of purchasing 4 new cartridges thinking that one was bad, but it wasnt the one that the printer was reporting.

I knew i had no patience to stay with the support guy, but the wife did and got us the new printer.

later
Jerryb

Click to expand...

Roflmao
My mother is the king of talking to these support guys
She makes the dog run for cover wen she is p1$$3d!