I bought an Epson R200 last year that has sat unused for a year. In hooking it up and trying to print I find that the output is all jagged. It looks like I learned the lesson of leaving ink to dry in inkjets.
Will new ink cartridges fix this problem or did I fuck up the print heads?
The dye-based Epson printers tend to be VERY resiliant when it comes to unclogging their heads. The problem is, it can take an assload of ink to finally get them up to 100% unclogged status. I had a machine (Epson 925) that had sit unused for about 6 months, and it took about 8 cleanings and almost an entire set of cartridges, but I got it working.
The questions becomes, with a set of cartridges costing you $60+, aren’t you better off just going and buying the R260 which retails for $80, or putting it towards an R380 or RX580? Only you can answer that question, but I’d give you a 50% chance at this point that you could get the printer back up and running with head cleanings alone. Your call on what odds sound better.
so what do i do? run the clean utility so it prints over and over until it’s clear? do i do it with this (basically full, or however it comes new) set of cartridges?
yeah, i’m going to buy a new cheap samsung laser anyways.
Well, the set of cartridges currently in it might be a bit dried up, but if you didn’t make too much of a dent in them to begin with, then start by taking them out of the printer, and shaking them. The trick is to shake them in such a way as none of the ink sprays out of the bottom. The only way I can describe this shaking motion is to rotate the cartridge on its side, so that it is parallel to the ground, and then shake along that horizontal plane so the ink hole moves in a way that ink can’t fly out. Sorry. Hard to describe. If ink flies out, well, do it around a sink or something. In the tub. The only thing you can hurt shaking the cartridge is your carpet, so yeah.
Once they’re back in the printer, run a head cleaning, do a nozzle check, run a head cleaning, do a nozzle check, rinse and repeat. If you get it cleared up before your cartridges are empty, congrats, you saved yourself from having to get a new printer. The R200 is a solid machine; I’ve got an R220 myself which I use strictly for photos and CD printing. If you don’t save it, I’d avoid buying new cartridges, because you can spend $60 on a new set of ink, or $80 on a printer with a new set of ink. $130 for a decent laser. Make sure you get a model which has toner tanks with built-in drums. The ones that don’t build in the drums will kill you with expensive replacement drums every 3 or so toner carts.
I’ll give it a shot. Thanks.
The Samsung ML-2010 looks like it has cheap toner refills/replacements and is $70 CAD after MIR. Also works with both Macs and Windows which is a necessity for me.
The ML-2010 is usually my first recommendation for a cheap laser. I forgot how inexpensive those puppies are nowadays.
Good luck with the head cleanings!
Basically, do the Chubby Checker Twist?
Standard rubbing Alcohol, soak, wipe, patience. THEN try head cleaning. I’ve had several printers that seemed hopeless. Taking out the ink cartridge and soaking everything overnight has removed clogs that I never thought I’d get out.
Also something else I’ve had success with: The head “Parks” on a little sponge on most Inkjets. Clean the sponge well, soak it with Alcohol, cycle through power on\off a few times, turn it off, leave soak overnight and then try a cleaning the next day.
I bought the ML for my B&W needs, and a Canon for my photo needs; and it was the best decision I could have made. The Samsung is fast and the quality of the text is great. I recommend it!
Why not just buy new ink?
That only works on ink cartridges with integrated print heads. Epson and Canon ink tanks are pure ink, so if you were to soak the cartridges in rubbing alcohol, you’d just fuck them up.