Why do
Epson printers experience clogged nozzles?
Epson use a permanent and fixed
print-head that remains inaccessible and hard to reach (without a major strip
down). Print-heads of this type do allow Epson to use high quality print-heads
that remain reliant upon the insertion of separate ink tanks to feed/supply the
ink to the heads. The ink tanks are then usually cheaper to manufacture and
supply, other manufacturers like HP, Lexmark, Canon and many more do supply a
new (but cheaper quality) print-head with and attached to the ink tank. In
other words when you change the tank you change the head “but” the cartridges
are often much more expensive.
For those people who fear the
loss of a printers warranty they will often stick with original Epson
cartridges (at great expense), however, others will happily use compatible
cartridges or even refill their own. Epson “allude” and in some cases actually claim
that compatible, refilled and remanufactured cartridges remain inferior in
quality resulting in poor performance and yield. Epson also claim that in
extreme case they can and will cause damage to your printer.
“In my experience this is
simply not true, both original and non OEM cartridges will experience blocked nozzles
at some point during the life cycle of the printer”.
So why do
nozzles clog?
As a regular user of an Epson
R360 printer I have found that every time I change an ink tank I experience
banding or gaps in the print. At first (some years ago) I would “clean the
heads” repeatedly, often failing to achieve any improvement. It is essential at
this point to remember:
“Please
don't blame the cartridge”
The cartridge is simply an ink
tank that is designed to deliver the liquid to the print-head. Whilst I accept
there is a copper chip on the front of each tank that lets the printer know a
cartridge has been fitted, it does not affect the flow of the liquid in the
tank. If your heads are blocked or air is trapped (after changing an ink tank),
it is not the cartridge that causes the issue!
Blockages, banding, print gaps,
faint colours and “blank sheets of paper being produced” can happen at any
time. However, in most cases it will follow a cartridge change or if the
printer has been left idle for a long period of time. It is less likely to
occur if you use your printer every day and maintain the heads whenever a new cartridge
has been fitted. As a matter of routine I will perform a simple head clean on
my Epson R360 (once) after a new cartridge has been inserted. It is now 6 years
old and working like new!
So what
is happening?
Many people will ignore low ink
reminders and run their printer until the black ink runs out or the colour prints
are of a poor quality (missing colours etc). When this happens it is quite
clear that the ink has been used, the tank is empty and the “nozzles” are now
full of air. The copper chip can only “guess” the ink levels because nothing in
the tank indicates levels. In many cases the printer simply “counts” how many
pages have been printed and then it will assume the tanks are empty. Sometimes
it can get it wrong and the tank is simply printing fresh-air.
In order to “clear” the air
trap/blockage, your Epson printer will need to prime any new ink tank that is
added to the machine. The idea being to pull and suck enough ink through the pipes,
tubes and print-head to effectively remove any trapped air (it will also use
your expensive ink).
Regrettably this “priming” can
sometimes leave excessive and residual ink on internal pads. Wipers that are specifically
designed to clear waste ink droplets from the head then smear the ink across
the full width of the print-head, this in turn then dries and blocks some or
all of the nozzles. In other words, more head cleans often equal more ink
smeared across the print-head and inevitably more blocked nozzles.
So how
do we fix this problem?
Well it is clearly evident that
all of that dried ink must be removed from print-head, “easy” if you can get at
it, “but” as previously stated Epson use a permanent, fixed and inaccessible
print head. Please note some other Printer manufacturers do use separate head
assemblies (i.e. Canon) that can be removed.
Detachable print-heads can be wiped with a cloth, soaked, cleaned and
primed “out” of the printer and returned to it like new!
Before you launch in to “cleaning
cycles” and the wholesale dismantling of your printer, a quick and surprising
fix can be found in the Epson printing software. While trying to print text or
a colour document/picture open preferences and set the printing option to “best
photo” (even if you are printing text). This will force the print head to use
the full range of nozzles and in doing so it will expel any trapped air. Repeat
this several before returning the settings to “normal” mode times (i.e. print
at least 10 pages).
Manually
clean Epson print-heads:
Whilst there are a number of
slightly different approaches to cleaning your print-heads, we do suggest that
you try the following methods in the order listed. Our cleaning fluid was made
from a mixture distilled water and cleaning solution (50/50).
Method
(1) Saturate Head assembly sponge.
With the Epson print-head in
its resting or 'off' position, the heads sit on a single (or sometimes double
sponge). By saturating those sponges with the cleaning fluid, any excess or
dried ink on the print-head will soften and mix with the water before being sucked
into the sponge, away from the head and in to the waste tank/internal
waste pads.
To move the print-head assembly
to the centre position or cartridge change position you can follow the Epson
software called “replace ink cartridge”. With the head assembly “parked” in the
middle of the printer use a syringe or eye dropper to soak the sponges on the right
hand station. Once filled, allow the head assembly to return to its “park”
position and wait for at least 30 mins before running a head cleaning cycle.
You may wish to repeat this procedure two or three times. It can also help if
the printer is returned to its parked position (after soaking the sponges) over
night.
Method
(2) Add cleaning fluid or head cleaner directly to the ink ports. Using
the Epson software, remove all of the ink cartridges from your printer. Viewing
the print–head assembly from above you can now see the small cone shaped ink
spikes or ink ports that pierce the ink tanks. Those spikes take the ink from
the cartridge directly to the print-head itself. Using a syringe (with a blunt
needle), put a few drops of the cleaning solution in the cone that is blocked. The
spike colour is determined by the colour of cartridge that sits upon it. Try to print several pages of dense print or
graphics on the “best photo setting”.
Method
(3) Clean print-head with tissue.
Turn the printer “off”, fold a paper
towel or toilet tissue to create a strip approximately 25mm wide, length is not
an issue but it should be kept less than 400mm in length in order to fit in the
printer (long and skinny). Open the cover of your Epson printer to view the ink
carriage. You will note that it is parked to the right hand side; most Epson
printers use a mechanical lock to hold the carriage in this position.
Turn the printer on and when
the lock is released, the carriage will move to the left, when it is clear of
the “park” station, unplug the power lead. The carriage will stop but it will
now move freely by hand (the lock has been disabled).
Move the print-head assembly slowly
from right to left and over the paper towel/tissue. Slowly feeding the tissue
under the print-head assembly “DO NOT FORCE THE TISSUE UNDER” if the tissue is
too thick then reduce the thickness until it slides under the head assembly.
The tissue should sit in the bottom track of the printer in-between the feed
rollers. Once through, the tissue should protrude on either side of the
carriage.
With the heads resting on the
tissue, apply drops of cleaning solution to the tissue on the left and right of
the carriage, the tissue will immediately soak up the fluid and expand the tissue so that it touches the
face of the print head.
Let the print-head sit on the damp
tissue for at least 15 minutes. This will soften any dried ink and it will
begin to draw liquid ink through the head and on to the tissue. After 15
minutes, slide the head assembly back to its park position while holding the
damp tissue.
The tissue will become “black”
because it has drawn ink from all cartridges on to the tissue; it has also
removed air bubbles and any dried ink that may be present. Repeat the above
procedure until you can see evidence of the three primary colours and black
(CMYK). You may have to use several strips of tissue.
Please ensure that “all” tissue
has been removed and the carriage can move freely before plugging the power
lead in and turning the printer back 'on'.
Having removed excess dried ink
from the print-head the blocked and clogged nozzles should be clear and a
“standard” head cleaning cycle can now be used. However, it may take two or
three cleans before the ink flows correctly (given the tissues has drawn ink
out of the nozzles). You may also have to replace the ink tanks to ensure that
ink is now flowing correctly.
Method
(4)
The above method (3) is
completed while the ink cartridges remain in place, the advantage here being
that the ink is drawn to the tissue through the nozzles. However if the dried
ink is particularly thick it may be necessary to soak the head assembly
overnight.
Follow the Epson instructions
for “removing” all ink cartridges. Power the machine off and then turn the
printer on again, when the lock is released, unplug the power lead. The
carriage will stop but it will now move freely by hand (the lock has been
disabled).
Add tissue/paper as described
in Method (3), add cleaning solution and leave the print head to soak for at
least 12 hours. Ensure the tissue remains damp and moist while the head is
allowed to soak. Remove the tissue (after 12 hours). “IMPORTANT” power the
machine on before the cartridges are inserted. The ink light indicator will
flash indicating missing cartridges. Re-insert the cartridges as instructed,
this will then “prime” all ink tanks. Perform basic head clean cycles and test.
Please note it may take two or three cycles to before the ink flows correctly,
the tissues will have sucked “all” ink from the print-head and feed pipes.
PREVENTION:
There are several ways to help
prevent clogged nozzles in Epson print-heads. Many people argue that you should
not perform more than “three head” cleans because this process can contaminate
and clog the print-heads (if used more than three times). Excessive amounts of
ink can be smeared over the print-head and make the problem worse.
After three cleaning cycles if
a satisfactory nozzle check pattern is not achieved, print at least 10 full
pages of large coloured (and black text) on the “best photo setting”. If the
head still fails to clear, go to Method (1) detailed above.
ALWAYS
TURN YOUR PRINTER OFF;
Epson printers do a
"mini-cleaning cycle" whenever the printer is turned on. This process
ensures that the ink flows through the print-head after it has been unused for
a period of time. If you don’t turn the printer off, the cleaning cycle is not
performed.
PRINT
ON A REGULAR BASIS;
Try to print something
(preferably a full colour page) on a weekly basis. This will prevent the ink
from drying out. Powering “on” and then “off” on a regular basis will have a
similar effect.
USE A
SINGLE BRAND OF CARTRIDGE (preferably ours);
Epson will always recommend
that you use “their” cartridges (obviously) however this alone will not prevent
clogged nozzles, it is also a very expensive option. We therefore recommend
that you use a good quality compatible cartridge and “stick with that brand”.
Mixing suppliers can create issues with the “chip” and it is very difficult to
identify which cartridge has contributed to a blocked nozzle when they are
mixed. Visit our website at Vivaink & Toner
