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To help keep your printer working properly you must understand both your printer's capabilities and its
limits. Every printer has its own limitations based on the design and type of printer. Inkjet Printers although appearing simple are very complex in design and require a certain amount of knowledge about
how they function, and preventive maintenance to keep them working properly.
We hope that the information here will help you better understand how your Inkjet Printer functions, but even more importantly, how to keep it up and running
and avoid costly repairs or replacement of the printer.
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE
Even the finest of printers require good preventive maintenance. "An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure, and in all cases is less
expensive!"
The best Preventive Maintenance that you can perform on your printer IS TO USE IT on a regular basis! The number one complaint about poor print quality, specifically streaking print, white lines through the print, or no print at all, can be avoided by frequent use of your printer! All of these print problems are primarily caused by ink drying up in the print head or nozzles, which clogs them and doesn't allow ink to reach the paper. Use of the printer at least on a weekly basis to print both black and full color documents will help with this problem.
ALLOWING INK TO DRY IN THE PRINT HEAD CAN PERMANENTLY DAMAGE THE PRINTER!!
Other Preventive Maintenance measures:
- Blow out any dust and paper dust buildup on a regular basis.
- Cover the printer when not in use.
- Perform periodic Print head Cleaning / Priming Cycles
COMMON PRINT PROBLEMS
Here we will cover the most common printing problems you may encounter, their most likely causes, and possible solutions. I want to impress upon you right
now that the biggest enemy of your Inkjet Printer is AIR! Air is not only what causes the ink to dry on the paper, but also can cause it to dry in your print
head nozzles, causing light print, streaking print, white lines through the print, or no printing at all! ALLOWING INK TO DRY IN YOUR PRINT HEAD NOZZLES CAN AND MOST
LIKELY WILL-PERMANENTLY DAMAGE THE PRINTER!!
YOUR PRINTERS INK CARTRIDGE:
The print heads for your EPSON printer are built INTO the printer, unlike Lexmark and Hewlett Packard printers where the print head is built into the cartridge. When you throw away a Lexmark cartridge you are also throwing away the print head. When you replace an ink cartridge in your EPSON you are replacing a "Tank" that either contains Black Ink or a "Tank" that contains 3-5 Colors. There are no moving parts...the cartridge is simply a container filled with ink. VERY LITTLE can go wrong with your cartridge, but again, air is your biggest enemy!
NEVER...NEVER...NEVER:
- Remove a new cartridge from the packaging UNTIL you are ready to install it into the printer!
- Remove a USED cartridge from your printer unless you have a NEW one to immediately replace it!
DO NOT FORGET to remove the cartridge Vent Sealing tape or red plastic tab!! Failure to remove these can cause a vacuum inside the cartridge preventing the ink flow to the print heads, resulting in poor or NO printing. This could permanently damage the print head!
IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!
In some instances the adhesive used to hold the Cartridge Label or Vent Sealing Tape or tab can clog the Vent Channels and not allow the cartridge to BREATH....
EVEN if you have removed the Sealing tape or tab! This is a typical problem on BOTH Genuine Epson and Quality compatible cartridges. TO ALLOW the cartridge to Vent.... take a straight pin, and insert it
through the Label into the small round hole you should be able to see or feel underneath the label.
THE MOST COMMON PRINTING PROBLEMS:
ALL of the most common printing problems shown below are caused by Partially or Completely clogged print head nozzles, or ink flow problems!
- Light Printing
- Streaking
- White lines through the print
- OFF COLOR printing (color shades aren't right)
- NO PRINTING at all
When trying to diagnose and solve any of the above problems we suggest that you take a simple approach.
FIRST...how long has it been since you used the printer?
Do both of the cartridges have sufficient ink?
How long has it been since you ran a print head cleaning cycle?
If you just installed a New cartridge and the printer was printing fine IMMEDIATELY beforehand, did you remove the Vent Sealing Tape? Could
glue be clogging the Vent channels?
In the case of Light Printing, Streaking, White lines or OFF COLOR printing...simply running a few print head cleaning cycles may solve the problem. It
may also solve the problem of NO PRINTING.
SECOND...in the case of NO PRINTING the most likely causes are either COMPLETELY clogged nozzles, Empty ink cartridge(s), or cartridges that are not
"Vented" creating a vacuum inside the cartridge. BE PREPARED: if you have left an empty cartridge in the printer you most likely will also have clogged nozzles!
Verify that your cartridges DO have ink in them by checking the status monitor through the printer utility. If in doubt, replace them. DO NOT REMOVE THE CARTRIDGES FROM THE PRINTER AND ATTEMPT TO REINSTALL THEM. This could permanently damage the print head!
- Try running two or three print head cleaning cycles and see if printing starts to resume.
- "Vent" the cartridges by inserting the straight pin through the label as discussed earlier, and try to run one or two more print head cleaning
cycles.
IF NONE OF THE SOLUTIONS ABOVE WORK most likely your print heads are completely clogged, or there is an internal printer problem. Using a Print head
Cleaning Kit MAY help the problem, however it is NOT a guaranteed solution! Removing dried ink from inside of the microscopic nozzles is almost like trying to remove Super Glue! BUT, it is a cheaper
alternative than replacing the printer!
Your Printer Warranty!
If your printer is still under Factory Warranty it is very important that your contact EPSON Technical Support! Many customers have told us good things
about EPSON support, and in many cases where the printer was defective they received NEW printers!! EPSON Technical Support information may be found in your printer manual, or you may contact them by using the LINK
included here on our Links and Resources page.
If you would like our help, please do not hesitate to contact us! We do ask however that you at least
attempt primary diagnosis yourself if at all possible, and if the printer is still under Factory Warranty attempt a resolution with EPSON Technical Support. To contact us for help, send us an E-Mail with a complete description of your problem, how you have attempted to resolve the problem, the printer model, your name, and the invoice number from your order.
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