Epson Artisan 810 with a clogged magenta

[angel4b]

Hello everyone. I love my Artisan 810, but it is really giving me a hard time with the magenta ink. I've run plenty of cleaning cycles, I tried using cleaning solution (windex, alcohol, water) to clean off the part that sucks the ink into the printer from the cartridge (i have a CISS), and i've tried the cleaning solution on a paper towel on top of the sponge pad where the print head sits. I keep feeling like if only I could remove the print head and clean that off...but there are no how-tos on that project. I am not allowed to post a picture of my nozzle check, but about 10% of the lines are printing and half of those are kinda fuzzy. Can my printer be saved?

 

[Leonardjohn]

Hi Angel4b

Unless you have used pigment or mixed inks, it may not be a clogged printhead. The Artisan 700-837 use a dye based ink....

I have a model 700 running for years without a single printhead cleaning....

Many times it is an ink delivery problem....

All ciss cartirdges have a rubber plug on the top of the cartridge, pull ciss cartridges out of printer, lower tanks below cartridges and remove the rubber plug.

You may find the cartridge is not filled. Elevate tank and watch the ink replace the air in lines and the cartridge...

Try this first before you disassemble you printhead...

Leonard

 

[angel4b]

Thanks Leonard. I'm using dye ink. I made a bit of a mess, but at least something happened. this time only about 4 lines appeared in the nozzle check, which is significantly less than before. All the other colors are perfect. So where is the air hiding now, and how do I get it back on track?

 

[Leonardjohn]

Open up the cover, with a small flashlight, look at the ink tubes in the printer that are routed to the printheads.

Are they filled with ink? The black will be hard to tell, cast the light thru the black ink tube to inspect ink flow...

If your priming station is not priming the printheads it may not be your printheads.

The solution we use for pigment printers that have been setting for a long period was made by r-jetech.. I do not think they sell any longer....

Maybe one of the forum members can recommend a solution...

Have you put in the OEM cartridges in to test your printer? If they work you have a ciss ink tube constriction problem...

Cheers
LJH

 

[angel4b]

The tubes appear to be filled with ink. Something is preventing the magenta from getting through. The cartridges are full, the tubes appear to be full...though the whole empty then refilling the cartridges seemed to result in even less ink from reaching the paper. I wanted to try the OEM ink, but the black is empty...so I gotta find another one. This is slightly frustrating since all if the other colors are perfect. Just this stubborn magenta! I don't actually have instructions for disassembling the printhead, so don't worry about me screwing that one up yet.

 

[qwertydude]

Have you reprimed your CISS cartridges? After a while of printing eventually air bubbles build up in the last chamber over the outlet which prevent the final chamber from applying enough negative pressure to suck ink from the primary chamber in the cartridge and it can end up sucking air in from the nozzle side

To prime the cartridges all you need to do is remove the cartridge assembly and on top of each cartridge is a rubber plug, pull the plugs on each cartridge one color at a time. Hold the cartridge below the level of the tank and let it fill all the way to the top then quickly plug the cartridge before it overflows. Then than cartridge is primed. Do this for each cartridge just to make sure all cartridges are primed. Reinstall the cartridges then run a couple cleaning cycles. I usually end up repriming my cartridges once or twice a year.

 

[angel4b]

I tried the repriming thing first with LJH. The result was that less ink than before printed...so i felt like it was somehow related.

 

[shpitz461]

Hi guys,

I'm having the same exact issue as angel4b, but mine is with black. All the other colors print fine. I've primed my CISS many times and ran head cleaning cycles to death, all with same result.

This is how mine looks like:

i.imgur.com/tDFT4.gif (the forum won't allow me to post the image)

I followed qwerty and LJH's procedure, same results.

I've been using the 810 with the same exact CISS for over two years and it's been great.

What else can I do? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[angel4b]

here's my image if this works...

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/PzxXvnWzinGNPtl2Husmy9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink

 

[shpitz461]

Here's a 6-color sample printout:

i.imgur.com/Uv1FT.gif

It appears that the black has a pattern to it, which makes me even more worried... Any ideas how to tackle this issue?

Thanks!