Epson R320 - Dead printhead?

[Dark Zero]

Hey! Long time lurker finally decided to join the forum. I've searched and received semi-related hits, figured I'd post my issue in detail to get more help. Hope it hasn't been covered too many times XD.

I'm having an issue with my Epson R320's printhead which is resulting in blank pages. I did a manual printhead clean which I'm thinking might have finally set the final nail in the coffin. This is the 2nd time I've done a manual printhead clean, the first time being nearly a year ago and printed fine since then.

Now my reason for doing the manual cleaning this time around was because my BLACK wasn't printing right. During the nozzle check, the black lines were distorted and didn't line up properly. A number of head cleanings via the printer and nozzle alignments didn't correct it at all. So I decided to do the manual head clean (figured some clog might be present). For reference, the 1st time I did a manual head clean, I run water via a faucet over the inlets until I would get a clean stream. Then I let it dry overnight. This time I decided to change my method. I had a syringe and spare tubing and rigged it over the inlet and slowly pushed water through the printhead cleaning out the nozzles. This was a much faster method and "cleaner" than when I did it the first time. To help dry it faster, I used a hair dryer. I'm not sure if any of this could be the result of ruining the printhead? Seen a few people use this method with good results. Since then, all I get are blank pages. Went from a blurry black printout (color was fine) to blank all around . This is even after various headcleans, priming of the carts, nozzle checks via the printer.

A few things I did notice were that the ink carts were basically the same exact level of ink as BEFORE I did all these headcleans after I put the printhead back in. Also I decided to pull the printhead off (in case the ribbon cables were loose) and I noticed magenta seemed to be working as it had droplets on the nozzles, but never did it print on paper. Also noticed where the printhead rests when parked on the pad, that I saw little air bubbles of magenta, as if it was semi-working as it primed the cartridges.

Any ideas? Kind of annoyed, just got in a fresh batch of 4oz tubes of Image Specialist inks and a dead printer. It'll be a waste if I can't use the ink, surely even more so if the printhead is really dead. Anything I can try to see what's up? Clogged tube maybe, dead printhead?

Thanks!

 

[qwertydude]

The ink drops on the print head probably was just ink sucked down by capillary action. Some water may have gotten into the electrical traces. These piezo print heads operate at ultrasonic frequencies and any moisture present on the traces will greatly increase the capacitance of the system and may cause a virtual short, hopefully there was no damage done by the hair dryer stunt.

Whenever water is involved with electronics you can not use forced convection to dry it. I suggest letting the electronics thoroughly air dry, perhaps for a couple days in a warm-ish environment, make sure the print head is in the park position though. Also I suggest getting specifically refillable cartridges and fill them with a head cleaning solution or pure windex, that would have been my first suggestion, it won't help if the electronics are shorted out. If it still doesn't work after thorough dry you may just be out of luck and you'll have to consider it an expensive lesson to not flood electronics with water.

Generally clogged nozzles don't stop all ink from printing so this is definitely related to your cleaning method. So the only advice I can offer is let everything dry for a couple days and try again. Even if you only get partial prints with clogged nozzles it's a good sign because piezo print heads are very durable and you just need to clean the nozzles better.

 

[Dark Zero]

I'll wait it out and see if it prints later on during the week. I've seen various people do either of these cleaning methods with great results, as with the first time I had done it over a year ago. Hopefully its just acting up, or else bad luck and lesson learned.