Epson Stylus Photo 830 Printer - Excessive Head Cleaning

S

Si

I don't use my printer on a regular basis but when I need to print something
the results are turning out all pink/red or green. So I run the head
cleaning utility over and over and by the time I get it to print properly
I've used up a quarter of my ink. The next time I want to print something, I
have to go through the same rigmarole. Years ago I had a really basic Epson
colour printer that you could leave inactive for months and it would still
print perfectly. I wrote to Epson stating my problem and included that I use
genuine Epson ink cartridges and all I got was a reply saying that I should
use genuine Epson ink cartridges and also that the head cleaning process
uses a tiny amount of ink. Not when you have to run it 30-40 times buddy!!

I don't know if there is an answer to my problem other then using the
printer everyday, but if there isn't, should I maybe go back to a more basic
colour printer? If so, what would you recommend? I don't really need it for
printing photos, just the occasional web page.

Cheers.

Si
 
J

Jan Alter

Hi,

I can easily empathize and understand your situation. I take care of more
than 60 epson inkjets at our school. Epsons run the best when they're used a
lot and not sitting around.
Most likely the best printer for your needs is an HP since it has heads
on each individual cartridge. Though they don't give the very best photos
they do give very good ones and excellent text. Canon is also a possible
choice, but you're in the same situation of print heads as with Epson and
they too are prone to clogging. Avoid Lexmark like accepting a virus.
Although their cartridges have new heads I've found their innards to already
be set for the trash bin (IMHO).
 
Q

qwerty

Si said:
I don't use my printer on a regular basis but when I need to print
something
the results are turning out all pink/red or green. So I run the head
cleaning utility over and over and by the time I get it to print properly
I've used up a quarter of my ink. The next time I want to print something,
I
have to go through the same rigmarole. Years ago I had a really basic
Epson
colour printer that you could leave inactive for months and it would still
print perfectly. I wrote to Epson stating my problem and included that I
use
genuine Epson ink cartridges and all I got was a reply saying that I
should
use genuine Epson ink cartridges and also that the head cleaning process
uses a tiny amount of ink. Not when you have to run it 30-40 times buddy!!

I don't know if there is an answer to my problem other then using the
printer everyday, but if there isn't, should I maybe go back to a more
basic
colour printer? If so, what would you recommend? I don't really need it
for
printing photos, just the occasional web page.

Cheers.

Si

In short, you will most likely want to change to a different company
printer, like Jan said.

I had similar issues with the Epson830. Photo prints are what I mainly
print, therefore, not very often used. It sucked that it used an incredible
amount of ink to clean itself. The print quality was superb. I've used
various Epson over the years, and the cleaning has become more often with
the newer ones.

Having had enough of being stuffed around by the 830 and the less than
mediocre support from Epson, I have switched to HP. Didn't want to, but it
was costing way too much to replace the carts so often.
 
D

D-Dan

Dunno if this will work - 'cos I've only done it once, but it seeme
to work here. I have the same printer, and noticed the same problem
but I also had reason to believe that the heads weren't clogging

So, instead of repeated cleaning, I turned my attention to th
breather holes on the top of the cartridge. Being diabetic, I have
handy supply of narrow sharp objects, but a pin or sewing needle wil
probably do. Stick a pin down each breather hole. (Of course, remov
it again - you only want to ensure a good flow of ink, not block i
completely)

Since I did that, these carts have worked like a charm
 
S

Stumpy

Even the B+W head clogs up if you turn the printer off by a power strip
instead of by the power button. Evidently the head parks in a protected
position when shut off politely. It is close to a scam that the spray head
is in an inaccessible position so it requires a trip to the repair shop
instead of a quick wipe with an alcohol Q-tip.

It is also close to a scam that the cartridges are almost as expensive as a
DeskJet that includes a disposable spray head on each cartridge.
 

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