Fix an old printer? Buy a new one?

[TP]

Hi there..

I have an Epson Stylus C82 - about 2 years old. For the second time this
year, the cyan head has stopped printing despite all attempts at
nozzle-cleaning etc. The first time, it fixed itself after a few weeks and
just started working again.

This hasn't happened this time, and I'm kinda giving up.

Two questions:

1. Any ideas for fixing it (myself - I can't imagine a shop repair will be
any less than a new one)? The printer otherwise does what I want.. a few
letters, a few Photoshopped family birthday cards etc etc, so I'm not that
keen to replace it if it can be cheaply avoided.

2. If not, any recommendations for something which can do limited family
photo work (or more than that if the value and quality matches an online
printing service), limited letters etc.. reasonable speed, reasonably
compact - and most of all, good value overall. I'm sick of printers which
are cheap to buy, but then a set of cartridges costs the same as the
printer! I had this with the Epson, which is why I switched to cheap refills
(which is probably why it's broken now!)

I'm in the UK, running a Dell PC a couple of years old with XP Home.

Thanks in advance

TP

 

[Burt]

Hi there..

I have an Epson Stylus C82 - about 2 years old. For the second time this
year, the cyan head has stopped printing despite all attempts at
nozzle-cleaning etc. The first time, it fixed itself after a few weeks and
just started working again.

This hasn't happened this time, and I'm kinda giving up.

Two questions:

1. Any ideas for fixing it (myself - I can't imagine a shop repair will be
any less than a new one)? The printer otherwise does what I want.. a few
letters, a few Photoshopped family birthday cards etc etc, so I'm not that
keen to replace it if it can be cheaply avoided.

2. If not, any recommendations for something which can do limited family
photo work (or more than that if the value and quality matches an online
printing service), limited letters etc.. reasonable speed, reasonably
compact - and most of all, good value overall. I'm sick of printers which
are cheap to buy, but then a set of cartridges costs the same as the
printer! I had this with the Epson, which is why I switched to cheap
refills (which is probably why it's broken now!)

I'm in the UK, running a Dell PC a couple of years old with XP Home.

Thanks in advance

TP

TP - if you have just used the Epson software head cleaning routines, look
back in this newsgroup for a post by Arthur Entlich, email him, and ask him
to send you (by email attachment) his excellent Epson head cleaning manual.
I used it a few years ago to clear the clogs in an Epson printer. Don't
necessarily blame the cheap compatable cartridges. Epsons tend, more than
other inkjets, to clog - especially from infrequent use. All inkjets have
to be used fairly frequently to keep from having ink dry out in the
printhead nozzles.

Until the most recent Canon printers there were Canon compatable cartridges,
but your were assured of more predictable results by purchasing good refill
bulk inks and refilling the carts yourself. You can still refill the newest
Canons but the carts have chips on them that signal when the cart is empty
and, when refilled, requires that you bypass the "nag" screen to keep using
the printer with refilled carts. At that point the ink monitor stops
functioning and you have to monitor the ink levels visually so you don't run
dry and ruin the printhead. Fortunately, the carts are clear plastic and
checking the ink levels is very easy and fast.

 

[TP]

TP - if you have just used the Epson software head cleaning routines, look

back in this newsgroup for a post by Arthur Entlich, email him, and ask
him to send you (by email attachment) his excellent Epson head cleaning
manual.

Many thanks for the tip - I've hopefully tracked down his address and asked

 

[Jan Alter]

I'm in complete agreement with Burt that Art's manual can help you get
your C82 going again. I have 6 of them running in our school now for about 4
years, and though they do clog on occasion they eventually get running
again.
Additionally I have two suggestions for you if for some extraordinary
reason you can't get it running. If you can find a used Epson 880 for less
than $35 and it runs it should provide some very reliable printing as well
as being able to use cheap third party inks This is an Epson pre-chipped
printer.
Additionally, if you can't find one used and are interested in decent
photo prints and filling your own cartridges, then pick up a new Epson C88
and go to http://www.alotofthings.com/viartshop/ to get a set of spongeless
refillable cartridges with auto-reset chips and dye-base ink. If you've
never heard of spongeless cartridges they are completely different to refill
than the standard sponge cartridge. The cartridges are see through and they
fill in less than a minute. The cost for creating a kit of cartridges and 4
oz bottles of ink is about $50. What is even better is that using dye base
ink rather than the Epson Dura Brite Ultra pigment ink will give your
printer a much longer working cycle between clogs.