Re: Black Ink problems in an Epson Photo 820



Mike O'Donnell wrote:

Replies mixed in the text


"Arthur Entlich" <e-printerhelp@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:KgjMe.226789$s54.200419@xxxxxxxxxxx


Use your judgment on the amount of ammonia to add. I would stick to pre-mixed window cleaner (with ammonia). Try a smaller amount to start and see if it is enough. Never use more than required to have the ink flow well.



I'll go ahead and try the window cleaner stuff, I don't have much to lose at this point. 

INKY STINKY AFTERMARKET PROBLEMS.  I TOLD THEM SO AHA HA HA HA

I assume I just remove the cartridge and put some in the opening on the cartridge that the ink flows from, correct? After I put the stuff in, do I need to mix or shake it or wait any time until I replace the cartridge? I don't want to start to put the cartridge back and have all the cleaner fall out.



As far as I'm concerned the R200 is a toss away printer. Apparently, once the waste ink pads fill, the chassis is so flimsy that they have to replace the whole bottom of the printer to replace the waste ink pads, meaning the cost is probably near/more what the printer is worth new.



Unfortunately, it seems like any of the low cost printers are disposable. When the ink cost is 2/3 of the cost of a new, better printer it's hard to justify keeping the old one too long. For my amount of use, with the cost of commercial prints in the 19 cent range, it's pretty hard to even justify a cheap $80 printer, let alone some high end $300+ model. It's just so nice to be able to pull the pics up on the computer, tweak them, and get the immediate print. Or take pics at a family get together and print out snapshots for everyone to take home before they leave.

If I was going to replace my Photo 820, and with the amount of my uses, which printer would you suggest? I've seen that it usually works better to keep the paper and printer matched, and I have a fairly broad mix of Epson papers, so I'd prefer to stay in the Epson line, or at least with a printer that will work well with the Epson paper.



Individual ink cartridges do not have individual cleaning stations. Most, if not all of the recent Epson printers have only one cleaning station. Individual cartridges save ink on 6 color systems, because the LC and LM always run out first. On 4 color machines the advantage of individual cartridges is usually lost, due to extra cleaning and purging cycles.



I know I don't go through the cartridges too much (that's probably why I'm having the original problem!), but it's always bugged me to throw away a 3 color (or 6 color) cartridge when only one is empty.



Art



Thanks for answering.




Mike O'Donnell wrote:



"Arthur Entlich" <e-printerhelp@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:kHtLe.212022$s54.11491@xxxxxxxxxxx



Answers integrated into text

Mike O'Donnell wrote:




I have a question about the ink in an Epson Stylus Photo 820. I've had this printer for several years, using it as a secondary printer for photos. My general printer is an old Stylus color 800.

I don't use the 820 as often as I thought I would, so I have to deal with the cleaning cycles more often than I wish. I use the Windex on the ink pad trick and it usually works OK.



However, what's been happening recently is that even after the windex and cleaning cycles, the black square on the test pattern will still have major white streaks in it. The color squares are fine.



I have two questions:



Is it possible to trigger a cleaning cycle for only the black cartridge, like in my old Stylus 800? I hate the idea of wasting the color ink trying to clean out the black.




No. The 820 has only one cleaning station and therefore one purge pump for all the heads, so all get cleaned at the same time.




My other question is: Can the black ink cartridge be too old? I pulled up the printer information and it shows the black cartridge production date as 7/2001 (I can't believe I've had it that long without changing it). Both cartridges show about half full, and the last time I printed some photos with it (about 4 weeks ago), they came out fine. I've only used Epson cartridges. I have a new black cartridge, but I don't want to open it if it's not going to make a difference. With the cost of the photo printers, I could take the cartridge back and apply the refund to a new printer.




Yes. That's an old cartridge, and I expect the ink has become too thick since there is an exposure to air through a vent. You can remove it and add several eyedroppers full of ammoniated window cleaner to it to dilute it slightly. It will also help to break up the clogs.

If you do not have my cleaning document which will explain about underhead cleaning, email me privately and ask for it.


Art



Any opinions would be appreciated.

- Mike O.



Thanks. I would like a copy of the cleaning document, I've sent you an email requesting it.

You talked about "several eyedroppers" of ammoniated cleaner, that sounds like a lot considering the size of the cartridge. Also, considering the amount that would be going into the cartridge, would it be better to use plain ammonia?

On a related note, do you have any thoughts on the R200 printer? I print labels that I put on CD's, and being able to print directly would be a nice feature. Also, I really like the idea of individual ink color cartridges instead of disposing of a six color cart just because you're out of one color. Do you know if those can be cleaned individually?

The R200's are going for abour $80 locally, and changing both of the cartridges for my current Photo 820 would run about $50..

Mike O.






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