Peripherals forum: Epson Durabrite ink printers- clogging print heads.

This appears to be about the lifespan of said printers. How many years did you get?

Bob

I am so furious, could spit nails. What is going on with this company and why are they getting away with scamming the consumer. I have a CX4600 that will not print. The ink is so expensive. doesn't need a chip included along w/ the dog & pony show from Epson. Purchased the first set of ink replacements when original ink ran out. Installed the new set and printer hasn't printed since. At the same time, tells me it's out of ink. Where the ink went, is a mystery to me when it hasn't printed one single letter in the alphabet. After researching forums for solution, have read the same comment from other victims of Epson scam. "Clogged Heads" is repeated over & over with several people saying they gave up & dumped the printer. My old Epson STILL prints after sitting dormant for a long time and the 4600 stopped printing after 10 or 15 uses. Is there any recourse or consumer advocate that can be contacted for help. Epson has a good thing going & needs some type of intervention, investigation into their horrible business practices. I don't want to "dump" the printer after 10 or 15 print jobs. Expected it to last for many years regardless of how often it's used. Appreciate having a place to vent my anger for the situation. Inclined to think I'm speaking for many others, far too many others.

No doubt about it-you told it like it is. Will never buy another Epson product again. Because my old Epson printer was and still is a real workhorse, never considered another mfg. for a 3 in one purchase. At this point, will consider any other mfg. except Epson for the next printer. Although, it is a time consuming effort to file a complaint. seriously thinking it's a good idea. Eventually, Epson's customer base is likely to drop like flies which they deserve. "Genius" approach to insure repeat business. ^o)

I had one Epson printer and that was one too many. The heads constantly needed cleaning. I finally junked it when I could no longer keep them clean (about a year and a half after purchase). I called Epson and was told to make sure I shut if off after each use - that was why the heads were always clogging.

Replaced it with a Canon iP4000 and have never had a clog or needed to clean the heads - even if I forget to shut if off after use.

I had HP printers before the Canon and they too required some head cleaning, but nothing like the Epson.

I never had any problem with the older models except that the durabrite ink looks great.

Unfortunately the repeated cleanings with the durabrite sometimes actually make it worse rather than better. I had their folks lead me through repeated cleanings on the CX4600 and had the quality actually get worse and worse until it quit completely. Additionally you waste a huge amount of ink. This last time an ink head that was working quit when the new magenta cartridge was installed. The cyan was skipping and despite repeated cleaning it quit. I really wish they would correct this problem.

I too have been loyal to Epson since their dot-matrix days but they've screwed me over with their ink-jets one too many times.

I've had a series of C84s and C86s. Every damn one of them has developed clogs. While SOMETIMES the clog can be cleared with their cleaning process, the clog returns quickly.

What Epson charges for their ink should be listed as a felony. Especially when you must use a significant amount of each cartridge just CLEARING CLOGS! They've clearly engineered their products to FAIL and suck as much $$$$ as possible from the DIM BULBS who keep buying their crap.

I contacted Epson via email for help. I was ignored for the longest while and then I got some terse reply suggesting that I must be using other brands of ink and for me to replace all my ink cartridges with Genuine Epson brand and try again.

NOT BLOODY LIKELY. A full set of cartridges costs MORE THAN THE PRINTER. Ridiculous.

I have one C86 left and it's just about out of ink. It has begun to clog so will be going to the garbage/recycler. I don't know what I will replace it with... but I'm thinking NO INKJET at all.

I've come to the conclusion that a $100 B&W laser printer not only will do a BETTER JOB of printing text but cost FAR LESS to operate than anything Epson can offer. If I want a color photo, I can get one in an hour for $.19 at my local photo store.

Bye bye, Epson. You don't get away with treating customers like suckers forever.

The problem is not with the cartridges but with the machine itself. The printing heads are part of the machine. For both to work well you have to use them every day or shut the power off if not using. I suffered major clogs that I took care by using 70 % alcohol to dissolve he clogs. When it's working properly, the Epson offers quality printing but... I now own a Canon Pixma iP 3000 and I am quite satisfied.

I have purchased a Epson 480sxu and when it went bad, I bought a Epson 4600. Less than a year later, this printer went bad also. I informed Epson through an e-mail about my dissatisfaction with Epson. After several heated e-mails, Epson sent me a new CX 4800 which has performed quite well. About a month after I received the CX 4800, I was informed through a letter that a class action lawsuit had been filed against Epson for owners of Epson's C82's, CX 4600 and several more. I was asked if I wanted to be included and naturally, I said yes. The suit was granted against Epson and they have appealled. I don't understand why no one on this forum is aware of this since some of the printers mentioned are the printers involved in the lawsuit, I was given a choice of ink refills or a monetary award. You can get the info at http://www.epsonsettlement.com/ but I believe the time for registering for the class action suit has run out. If the CX4800 keeps performing as it has then I will stick with Epson even though their Customer Service leaves a lot to be desired.

I am chucking my C86 now for reasons that others have stated. I will not print much color, I have a small Lexmark laser for most of my needs. But every month or so, I need color, a picture, a chart.

What do the folks here recommend??? Looking for $70-100

My understanding is the class action law suit has to do with the printer not printing if you are almost out of ink. The fact these printers are peices of junk and you can't clean the heads is a whole different issue.

I was really glad to see this thread because I have been really frustrated at how bad my color copies have gotten. Customer support was not any help. I bought this printer based on reviews from CNet, but I will never buy an Epson again. They seem to be willing to lose customers over this issue.

I've had the most success with 70% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. Do NOT use a solvent like xylene, lacquer thinner, acetone, etc.
-- a. Apply the alcohol sparingly, 1-2 cc's at a time.
-- b. An eye dropper is good to get the alcohol down the ink hole.
-- c. On some printers, the alcohol will run down out of the ink hole, so put the printer on newspaper to catch any drips.
-- d. Squirt in the alcohol, let it work for a minute or so, and use a cotton swab to soak up what you can out of the hole.

Repeat at least 5 times (patience!!), then try the cleaning cycle again.

I've had to repeat all of the above several times on stubborn clogs, but eventially it worked.

Here are some things to try:

1. Make certain that you have a hardware problem and not a driver problem.
-- a. Uninstall both the Epson Stylus Photo 2000P and its drivers.
-- b. Download the appropriate (latest) driver, starting at http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/support/supDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=14377&infoType=Overview.
-- c. Re-install both the driver and the printer.
-- d. Run the head cleaning utility 3 times.

If the problem is still there and shows up in 1440 dpi mode and not 720 dpi mode, the fix may be head replacement. Or the following may help.

2. See Epsons Print Quality Could Be Better at http://files.support.epson.com/htmldocs/pho2kp/pho2kpu1/TRBLE_4.HTM#Horizontal%20banding%20C.

3. Do you have the printer set up properly? See Epsons Printer Basics at http://files.support.epson.com/pdf/pho2kp/pho2kppb.pdf and User Manual/Reference Guide at http://files.support.epson.com/htmldocs/pho2kp/pho2kpu1/INDEX.HTM.

4. Wheres the hole? Remove the ink cartridge from the printer and look down into the well from which you removed it. The poker on the cartridge goes through a membrane, and thats where you squirt the alcohol. You may need to very gently push the end of the eye dropper through the membrane before squirting.

5. Consider commercial cleaning cartridges. For example:
-- a. Lyson Cleaning Cartridge for Epson Stylus Photo 2000P Printer (Black Cartridge), B&H, at http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/298992-REG/Lyson_ET15CK_Cleaning_Cartridge_for_2000P.html
-- b. Lyson Cleaning Cartridge for Epson Stylus Photo 2000P Printer (Color Cartridge), B&H, at http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=6466&A=details&Q=&sku=298991&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

6. See also Marrutt Digital Solutions Epson 2000P Printer Support Page at http://www.marrutt.com/epson-2000p-support.php, especially Clearing Dried ink using Isopropanol Cleaning Solvent. This gives you another way to clean the print head - from the bottom side.

Last but definitely not least, theres the old saying about physically abusing a deceased equine (or Epson printer). Canon, HP, Lexmark, et al offer excellent printers, and as I said earlier in this thread, I bought my wife a Canon Pixma.

If you downloaded P.I.M. II Plug-in v2.2 from the Epson Stylus Photo 2000P Drivers & Downloads page at http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/support/supDetail.jsp?cookies=no&oid=14377&infoType=Downloads (scroll down to Macintosh Operating Systems), the details for this file say that the installer places a folder on your desktop labeled "epson11224". Always click on the [+] next to the file name to see the details! There are also other downloads on this page that you might need.

As a starting point for ICC profiles, etc., take a look at
-- Epsons Color Managed Workflow for Epson Scanners and Printers at http://files.support.epson.com/pdf/pr32ph/pr32phcmw.pdf.
-- Epsons PRINT Image Matching II Plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Photoshop Elements at http://files.support.epson.com/pdf/pho780/pho780u10.pdf.

These PDF files are found on the Epson Stylus Photo 2000P Documents & Manuals page, which also has other downloads of interest.

You mentioned cleaning with 70% alcohol. Can you tell me how you accessed the print heads and did the cleaning?

I am just as frustrated with this problem as others who have written, although I had good service from my CX6400 for about 2 years before experiencing what is now a constant problem.

I have had similar problems with every Epson I've had or work with. So many so that I no longer use nor recommend them... I have a small computer repair business, mostly Mac. They work for a few months or so and then ink clogs up. I've had great success with Canon so far... in fact the MP 160 has been flawless in 6 installations over the past year or so.

Tom