Thank you so much Jose. Tried what you demonstrated; did it multiple times with not much improvement and then banding started which hadn't been the original problem ( just a blocked red head). Watched another of your videos where you talked about laying the windex paper towel under the heads over night. Did this. Still banding. Then cleaned the wiper blade, re-did the sponge cleaning and did a hot wet distilled water paper towel under the heads for an hour. Everything fixed. Lesson: don't give up. I would have without your encouragement. Thank you again. Saved having to buy a new printer.
You have not mentioned having done a nozzle check! Banding can be causes my several conditions. Also are you talking about a 3800 or 3880? Are you using original ink carts or refillables?
Sorry. Did nozzle check numerous times. Ran the cleaning cycle after each attempt at cleaning the sponges. Orange and Red still had problems. R2000, OEM cartridges only. Banding didn't start until after I started the windex cleanings; before that all was fine except the Red cartridge being blocked. Worked on it for about 6 hours yesterday in total. This morning started again. Something in the last 3 steps fixed it: either cleaning the wiper blade, re-doing the sponge cleanings or the paper towel with hot distilled water under the heads. Since I did all 3 , I don't know which fixed it, but it's printing fine now. And thanks again for your tutorials; I would have been lost without them.
Thank you SO MUCH! My yellow print head was completely clogged and I did your printhead cleaning procedure, allowing the printheads to soak overnight, and now the yellow is totally working again! I let it sit for about an hour last night and it helped a little, but didn't really clear it. I was starting to think I needed to find a printer repair place, but decided to try it one more time, allowing the printheads to soak overnight, and I'm so glad I did. Thank you so much! I just sent you a donation :)
15 years ago i spoke with a epson tech and was told "you need to use the maintenance utilities if that does not work you need to toss the printer and get a new one" what a joke i asked around and found out about the trick with windex and i still have that printer today . i actually have three r2000's one ciss one with refilllable carts and one in the closet as back up, your video was great included plenmty of detail and probably saved alot of people . thank you
+brentj gordon I am glad you found this helpful. It is a huge pity the way EPSON and CANON operate. They basically treat that amazing piece of technology as a disposable item. That is of course a big pile of you know what! I currently maintain 21 Plus printers, several of them I obtained from the trash heap! If I can manage to keep them going, anyone can! It really just takes a bit of know how and lots of Patience!
Thanks to you and these videos, I was able to resurrect my 3800, clear blocked nozzles and achieve a properly functioning photo printer again. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I was about to buy a new printer.. Jose will never know how useful this was.. I now clean my r2000 two times a year... IF YOUR PRINTER DOES NOT WORK.---> Buckle Down and WATCH !! Thanks Jose
Thank you for this instruction video. Even it is 10 yers old, perfect for my printer. I have a 2009 Epson R2880 and it stopped working properly. I cleaned the printer very very well (for the first time in 14 years) following your instruction video precisly and the printer works perfectly again. I was already looking into the market for a new one, but I'm glad that my R2880, even though it's an old one, still works well. The prints come out very nice. Thx again.
Just want to thank you for this video. I was having a problem with one of my nozzles clogging and the cleaning program for my r2000 couldn't clear it. Putting windex in the pads and letting it sit for a couple of hours did the trick. Thanks for saving me from wasting my money on a new printer as my present printer id printing good as new.
One single nozzle or a Color Channel? Remember that a color channel has MANY nozzles so it is not a NOZZLE. One nozzle clogged would not even show up as a problem on prints.
I'm so glad I found your video, Jose. Epson told me to never try and clean it myself but to take it to an "expert". This means a 140 mile drive for me plus whatever they will charge me. I've had my R2000 for years and never knew of this. I don't overprint at all but the reservoir overprint sponge is saturated and sticky. I expect it will take me all day to clean that. I'm going to clean like crazy from now on since it just won't print right now probably due to this goo.
I have a followup question, Jose. I hope you don't mind. The purge pump empties into something. Where does this excess ink go and should I clean this reservoir? Do you have a video regarding this? I fear a leaky incident in my future.
Thank you so much Jose for your very good videos and explanations! I learned so many tricks and it saved my Epson printer to the rubbish! You're the best!
Thanks man! My R2000 had a serious cyan clog. Did what you said and filled the park station with Windex. Ran a Nozzle Clean and no more clog. Next up, an external ink waste bottle! Thanks again.
Great video! This brought my R2000 back to life. I can't believe how much ink I had built up on the left pad and the wiper blade. I also had a stubborn print head and letting the mechanism sit on a paper towel covered in Windex for a while did the trick.
I have kept my printer in storage for a few years and now it just prints blank pages, have changed all the cartridges and now follow these steps. Thanks
Something to add when dealing with rubber parts that are either expensive or just hard to get/replace: after cleaning with anything containing alcohol, since alcohol will eventually dry out rubber and shorten its life, wipe it with a Q-tip or paper towel that's been soaked with silicon spray. The silicon will be absorbed by the rubber and will help preserve it and extend its life. WD-40 can do this too, but could possibly leave some residue that'll affect the quality of your prints. It does work very well on vehicle wiper blades though, so might be worth a try for an experiment, as long as any excess is removed.
Thank you very much. I'm running a photo studio in Korea, and I worked hard on the banding problem and solved it with the video you uploaded. Thank you so much again.
Hi Jose, Have an Epson P600 with 90% clogged Vivid Magenta on the print head. Tried a head clean 4-5 times with out success. Used your windex/paper towel method and bingo, it printed a 100% correct test without wasting a whole lot more ink. Excellent result. Thank you heaps...
An Amazing find! Thank you! I just did all you said to do, It saved my printer. It was never cleaned before. You think Epson would give these instructions in the manual to keep your r2000 in optimum shape. I will preform this cleaning again as the printer was never cleaned, had a huge deposit of black ink and the far end. Now if I could only collimate my screen to show me what the printer prints. Seems it's always a tad under color from what my screen shows me.
Hi there. Noticed your waste ink system has two tubes going into the container vs putting in a 'Y' connector to narrow that down to a single line going in. Have you found potential issues in not having two separate discharge tubes going into the container? i've just put together a system that uses the 'Y' but at the last moment I started wondering about issues with the flow from each being constricted by the 'Y' adapter.
thankyou for this buddy, sometimes people need a place to learn and start from, this is so much more informative than the forums telling you to never print again noob :) thanks man, you fixed my 1500w, after 4 days i had nearly lost hope
Hi Jose! I have an Epson R2000 that was purchased new sometime around 2011. I am no longer a working photographer so I do not print photos professionally but I use my printer for crafting (creating invitations and the like). Well, I went to print cupcake toppers and my magenta is not working! I've done EVERYTHING. Cleaned the stem, sat the head on windex soaked paper towel, you name it. What else can I do?!! Your video has saved this printer in the past. In 2020 all heads were completely dried up after 5 years of nonuse so I'm shocked that I'm having such an issue!
Thank you so much for this video. I have an Epson XP-830 that's about 2 years old and never been cleaned, of course. It was starting to get terrible globs on photo prints. I cleaned the purge pad (which was absolutely coated in ink, I'm amazed I even got an occasional clean print) according to your instructions, waited overnight just in case, and this morning it's printing like new!
Linda Jacobs No problem. Just do that every so many months depending on your rate of use and your R2000 will continue to operate as expected.Joe AKA Jtoolman
Dear Jose, I have the same printer Epson R2000. Currently, I have a problem, that after every single printing, the printer starts the cleaning process (the same one after inserting a new cartridge). Could you possibly know what is the issue? The printer is printing every color and even the test page showed that it is completely clean. However, the printer still runs a cleaning process after every printed paper and my ink is being consumed. Thank you, Arman
Thank you so much! Very helpful advice. I was ready to trash my beloved printer when I realized I just needed to do some maintenance that I had put off for far too long.
I just got rid of an Epson R1800, and how I wished I had seen this video. I now have the R2000 so thank you Jose, for sharing your knowledge and for saving us all from future headaches! I’m an artist and I print only borderless-any tips for those of us who do?
Robert Dente Printing borderless will always deposit the over spray on top of the Platen sponges, to the right and the left edges of the paper depending on the size. Your only option is to drip Windex on those dirty areas and dab them over and over till they are as clean as possible. Otherwise you will eventually begin to get smudges on your prints if the deposits become excessive. Repeat every month or so or as needed. The way to completely avoid this is to not print borderless. But since you do, then your option is to constantly clean those areas that get dirty from over spray.
Water color paper up to over 300 gram weight can be feed from the rear feeder. The front feeder is for thicker material about 1.5mm. If you feed regular paper thinner than that it will be printer blurred due to the pretty huge head to paper distance that the printer will set itself to.
Hi, thanks for the video! I have R1900. would like to know how install that external bottle! Is there an after market product or is it home made? thanks. U
Thank you so much! I just fixed a paper feeding problem using your isopropyl-alcohol-on-half a sheet of paper and feeding it through. I did wonder, though, about the use of alcohol. You say that procedure could be done once a month, but other instructions I've seen online say not to use alcohol on the rollers, as it will dry them out, causing them to crack. How likely is using this procedure occasionally to cause that to happen? Thanks again, anyway... it worked to get my R2000 running again.
At the time I lost that it was though that it would be OK to do so. Now we know that alcohol exposure can dry out so e types of rubber. However most printer rollers are made of synthetic runner like compounds but some lower end pripri ter rollers are still plaiplain rubber. I was also made aware of an actual spray for cleaning rollers that will not harm anything. It also can be used to rejuvenate older rollers so they grip better. What would do is to onlky perform this operation only when absolutely required
Hi Joe, my R2000 has the trouble with magenta color only. Currently no any line printed out with Epson Nozzle Check. I followed your way to clean up my printer couple of times. Each time I need to repeat your procedure again and again, specaily clean up purge pads. It did get magenta color back. But it stopped work again after a couple of weeks no use. My right purge pads will dry out after I pour Windex or printhead cleaning fluid and left pads is always wet and dark. I need to use paper towlel to suck it many times. Can my printer sitll survive? Thanks for your help in advance.
after you have left the windex sit for a couple of hours, plug the printer back in, do you leave whatever is left in the pads there? or blot it out? I love your video, its awesome! thanks so much. I have spent all day trying to get my printer back working (my red cartridge is not printing out on the print test so I know its clogged) and I was at wits end. All the other information is an added bonus. Thank you. PS Im sure you will make a comment: I purchased "genuine" Epson cartridges (all 8) from China for $36, hey I had to test it out. Comparing the cost I had too! They are genuine! What I found out was after checking the utilities it provided me with the dates of each cartridge. Some are from 2011, 2009, 2013, etc. So just incase you are asked or wondered now you know. I colors are fine (Ill know for sure when the red works, lol)
Hey, Jose. I was so lucky to find your video. My wife has a R2000 that we've been using as a heavy expensive paperweight - that is - until the printhead on my Cannon Pixma MP970 stopped working, which is seems like there is little or no solution to....unless a wizard like you might have a secret or replacement option??
Canon Print Heads have a finite live span and they simply die due to the it's thermal nature. I am afraid there is not much one can do and in most case the new one will cost more then the new printer. But what is wrong with the R2000?
I was having clogged head issues so I tried sliding the cartridges along a folded paper towel damp with glass cleaner. I let it sit on the paper towel for a little while then let it dry for a few hours. Now the red cartridge is reading empty...I changed it to a brand new one and it's still reading empty. I'm thinking I may have left some paper towel in the printer? What do you suggest I do to fix this?
Thanks so much! I am about to try this on my Epson 2400. I know its ancient but its in good shape and I dont really want to retire it just yet. It only gets used for personal use and I print borderless a lot. I've been getting clogging issues so hoping this helps.
Hey Jose ... great tutorial. I still have a problem with one of the purge pads on my Epson R1800. When the head goes through the initial startup and the purge pump kicks in only one of the pads sucks the deposited ink into the purge tank. I think the hose from this purge pad is blocked. Any ideas how I could unblock this ? Cheers.
Yes the tube from that pad is blocked with dried ink and crud. Do you happen have an external waste ink bottle installed? Whether you do or not, you will have to back flush the purge system. Let me know if you do and I will describe or do a video on what you need to do to solve that.
Wonderful detailed information. I have a question about the first windex cleaning of the nozzle. From your instructions the printer is turned off and the nozzles positions overtop of the sponges. If you were to turn the printer on and then off at this point would it not lower the nozzles into the windex and do a better job?
No. you will treat the nozzle plate over three to four layers of paper toweling wetted with Windex when you slide the print over to the left. That physically wets the surface of the nozzle plate. You can also dribble some on the purge pad to dissolve any deposits downstream from the sponge ( into the pump itself ). When the print head is slid over it the FUMES alone do the job. If you park print head as you suggest the Windex will be sucked away before it parks itself.
Hi Jose,thanks for the very fine videos & for your valuable time doing & sharing them with us.my epson has gone boss eyed as well with the same problems with clogging,you say to use windex but as i am in the uk i have never come across windex so is there to your knowledge an equivalent product that i could use.we have a glass cleaner that has approximatly 5% amonia in it,would this be a suitable substitute please or what sort of strength would you advise.many thanks & take care out there from over here.cheers
I have a 4 yr old R2000. Recently, the print speed has slowed to a crawl. It will make perhaps 8 swipes across the carriage and then slow to one swipe every 4 seconds (I timed it). Multiple emails and phone calls to Epson Support have resulted in the determination that it is not a software or communication issue. Rather, it points to a hardware issue. Their recommendation is to take it to an Epson Service Center, the closest being 40 miles away in NYC (no thank you). I came across your video this morning while trying to do some more research on the slow print speed. I am embarrassed to say that I never knew you needed to perform these types of maintenance tasks. When I looked into my printer, every area that you mention is coated with ink, the pad on the far left looking like a lake. Is it possible that this is what's causing the slow print speed? NO ONE at Epson mentioned doing any cleaning such as this - no surprise. My latest nozzle check, btw, has only one missing dash in one of the black cartridges. All the rest look fine. The print quality seems fine, if a bit dulled, but there are no smudges, streaks or white lines. Thank you for any input.
Are you on WiFi?? Nothing I know of would cause slowing down of the printing process except a WiFi problem. And please do that maintenance procedure every two months. Eventually you will get unexplained black blotches all liver your prints.
Thank you so much for your response. Yes, I am on WiFi. Recently, we changed our Internet provider and hence, our router. I initially thought this was the problem, but after uninstalling and reinstalling the software and updated drivers umpteen times AND trying a USB and an Ethernet connection instead of the wireless one, the problem persisted. Did not happen with the previous router, but wouldn't the same issue with the wired connections rule out the router? Got Windex today and will definitely do the maintenance procedures. Thank you again.
Remember that when you install for WiFi and alwo USB you will get TWO copies or instances of the printer in your devices and printers. Wait...... Are you on Windows??? Please say yes. If so, you will two icons in the devices and printers. One will use WiFi and the mother USB. Make sure you are printing with the correct one Iintended for USB. I have an R3000 that prints like a Tortoise on WiFi and like a Hare on USB. But you need to select the correct printer as you will have two copies of the same one printer.
OK, Thank you. I THINK I have tried that in my quest to solve this issue on my own, but it's worth another shot tomorrow. I will let you know of the outcome. And yes, I am on Windows. Just to be clear, would you install the "USB Copy" from the original disk, or just use the "Add Device" from the devices and printers window?
No from the original disk. Delete the copy you now probably have showing up in Devices and Printers. Right Click and remove printer. Then during the reinstall choose Via USB and none of the others.
Thank you very much for your informative video. It was an eye-opener. I have an R2000. I am an artist and print semi-regularly (average once a week), even if it's a simple nozzle check. I was printing everyday last week trying to get prints out to be sent to a competition. I was doing nozzle checks in between prints just in case. For some reason, the magenta seems to be blocked every 2 prints or so but would usually clear after a head clean. However, the last clean I did didn't seem to clear the magenta. A few head cleans later, it grew worse! I also tried printing a magenta sheet (pulled off the internet), but it didn't solve the problem. Successive nozzle checks without cleaning showed the magenta lines in different places, so could it be trapped air? I swapped to a new cartridge even though the previous one wasn't empty, did a head clean, but same problem. Would you have any suggestions on what I should try next? Thanks in advance, and much appreciated.
Clean the purge pad gasket so it seals agains the printhead and cleaning cycles actually work. It relies on suction from the purge pad sealing against the printhead. Been there.
@@cheo1949 Thanks so much for your reply! Really appreciate it. I assume by "purge pad gasket", you mean the sponge area on the right where the printhead rests when idle? Unfortunately, I can't get Windex where I am (Malaysia) and ammonia is really hard to get, so I have ordered some Magic Bullet online. Not the cheapest option, I know. Hope it works. Thanks again!
Jose - my R2000 has been lightly used over the years and I never did any kind of maintenance on it until now (trying to bring it back to functional). I followed your instructions on cleaning including nozzle cleaning. When I was finished and inserted new carts (Epson OEM 159) and turned on the printer all of the orange change cartridge lights came on for all colors except GO. Is there a way to reset? I'd like to run a nozzle check and test page.
Hi Jose, thank you for great video. Can i use isoprofile alcohol to clean capin station? Can you recommend the EU alternative to Windex? Thank you for answer
I have an R2400 which started being erratic with paper feed, needing a number of tries before one got fed properly. Yesterday, it wouldn't feed a page no matter what. I came across this video of yours and picked up on the folded sheed technique. I had only 90% alcohol (probably ethyl or methyl) and gave it a try. It is not cured, but it is much better, I can get a sheet fed, but still erratic. There was a product, sort of sticky sheets, Epson code C13S041150, but these are no longer available in Europe (I am in France). What would the 'sticky' surface have been, I wonder ? Anyway, thanks for a great posting, and when my R2400 starts being bitchy with the print heads, I shall watch it all again. In the 4 or 5 years I've had my printer, I have not had clogged heads, I leave it on all the time. Same went for my R2100/2200 (Europe or US numbers different) - left switched on, never clogged heads.
Glad it has helped a bit. The R2400 was and still is a notorious cantankerous paper feeder. At least mine certainly was. The cleaning sheets simply picked up loose dust and paper fibers that build up with the passage of time. 4-5 years is actually very good for that class printer. Keep it up and it shoiuld last even longer. Thanks and take care!
do you have Idea about this? to avoid damage use On button to shout down do not. use a power strip or wall switch to shout down (printer error please turn off, then turn on)
Great video. It answered a lot of questions for me. However, I have an Epson 1430, which is somewhat different. Do you have a video specifically for it?
GREAT tutorial Jose very much appreciated!!! - May I ask for your thoughts on another issue? I am having trouble with the printed pictures being red/peach - looks like I placed a piece of cellophane over the photo. I has hoping the cleaning would solve this sadly I am still having this issue. Any Thoughts so appreciated.
You are correct def. clogged nozzle- I have followed your Print Head Clogs What to do! loosened some but, still not good. :( I will follow your advise and order some PiezoFlush. Thank you so much for all of your advise!!
trenefrank Without seeing an actual print I can only guess at what the problems is. Perform a nozzle check and see if there are any breaks in the patterns. If so, do a cleaning cycle and retest. Or check your head alignment. All of this in in the maintenance tab!
Hi Jose, I have a question about using ciss for epson r2000. What is your thoughts on using third party inks? the inks from epson is too pricy for me. Also after learning from you about maintaining printers saved mine. I appreciate this to you. My question is : 1. Your thoughts about CISS? and if not CISS, is there other types you would recommend? 2. Using CISS for epson r2000, would it harm the printhead? 3. I'm sure the quality of print would downgrade using third party inks. Do you use any third party inks? If so which one would be recommended.
If installed correctly and balanced correctly and it is perfectly designed for that printer then no it will not cause any problems. At this time there are no third party inks I would consider a close match to Original R2000 inks. www.percisoncolors has one of the best ones but still not a close match so you need lots of custom profiles for all the papers you are using in order to come somewhat close. The Gloss Optimizer and the general gloss characteristics of ALL the third party inks will not come close to OEM.
I see, thank you Jose. I was just watching your other videos about refilling cartridges on other versions of epson printer. Seems like r2000's cartridges are not refill friendly as you mentioned in the video that flushed chip versions have included with wet-sensors installed. What would be the best way to save money on inks? Refill cartridges or use ciss system for R2000? I am still investigating if there you have uploaded video about r2000 model but so far, I could not find them since you have so much abundant of info in all printers. Again, you are the master of printer, I respect you for your knowledge and mastery on your specialty Jose.
It simply is not worth trying to refill these types. Unlike CANON Epson has truly done an amazing at blocking us from refilling their OEM carts. R200 OEM cart sets are actually relatively low cost on EBAY check them out. or Use a refillable carts but I'll tell most if not all 3rd party inksets for it do not come up to par.
Very helpful, I had no idea I needed to check these things! It would be helpful for a video on how to install a waste ink bottle on the R2000. I assume the purpose of an external paste ink is to keep things from becoming over saturated and clogging?
Jose, I just acquired an older Epson Workforce 1100. As I am seeking to convert it to dye-based all-black printing, the first issue I'm facing is: when I send a document to Print, it tries to feed the paper, and the rollers appear to function well enough, but it just doesn't grab the paper to pull it into the machine. I wonder if you might suggest how I could investigate this problem.
Thanks for the video, it seems to be the most useful of several that are posted on UA-cam. In particular, the R2400 (mine) has this plastic lid over the cartridges, so some of the other videos on other Epson's aren't really applicable. Do you have a video also for unclogging the nozzles? Also, how long does one have to wait to make sure the ammonia solution is dried before actually using the printer?
+Mark Samuels Yes most EPSONs with Carts that Ride on the Printhead carriages have those covers. You can actually perform something that seems to unclog truly stubborn nozzle clogs that you can not do on the more PRO printers. After having the Print Head moved toward the center position and resting over a damp paper towel , you can remove the color cart corresponding to the color that is being stubborn and with a plain tipped syringe with a piece of tubing attach, directly inject head cleaner into the ink stem. Easy does it. As you can actually cause damage to the print head. But when done right it will most often clear out really tough clogs. I'd have to review the video to know what you are referring to when you say " how long does one have to wait to make sure the ammonia solution is dried before actually using the printer?" There really is no wait in most cases.
+Jose Rodriguez Thanks for the reply Jose. There are some other videos showing how to inject a small amount of solution into the print nozzles after removing the ink cartridges. This printer was out of use for several years so is probably very clogged, and there may be air bubbles in the nozzles. What I meant about the cleaning solution is that ammonia is pretty strong, even diluted, so wondered if one had to wait before running a print check for example. Sounds like not a problem. I am in Canada, we can buy Windex here, some other site mentioned that other ammonia cleaners could damage the print head so will stick to the windex. Am waiting for some replacement ink cartridges as some ran dry as well, can't do print checks or run the cleaning program till then. Will let you know. Mark
+Mark Samuels I've been using Windex for years without a single incident. But if you prefer, there are many Head Cleaning Solutions being sold by various companies that are ammonia free and use alcohols and surfactants ( Soap ). They are all pretty good and work as advertised. In my series on how to revive a printer, I go through the steps I used to revive an old EPSON R340 that hardly had any nozzle firing. I got it to work 100%. Have a look and you should find it useful. The key is TOTAL Patience! You can not hussy this process. But unless the printer is mechanically damaged, you should be able to get it to work.
Thanks Jose I will try to find that other video and let you know if I can't. I work in a research lab so dealing with syringes and plastic tubing is not unusual. I just don't want to break something with too much pressure or short-circuiting or wrong solvent. Sounds like the mechanics are actually fairly forgiving if one can use ammonia, alcohol or ethylene glycol (i.e. antifreeze) without damaging the print head or sponge material. I'll try just wetting and blotting first, if that doesn't work then I'll blow solution through the nozzles to clear them or remove air bubbles. But it might just be dried ink on the head itself. Thanks!
+Mark Samuels That's interesting, I also worked in a research Microbiology lab at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, not closed, for about 25 years. So I also had access to all sorts of goodies. I've never had a single problem directly caused or due to using Windex on any of my multitude of printers. If you get to the point where you will inject head cleaner into the ink stem just keep in mind that you can damage the head. So if you are able to easily inject cleaner, while the print head is resting over folded paper towels, let it sit for several hours before you inject one more time. Then replace the cartridge and restart the printer. Let it do its purge and check your nozzle check. Likely you will sill cleaner inside the channel chamber so do a cleaning cleaning cycle and recheck. If all is fine then you are set. If it still isn't but you are showing improvements, turn off the printer and let it sit overnight before retesting and possibly repeating the process. I was abler to completely restore a R340 that had about 95% of its nozzles blocked. If you are interested, watch my series on that. But patience reing king when you are trying to clear out a really stubborn channel.
HI Jose! This video is amazing! I had a Magenta clog and this video really helped. I followed the steps the last 2 days and read some of the other advise below. I'm having a terrible banding issue now, and I have a BIG print job coming up. Do you have any tips for me?
Three causes of banding can occur. One caused by missing nozzles. Not zzle check will show if that's the case Another caused by a printhead needing to be aligned. Running the head alignment either manual or auto Thirdly the encoder strip is dirty. That is something a service tech better do. Those are the three main causes to banding.
Hello Jose, Thanks for making this video. I have an Epson Photo R800 which packed up 2 hours ago after trying all sorts of button pushing I decided to look on you tube for help. The sponges were clogged and I just gave them a quick wipe off with kitchen roll - it worked and the printer started up again!! It still has a 'service needed' pop up and the printing is a tiny bit smudged so I was wondering if something else other than windex would work as its not easy to get in the UK. Maybe methylated spirit or something? Anyway thanks for saving my printer especially as I bought loads of ink just recently! Martyn.
+MrTeatime2 Glad it helped. You can use a 5% solution of regular cleaning ammonia in distilled water then use that.The Pop Up? Does it say that parts Have Reached the End of their Lives? If so that is the Waste ink Pads and the waste ink Counters need to be reset.Make sure you really clean the left most area of the platen sponge. That gets super grungy.Clean the perimeter of the Purge unit-sponge or AKA parking station and the wiper blade.You need to do this at least once every couple of months depending on how often you are printing.
+Jose Rodriguez Thanks for the reply Jose, I didn't clean the parking sponge or the wiper yet, just the very fouled big left pad. I'd like to get some ammonia and D.water to clean it all properly as your video shows. One pop up said parts have reached their end of life, now it says it needs a service! Since it's working now I'm thinking a good clean up might be all it needs and I don't intend to use it again until it's been cleaned anyway. Thanks again Jose.
+MrTeatime2 You will ha e to reset the waste ink counters zoo er or!after. There is a free tool that will work on the r800. The SSC tool I TBI k it is can!led. Or the pay per use WIC tool. You can get the too from www.octoinkjet.co.uk and you use it for free to read the couters. To reset you have to buy $10 reset serial key.
+Jose Rodriguez Thanks for all your help Jose I really appreciate it. The printer gets only light usage and I bought enough good ink to last a long time so if a clean and reset keeps it working then that's great. I didn't understand what you mean, 'The SSC tool I TBI k it is can!led.? Martyn
+MrTeatime2 Yeah. Sorry about that. Typing on my table is a bear for me! It was supposed to read "The SSC tool I thnk it's called"Go here for the SSC toolwww.ssclg.com/epsone.shtmlYou may have to run it in XP compatability mode.It should be able to reset the R800. If not then you will have to use the WIC tool fromwww.octoinkjet.co.uk for $10 per reset.
thanks 4 this ! I own a R3000 with no-genuine ink . my black matte stopped completely , no line at all on the nozzle check . Epson fixed for free , but they said it was because of my not genuine inks . Now I'm afraid to use no genuine inks again... any suggestions ? do you think it happened because of the inks of poor quality ? it worked great for months
Alessandro Piras Probably not the inks IF you bought inks from a reputable dealer and not CHINA! The cart may have also failed to feed the lines OR you may have introduced AIR into the line which is nearly impossible to remove or purge unless you reinitialize the printer, only a service tech has the software to do . That is why you had a complete failed black nozzle check on that color. You will almost NEVER have a complete failure of a color channel. That usually indicates a bad cart that leaks air and not actual clogs. You should expect to play at least $20 per 100ml or each color if you buy from reputable dealers in the USA. Anything less and you are buying crap that will hurt your expensive printer.I use OEM and top quality 3rd party inks on all my 16 CANON and EPSON photo printers! Only the best will do.Or just stick with OEM inks. No one ever said that home printing was going to be cheap. Why buy a great and expensive printer and then go cheap and feed it garbage that will probably kill it? Not a good idea right?
Jose Rodriguez I have a complete block in black. the printer was off and in storage for 5 months. before storage it printed perfectly. i have run the cleaning utility three times yesterday and three times today, black is still not printing when printing the nozzle check. going to do the windex clean but im curious about air in the line...
There are no lines to speak of on the R2000 so it is not that, but are you using a refillable cart? There ways to clear out a true clog if it is indeed that. Are you saying that one Black channel is totally blank? Not even on line?
Jose Rodriguez by carts, do you mean ink cartridge? if so, im using the carts that came with the printer direct from Epson. No lines are printing from either black. Thanks!
***** The Matte and Photo black are not printing? On your first comment you say no-genuine. So now you are using OEM inks? If both Black channels are blank I would suggest that it might be a mechanical problem that you will have to talk about with EPSON. I apologize on my previous post. I thought we were talking about the R2000. The R3000 does indeed have ink lines and if you were at one time using refillables or otherwise, you could indeed introduce air into the ink lines and that is very difficult to force out with only cleaning cycles. Only a full re initialization can force air through and out of the lines so you only have ink in them again. And Adjustment program is the only way to re initialize the printer. It will use up a ton of inks but the air will be forced out.Those programs are only available to Service techs but you can buy them off of EBAY If you look for "R3000 reset" www.ebay.com/itm/EPSON-STYLUS-PHOTO-R3000-SERVICE-ERROR-FAULT-RESET-FIX-MAINTENANCE-DISC-/161755190981?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item25a95c56c5You must be VERY careful using this software as it is meant for EPSON Engineers and you could forever ruin the printer's firmware.
+David E Well that's like apples and oranges. The EPSON R2000 is a Pigment based printer with Gloss Optimizier and the CANON Pro-100 is a dye based one. Both are excellent. Just because the R2000 is now fairly old does not mean by any means that it is inferior. I have both of them and absolutely love them.
Hi Jose, how often would you recommend to clean my printer . i have revived my R1900 WITH MAGIC BULIT.just bought Epson SP600, not used it yet . i AM a low user and how often would you do a print check using the printers nozzel check and print heads on my printer ? any help appreciated .
One more question, can the memory of the R2000 be increased? I ask because as prints are moved to the printer especially if its a large or heavy print. It seems to only take as much of the file as it has memory for and print then it takes more then prints more. It seems that if the printer had more memory that it would create a better print. My guess is no it cannot be. Also, I have performed your process that you pointed out here and I am back up printing as needed.
It's not the printer you have a spooling problem in your computer. One thing you can do is disable to spooler in the services that assuming you're using Windows computer reboot and re-enable it again.
It is used to collect diverted waste ink from the internal purge pump. It's only used on printers that have a side panel that can be removed to access the waste ink tubes. Only on printers with internal waste ink pads only. And not all of them can be modified for external waste ink collection.
Thank you for this video. After soaking with windex the nozzle check really improved. Do you know why though the photo black and matte black nozzle check sections would be totally blank? The other colors are good now, but no black at all prints on the test sheet. Can I fix this? Thanks!
Printer model???? If Epson it would almost be impossible for both to be black if the share a single black channel for PK and MK. UNLESS.... You black switch valve is damaged. That is a $300 job.
@@cheo1949 I just found this quote...from you! Wow, thanks for being so active on here. "The R2000 does not share black channels so there is no switch." So since I have an R2000, that means its not a $300 job? Then what is it... I'd really like to get my printer working again.
Okay now that we know what printer model you have and it's the r2000 that one does not share black channel so you have a clogged pair of black channels. It's really odd to me that both blacks appear to be clogged. Those are some pretty high odds that both are clogged. Now are you by any chance refilling using refillable cartridges or are you still using original cartridges? One option as a last resort it's after you have exhausted any other method of trying to unclog your print head, you could inject very very gently some cleaner directly into the two black spigots that are found inside the printhead carrier. You uninstall your two black cartridges and attach a syringe with a piece tubing connected to it and loaded with cleaner. Then very very gently attempt to inject a bit of the cleaner but if you feel any pressure what so ever you immediately stop. You do not want to delaminate the printhead by attempting to force cleaner through it. You would inject a very small amount if you are able to and then pull back a bit. Inject a little bit more and pull back and so on. You want to do this in the next several days again there's a very high chance you could damage your print is so this is as I said a last resort.
@@cheo1949 I'm using original cartridges. I soaked the sponges again, overnight this time, also ran the printer head over a folded windex soaked paper towel a couple times, and now there's a just a couple marks in the PB and MK test spaces. They don't look black though. All other colors are perfect or almost. I posted a photo of the nozzle test on dppreview www.dpreview.com/forums/post/62172964 What do you recommend next? Is it last resort time?
Cross your fingers. Just power it on do a nozzle.check and see what you have. Do one cleaning cycle and let it rest for a day then do a nozzle check. Do the Windex wetted paper towel under the print head trick. Patience is the key here. And good luck.
Are you using original inks or compatibles or refillable? Have you done a print head alignment? Do the lines you see look like blank areas or overlaps in other words white or darker?
+Kitti McMeel I would need to know what your needs are. Size of prints. Dye or pigment. There is the Pro-100 which is dye based. The Pro 1 and 10 which are pigment based with chroma optimizer simmilar to the R2000 Or the brand new Pro-1000 which has 17" print capacity. All previously mentioned models are 13" Watch Canon printer play lists. Pro-100 Pro-10 and Pro-1
+Jose Rodriguez Considering the 1000. I am a portrait photographer and I print all my own work. Typical that is a 7x10 image. I typically print 2up on 13x19 or 1 on 8.5x11.I want better quality than what I was getting with my R2000 although it was acceptable. Looking to compare P800 with Pro 1000. Or if I go with 13x19 what would you suggest?
+Kitti McMeel The PR0-1 and PRO-1000 will blow you away! They use a 12 color ink set with 5 blacks. Why so many? The tonality that separate shades of grays provide is out of this world. The gradations will be the smoothest of just about any printer out there. The PRO-1000 prints to 17" The PRO-1 to 13" so depending on what you need you can safely chose either one as they have and use the same ink set. I am about to get a PRO-1 myself as I will developing a refilling method using their original Carts The PGI029s and I will partner with precisioncolors.com for the ink set.At this point you will be using OEM for the PRO-1000 which is the correct and most ethical way to go if you are selling your work. Will you try to revive the R2000 using the method I described?
+Kitti McMeel Hobby shops as in fuel line for model airplanes. Heck email me your address and I will send you a syringe and tubing. It is really worth a try. tooljoe2003@yahoo.com
Hello, I have a samsung 28" 4k monitor and an Epson R2000 printer. When I draw a label in coreldraw x7, the colors of the label do not match the output color of the label from the monitor. I have calibrated the monitor with a spyder 4 calibrator, but it still does not output the correct color. Is my problem a monitor issue, a printer issue or a software issue?
I think it's the application. It creates vector based designs. It has to be an pixel based image or it can't be printed with color management. A PDF would react the same way. The vector file needs to be rasterized before printing.
+Kitti McMeel At this time I do not as I do not yet have either one. But if the PRO 1000 prints even a tiny bit better the the PRO 10 then it is winner in my eyes. The chroma optimizer basically assures that it will outperform the P800 but ONLY as it pertains to gloss differential and lack of bronzing effect on glossy and luster papers. If you only print to matte media, then either printer should prove excellent! I am currently trying to raise the funds needed to add a P800 to the current stable and begin to produce a series of P800 specific videos. Earnings from the video channel and fan funding will be used to achieve that goal.
Hi Jose. I ended up buying the Canon pro-1000, I have it all set up and want to make sure I'm getting the most out of it. I don't understand the relationship between the proof setup options and the ICC profiles and the choices in the printer dialog. Can you help with that or recommend a resource :) thanks.. ps waiting for my tubing and syringe to last ditch try on my epson
+Kitti McMeel Watch my latest video for the procedure!I am not familiar yet with the PRO-1000 but you can go to Keith Cooper at: www.northlight-images.co.uk/articles.php for a full review on the PRO-1000 that will be published very soon and should cover just about all you will want to know and more.I will buy a PRO-1000 for the channel but not till after I get the EPSON SC P800.Printing with ICC profiles which is the way you really should go is covered on my PRO-100 videos here in the PRO-100 playlist.You will not be controlling color in any way with the driver. You will be turning off color matching in the driver and then allowing your editing app to control color through the ICC profile for the printer and paper of choice. Watch my CANON videos. If CANON then you will choose the appropriate paper to match the paper. If you are using a 3rd party paper then you will need to download their custom paper profile for the PRO-1000 and use it instead.
Hi. I watched your video. Is it ok to spray Windex on napkins and let it sit on the print roller? I'm doing that now and alot of ink soaking up on the napkins. Because outta nowhere my printer would print blank pages... And it's all new cartridge I been using since I had the printer...
You originally mentioned rollers which have nothing to do with ink. They transport paper. So every channel except cyan is clogged? Did you determine that by actually doing a nozzle check? What printer? Arre you using OEM or refillable / compatible carts? Have you run cleaning cycle followed immediately with a nozzle check so you track if there's are any improvements?
Jose Rodriguez I have a epson 1430. Im using refillable ink been using them since I had the printer over a year. I ran the nozzle test only cyan prints. When I did the alignment text nothing prints.. I ran the head cleaning nothing working. Just lowkey flooding my printer with ink.
It has to be the refillable carts. Hardly ever would you have such an ink f!ow problem. Check to make sure they are PRIMED! If you even let them reach empty the priming chamber will empty out and that chamber must be always full. What you have now is nothing but air in them. If that is what it is and suspect that is it. They must be reprimed and topped off.
Hi Jose, Im having a problem with my R2000 printer and I have partially followed your instructions here but still having a problem. missing lines in red area. repeated head cleanings and now I'm getting some other problems after using windex. :( What should I do ?
+Kitti McMeel Red ink seems to be the killer when it comes the R2000. Something about the pigment properties. Here is what you can do as a last resort but be aware that if not done carefully you will irreparably damage the Print head and that will be the end of that. Move the print head over from the parked position as you have done when cleaning with Windex and paper towel. Place a folded strip of paper toweling under the printhead. Prepare a regular plain tipped syringe with a piece of rubber tubing attached to it that will also fit tightly onto the print head ink stem. Fill the syringe with about 5ml of Windex with ammonia. Remove the RED cart. Insert the tubing over the red ink stem tightly. Try carefully and gently to inject one ml of Windex into the print head. If it enters without ANY pressure, then proceed to inject the rest. Load some more Windex and Inject some more in but this time pull back a bit to withdraw some fluid. Remove the syringe and wash it well, load it with more Windex. Reattach and Inject more and withdraw fluid again. Repeat but this time only inject. Remove the syringe and reinstall the red cart but let the whole thing sit for a while! Slide the head back to the right. Repower the printer. The printer will do an ink purge. Do a nozzle check. Hopefully all will be back to 100%. If not you can repeat but very likely you will need to replace it. Good luck
+Kitti McMeel When you remove a carts from the Print Head Carriage as in when you replace one. It will be the only little tube like thing sticking straight up! You can miss it. You will need tubing that can fit that stem and also fit the syringe tip.
![Top Epson Ecotank maintenance tips [ET-8550 ET-8550]. Things to keep your inkjet printer healthy.](/img/n.gif)
Thank you so much Jose. Tried what you demonstrated; did it multiple times with not much improvement and then banding started which hadn't been the original problem ( just a blocked red head). Watched another of your videos where you talked about laying the windex paper towel under the heads over night. Did this. Still banding. Then cleaned the wiper blade, re-did the sponge cleaning and did a hot wet distilled water paper towel under the heads for an hour. Everything fixed. Lesson: don't give up. I would have without your encouragement. Thank you again. Saved having to buy a new printer.
You have not mentioned having done a nozzle check! Banding can be causes my several conditions. Also are you talking about a 3800 or 3880? Are you using original ink carts or refillables?
Sorry. Did nozzle check numerous times. Ran the cleaning cycle after each attempt at cleaning the sponges. Orange and Red still had problems. R2000, OEM cartridges only.
Banding didn't start until after I started the windex cleanings; before that all was fine except the Red cartridge being blocked. Worked on it for about 6 hours yesterday in total. This morning started again. Something in the last 3 steps fixed it: either cleaning the wiper blade, re-doing the sponge cleanings or the paper towel with hot distilled water under the heads. Since I did all 3 , I don't know which fixed it, but it's printing fine now. And thanks again for your tutorials; I would have been lost without them.
Glad to hear it. Make sure If to print often. Orange and red are very dense colors and will the first to cause clogs due to lack of use.
Thank you SO MUCH! My yellow print head was completely clogged and I did your printhead cleaning procedure, allowing the printheads to soak overnight, and now the yellow is totally working again! I let it sit for about an hour last night and it helped a little, but didn't really clear it. I was starting to think I needed to find a printer repair place, but decided to try it one more time, allowing the printheads to soak overnight, and I'm so glad I did. Thank you so much! I just sent you a donation :)
I saw that and I thank you profusely! Glad it all worked out for you and your printer.
15 years ago i spoke with a epson tech and was told "you need to use the maintenance utilities if that does not work you need to toss the printer and get a new one" what a joke i asked around and found out about the trick with windex and i still have that printer today . i actually have three r2000's one ciss one with refilllable carts and one in the closet as back up, your video was great included plenmty of detail and probably saved alot of people . thank you
+brentj gordon I am glad you found this helpful. It is a huge pity the way EPSON and CANON operate. They basically treat that amazing piece of technology as a disposable item. That is of course a big pile of you know what!
I currently maintain 21 Plus printers, several of them I obtained from the trash heap! If I can manage to keep them going, anyone can! It really just takes a bit of know how and lots of Patience!
+brentj gordon They are so full of it! I can keep 21 plus printers going and several I got from thrash!
+brentj gordon They are so full of it! I can keep 21 plus printers going and several I got from thrash!
+brentj gordon They are so full of it! I can keep 21 plus printers going and several I got from thrash!
Thanks to you and these videos, I was able to resurrect my 3800, clear blocked nozzles and achieve a properly functioning photo printer again. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I was about to buy a new printer.. Jose will never know how useful this was.. I now clean my r2000 two times a year... IF YOUR PRINTER DOES NOT WORK.---> Buckle Down and WATCH !! Thanks Jose
This simple.bit of maintenance will apply to just about every Epson 17" wide or smaller printer!
Thank you for this instruction video. Even it is 10 yers old, perfect for my printer. I have a 2009 Epson R2880 and it stopped working properly. I cleaned the printer very very well (for the first time in 14 years) following your instruction video precisly and the printer works perfectly again. I was already looking into the market for a new one, but I'm glad that my R2880, even though it's an old one, still works well. The prints come out very nice. Thx again.
Just want to thank you for this video. I was having a problem with one of my nozzles clogging and the cleaning program for my r2000 couldn't clear it. Putting windex in the pads and letting it sit for a couple of hours did the trick. Thanks for saving me from wasting my money on a new printer as my present printer id printing good as new.
One single nozzle or a Color Channel? Remember that a color channel has MANY nozzles so it is not a NOZZLE. One nozzle clogged would not even show up as a problem on prints.
I'm so glad I found your video, Jose. Epson told me to never try and clean it myself but to take it to an "expert". This means a 140 mile drive for me plus whatever they will charge me. I've had my R2000 for years and never knew of this. I don't overprint at all but the reservoir overprint sponge is saturated and sticky. I expect it will take me all day to clean that. I'm going to clean like crazy from now on since it just won't print right now probably due to this goo.
Go slowly and take your time! Epson doesn't want your printer to last too long. The want your to buy a new model printer.
I have a followup question, Jose. I hope you don't mind. The purge pump empties into something. Where does this excess ink go and should I clean this reservoir? Do you have a video regarding this? I fear a leaky incident in my future.
It empties to the very internal bottom of the Printer. That is where the waste ink pads reside.
Thank you so much Jose for your very good videos and explanations! I learned so many tricks and it saved my Epson printer to the rubbish! You're the best!
Thanks man! My R2000 had a serious cyan clog. Did what you said and filled the park station with Windex. Ran a Nozzle Clean and no more clog. Next up, an external ink waste bottle! Thanks again.
Awesome.
Great video! This brought my R2000 back to life. I can't believe how much ink I had built up on the left pad and the wiper blade. I also had a stubborn print head and letting the mechanism sit on a paper towel covered in Windex for a while did the trick.
Great to hear!
thanks for this! Very helpful. I've been struggling with my Epson r3000 for years and should have watched this long ago!
I have kept my printer in storage for a few years and now it just prints blank pages, have changed all the cartridges and now follow these steps. Thanks
Something to add when dealing with rubber parts that are either expensive or just hard to get/replace: after cleaning with anything containing alcohol, since alcohol will eventually dry out rubber and shorten its life, wipe it with a Q-tip or paper towel that's been soaked with silicon spray. The silicon will be absorbed by the rubber and will help preserve it and extend its life. WD-40 can do this too, but could possibly leave some residue that'll affect the quality of your prints. It does work very well on vehicle wiper blades though, so might be worth a try for an experiment, as long as any excess is removed.
You're the only one that has been helpful at all.
Thank you very much. I'm running a photo studio in Korea, and I worked hard on the banding problem and solved it with the video you uploaded. Thank you so much again.
Thank you. I just performed maintenance on my R2400 that was just given to me by a friend, and it matched your video perfectly
That's great. Hope it worked perfectly after that.
Thank you. This helped A LOT. Took a while, lots of patients to clean the sponge, but worth it.
It takes a ton of patience. I am working on that same printer again to get it to print 100% again.
Hi Jose, Have an Epson P600 with 90% clogged Vivid Magenta on the print head. Tried a head clean 4-5 times with out success. Used your windex/paper towel method and bingo, it printed a 100% correct test without wasting a whole lot more ink. Excellent result. Thank you heaps...
Awesome to hear!
An Amazing find! Thank you! I just did all you said to do, It saved my printer. It was never cleaned before. You think Epson would give these instructions in the manual to keep your r2000 in optimum shape. I will preform this cleaning again as the printer was never cleaned, had a huge deposit of black ink and the far end. Now if I could only collimate my screen to show me what the printer prints. Seems it's always a tad under color from what my screen shows me.
Thanks for taking the time to put this together. GREAT HELP! Much appreciated. Bookmarking this.
+Glenford Laughton Thank you I am glad you found it helpfull!
Thank you for taking the mystery out of these printers for us. This has been very helpful as are your other video tutorials.
Thank you Conrad!
Hi there. Noticed your waste ink system has two tubes going into the container vs putting in a 'Y' connector to narrow that down to a single line going in.
Have you found potential issues in not having two separate discharge tubes going into the container? i've just put together a system that uses the 'Y' but at the last moment I started wondering about issues with the flow from each being constricted by the 'Y' adapter.
That was soooo helpful. Now my Epson R2880 is printing without stripes
Awesome.
thankyou for this buddy, sometimes people need a place to learn and start from, this is so much more informative than the forums telling you to never print again noob :) thanks man, you fixed my 1500w, after 4 days i had nearly lost hope
Awesome. Thanks.
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Hi Jose!
I have an Epson R2000 that was purchased new sometime around 2011. I am no longer a working photographer so I do not print photos professionally but I use my printer for crafting (creating invitations and the like). Well, I went to print cupcake toppers and my magenta is not working! I've done EVERYTHING. Cleaned the stem, sat the head on windex soaked paper towel, you name it. What else can I do?!! Your video has saved this printer in the past. In 2020 all heads were completely dried up after 5 years of nonuse so I'm shocked that I'm having such an issue!
Thank you so much for this video. I have an Epson XP-830 that's about 2 years old and never been cleaned, of course. It was starting to get terrible globs on photo prints. I cleaned the purge pad (which was absolutely coated in ink, I'm amazed I even got an occasional clean print) according to your instructions, waited overnight just in case, and this morning it's printing like new!
Just cleaned my R2000 using this excellent video. Thanks so much!
Linda Jacobs No problem. Just do that every so many months depending on your rate of use and your R2000 will continue to operate as expected.Joe AKA Jtoolman
Dear Jose, I have the same printer Epson R2000. Currently, I have a problem, that after every single printing, the printer starts the cleaning process (the same one after inserting a new cartridge). Could you possibly know what is the issue? The printer is printing every color and even the test page showed that it is completely clean. However, the printer still runs a cleaning process after every printed paper and my ink is being consumed. Thank you, Arman
Hello, that's a great video. My R2000 has a severely clogged yellow nozzle. I've tried everything and can't unclog it. Any ideas?
Thank you so much! Very helpful advice. I was ready to trash my beloved printer when I realized I just needed to do some maintenance that I had put off for far too long.
I always Love💝 the Instructional Videos with Voiceover(Explanation)👍👍👍👍 than those with Noise🤧😤(They think Music🎼)😡😡😡😡😡
Hey great video just wondering if you know whether or not this printer will work with chromebook 2?
You are a great Teacher. Nan
Thank you!
I just got rid of an Epson R1800, and how I wished I had seen this video. I now have the R2000 so thank you Jose, for sharing your knowledge and for saving us all from future headaches! I’m an artist and I print only borderless-any tips for those of us who do?
Robert Dente Printing borderless will always deposit the over spray on top of the Platen sponges, to the right and the left edges of the paper depending on the size. Your only option is to drip Windex on those dirty areas and dab them over and over till they are as clean as possible. Otherwise you will eventually begin to get smudges on your prints if the deposits become excessive.
Repeat every month or so or as needed. The way to completely avoid this is to not print borderless. But since you do, then your option is to constantly clean those areas that get dirty from over spray.
Many thanks again Jose. I have another question/dilemma if you have the patience?
Does the Front Feed Thick Stock option work with non-think watercolor paper. I couldn’t get it to work with Arches watercolor stock.
Water color paper up to over 300 gram weight can be feed from the rear feeder. The front feeder is for thicker material about 1.5mm.
If you feed regular paper thinner than that it will be printer blurred due to the pretty huge head to paper distance that the printer will set itself to.
Hi, thanks for the video! I have R1900. would like to know how install that external bottle! Is there an after market product or is it home made? thanks. U
Thank you so much! I just fixed a paper feeding problem using your isopropyl-alcohol-on-half a sheet of paper and feeding it through. I did wonder, though, about the use of alcohol. You say that procedure could be done once a month, but other instructions I've seen online say not to use alcohol on the rollers, as it will dry them out, causing them to crack. How likely is using this procedure occasionally to cause that to happen? Thanks again, anyway... it worked to get my R2000 running again.
At the time I lost that it was though that it would be OK to do so. Now we know that alcohol exposure can dry out so e types of rubber. However most printer rollers are made of synthetic runner like compounds but some lower end pripri ter rollers are still plaiplain rubber. I was also made aware of an actual spray for cleaning rollers that will not harm anything. It also can be used to rejuvenate older rollers so they grip better. What would do is to onlky perform this operation only when absolutely required
You do a good job at explaining this cleaning. How can I get ahold of you Beto have a problem with my printer after cleaning?
Hi Joe, my R2000 has the trouble with magenta color only. Currently no any line printed out with Epson Nozzle Check. I followed your way to clean up my printer couple of times. Each time I need to repeat your procedure again and again, specaily clean up purge pads. It did get magenta color back. But it stopped work again after a couple of weeks no use. My right purge pads will dry out after I pour Windex or printhead cleaning fluid and left pads is always wet and dark. I need to use paper towlel to suck it many times. Can my printer sitll survive? Thanks for your help in advance.
after you have left the windex sit for a couple of hours, plug the printer back in, do you leave whatever is left in the pads there? or blot it out? I love your video, its awesome! thanks so much. I have spent all day trying to get my printer back working (my red cartridge is not printing out on the print test so I know its clogged) and I was at wits end. All the other information is an added bonus. Thank you. PS Im sure you will make a comment: I purchased "genuine" Epson cartridges (all 8) from China for $36, hey I had to test it out. Comparing the cost I had too! They are genuine! What I found out was after checking the utilities it provided me with the dates of each cartridge. Some are from 2011, 2009, 2013, etc. So just incase you are asked or wondered now you know. I colors are fine (Ill know for sure when the red works, lol)
You carefully blot it up by dabbing. Good luck and let me know how it all turns out.
Well when I ran the test page the red square did not appear.
What printer make and models again? R2000?
I will repeat the paper towel under the print head.
Patience is imperative.
Thanks a lot! I got mine all clean except for the mk.. looks like its perma-clogged?! Maybe its the line that goes from the ink to the head?
Hey, Jose. I was so lucky to find your video. My wife has a R2000 that we've been using as a heavy expensive paperweight - that is - until the printhead on my Cannon Pixma MP970 stopped working, which is seems like there is little or no solution to....unless a wizard like you might have a secret or replacement option??
Canon Print Heads have a finite live span and they simply die due to the it's thermal nature. I am afraid there is not much one can do and in most case the new one will cost more then the new printer. But what is wrong with the R2000?
hello friend, good video Maintenance on Epson R2000
I was having clogged head issues so I tried sliding the cartridges along a folded paper towel damp with glass cleaner. I let it sit on the paper towel for a little while then let it dry for a few hours. Now the red cartridge is reading empty...I changed it to a brand new one and it's still reading empty. I'm thinking I may have left some paper towel in the printer? What do you suggest I do to fix this?
very informative sir
Thanks so much! I am about to try this on my Epson 2400. I know its ancient but its in good shape and I dont really want to retire it just yet. It only gets used for personal use and I print borderless a lot. I've been getting clogging issues so hoping this helps.
Regular maintenance and your Epson printers will last many years.
Great easy to follow instructions. Just cleaned my R2000. How about the external waste ink tank. Is that something you can buy as a kit? Thanks
It is just a bottle and some tubing. There are some specialized kits from the uk at www.octoinkjet.co.uk
Hey Jose ... great tutorial. I still have a problem with one of the purge pads on my Epson R1800. When the head goes through the initial startup and the purge pump kicks in only one of the pads sucks the deposited ink into the purge tank. I think the hose from this purge pad is blocked. Any ideas how I could unblock this ? Cheers.
Yes the tube from that pad is blocked with dried ink and crud. Do you happen have an external waste ink bottle installed? Whether you do or not, you will have to back flush the purge system. Let me know if you do and I will describe or do a video on what you need to do to solve that.
Hello Jose, I have the normal ink system, no external. Yes I thought that was the case, how would I back flush my system ? Thanks so much !
Wonderful detailed information. I have a question about the first windex cleaning of the nozzle. From your instructions the printer is turned off and the nozzles positions overtop of the sponges. If you were to turn the printer on and then off at this point would it not lower the nozzles into the windex and do a better job?
No. you will treat the nozzle plate over three to four layers of paper toweling wetted with Windex when you slide the print over to the left. That physically wets the surface of the nozzle plate. You can also dribble some on the purge pad to dissolve any deposits downstream from the sponge ( into the pump itself ). When the print head is slid over it the FUMES alone do the job. If you park print head as you suggest the Windex will be sucked away before it parks itself.
Thank you very much. Your answers are great since you provide context as well.
Thank you!
Great job, Jose! Thank you for your thorough instruction!
+Roosevelt Brown Gland you enjoyed it. Hope it is of some help.
Jose Rodriguez Yes, It Was.
Hi Jose,thanks for the very fine videos & for your valuable time doing & sharing them with us.my epson has gone boss eyed as well with the same problems with clogging,you say to use windex but as i am in the uk i have never come across windex so is there to your knowledge an equivalent product that i could use.we have a glass cleaner that has approximatly 5% amonia in it,would this be a suitable substitute please or what sort of strength would you advise.many thanks & take care out there from over here.cheers
I would look into a product sold by MARRUTT which is in the UK called MagicBulit. I has a very good reputation.
ok Jose many thanks i will keep a lookout for this product & give it a try.thanks again for your time & for all of your great vids & info.cheers
It's supposed to be good!
Thank you very much for posting this video! Procedure works on the Epson R3000 too.
+John Anderson Glad you found it helpful! Thanks for watching!
I have a 4 yr old R2000. Recently, the print speed has slowed to a crawl. It will make perhaps 8 swipes across the carriage and then slow to one swipe every 4 seconds (I timed it). Multiple emails and phone calls to Epson Support have resulted in the determination that it is not a software or communication issue. Rather, it points to a hardware issue. Their recommendation is to take it to an Epson Service Center, the closest being 40 miles away in NYC (no thank you). I came across your video this morning while trying to do some more research on the slow print speed. I am embarrassed to say that I never knew you needed to perform these types of maintenance tasks. When I looked into my printer, every area that you mention is coated with ink, the pad on the far left looking like a lake. Is it possible that this is what's causing the slow print speed? NO ONE at Epson mentioned doing any cleaning such as this - no surprise. My latest nozzle check, btw, has only one missing dash in one of the black cartridges. All the rest look fine. The print quality seems fine, if a bit dulled, but there are no smudges, streaks or white lines.
Thank you for any input.
Are you on WiFi?? Nothing I know of would cause slowing down of the printing process except a WiFi problem. And please do that maintenance procedure every two months. Eventually you will get unexplained black blotches all liver your prints.
Thank you so much for your response. Yes, I am on WiFi. Recently, we changed our Internet provider and hence, our router. I initially thought this was the problem, but after uninstalling and reinstalling the software and updated drivers umpteen times AND trying a USB and an Ethernet connection instead of the wireless one, the problem persisted. Did not happen with the previous router, but wouldn't the same issue with the wired connections rule out the router?
Got Windex today and will definitely do the maintenance procedures.
Thank you again.
Remember that when you install for WiFi and alwo USB you will get TWO copies or instances of the printer in your devices and printers. Wait...... Are you on Windows??? Please say yes. If so, you will two icons in the devices and printers. One will use WiFi and the mother USB. Make sure you are printing with the correct one Iintended for USB. I have an R3000 that prints like a Tortoise on WiFi and like a Hare on USB. But you need to select the correct printer as you will have two copies of the same one printer.
OK, Thank you. I THINK I have tried that in my quest to solve this issue on my own, but it's worth another shot tomorrow. I will let you know of the outcome. And yes, I am on Windows.
Just to be clear, would you install the "USB Copy" from the original disk, or just use the "Add Device" from the devices and printers window?
No from the original disk. Delete the copy you now probably have showing up in Devices and Printers. Right Click and remove printer. Then during the reinstall choose Via USB and none of the others.
Thank you very much for your informative video. It was an eye-opener. I have an R2000. I am an artist and print semi-regularly (average once a week), even if it's a simple nozzle check. I was printing everyday last week trying to get prints out to be sent to a competition. I was doing nozzle checks in between prints just in case. For some reason, the magenta seems to be blocked every 2 prints or so but would usually clear after a head clean. However, the last clean I did didn't seem to clear the magenta. A few head cleans later, it grew worse! I also tried printing a magenta sheet (pulled off the internet), but it didn't solve the problem. Successive nozzle checks without cleaning showed the magenta lines in different places, so could it be trapped air? I swapped to a new cartridge even though the previous one wasn't empty, did a head clean, but same problem. Would you have any suggestions on what I should try next? Thanks in advance, and much appreciated.
Clean the purge pad gasket so it seals agains the printhead and cleaning cycles actually work. It relies on suction from the purge pad sealing against the printhead. Been there.
@@cheo1949 Thanks so much for your reply! Really appreciate it. I assume by "purge pad gasket", you mean the sponge area on the right where the printhead rests when idle? Unfortunately, I can't get Windex where I am (Malaysia) and ammonia is really hard to get, so I have ordered some Magic Bullet online. Not the cheapest option, I know. Hope it works. Thanks again!
Jose - my R2000 has been lightly used over the years and I never did any kind of maintenance on it until now (trying to bring it back to functional). I followed your instructions on cleaning including nozzle cleaning. When I was finished and inserted new carts (Epson OEM 159) and turned on the printer all of the orange change cartridge lights came on for all colors except GO. Is there a way to reset? I'd like to run a nozzle check and test page.
You may have a problem.
Hi Jose, thank you for great video. Can i use isoprofile alcohol to clean capin station? Can you recommend the EU alternative to Windex? Thank you for answer
Alcohol will not dissolve ink effectively. You need a cleaning solution designed for this. Magic Bulit I believe is sold in Europe.
In Greece we have Ajax. It is ammonia based window cleaner.
I have an R2400 which started being erratic with paper feed, needing a number of tries before one got fed properly. Yesterday, it wouldn't feed a page no matter what. I came across this video of yours and picked up on the folded sheed technique. I had only 90% alcohol (probably ethyl or methyl) and gave it a try. It is not cured, but it is much better, I can get a sheet fed, but still erratic. There was a product, sort of sticky sheets, Epson code C13S041150, but these are no longer available in Europe (I am in France). What would the 'sticky' surface have been, I wonder ? Anyway, thanks for a great posting, and when my R2400 starts being bitchy with the print heads, I shall watch it all again. In the 4 or 5 years I've had my printer, I have not had clogged heads, I leave it on all the time. Same went for my R2100/2200 (Europe or US numbers different) - left switched on, never clogged heads.
Glad it has helped a bit. The R2400 was and still is a notorious cantankerous paper feeder. At least mine certainly was. The cleaning sheets simply picked up loose dust and paper fibers that build up with the passage of time. 4-5 years is actually very good for that class printer. Keep it up and it shoiuld last even longer. Thanks and take care!
do you have Idea about this? to avoid damage use On button to shout down do not. use a power strip or wall switch to shout down (printer error please turn off, then turn on)
Great video. It answered a lot of questions for me. However, I have an Epson 1430, which is somewhat different. Do you have a video specifically for it?
Not really. All have print heads. Purge pads on far right. Purge pad gaskets. Wiper blades. The R2000 is maintained the same Way as the 1400 series.
@@cheo1949 Thanks! Yes, your instructions for the R2000 worked for my 1430. Just checking to see if there is something I missed.
thank you so much. a really big help po
GREAT tutorial Jose very much appreciated!!! - May I ask for your thoughts on another issue? I am having trouble with the printed pictures being red/peach - looks like I placed a piece of cellophane over the photo. I has hoping the cleaning would solve this sadly I am still having this issue. Any Thoughts so appreciated.
Well have you checked you nozzle check? I bet your Cyan is not printing at 100%
You are correct def. clogged nozzle- I have followed your Print Head Clogs What to do! loosened some but, still not good. :( I will follow your advise and order some PiezoFlush. Thank you so much for all of your advise!!
You left out something important. What printer and model are we talking about here? I can only help you if they are Photo Printers.
Epson R2000
Piezoflush will do wonders and next time you need to use your printer often so it does not clog again.
Hello, this is a very helpful video!! Thanks!! I do need some assistance.. I have very thin lines going across my photos.. what should I do?
trenefrank Without seeing an actual print I can only guess at what the problems is.
Perform a nozzle check and see if there are any breaks in the patterns. If so, do a cleaning cycle and retest. Or check your head alignment. All of this in in the maintenance tab!
Thanks for this video... cant wait till I have the time to do this
Thanks.
Hi Jose, I have a question about using ciss for epson r2000. What is your thoughts on using third party inks? the inks from epson is too pricy for me. Also after learning from you about maintaining printers saved mine. I appreciate this to you.
My question is :
1. Your thoughts about CISS? and if not CISS, is there other types you would recommend?
2. Using CISS for epson r2000, would it harm the printhead?
3. I'm sure the quality of print would downgrade using third party inks. Do you use any third party inks? If so which one would be recommended.
If installed correctly and balanced correctly and it is perfectly designed for that printer then no it will not cause any problems.
At this time there are no third party inks I would consider a close match to Original R2000 inks. www.percisoncolors has one of the best ones but still not a close match so you need lots of custom profiles for all the papers you are using in order to come somewhat close. The Gloss Optimizer and the general gloss characteristics of ALL the third party inks will not come close to OEM.
I see, thank you Jose. I was just watching your other videos about refilling cartridges on other versions of epson printer. Seems like r2000's cartridges are not refill friendly as you mentioned in the video that flushed chip versions have included with wet-sensors installed. What would be the best way to save money on inks? Refill cartridges or use ciss system for R2000? I am still investigating if there you have uploaded video about r2000 model but so far, I could not find them since you have so much abundant of info in all printers.
Again, you are the master of printer, I respect you for your knowledge and mastery on your specialty Jose.
It simply is not worth trying to refill these types. Unlike CANON Epson has truly done an amazing at blocking us from refilling their OEM carts. R200 OEM cart sets are actually relatively low cost on EBAY check them out. or Use a refillable carts but I'll tell most if not all 3rd party inksets for it do not come up to par.
Very helpful, I had no idea I needed to check these things! It would be helpful for a video on how to install a waste ink bottle on the R2000. I assume the purpose of an external paste ink is to keep things from becoming over saturated and clogging?
Neither do a ton of printer owners. You HAVE to regularly perform these maintenance steps if you expect your printer to last years.
Thank you so much for posting this! You are wonderful!
***** Thanks
It helps a lot. thanks for the video
Hello Rodriguez, merry Christmas to you and your family ! I was wondering what kind of maintenance is required for the canon pixma pro 100s ?
The truth is I have not done anything other than what the printer does on it;s own and it is now 6.5 years and still printing perfectly.
Jose, I just acquired an older Epson Workforce 1100. As I am seeking to convert it to dye-based all-black printing, the first issue I'm facing is: when I send a document to Print, it tries to feed the paper, and the rollers appear to function well enough, but it just doesn't grab the paper to pull it into the machine. I wonder if you might suggest how I could investigate this problem.
Well your rollers may simply be worn out. After all it is over 15 years old.
HI! i bought a used R2000 and im printing black pages. How do you clean the printhead?
Thanks for the video, it seems to be the most useful of several that are posted on UA-cam. In particular, the R2400 (mine) has this plastic lid over the cartridges, so some of the other videos on other Epson's aren't really applicable. Do you have a video also for unclogging the nozzles? Also, how long does one have to wait to make sure the ammonia solution is dried before actually using the printer?
+Mark Samuels Yes most EPSONs with Carts that Ride on the Printhead carriages have those covers. You can actually perform something that seems to unclog truly stubborn nozzle clogs that you can not do on the more PRO printers.
After having the Print Head moved toward the center position and resting over a damp paper towel , you can remove the color cart corresponding to the color that is being stubborn and with a plain tipped syringe with a piece of tubing attach, directly inject head cleaner into the ink stem. Easy does it. As you can actually cause damage to the print head. But when done right it will most often clear out really tough clogs.
I'd have to review the video to know what you are referring to when you say " how long does one have to wait to make sure the ammonia solution is dried before actually using the printer?"
There really is no wait in most cases.
+Jose Rodriguez Thanks for the reply Jose. There are some other videos showing how to inject a small amount of solution into the print nozzles after removing the ink cartridges. This printer was out of use for several years so is probably very clogged, and there may be air bubbles in the nozzles. What I meant about the cleaning solution is that ammonia is pretty strong, even diluted, so wondered if one had to wait before running a print check for example. Sounds like not a problem. I am in Canada, we can buy Windex here, some other site mentioned that other ammonia cleaners could damage the print head so will stick to the windex. Am waiting for some replacement ink cartridges as some ran dry as well, can't do print checks or run the cleaning program till then. Will let you know. Mark
+Mark Samuels I've been using Windex for years without a single incident. But if you prefer, there are many Head Cleaning Solutions being sold by various companies that are ammonia free and use alcohols and surfactants ( Soap ). They are all pretty good and work as advertised.
In my series on how to revive a printer, I go through the steps I used to revive an old EPSON R340 that hardly had any nozzle firing. I got it to work 100%.
Have a look and you should find it useful. The key is TOTAL Patience! You can not hussy this process. But unless the printer is mechanically damaged, you should be able to get it to work.
Thanks Jose I will try to find that other video and let you know if I can't. I work in a research lab so dealing with syringes and plastic tubing is not unusual. I just don't want to break something with too much pressure or short-circuiting or wrong solvent. Sounds like the mechanics are actually fairly forgiving if one can use ammonia, alcohol or ethylene glycol (i.e. antifreeze) without damaging the print head or sponge material. I'll try just wetting and blotting first, if that doesn't work then I'll blow solution through the nozzles to clear them or remove air bubbles. But it might just be dried ink on the head itself. Thanks!
+Mark Samuels That's interesting, I also worked in a research Microbiology lab at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, not closed, for about 25 years. So I also had access to all sorts of goodies.
I've never had a single problem directly caused or due to using Windex on any of my multitude of printers.
If you get to the point where you will inject head cleaner into the ink stem just keep in mind that you can damage the head. So if you are able to easily inject cleaner, while the print head is resting over folded paper towels, let it sit for several hours before you inject one more time. Then replace the cartridge and restart the printer. Let it do its purge and check your nozzle check. Likely you will sill cleaner inside the channel chamber so do a cleaning cleaning cycle and recheck. If all is fine then you are set. If it still isn't but you are showing improvements, turn off the printer and let it sit overnight before retesting and possibly repeating the process.
I was abler to completely restore a R340 that had about 95% of its nozzles blocked. If you are interested, watch my series on that.
But patience reing king when you are trying to clear out a really stubborn channel.
Thank you so much, Jose!! It worked on my Epson R2000. :)
Glad to hear that.
HI Jose! This video is amazing! I had a Magenta clog and this video really helped. I followed the steps the last 2 days and read some of the other advise below. I'm having a terrible banding issue now, and I have a BIG print job coming up. Do you have any tips for me?
Three causes of banding can occur. One caused by missing nozzles. Not zzle check will show if that's the case
Another caused by a printhead needing to be aligned.
Running the head alignment either manual or auto
Thirdly the encoder strip is dirty. That is something a service tech better do.
Those are the three main causes to banding.
Ok, I will keep running checks and alignments.Thank you, Jose for getting back to me so quickly.
So is your nozzle check perfect??
Hello Jose,
Thanks for making this video. I have an Epson Photo R800 which packed up 2 hours ago after trying all sorts of button pushing I decided to look on you tube for help. The sponges were clogged and I just gave them a quick wipe off with kitchen roll - it worked and the printer started up again!!
It still has a 'service needed' pop up and the printing is a tiny bit smudged so I was wondering if something else other than windex would work as its not easy to get in the UK.
Maybe methylated spirit or something?
Anyway thanks for saving my printer especially as I bought loads of ink just recently!
Martyn.
+MrTeatime2 Glad it helped. You can use a 5% solution of regular cleaning ammonia in distilled water then use that.The Pop Up? Does it say that parts Have Reached the End of their Lives? If so that is the Waste ink Pads and the waste ink Counters need to be reset.Make sure you really clean the left most area of the platen sponge. That gets super grungy.Clean the perimeter of the Purge unit-sponge or AKA parking station and the wiper blade.You need to do this at least once every couple of months depending on how often you are printing.
+Jose Rodriguez Thanks for the reply Jose, I didn't clean the parking sponge or the wiper yet, just the very fouled big left pad. I'd like to get some ammonia and D.water to clean it all properly as your video shows. One pop up said parts have reached their end of life, now it says it needs a service! Since it's working now I'm thinking a good clean up might be all it needs and I don't intend to use it again until it's been cleaned anyway. Thanks again Jose.
+MrTeatime2 You will ha e to reset the waste ink counters zoo er or!after. There is a free tool that will work on the r800. The SSC tool I TBI k it is can!led. Or the pay per use WIC tool. You can get the too from www.octoinkjet.co.uk and you use it for free to read the couters. To reset you have to buy $10 reset serial key.
+Jose Rodriguez Thanks for all your help Jose I really appreciate it.
The printer gets only light usage and I bought enough good ink to last a long time so if a clean and reset keeps it working then that's great.
I didn't understand what you mean, 'The SSC tool I TBI k it is can!led.?
Martyn
+MrTeatime2 Yeah. Sorry about that. Typing on my table is a bear for me! It was supposed to read "The SSC tool I thnk it's called"Go here for the SSC toolwww.ssclg.com/epsone.shtmlYou may have to run it in XP compatability mode.It should be able to reset the R800. If not then you will have to use the WIC tool fromwww.octoinkjet.co.uk for $10 per reset.
Thank you, very useful video
thanks 4 this ! I own a R3000 with no-genuine ink . my black matte stopped completely , no line at all on the nozzle check . Epson fixed for free , but they said it was because of my not genuine inks . Now I'm afraid to use no genuine inks again... any suggestions ? do you think it happened because of the inks of poor quality ? it worked great for months
Alessandro Piras Probably not the inks IF you bought inks from a reputable dealer and not CHINA! The cart may have also failed to feed the lines OR you may have introduced AIR into the line which is nearly impossible to remove or purge unless you reinitialize the printer, only a service tech has the software to do . That is why you had a complete failed black nozzle check on that color. You will almost NEVER have a complete failure of a color channel. That usually indicates a bad cart that leaks air and not actual clogs. You should expect to play at least $20 per 100ml or each color if you buy from reputable dealers in the USA. Anything less and you are buying crap that will hurt your expensive printer.I use OEM and top quality 3rd party inks on all my 16 CANON and EPSON photo printers! Only the best will do.Or just stick with OEM inks. No one ever said that home printing was going to be cheap. Why buy a great and expensive printer and then go cheap and feed it garbage that will probably kill it? Not a good idea right?
Jose Rodriguez I have a complete block in black. the printer was off and in storage for 5 months. before storage it printed perfectly. i have run the cleaning utility three times yesterday and three times today, black is still not printing when printing the nozzle check. going to do the windex clean but im curious about air in the line...
There are no lines to speak of on the R2000 so it is not that, but are you using a refillable cart? There ways to clear out a true clog if it is indeed that. Are you saying that one Black channel is totally blank? Not even on line?
Jose Rodriguez by carts, do you mean ink cartridge? if so, im using the carts that came with the printer direct from Epson. No lines are printing from either black. Thanks!
***** The Matte and Photo black are not printing? On your first comment you say no-genuine. So now you are using OEM inks? If both Black channels are blank I would suggest that it might be a mechanical problem that you will have to talk about with EPSON. I apologize on my previous post. I thought we were talking about the R2000. The R3000 does indeed have ink lines and if you were at one time using refillables or otherwise, you could indeed introduce air into the ink lines and that is very difficult to force out with only cleaning cycles. Only a full re initialization can force air through and out of the lines so you only have ink in them again. And Adjustment program is the only way to re initialize the printer. It will use up a ton of inks but the air will be forced out.Those programs are only available to Service techs but you can buy them off of EBAY If you look for "R3000 reset" www.ebay.com/itm/EPSON-STYLUS-PHOTO-R3000-SERVICE-ERROR-FAULT-RESET-FIX-MAINTENANCE-DISC-/161755190981?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item25a95c56c5You must be VERY careful using this software as it is meant for EPSON Engineers and you could forever ruin the printer's firmware.
do you think this printer is still good today compared to the new printers like the canon pro 100?
+David E Well that's like apples and oranges. The EPSON R2000 is a Pigment based printer with Gloss Optimizier and the CANON Pro-100 is a dye based one. Both are excellent. Just because the R2000 is now fairly old does not mean by any means that it is inferior. I have both of them and absolutely love them.
Hi Will this cleaning procedure work on the r400
Yes.
Useful information repair 👍♥️
Hi Jose, Is windex glass cleaner ? in the past i used bullit from Marrut very expensive
Windex is an American Product. I don't think it is available in Europe. Magic Bullet is expensive but very effective.
Thank you .
Hi Jose, how often would you recommend to clean my printer . i have revived my R1900 WITH MAGIC BULIT.just bought Epson SP600, not used it yet . i AM a low user and how often would you do a print check using the printers nozzel check and print heads on my printer ? any help appreciated .
One more question, can the memory of the R2000 be increased? I ask because as prints are moved to the printer especially if its a large or heavy print. It seems to only take as much of the file as it has memory for and print then it takes more then prints more. It seems that if the printer had more memory that it would create a better print. My guess is no it cannot be. Also, I have performed your process that you pointed out here and I am back up printing as needed.
It's not the printer you have a spooling problem in your computer. One thing you can do is disable to spooler in the services that assuming you're using Windows computer reboot and re-enable it again.
Thank you po very helpful po
Thanks for the video
What is an external ink bottle?
It is used to collect diverted waste ink from the internal purge pump. It's only used on printers that have a side panel that can be removed to access the waste ink tubes. Only on printers with internal waste ink pads only. And not all of them can be modified for external waste ink collection.
Thank you for this video. After soaking with windex the nozzle check really improved. Do you know why though the photo black and matte black nozzle check sections would be totally blank? The other colors are good now, but no black at all prints on the test sheet. Can I fix this? Thanks!
Printer model???? If Epson it would almost be impossible for both to be black if the share a single black channel for PK and MK. UNLESS.... You black switch valve is damaged. That is a $300 job.
@@cheo1949 Its an R2000. Do you mean impossible for both to be blank? If its the valve is there any way I can do it myself for less $$?
@@cheo1949 I just found this quote...from you! Wow, thanks for being so active on here. "The R2000 does not share black channels so there is no switch." So since I have an R2000, that means its not a $300 job? Then what is it... I'd really like to get my printer working again.
Okay now that we know what printer model you have and it's the r2000 that one does not share black channel so you have a clogged pair of black channels. It's really odd to me that both blacks appear to be clogged. Those are some pretty high odds that both are clogged. Now are you by any chance refilling using refillable cartridges or are you still using original cartridges? One option as a last resort it's after you have exhausted any other method of trying to unclog your print head, you could inject very very gently some cleaner directly into the two black spigots that are found inside the printhead carrier. You uninstall your two black cartridges and attach a syringe with a piece tubing connected to it and loaded with cleaner. Then very very gently attempt to inject a bit of the cleaner but if you feel any pressure what so ever you immediately stop. You do not want to delaminate the printhead by attempting to force cleaner through it. You would inject a very small amount if you are able to and then pull back a bit. Inject a little bit more and pull back and so on. You want to do this in the next several days again there's a very high chance you could damage your print is so this is as I said a last resort.
@@cheo1949 I'm using original cartridges. I soaked the sponges again, overnight this time, also ran the printer head over a folded windex soaked paper towel a couple times, and now there's a just a couple marks in the PB and MK test spaces. They don't look black though. All other colors are perfect or almost. I posted a photo of the nozzle test on dppreview www.dpreview.com/forums/post/62172964 What do you recommend next? Is it last resort time?
I'm picking up a r2400 this week that having been use and years. Any tips on the 1st I should do when I get it?
Cross your fingers. Just power it on do a nozzle.check and see what you have. Do one cleaning cycle and let it rest for a day then do a nozzle check. Do the Windex wetted paper towel under the print head trick. Patience is the key here. And good luck.
Jose Rodriguez I'm going have to buy the ink 1st right
Yes!
Hi. Windex is not available in my country....is alcohol ok?
No sorry you're going to have to find yourself some window cleaner type product that has ammonia in it ammonia is a key element to here.
Worked for me thank you
what do you think the problem of my Epson T60?
it show a good nozzle on check, but when i try to print there's still visible lines
Are you using original inks or compatibles or refillable? Have you done a print head alignment? Do the lines you see look like blank areas or overlaps in other words white or darker?
Jose do you know anything about Canon printers? Considering buying a new printer and would love to get your input
+Kitti McMeel I would need to know what your needs are. Size of prints. Dye or pigment. There is the Pro-100 which is dye based. The Pro 1 and 10 which are pigment based with chroma optimizer simmilar to the R2000
Or the brand new Pro-1000 which has 17" print capacity. All previously mentioned models are 13"
Watch Canon printer play lists. Pro-100 Pro-10 and Pro-1
+Jose Rodriguez Considering the 1000. I am a portrait photographer and I print all my own work. Typical that is a 7x10 image. I typically print 2up on 13x19 or 1 on 8.5x11.I want better quality than what I was getting with my R2000 although it was acceptable. Looking to compare P800 with Pro 1000. Or if I go with 13x19 what would you suggest?
+Kitti McMeel The PR0-1 and PRO-1000 will blow you away! They use a 12 color ink set with 5 blacks. Why so many? The tonality that separate shades of grays provide is out of this world. The gradations will be the smoothest of just about any printer out there. The PRO-1000 prints to 17" The PRO-1 to 13" so depending on what you need you can safely chose either one as they have and use the same ink set. I am about to get a PRO-1 myself as I will developing a refilling method using their original Carts The PGI029s and I will partner with precisioncolors.com for the ink set.At this point you will be using OEM for the PRO-1000 which is the correct and most ethical way to go if you are selling your work. Will you try to revive the R2000 using the method I described?
I don't have any tubing and not sure where I would get it or what to get. I'm not exactly handy :)
+Kitti McMeel Hobby shops as in fuel line for model airplanes. Heck email me your address and I will send you a syringe and tubing. It is really worth a try. tooljoe2003@yahoo.com
Hello, I have a samsung 28" 4k monitor and an Epson R2000 printer. When I draw a label in coreldraw x7, the colors of the label do not match the output color of the label from the monitor. I have calibrated the monitor with a spyder 4 calibrator, but it still does not output the correct color. Is my problem a monitor issue, a printer issue or a software issue?
I think it's the application. It creates vector based designs. It has to be an pixel based image or it can't be printed with color management. A PDF would react the same way. The vector file needs to be rasterized before printing.
Hi, I have an Epson R2000, I didn't use it for a while, when I tried to use it the print head does not move when I turn it on. Can you help me??
That could be a dozen reasons. No clue.
Do you have a preference between Epson P800 and Canon pro 1000?
+Kitti McMeel At this time I do not as I do not yet have either one. But if the PRO 1000 prints even a tiny bit better the the PRO 10 then it is winner in my eyes. The chroma optimizer basically assures that it will outperform the P800 but ONLY as it pertains to gloss differential and lack of bronzing effect on glossy and luster papers. If you only print to matte media, then either printer should prove excellent!
I am currently trying to raise the funds needed to add a P800 to the current stable and begin to produce a series of P800 specific videos. Earnings from the video channel and fan funding will be used to achieve that goal.
Hi Jose. I ended up buying the Canon pro-1000, I have it all set up and want to make sure I'm getting the most out of it. I don't understand the relationship between the proof setup options and the ICC profiles and the choices in the printer dialog. Can you help with that or recommend a resource :) thanks.. ps waiting for my tubing and syringe to last ditch try on my epson
+Kitti McMeel Watch my latest video for the procedure!I am not familiar yet with the PRO-1000 but you can go to Keith Cooper at: www.northlight-images.co.uk/articles.php for a full review on the PRO-1000 that will be published very soon and should cover just about all you will want to know and more.I will buy a PRO-1000 for the channel but not till after I get the EPSON SC P800.Printing with ICC profiles which is the way you really should go is covered on my PRO-100 videos here in the PRO-100 playlist.You will not be controlling color in any way with the driver. You will be turning off color matching in the driver and then allowing your editing app to control color through the ICC profile for the printer and paper of choice. Watch my CANON videos. If CANON then you will choose the appropriate paper to match the paper. If you are using a 3rd party paper then you will need to download their custom paper profile for the PRO-1000 and use it instead.
I could not find the article you are referring to :(
+Kitti McMeel Because it is not yet published. But once it is, you will find on Keith's site.
Hi. I watched your video. Is it ok to spray Windex on napkins and let it sit on the print roller? I'm doing that now and alot of ink soaking up on the napkins. Because outta nowhere my printer would print blank pages... And it's all new cartridge I been using since I had the printer...
Windex is good at dissolving dried ink. But why are your rollers coated with Ink?
Jose Rodriguez Yes. But it still haven't solve my problem. My printer for some reason only printing one color cyan..I don't know what is wrong. 😢
You originally mentioned rollers which have nothing to do with ink. They transport paper. So every channel except cyan is clogged? Did you determine that by actually doing a nozzle check? What printer? Arre you using OEM or refillable / compatible carts? Have you run cleaning cycle followed immediately with a nozzle check so you track if there's are any improvements?
Jose Rodriguez I have a epson 1430. Im using refillable ink been using them since I had the printer over a year. I ran the nozzle test only cyan prints. When I did the alignment text nothing prints.. I ran the head cleaning nothing working. Just lowkey flooding my printer with ink.
It has to be the refillable carts. Hardly ever would you have such an ink f!ow problem. Check to make sure they are PRIMED! If you even let them reach empty the priming chamber will empty out and that chamber must be always full. What you have now is nothing but air in them. If that is what it is and suspect that is it. They must be reprimed and topped off.
How does white plastic strip fit
It attaches on the right and far left rear wall with a spring. and passes though a sensor behind the print head. That's the difficult part.
I have r2000 printer without head are you buying this???
Buying??? I already own it.
Also was wondering if r2000 inks are compare with p400
+Kitti McMeel The actual I k set is probably the same, but the chips are totally different and non interchangeable.
So I guess I have to sell them :(
+Kitti McMeel Yup!
Thank you soooooo much!
Hi Jose, Im having a problem with my R2000 printer and I have partially followed your instructions here but still having a problem. missing lines in red area. repeated head cleanings and now I'm getting some other problems after using windex. :( What should I do ?
+Kitti McMeel Red ink seems to be the killer when it comes the R2000.
Something about the pigment properties.
Here is what you can do as a last resort but be aware that if not done carefully you will irreparably damage the Print head and that will be the end of that.
Move the print head over from the parked position as you have done when cleaning with Windex and paper towel. Place a folded strip of paper toweling under the printhead. Prepare a regular plain tipped syringe with a piece of rubber tubing attached to it that will also fit tightly onto the print head ink stem. Fill the syringe with about 5ml of Windex with ammonia. Remove the RED cart. Insert the tubing over the red ink stem tightly. Try carefully and gently to inject one ml of Windex into the print head. If it enters without ANY pressure, then proceed to inject the rest. Load some more Windex and Inject some more in but this time pull back a bit to withdraw some fluid. Remove the syringe and wash it well, load it with more Windex. Reattach and Inject more and withdraw fluid again. Repeat but this time only inject. Remove the syringe and reinstall the red cart but let the whole thing sit for a while!
Slide the head back to the right. Repower the printer. The printer will do an ink purge. Do a nozzle check. Hopefully all will be back to 100%.
If not you can repeat but very likely you will need to replace it. Good luck
+Jose Rodriguez This is beyond what I can do, no tubing :)
+Jose Rodriguez Also not sure of where the ink stem is and where does the purged ink go?
+Jose Rodriguez Lastly I have all this left over ink cartridges, probably 3 complete sets :( sell them on eBay? :)
+Kitti McMeel When you remove a carts from the Print Head Carriage as in when you replace one. It will be the only little tube like thing sticking straight up! You can miss it. You will need tubing that can fit that stem and also fit the syringe tip.
can you tell me where to find a waste ink pad re-setter?
For what printer??