No ink in epson 1160
terryc
and the ink in the print head has dried up. Sometimes, there is faint,
very faint printing.
I have tried wetting the head (cottonballs loaded with metho/wd40 under
he print head and metho/wd40 into the feed pin on top. All to no avail.
Has anyone ever worked on these and can they tell me how easy it is to
remove the print head. Visual inspection suggests it might be one piece
onto the slide bar, which would make it a very difficult replace, so I am
hoping some can explain what my eyes might be missing.
(it is an A3 printer, so worth the effort in my books)
--
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days.
Rob
> I have an epson stylus color 11160 that was put aside for a few months
> and the ink in the print head has dried up. Sometimes, there is faint,
> very faint printing.
>
> I have tried wetting the head (cottonballs loaded with metho/wd40 under
> he print head and metho/wd40 into the feed pin on top. All to no avail.
>
> Has anyone ever worked on these and can they tell me how easy it is to
> remove the print head. Visual inspection suggests it might be one piece
> onto the slide bar, which would make it a very difficult replace, so I am
> hoping some can explain what my eyes might be missing.
>
>
> (it is an A3 printer, so worth the effort in my books)
>
>
Basically you have to soak the head in Windex Window cleaner type stuff
pads under the head etc.
Now if you go to comp.periphs.printers newsgroup and look for Arthur
Entlich he has a cleaning manual which he will send to you with all the
information. He has his email address within all his posts
or you can ask on that group what to do.
r
Doug Jewell
> I have an epson stylus color 11160 that was put aside for a few months
> and the ink in the print head has dried up. Sometimes, there is faint,
> very faint printing.
>
> I have tried wetting the head (cottonballs loaded with metho/wd40 under
> he print head and metho/wd40 into the feed pin on top. All to no avail.
with the following method:
Isopropyl alcohol into the ink pins, then FULL carts back
in. Leave sit for 12-24 hours. Run half a dozen deep ink
cleaning cycles, with a printhead pattern between each. The
first couple of patterns will probably have faint lines
while it purges the alcohol, but by about the 3rd cycle you
should be seeing a good strong pattern (albeit with a few
gaps). If it hasn't come good after 6 cycles, leave it sit
another 24 hours before doing another 6 cycles. If it hasn't
improved, remove the carts, put another dose of isopropyl
alcohol down the nozzles, wait 24 hours etc. Normally by the
2nd day after the 2nd dose of alcohol everything is good -
unless it is an electrical fault rather than a clogging
fault. You will use the best part of a complete set of inks
doing this.
>
> Has anyone ever worked on these and can they tell me how easy it is to
> remove the print head. Visual inspection suggests it might be one piece
> onto the slide bar, which would make it a very difficult replace, so I am
> hoping some can explain what my eyes might be missing.
specific model. On most of them from about that vintage
there is a single screw that releases the printhead from the
ink holder assembly, the catch is that it is usually
accessed from underneath. You need to remove the carriage
assembly from the lower chassis, then with the printhead
parked you should be able to get a screwdriver through a
small gap between the cleaning mechanism to the screw on the
base of the carriage assembly.
Frankly though removing and fitting a new head is the easy
part of the job. The first challenge will be trying to get
the part - Epson only sell them to authorised service
agents, so unless you can find a service agent who is
prepared to sell the part only you won't be able to get the
part. The second challenge is that the EPROM of the printer
then needs to be calibrated against the printhead. Unless
you do this step you will not get good print quality. To do
the calibration you need custom software from Epson that
isn't available outside the service network. The net result
is, don't even bother attempting to do a head replacement
yourself - work out if you are prepared to pay the money for
a service agent to do the job or whether you just scrap the
printer.
>
>
> (it is an A3 printer, so worth the effort in my books)
considering that the 1410 is about $650, and I think the
canon equivalent is about $500, it may not be worth
attempting the repair. Get a couple of quotes from repair
agents before making your decision.
>
>
--
Don't blame me - I didn't vote for Kevin Rudd or Anna Bligh!
terryc
Thank you for your reply.
.
> I'd suggest isopropyl alcohol. I've had reasonable success with the
> following method: Isopropyl alcohol into the ink pins,
Well, currently it is soaking in metho. I'll have to source some
isopropyl for when I have to do similar in future. The rest of the
procedure sounds similar to what I have been doing.
> You will use the best part of a complete set of inks doing this.
About $25 all up then.
>> Has anyone ever worked on these and can they tell me how easy it is to
>> remove the print head. Visual inspection suggests it might be one piece
>> onto the slide bar, which would make it a very difficult replace, so I
>> am hoping some can explain what my eyes might be missing.
> I've worked on a lot of Epsons, but can't remember that specific model.
Turned on the spot light, loaded the new bench glasses and started
poking. Removed top shell and then the cartridges.
Remove a bar across bottom on cartridge holder(sole screw on control
side). Then remembered how to remover the two blueish latches that hold
the ink cartridges in (have scrapped a few in the past).
Then I was able to pull out the print head. Three wire plug to some other
part of the cartridge holder was the hardest bit. The small split off
ribbon cable came out okay. Then I was able to drop the whole bit into a
bit of plastic and splash on the metho. Also carefully scrapped a fair
bit of dried ink off places.
I'll leave it soak overnight and probably reassemble to see if that
cleaned it out.
The wd40 might have been okay for reviving fabric ribbons from dot matrix
days, but oooh, it did awful things to some plastic bits.
> To do the calibration you need custom software from Epson that isn't
available outside the service network.
I'll just have to take what comes. There is at least one calibration(?)
lever on the cartridge holder and there is some head calibration
available through the front buttons, if I can locate the hand book.
frankly, we do not do any fine colour alignment work, so I doubtif it
will matter.
>> (it is an A3 printer, so worth the effort in my books)
> considering that the 1410 is about $650, and I think the canon
> equivalent is about $500, it may not be worth attempting the repair. Get
> a couple of quotes from repair agents before making your decision.
That amount of money isn't on the books for an inkjet. We just do not
have the call for that much colour printing atm. My thought was that if I
couldn't fix it myself, then it was no loss.
son of a bitch
> I have an epson stylus color 11160 that was put aside for a few months
> and the ink in the print head has dried up. Sometimes, there is faint,
> very faint printing.
>
> I have tried wetting the head (cottonballs loaded with metho/wd40 under
> he print head and metho/wd40 into the feed pin on top. All to no avail.
>
> Has anyone ever worked on these and can they tell me how easy it is to
> remove the print head. Visual inspection suggests it might be one piece
> onto the slide bar, which would make it a very difficult replace, so I am
> hoping some can explain what my eyes might be missing.
>
>
> (it is an A3 printer, so worth the effort in my books)
>
>
I've done Canons and HP's, I just soak them in ice cream bucket
of plain ol' warm tap water for an hour. Then flush under medium
pressure tap water. Worst thing to use is Turps then Metho, these
dissolve glue and destroy rubber parts.
This only works on mid-high priced printers, those cheap and
nasty ones where the Ink almost costs as much as printer, forget it.
son of a bitch
That's the Print Head, not the entire printer. If the Print Head
is Removable.
Another cheap trick is to damp a A4 paper with water then print a normal
page on it.
terryc
> I have an epson stylus color 11160 that was put aside for a few months
> and the ink in the print head has dried up. Sometimes, there is faint,
> very faint printing.
>
Looking for a place to purchase a new printhead.
Having a bit of trouble finding one via google.
Any recs?
http://www.printerworks.com/ turns out to e lasers only.
Dr. Sir John Howard, AC, WSCMoF
> On Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:28:37 +0000, terryc wrote:
>
>> I have an epson stylus color 11160 that was put aside for a few months
>> and the ink in the print head has dried up. Sometimes, there is faint,
>> very faint printing.
>>
> Looking for a place to purchase a new printhead.
> Having a bit of trouble finding one via google.
> Any recs?
>
> http://www.printerworks.com/ turns out to e lasers only.
How did you go with the original problem? I have an old Lexmark printer that I
haven't used in months. Turns out I have the same problem as you now. Not sure
if the printheads are blocked or the ink in the cartridge has solidified.
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"The Labour Party is corrupt beyond redemption!"
- Labour hasbeen Mark Latham in a moment of honest clarity.
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"Silly old bugger!"
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appointee for Governor General John Kerr.
son of a bitch
> terryc wrote:
>> On Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:28:37 +0000, terryc wrote:
>>
>>> I have an epson stylus color 11160 that was put aside for a few months
>>> and the ink in the print head has dried up. Sometimes, there is faint,
>>> very faint printing.
>>>
>> Looking for a place to purchase a new printhead.
>> Having a bit of trouble finding one via google.
>> Any recs?
>>
>> http://www.printerworks.com/ turns out to e lasers only.
>
> How did you go with the original problem? I have an old Lexmark printer
> that I haven't used in months. Turns out I have the same problem as you
> now. Not sure if the printheads are blocked or the ink in the cartridge
> has solidified.
>
Unless you print a couple of pages each week, the heads fucked.
You can soak it 'til the cows come home, won't make any difference.
Cleaning only works, if it's used on a regular basis.
That's my experience.
terryc
>> How did you go with the original problem?
No joy. soaked for days in metho. Then I switched over to water with
detergent and the ultrasonic cleaner. Basically, I buzz it and change
water until nothing is being produced. Even tried pressure blowing it
clean, which moved some crap.
Eventually got to a stage whether clearly the pin holes were clear;
remove from cleaner, turn over and pin holes clear first as opposed to
being black dots. Decided I'm getting no where.
The CFO suggested a new printer, but I said no. I'll see if I can chase
up a replacement print head. I figure the cost would be the same as a
quote from a repair person. so, if it isn't the head, we're out of pocket.
Our major colour printing is colour photographs and at 15 cents each from
the local shops, the printer was never used for that. We had in mind
producing the occassional A3 print for a revolving poster on the wall,
but that never took off.
More likely to end up with a colour laser in future. It really depends on
the print costs. Does anyone know of a quality colour laser where the
chinese are producing tonet cartridges?
>>I have an old Lexmark printer
>> that I haven't used in months. Turns out I have the same problem as you
>> now. Not sure if the printheads are blocked or the ink in the cartridge
>> has solidified.
>>
>>
> Unless you print a couple of pages each week, the heads fucked. You can
> soak it 'til the cows come home, won't make any difference. Cleaning
> only works, if it's used on a regular basis. That's my experience.
There seems to be two solutions;
1) buy a printer where the print head is in the cartridge. Say HP(?) <Are
these capable of high quality prints?>
2)Put them on a timer switch*** that turns on once a day/week(?). This
works if,like my epson 1160, they go through a print head clean every
time they are turned on.
*** I am moving all my laserprinters to time switches. Found out that the
powersave mode on the laser printers wasn't really signficant from being
idle.
Dr. Sir John Howard, AC, WSCMoF
> On Sat, 04 Jul 2009 12:22:43 +1000, son of a bitch wrote:
>
>>> How did you go with the original problem?
>
> No joy. soaked for days in metho. Then I switched over to water with
> detergent and the ultrasonic cleaner. Basically, I buzz it and change
> water until nothing is being produced. Even tried pressure blowing it
> clean, which moved some crap.
>
> Eventually got to a stage whether clearly the pin holes were clear;
> remove from cleaner, turn over and pin holes clear first as opposed to
> being black dots. Decided I'm getting no where.
I'm sure there's got to be a solvent for this type of ink. What about the
cartridges themselves? Has the ink solidified, perhaps?
> The CFO suggested a new printer, but I said no. I'll see if I can chase
> up a replacement print head. I figure the cost would be the same as a
> quote from a repair person. so, if it isn't the head, we're out of pocket.
Yes, at the least just the heads and the ink cartridges should do.
> Our major colour printing is colour photographs and at 15 cents each from
> the local shops, the printer was never used for that. We had in mind
> producing the occassional A3 print for a revolving poster on the wall,
> but that never took off.
>
> More likely to end up with a colour laser in future. It really depends on
> the print costs. Does anyone know of a quality colour laser where the
> chinese are producing tonet cartridges?
Colour lasers are very pricey but don't have the same issues as bubble jet
printers. Consumables are more expensive.
>>> I have an old Lexmark printer
>>> that I haven't used in months. Turns out I have the same problem as you
>>> now. Not sure if the printheads are blocked or the ink in the cartridge
>>> has solidified.
>>>
>> Unless you print a couple of pages each week, the heads fucked. You can
>> soak it 'til the cows come home, won't make any difference. Cleaning
>> only works, if it's used on a regular basis. That's my experience.
>
> There seems to be two solutions;
>
> 1) buy a printer where the print head is in the cartridge. Say HP(?) <Are
> these capable of high quality prints?>
Doesn't the quality depend on the DPI?
> 2)Put them on a timer switch*** that turns on once a day/week(?). This
> works if,like my epson 1160, they go through a print head clean every
> time they are turned on.
You might need to do that manually. Once a week might be too frequent. Once a
day definitely is too frequent.
> *** I am moving all my laserprinters to time switches. Found out that the
> powersave mode on the laser printers wasn't really signficant from being
> idle.
Good idea.
David
terryc <newsseven...@woa.com.au> wrote:
> I have an epson stylus color 11160 that was put aside for a few months
> and the ink in the print head has dried up. Sometimes, there is faint,
> very faint printing.
>
> I have tried wetting the head (cottonballs loaded with metho/wd40 under
> he print head and metho/wd40 into the feed pin on top. All to no avail.
>
> Has anyone ever worked on these and can they tell me how easy it is to
> remove the print head. Visual inspection suggests it might be one piece
> onto the slide bar, which would make it a very difficult replace, so I am
> hoping some can explain what my eyes might be missing.
>
>
> (it is an A3 printer, so worth the effort in my books)
I think you will find it is NOT worth the effort - you might fix it now,
but next time you want to print you will have to do it all over again
I (foolishly) went through that process with the first and last Epson I
owned - they print beautifully, but having to clean the heads EVERY time
you want to print something is just too much.
In contrast, I have owned 4 HP printers (one failed on me - bloody thing
broke down after 15 years of printing, one I gave to a friend, and the
other two I still have) and they have performed faultlessly - especially
now as it is often weeks and weeks between printing jobs it is so good
to just switch it on and it prints - no buggerising around, just nice
prints.
Your best bet is to chuck the Epson (unless you are a rogue and mean
enough to sell it to some unsuspecting fool) and buy yourself a HP or a
Canon that will last you for ages and print reliably
David
PS. No. I didn't sell my Epson - I gave it away
son of a bitch
If it's < $150, there not replaceable unless you completely strip
the printer.
If the printer is < $300 it's not worth a box of rocks to repair
Even the expensive ones, the head will cost at least 50% the cost
of the printer.
terryc
> If the printer is < $300 it's not worth a box of rocks to repair Even
> the expensive ones, the head will cost at least 50% the cost of the
> printer.
We paid a bit more than that. I'm also aware of official prices and
unofficial prices. As i've previously mention $US22 for a plastic cog Vs
US61c. I suspect Chinese manufacturing capacity is producing quite a bit
of this stuff and there might be offical brand name and alternate supply
paths. Especially when support/parts is no officially discontinued.
Rob
> On Sat, 04 Jul 2009 12:22:43 +1000, son of a bitch wrote:
>
>
> More likely to end up with a colour laser in future. It really depends on
> the print costs. Does anyone know of a quality colour laser where the
> chinese are producing tonet cartridges?
>
I decided on a laser printer for general stuff
Bought the HP 2600 series.
lasers are interesting on costs yes expensive refills but they are
available in non genuine.
HP do have specials at Office works on occasions. Plus most printer
companies have rebates.
HP's more expensive 2600 has full cartridges where as the "cheap" 1600
only comes with half cartridges. So cost wise the more expensive is
cheaper. Both take the same replacement cartridge. Cost wise 4 repl.
carts $450. At the time the 1600 was $350 with $200 cash back. the 2600
$500 with $200 cash back. Final cost $150/$300 respectively but add half
set of toners to the 1600 it was $75 more than the 2600.
Moral check the toner capacity when buying a new laser most only come
with half toners.
son of a bitch
> On Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:51:26 +1000, son of a bitch wrote:
>
>
>> If the printer is < $300 it's not worth a box of rocks to repair Even
>> the expensive ones, the head will cost at least 50% the cost of the
>> printer.
>
> We paid a bit more than that. I'm also aware of official prices and
> unofficial prices. As i've previously mention $US22 for a plastic cog Vs
> US61c. I suspect Chinese manufacturing capacity is producing quite a bit
> of this stuff and there might be offical brand name and alternate supply
> paths. Especially when support/parts is no officially discontinued.
>
>
>
Tons of knock off's, there easier to find than the Originals.
But some, you don't know if your getting an original or a knock off for
an original price.
Doug Jewell
> On Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:28:37 +0000, terryc wrote:
>
>> I have an epson stylus color 11160 that was put aside for a few months
>> and the ink in the print head has dried up. Sometimes, there is faint,
>> very faint printing.
>>
> Looking for a place to purchase a new printhead.
> Having a bit of trouble finding one via google.
> Any recs?
to sell it. But be warned, unless you reset the EEPROM on
the unit to match the head, you will never get decent print
quality out of it. This is needed to set the power required
per nozzle to squirt a certain sized blob of ink. If you
leave this unset, some nozzles may be over-powered and some
under-powered, so your ink will be uneven.
IOW, forget DIY, and work out if you are prepared to fork
out the cash for a service agent to do the job for you.
>
> http://www.printerworks.com/ turns out to e lasers only.
>
--
Doug Jewell
> On Sat, 04 Jul 2009 12:22:43 +1000, son of a bitch wrote:
>
>>> How did you go with the original problem?
>
> No joy. soaked for days in metho.
that. Soaking the head in any solvent (even water) is bad.
The only alcohol to use is isopropyl (which is normally
supplied as a 50-70% soluton in water, pure isopropyl
alcohol is too harsh). Pure Metho is too harsh and will
cause damage to other components, but isn't good enough at
dissolving the dried ink. But even with isopropyl alcohol,
don't soak the heads, just put some down the ink pick up pins.
I've noted that some websites say Windex. The main active
ingredient of Windex is... surprise surprise, isopropyl alcohol.
terryc
> IOW, forget DIY, and work out if you are prepared to fork out the cash
> for a service agent to do the job for you.
Naah, as I've indicated, if I can not fix it for pocket money, then it
becomes project parts. nice to have working, but no burning need to have
it working now.