Printer head cleaning question

[Jstein]

Hi everyone,

I am having an issue with my Epson R260 inkjet printer. I recently
tried to print a document and discovered that cyan was not printing.
The printer was inactive for roughly 3 weeks. I performed numerous
head cleanings and nozzle checks and nothing seemed to solve the
problem. The rest of the story is long and complicated but I
contacted the merchant whom I bought this printer from and he informed
me that the print head on the r260's are prone to "freezing" and that
I should contact Epson to follow up on their warranty. Epson claims
they are not responsible because I am using a continuous ink system.
I personally believe the cyan ink I was sold contained sediment and
the seller does not want to admit this. I have gone back and forth
with these people and I have now decided to take matters into my own
hands. My question is this:

I have removed the print head assembly which contains the 6 plastic
nipples on one side with the print head on the reverse. There appears
to be 3 screws connecting the print head to a small plastic base which
is connected to a larger plastic housing. Where these two plastic
pieces join, there are small amounts of a white epoxy. Does anyone
have any advice as to how I can clean this? My initial reaction is to
unscrew the print head and try soaking that but I am concerned that
their is a seal that might be broken between the jets and the head.
Can the whole assembly be soaked in an ultrasonic bath or will this
damage the pcb and connectors? A similar image of the print head can
be found here: http://www.inkjetart.com/3800/print_head.jpg

Any advice you can give would be much appreciated. I would really
love to get this printer up and running again. Thank you in advance.

-Jesse

[michrech]

I've never had luck soaking an Epson print head in order to clean it
out. :( Any printer with this issue, I've always ended up replacing
the head outright.

Agson may have it, however if they don't, you'll have to find a Epson
repair depot that doesn't mind selling parts. You might find some
links at fixyourownprinter.com, or maybe one of the "printerrepair"
groups on yahoo.

I hate to send you away like that, however, they are just more well
established (and far more active) groups. :)