Major printing problems (Epson r2400)

[Dangleman]

Does anyone else have the Epson r2400 and a continuous ink system? (Fotospeed one in particular) I have, and it's caused me nothing but stress for the last year.

Basically the printhead nozzles just keep blocking. I have to run the print cleaning programs all the time which eats ink, and at the moment it's unusable. I even bought the 'magic bullet' cleaning solution/ syringes last weekend, but it's still mostly blocked on about 3 or 4 nozzles when you run the test, and prints are coming out with faint white 'track lines' in the direction the printhead moves.

I know people will most likely say 'give up and get some official Epson cartridges'. I just can't justify the cost though.

Anyone had a similar experience with this gear (or similar) and any magic ways of fixing it? I'm starting to think the printheads may be permanently damaged now though - how much would it be to get repaired?

 

[jerry12953]

I had major problems with a R800 about a year ago.

I cleaned the nozzles so many times and it uses so much ink. Crazy system!

I eventually phoned Epson who told me to clean the nozzles:bang::bang:

I said I'd cleaned them 14 times and they said. "Oh, you'll need to buy a new (reconditioned) printer. It's cheaper than replacing the print head."

I think I paid about £100 inc vat and delivery for just the basic printer - no ink or cables etc.

But, fingers crossed, since then the new one hasn't blocked up.

 

[sgotwr]

I use a 2400 with the fotospeed system, the only time i have to clean the nozzles is if I have not used it for a couple of weeks.

Do you print with the printer "open", the plastic flap that covers the ink cartridges open or closed ?
I had the same problem a few months ago, eventually found it was only happening when the plastic flap was closed, causing slight preassure on the ink supply pipes, i now always print with it open and dont have the problem anymore.

 

[dcash29]

Get in touch with fotospeed

 

[Dangleman]

Well, I contacted the place I bought the Fotospeed ink system from and they passed it on to Fotospeed who called me really quickly today.

First thing he asked was - "Where/ how do you put the ink reservoir bit, have you got it attached to the side of the printer or just sat on the desk?"

I just have it on the desktop I said. "You do have it raised up on a platform though don't you?" he says.

Eh? I says. Nope.

"There you are then. You must have the ink reservoir raised up about 1.5 inches, so it's slightly above the level of the printhead".

He seemed 100% confident that was the problem.

Basic physics my boy, basic physics.

I've yet to try this but will tonight. Somehow I'm not 100% confident that this will totally solve my problem, but we'll see...

sgotwr - I've tried with the lid open and down, no difference at all. Thanks for the suggestion though, and you're right it does seem a bit of a design flaw the way it is.

 

[Dangleman]

I've yet to do full further tests but......................seems like a big hallelujah is in order

Did as instructed last night and after running the full cleaning prog once - perfect nozzle test (no gaps at all) and perfect print!!!

So, for anyone else with this set up or something similar, make sure the ink reservour tank/system is raised from the desk surface by 1.5 inches

I can't believe that something seemingly as simple as this was the problem, but that's physics for you I guess.

I've left feedback with fotospeed/ the place I bought the system from that they really need to amend the instructions they send out with the unit (maybe they already have?, mine is 2 years old). Doesn't mention anywhere the vital importance of raising the tanks up from the desk.

Also, the last sentence in my instructions, in big Capital letters, is about not having the ink reservoir "too high as it may cause flooding". It also says to keep the unit at the "level of the printer" to avoid this. I took this to mean it would be best all round to have the reservoir just sat on the desk alongside the base right hand side of the printer.

Anyway, hopefully this has solved it. I've wasted about £150 of ink, and almost thrown the printer out the window on several occasions, but I'm a bit happier today that's for sure.

 

[crt-d]

you would think that they would provide a platform specific to the priter type to ensure the bottles were held at the correct height?