Printing Problems - any ideas?

[[1ponders]]

Hi folks. Any gurus out there able to help me with this problem.

My printer won't print. Epsom Stylus C70.

It was working fine last night doing a run of cd covers. Once finished that it wouldn't print again. It runs through the motions of printing, pulls in the paper, print heads run back and forewards across the page, but all it prints is a single fine line at the bottom of the page. All cartridges have ink in them. I've reinstalled the printer as a new printer but still no luck. In fact the new default printer won't even go through the motions.

Any suggestions

[ving]

when you reinstalled it as a new printer did you uninstall first?

cleaned the jets?
:confuse3:

[[1ponders]]

Yep cleaned the nozzles. No I didn't uninstall it. I'll try that.

After going back over the printing I did last night I noticed that the last cd cover I printed didn't print fully. It just sort of faded out towards the end.

[asimov]

If it's anything like my epson 680 it runs out of ink when the status monitor still tells you it has an 1/8th of a tank in the cartridge. I read about this on the net & went & bought the chip re-setter.

[asimov]

Mine will only accepts the authentic epson cartridges too....It eat's the generic ones for lunch (blocks up every 30 seconds)

[Striker]

Sounds like a catridge or head problem.

Have you done any test pattern prints.

How old is the printer and cartridges...are they epson ink catridges

[h0ughy]

Print cartridges only last 6 months from when they are opened. also the print monitor is notoriously dodgy. try to purge your nozzles, if not get a new cartridge.


Printing is also affected by high humidity.

[ballaratdragons]

I gave up buying expensive Cartridges all the time and bought a brand new printer with cartridges for the cost of just cartridges for the old printer. I bought a Canon i250 for $129. Brilliant little printer.

If it ever plays up real bad, I'll just buy another i250 printer with cartridges.

Damn this throw-away society we live in!

[acropolite]

May I suggest running the self test (consult your manual). That usually entails holding down one of the keys on power up, usually, but not always, the Form Feed key. That way you can test the printer independant of the P.C. The most likely scenario is that the jets are blocked or the cartridge is empty, the Epson cartridges in my Photo EX look like they have ink in them even when empty.

[asimov]

Yeah. I ended up retiring my epson & reinstating the canon bjc 1000 sp....Might be slower than the epson but a lot more reliable. Epson have given me a fair bit of trouble. Hopefully other people have had better luck.

[xstream]

Paul, There is a trick to clearing the jets. Get a cup of boiling water (yes boiling) and place the jets in the boiling water for approx 20secs. Dab dry with paper towel then replace cartridge in the printer and do a test print.
It should fix your problems.

[[1ponders]]

Thanks guys.

I can tell you its definately nor run out of ink as I replaced all cartridges with epsom cartridges that night and had already done a number of pages of printing when it stopped working. Not enought to run the cartridges dry by a long shot.

The only thing I can print is the test pattern. It comes out np. So the nozzles aren't blocked.

I know what you mean about the throw away society Ken. This thing is three years old and has never missed a beat before. If I can fix it I'd rather do that than contribute to our landfill problem.

I've had epsom, olympus, hp and canon printers and the only one I swore I'd never have again was the canon. Love their cameras and scanners, hate their printers.

Any other ideas?

[ballaratdragons]

Paul, I am by no means a computer person but when my scanner played up I did this:

1. Uninstall,
2. disconnect any cables connecting it to the PC,
3. Uninstall again,
4. Reconnect all cables,
5. Install.

It worked for my scanner.

[ballaratdragons]

Oops! I forgot to mention: I also turned the pooter off after the 2nd uninstall. Then I turned pooter back on, re-connected all cables and then installed.

[RAJAH235]

Paul, Buy a Canon i350. Had mine for 2 years, np. I refill with Calidad 'squeezy bottles'.(Hypo). (Only thing tho. the replacement head,((guaranteed for life?)), only costs $110.00 on a $140.00 M/C!!!!).
This might sound silly, but check the paper path for scraps of paper. Might be a piece caught in the works stopping the print head from contacting the paper. Your description of 'the last CD cover not fully printing' may point to the prob. Did one colour just fade out or did it not print at all? eg; finish on a straight line?
(Ex Photocopier/Fax tech. here)! Think simple.
HTH. :D L.