Unblocking inky things
 

I have tried my Epson printhead unblocking technique on another Epson printer. Diluted iso-propanol is the key but it's not so often used as an ingredient these days, apparently.

In another thread I mentioned that Poundland's spray bathroom cleaner (being, apparently, one of very few current products still containing iso-propanol) does the business.

This time I tried a simplified technique, leaving out the Epson head-cleaning and nozzle-testing cycle completely because it uses up so much ink.

I turned on the printer and then pulled the power plug out once the printing head had moved away from its "park" position. This allows the head to be moved off to one side by hand to allow good access to the foam inkpad into which the head parks. Using kitchen paper folded up into a thick wad I pressed down gently into the inkpad a few times to remove the bulk of the ink in it and then dripped about a dozen drips of the Poundland bathroom cleaner into the foam from a little bottle with a nozzle (I had used the cleaner's spray when I cleaned the last printer head but it tends to be hard to aim and goes everywhere).

Then I plugged the printer back in and switched it on and off again so the print head parked into the Poundland soup in the inkpad and left it - actually I forgot all about it for a couple of days. With no further ado and with no waste of ink from the Epson head-cleaning and testing cycle - it worked perfectly first time!

I have since discovered that it unblocks ballpoint pens too. Just sit them point down into the very shallowest amount in a jar for a couple of days..... Magic! Let's just hope that the Poundland people don't change their recipe.

I know that there are special liquids available but this stuff is much cheaper and available near you - and cleans bathrooms really well too. (apologies to Mods for what I hope is seen as justifiable publicity!)

It is also known as isopropyl alcohol, and is available from a lot of places, most chemists will sell you a small bottle, when they ask what you want it for tell them "to clean laser lenses", or it's available from the well know
Good find in the pound shop though. :ok:

That's true, green granite, but I think that isopropanol is the modern useage the less to attract the meths brigade!

The Poundland stuff is at less than 5% isopropanol so the full-strength stuff might dissolve more than you want - even your desk might be at risk!

It's a really good deal at £1 for a litre and, if you're stuck, you can always use it in your bathroom! Heaven knows what a pharmacy would charge....

I've used it extensively as a service engineer for cleaning laser lenses with great success, but for example if you try to clean a CD with it it will turn the surface milky and render it u/s, so yes you do need to test it on a surface before going mad with it. You can of course always dilute the neat stuff with distilled water.

available mail order from one of my previous employers

36644 2-Propanol, ACS, 99.5% min - Alfa Aesar - A Johnson Matthey Company

best stuff for putting in the car windscreen washer - around 5% works well
however the water / IPA mix goes waxy below freezing point

I keep a bottle of the stuff in my workshop. It's brilliant at removing glue residues from places where children have stuck labels and posters.

In fact, it dissolved all sorts of things, so be careful around plastic!

Makes me want to get my printers back! Slung 'em all out!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...e/DSCN1829.jpg


I was blowing window cleaner through a pipe and watching the tiny holes in the print head of my Epson 5600? (had so many can't remember which one) when the phone rang. It was Epson. At 18 months they started a long procedure of replacing printers. None of them were any use after a few weeks.

Anyway, back to me blowing into the plastic pipe. I'd tried various things and the blue window stuff was the best. One could see the results - the head removed, obviously.

Minute amounts of debris and then fluid came out of the holes. A watchmaker's eyeglass required. Then, all I had to do was blow the fluid out ready for the ink. The first pages looked a bit odd but smelled nice.:p

Bought a new printer because the black cartridge (for letters) was not working.
Gave the old one together with a new cleaning kit to my grandson.
Told me today he had fixed it by just squeezing the cartridge!

I HATE printers !

Dump inkjet, go laser.... you'll never look back.

Cheaper to run, quicker to print.... much better all round.

Mixture: I couldn't agree more - except that my new Canon inkjet produces, as did its predecessor, stunning photo prints. I don't think a laser can do this so I put up with the automatic cleaning delays which occurr when I want to do some ordinary printing and the inky fingers I usually get when refilling my ink cartridges.

P.P.

Yep, you're right there. But then by the same token, inkjet doesn't compare to cType prints from a lab. :cool:

Depending what size you're printing, you might want to consider dye-sub ?

On a flight DFW down to where I live, a bloke was going on a service call for a Wallgreen or somesuch photo department. He told me he was going to put in a $50,000 head (maybe more ) and spend the next day doing diagnostics. c a hundred grand in theoretical costs.

I just don't know how some businesses run.

Totally agree, and have had a Brother Laser for some time, but last time I replaced the cartridge I attempted to save money by buying a clone, online, and now get frequent paper jams as it goes through the cartridge. Grrrr !

Next time I'll pay Brother their exorbitant fee and buy original.

( I presume it is the cartridge causing the problem ? )

I still hate printers !

Hard to say, but I do know that some of the entry-level laser printers combine replaceable parts in order to save space and/or money.

For example, on larger devices you'd typically find toner, imaging unit, transfer unit, fuser are all separate items with different lifespans... however these are often combined in entry-level devices which means you're more reliant on manufacturing tolerances.

That's my theory at least......:cool: