Forcing pressurized fluids through the print head on Epson printers is
not wise, as they may delaminate, so I don't suggest it, in general, and
particularly with a head that is quite clogged.

The reason the alcohol by itself isn't working is because it is not an
effective solvent with Durabrite inks such as those used in the CX and C
printers.

The solvent required to dissolve the resin in the pigment inks (which is
an acrylic) is ammonia. This is why I suggest using ammoniated window
cleaner, which has some similarity to the inks, in that it has glycol,
alcohol, and a relatively high pH but the dilution of the ammonia in it
is such that it won't damage metal components, and such.

Anyway, before you damage the heads trying to unclog them, you may wish
to request my Epson Cleaning Manual which is full of suggestions on how
to fix clogs. It's free for the asking.

To get a copy, mention you printer model and your request for the
cleaning manual and send the note to:

e-printerhelp(at)mvps(dot)org

(at) = @
(dot) = .

Art




Doc wrote:

I have an Epson CX5200 that I let sit for a while and ended up with
what I assume to be a clogged printhead.

I disassembled it to the point of having the head actually out of the
cart carrier - i.e. the part with the circuit board on it separated
from the intermediate ported plastic piece, and using a syringe and
alcohol, butted up against the rubber seal and can get a nice multi-
jet stream out of all the ports except the black. That one seems
utterly stopped up. I've even tried alternately applying suction and
pressure with the syringe, nuthin'. It still works fine for scanning
but would like to get it to print again.

Anyone know of a trick to get it unclogged?

Thanks for all input