James,

Thanks for the follow up. I received a separate email from someone else
recommending that I try good old Windex Window cleaner. Have not had the
chance to try this yet, but was able to locate several Epson cleaning web
pages ... one actually had pictures, that recommended Windex or Isopropyl
alcohol. I have some doubts on the alcohol since it did not seem to do much
to the dried ink, but several people have sworn by using Windex and or
ammonia so maybe this will dissolve the clot in the print head.

Bob

"James" wrote in message
...
If the cartridges have been out of the machine for months then chances are
it will be very difficult to get going again because ink will have dried
out
and clogged the nozzles.

For unclogging a printhead.....

Epson do make a cleaning fluid, but not specifically for the earlier
printers
such as the 500. It consisted of light magenta ink and a solvent of some
variety. It also costs ~$120AU for 1 litre, but you only need a couple of
ml
for each printhead. You may have some luck by mixing a cocktail of genuine
ink, distilled water, and a small amount of isopropyl alcohol. Remove the
head from the printer & sit the surface of the printhead in this for a day
or so then try it in the printer (dont submerge the whole printhead, only
need to have the surface of the nozzles wet.) Without actually replacing
the
cartrige with a new one you still should get some idea as to whether its
going to work, just keep all the nozzle check patterns and see if its
getting any better.

James