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

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
The "trick" might well be to buy a new printer. I suspect that
pressurising the print heads in an attempt to clear them actually
damages the works

On Dec 20, 4:37 am, Peter wrote:
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

The "trick" might well be to buy a new printer. I suspect that
pressurising the print heads in an attempt to clear them actually
damages the works


In that case, it would appear I've got nothing to lose by giving it a
try other than possibly not having to buy a new printer.

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

On Dec 20, 6:03 am, Arthur Entlich wrote:

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


Thanks Arthur. I forwarded an e-mail to you.

Doc wrote:

On Dec 20, 4:37 am, Peter wrote:



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?

The only trick you need is to use Epson ink.


Thanks for all input



The "trick" might well be to buy a new printer. I suspect that pressurising the print heads in an attempt to clear them actually damages the works



In that case, it would appear I've got nothing to lose by giving it a try other than possibly not having to buy a new printer.

"Arthur Entlich" wrote in message news:5_raj.21856$Tx.4193@pd7urf3no...
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.

Your post is definitely a keeper. Tremendously useful.

Thanks Art!

On Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:53:10 -0800 (PST), Doc
wrote:


In that case, it would appear I've got nothing to lose by giving it a
try other than possibly not having to buy a new printer.

Instead of alcohol, I use a mixture of amonia and water.
one part of amonia, 4 parts of water.
Usually works the next day.
Also have a look in
http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/

Emil Tiades wrote:
On Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:53:10 -0800 (PST), Doc
wrote:


In that case, it would appear I've got nothing to lose by giving it a
try other than possibly not having to buy a new printer.

Instead of alcohol, I use a mixture of amonia and water.
one part of amonia, 4 parts of water.
Usually works the next day.
Also have a look in
http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/

People argue all the time about what is the best solvent to clean inkjet
heads. It's simple: whatever dissolves that particular flavor of ink...

....and that's pretty easy to figure out. Usually there's copious
amounts of ink dribbled everywhere in these situations. Instead of
experimenting on your potentially expensive heads, try your various
solvents on dried ink OUTSIDE of them. If you don't already have spills
to clean up, then intentionally make one.

Let it dry.

Then clean it up...with 'whatever' you're contemplating running through
the printer. If it doesn't work outside the printer, it won't unclog
the head. If it dissolves the ink, then you have a much better chance
of success.

jak

jakdedert wrote:
Emil Tiades wrote:
On Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:53:10 -0800 (PST), Doc
wrote:


In that case, it would appear I've got nothing to lose by giving it a
try other than possibly not having to buy a new printer.

Instead of alcohol, I use a mixture of amonia and water.
one part of amonia, 4 parts of water.
Usually works the next day.
Also have a look in
http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/

People argue all the time about what is the best solvent to clean
inkjet heads.
You do not need any solvent. Just use OEM ink. Using both an HP an a
Canon I never had to clean anything.
It's simple: whatever dissolves that particular flavor of ink...

...and that's pretty easy to figure out. Usually there's copious
amounts of ink dribbled everywhere in these situations. Instead of
experimenting on your potentially expensive heads, try your various
solvents on dried ink OUTSIDE of them. If you don't already have
spills to clean up, then intentionally make one.

Let it dry.

Then clean it up...with 'whatever' you're contemplating running
through the printer. If it doesn't work outside the printer, it won't
unclog the head. If it dissolves the ink, then you have a much better
chance of success.

jak

measekite wrote:


jakdedert wrote:
Emil Tiades wrote:
On Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:53:10 -0800 (PST), Doc
wrote:


In that case, it would appear I've got nothing to lose by giving it a
try other than possibly not having to buy a new printer.

Instead of alcohol, I use a mixture of amonia and water.
one part of amonia, 4 parts of water.
Usually works the next day.
Also have a look in
http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/

People argue all the time about what is the best solvent to clean
inkjet heads.
You do not need any solvent. Just use OEM ink. Using both an HP an a
Canon I never had to clean anything.

YMMV, but most people who use their Epsons sporadically often have
clogs, even using the OEM. The factory cleaning cycles take a lot of
that expensive OEM ink. If you like paying for that, more power to you;
but that's only YOUR experience, and it's not typical in my opinion.
Using an inkjet daily is about the only way to prevent it.

Only if one needs color (and these days, and that might be changing)
will an inkjet printer be a better value per page than a laser...the
only 'real' solution for preventing clogs.

jak

On Fri, 21 Dec 2007 22:51:02 GMT, measekite
wrote:


drivel

How did you, pathetic moron creep out of my killfile?

followup to alt.****wits

jakdedert wrote:
measekite wrote:


jakdedert wrote:
Emil Tiades wrote:
On Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:53:10 -0800 (PST), Doc
wrote:


In that case, it would appear I've got nothing to lose by giving it a
try other than possibly not having to buy a new printer.

Instead of alcohol, I use a mixture of amonia and water.
one part of amonia, 4 parts of water.
Usually works the next day.
Also have a look in
http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/

People argue all the time about what is the best solvent to clean
inkjet heads.
You do not need any solvent. Just use OEM ink. Using both an HP an
a Canon I never had to clean anything.

YMMV, but most people who use their Epsons sporadically often have
clogs, even using the OEM.
I know two people who use their Epson printers sporadically. One every
couple of months. They have the R3xx series so may that is the reason
they do not have a big problem.
The factory cleaning cycles take a lot of that expensive OEM ink. If
you like paying for that, more power to you; but that's only YOUR
experience, and it's not typical in my opinion. Using an inkjet daily
is about the only way to prevent it.

Only if one needs color (and these days, and that might be changing)
will an inkjet printer be a better value per page than a laser...the
only 'real' solution for preventing clogs.

jak

"measekite" wrote in message
. ..


jakdedert wrote:
Emil Tiades wrote:
On Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:53:10 -0800 (PST), Doc
wrote:


In that case, it would appear I've got nothing to lose by giving it a
try other than possibly not having to buy a new printer.

Instead of alcohol, I use a mixture of amonia and water.
one part of amonia, 4 parts of water.
Usually works the next day.
Also have a look in
http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/

People argue all the time about what is the best solvent to clean inkjet
heads.
You do not need any solvent. Just use OEM ink. Using both an HP an a
Canon I never had to clean anything.


In that case you are one lucky bas!ard. Many printers are tossed because
the print heads are clogged,even with using OEM ink.


It's simple: whatever dissolves that particular flavor of ink...

...and that's pretty easy to figure out. Usually there's copious amounts
of ink dribbled everywhere in these situations. Instead of experimenting
on your potentially expensive heads, try your various solvents on dried
ink OUTSIDE of them. If you don't already have spills to clean up, then
intentionally make one.

Let it dry.

Then clean it up...with 'whatever' you're contemplating running through
the printer. If it doesn't work outside the printer, it won't unclog the
head. If it dissolves the ink, then you have a much better chance of
success.

jak

On Sat, 22 Dec 2007 17:42:24 -0500, "NewsGroups" spar@plaus wrote:


"measekite" wrote in message
...


You do not need any solvent. Just use OEM ink. Using both an HP an a
Canon I never had to clean anything.


In that case you are one lucky bas!ard. Many printers are tossed because
the print heads are clogged,even with using OEM ink.


No need for the word "lucky"
Killfile the resident troll, everyone else does.

Emil Tiades wrote:
On Sat, 22 Dec 2007 17:42:24 -0500, "NewsGroups" spar@plaus wrote:

"measekite" wrote in message
. ..

You do not need any solvent. Just use OEM ink. Using both an HP an a
Canon I never had to clean anything.

In that case you are one lucky bas!ard. Many printers are tossed because
the print heads are clogged,even with using OEM ink.


No need for the word "lucky"
Killfile the resident troll, everyone else does.

I must admit I'm getting tired of his inane prattling. His posts are
just 'noise' and contribute nothing useful to the forum.

Jim Ford

I don't disagree with the basic concept. It's how I determined what to
use to dissolve dried ink and clogged heads The only caveat is that the
heads may be made of different materials than the other areas of the
printer, and some solvents can melt the plastics used in the head.

In general, in any printer using water based inks, whether they are dye,
hybrid or pigment colorants, they tend to have similar formulations.

They use mainly water, a colorant or mixture of colorants, dye, or
pigment or both, a wetting agent like glycerin that allows the liquid to
flow and allow the ink to enter the paper surface, a product to slow
down drying on the heads like glycol, and often an alcohol to speed
drying on the paper surface. Some inks with pigments require an adhesive
to attach the particles to the paper surface, so they use a resin,
usually acrylic. Most inks are relatively alkaline.

Although I have only tested Epson inks formulations, I have been told by
others who have tried both 3rd party and other brands of inks that the
same basic mix works on the majority of water based inkjet printer inks.

The mixture uses either ammoniated window cleaner (which uses glycol,
alcohol, water and ammonia) with extra isopropyl alcohol, or in places
where ammoniated window cleaner isn't available, I suggest using ammonia
mixed to about 1% concentration, and adding the isopropyl.

However, there are some inks that use different technologies and may not
work with these solvents. There are some tests that can be used to test
these solvents with some liquid ink to determine if the mixture is
appropriate.

My Epson Cleaning Manual goes into quite a bit of detail about how to do
these tests, and I suggest anyone interested just request a copy via email.

Art

e-printerhelp(at)mvps(dot)org

(at) = @
(dot) = .




jakdedert wrote:

Emil Tiades wrote:

On Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:53:10 -0800 (PST), Doc
wrote:


In that case, it would appear I've got nothing to lose by giving it a
try other than possibly not having to buy a new printer.


Instead of alcohol, I use a mixture of amonia and water.
one part of amonia, 4 parts of water.
Usually works the next day.
Also have a look in
http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/


People argue all the time about what is the best solvent to clean inkjet
heads. It's simple: whatever dissolves that particular flavor of ink...

...and that's pretty easy to figure out. Usually there's copious
amounts of ink dribbled everywhere in these situations. Instead of
experimenting on your potentially expensive heads, try your various
solvents on dried ink OUTSIDE of them. If you don't already have spills
to clean up, then intentionally make one.

Let it dry.

Then clean it up...with 'whatever' you're contemplating running through
the printer. If it doesn't work outside the printer, it won't unclog
the head. If it dissolves the ink, then you have a much better chance
of success.

jak

On Dec 25, 12:35*am, Arthur Entlich wrote:

My Epson Cleaning Manual goes into quite a bit of detail about how to do
these tests, and I suggest anyone interested just request a copy via email..

Art

e-printerhelp(at)mvps(dot)org


Hi Arthur. I sent a previous request, go no response, I just sent
another via yahoo mail.

Thanks

Arthur Entlich wrote:
Although I have only tested Epson inks formulations, I have been told by
others who have tried both 3rd party and other brands of inks that the
same basic mix works on the majority of water based inkjet printer inks.

What strikes me most about this whole complicated process is how easy it
is to remove the water-based inkjet ink from paper by getting it wet.

--
Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Government officials and activists flying to Bali,
Indonesia, for the United Nations meeting on climate change will cause
as much pollution as 20,000 cars in a year.

"clifto" wrote in message
...
Arthur Entlich wrote:
Although I have only tested Epson inks formulations, I have been told by
others who have tried both 3rd party and other brands of inks that the
same basic mix works on the majority of water based inkjet printer inks.

What strikes me most about this whole complicated process is how easy it
is to remove the water-based inkjet ink from paper by getting it wet.



After fighting with color inkjets for years and throwing away hundreds of
dollars on cartridges that only gave me a few pages before clogging up
across numerous brands of printers, I finally gave up and got a color laser,
and I've never looked back. The photo output is not as good as a modern
inkjet but for everything I print it's fantastic. If you don't print a lot
of photos I highly recommend looking into one. Some even do photos pretty
well.

James Sweet wrote:

snip

After fighting with color inkjets for years and throwing away hundreds of
dollars on cartridges that only gave me a few pages before clogging up
across numerous brands of printers, I finally gave up and got a color laser,
and I've never looked back. The photo output is not as good as a modern
inkjet but for everything I print it's fantastic.

snip

I like dye sub photo printers; shelf life is much longer for consumables
in or out of the printer, the prints are nearly archival and the self-
laminating media is even more rugged.

Regards,

Michael

James Sweet wrote:
"clifto" wrote...
Arthur Entlich wrote:
Although I have only tested Epson inks formulations, I have been told by
others who have tried both 3rd party and other brands of inks that the
same basic mix works on the majority of water based inkjet printer inks.

What strikes me most about this whole complicated process is how easy it
is to remove the water-based inkjet ink from paper by getting it wet.

After fighting with color inkjets for years and throwing away hundreds of
dollars on cartridges that only gave me a few pages before clogging up
across numerous brands of printers, I finally gave up and got a color laser,
and I've never looked back. The photo output is not as good as a modern
inkjet but for everything I print it's fantastic. If you don't print a lot
of photos I highly recommend looking into one. Some even do photos pretty
well.

Thanks for the notes. I finally got a B&W laser and was thinking about a
color unit. I've never actually had clogging problems with inkjets yet,
at least nothing I couldn't fix easily, but the cost was eating me out
of house and home.

--
Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Government officials and activists flying to Bali,
Indonesia, for the United Nations meeting on climate change will cause
as much pollution as 20,000 cars in a year.

I was off line a few days. It went out as soon as I returned. If you
still haven't received it, please email again.

Art

Doc wrote:

On Dec 25, 12:35 am, Arthur Entlich wrote:


My Epson Cleaning Manual goes into quite a bit of detail about how to do
these tests, and I suggest anyone interested just request a copy via email.

Art

e-printerhelp(at)mvps(dot)org



Hi Arthur. I sent a previous request, go no response, I just sent
another via yahoo mail.

Thanks

Well, that depends. When I say waterbased, I indeed mean the inks are
waterbased. That doesn't mean they aren't waterproof when they dry, or
get locked into certain paper formulations.

The pigment inks used by Epson, for instance (Durabrite and Ultrachrome)
are waterproof once they dry. They use non-water soluble pigments
suspended in a water based liquid which uses water soluble acrylic
resins. Once dry, the pigment is held to the paper surface via the
resin, which becomes waterproof when dry.

The alcohol and ammonia dissolve the resin again even after drying.

Some dye inks also can become water proof upon drying or at least water
resistant, so again other solvent or wetting agents help.

Art

clifto wrote:
Arthur Entlich wrote:

Although I have only tested Epson inks formulations, I have been told by
others who have tried both 3rd party and other brands of inks that the
same basic mix works on the majority of water based inkjet printer inks.


What strikes me most about this whole complicated process is how easy it
is to remove the water-based inkjet ink from paper by getting it wet.

Do keep in mind the actual costs of consumables with color laser
printers is doing photo-coverage prints. Unless you can refill the
toner cartridges, they can become more costly than inkjet prints, now
that the business model in use for laser printers is similar to that of
inkjet models, where the consumables are more costly than the printer,
and the cartridges coming with the printer are "starter" type, often
containing 25-33% of a full cartridge.

Art



James Sweet wrote:

"clifto" wrote in message
...

Arthur Entlich wrote:

Although I have only tested Epson inks formulations, I have been told by
others who have tried both 3rd party and other brands of inks that the
same basic mix works on the majority of water based inkjet printer inks.

What strikes me most about this whole complicated process is how easy it
is to remove the water-based inkjet ink from paper by getting it wet.




After fighting with color inkjets for years and throwing away hundreds of
dollars on cartridges that only gave me a few pages before clogging up
across numerous brands of printers, I finally gave up and got a color laser,
and I've never looked back. The photo output is not as good as a modern
inkjet but for everything I print it's fantastic. If you don't print a lot
of photos I highly recommend looking into one. Some even do photos pretty
well.

You only need to use water as the ink is water soluble. Just soak it
in hot water, I use distilled, and it should clear up the mess.

On Fri, 21 Dec 2007 14:08:17 +0000, Emil Tiades
wrote:

On Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:53:10 -0800 (PST), Doc
wrote:


In that case, it would appear I've got nothing to lose by giving it a
try other than possibly not having to buy a new printer.

Instead of alcohol, I use a mixture of amonia and water.
one part of amonia, 4 parts of water.
Usually works the next day.
Also have a look in
http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/