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Author Topic: Epson problem solution  (Read 3712 times)

sheerline

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Epson problem solution
« on: September 01, 2009, 10:56:45 pm »

My Epson printer was a troublesome, slowand ink greedy thing which would print when it felt like it, run out of ink at the worst possible moment and play up when I was rushed. I learned to hate the ruddy thing over the couse of the past eighteen months and a week ago, whilst printing a long document, it dumped on me yet again!iit sat there screeching at me with yet another paper jam, uselessly printing along one fixed line, wasting the ink I had just bought for it.
I had bought another printer, it was still in it;s box as I had not had time to unpack it so when this accursed Epson junk stuck it's fingers up at me again I decided enough was enough.
I calmly walked over to the corner of the workshop, selected my long handled woodaxe and with one mighty blow sunk it deep into the heart of the still screeching printer printer. %% The stupid machine exploded in a shower of plastic parts and I watched as the ink cartridge assembly shot out sideways.
It was a very rewarding and satisfying experience as the machine was actually 'running' at the time, still sticking it's fingers up at me!!
NO MORE... it won't bother me again. Problem solved!! 8)
The most rewarding part of this experience was was to see a box come up on the screen after the printer was hurled down the yard..... It said " printer has failed to print"! I laughed my socks off as I installed a new Hewlett Packard machine This is a beautifully fast and quiet machine with all the facilities on board I desire. It's a joy to operate and much better quality than any Epson machine i have seen to date .
Epson RIP.

HEALTH WARNING! This process is not recommended for end users and should only be carried out by infuriated, red faced, demented experts, experienced in percusive problem solving! <*<
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The long Build

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #1 on: September 01, 2009, 11:17:49 pm »

Oh sounds like so much fun , wish I had done that.. Funny enough also just bought an HP 4480  :}  Mind you when this one starts to print the paper goes through with almost the same scariness of arkrights till.
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sheerline

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #2 on: September 01, 2009, 11:35:20 pm »

Longbuild, it's a HP4480 I have just installed!! It's great, when set to fast economical print, not only is the quality still excellent but it fires the paper through at light speed. Got it from Argos, they have a sale on so the price was well down . :-))
I have to say, the child in me wouldn't allow me to stop laughing even though i was in here alone. %%
No Epson will grace the dustbin I call a desk ever again!
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Brian Roberts

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #3 on: September 02, 2009, 12:14:55 am »

In defence of Epson I have a R2400 model which has had a lot of use over the last couple of years or so. I suppose 90% is for quality photographic printing and the rest for text, and it hasn't let me down once.
The results are superb and I have nothing but praise for it.

Brian
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FullLeatherJacket

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #4 on: September 02, 2009, 08:53:32 am »

I wonder if the same treatment would work on the stuck-up madam who runs our local cartridge refill shop  <*<
FLJ (just dreaming............honest!)
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Martin (Admin)

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #5 on: September 02, 2009, 08:56:04 am »

I must admit to being a HP (Hewlett Packard) man through & through, right down to the underwear.
 Well fixing HP equipment has paid for my mortgage for the last 20 years or so!

I will also put in the first claim for the oldest working printer at 12 years old, a HP 890c - beat that.
( I will say that I've kept it, 1. It doesn't give much trouble at all, 2. It's hardly used, 3. I was give an buck box of ink carts!)


"I calmly walked over to the corner of the workshop, selected my long handled wood axe and with one mighty blow sunk it deep into the heart of the still screeching printer printer. The stupid machine exploded in a shower of plastic parts and I watched as the ink cartridge assembly shot out sideways.  It was a very rewarding and satisfying experience as the machine was actually 'running' at the time, still sticking it's fingers up at me!!"
-  I wish I could have been there to share the moment with you.  :-))
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Colin Bishop

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #6 on: September 02, 2009, 09:03:45 am »

Quote
-  I wish I could have been there to share the moment with you.

I thought you did that sort of thing all the time Martin?
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sheerline

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #7 on: September 02, 2009, 09:30:05 am »

I would like to add that I am not a wrecker or destructive type, I'm one of life's builders and repairers and generally hate destroying anything. I usually see most malfunctioning or broken things as a challenge, to be mended or rebuilt and put into good working use again, but I have been up the 'repair road' with printers before and wasted endless hours on them only to be immensly dissapointed and angry at the waste of life they have inflicted upon me.
Some things in life are worth the effort but in certain cases, the last bit of joy to be obtained from something which has reached the end of it's life is to send it to 'the other side' in style. It's good for the equipment, it puts the poor things out of their misery and also good for the owners as it also ends their misery too. Nothing but plus signs all round I'd say.
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dreadnought72

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #8 on: September 02, 2009, 09:37:28 am »

Have the last laugh, sheerline - rip out the electric motors, gears, and toothed belts that may still function, and use 'em in something floaty.

Andy
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sheerline

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #9 on: September 02, 2009, 04:19:33 pm »

Andy, that old printer was haunted, the last thing I would want to do is transport its ghost into a model... out of workshop, out of mind I say!
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OMK

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #10 on: September 02, 2009, 04:56:40 pm »

Har, har! Way to go, Mr S.
Top respect for having a stab at trying to repair rather than chuck things in the bin. You remind me of my old man. He too was against binning stuff if it could be repaired. Much harder these days though because everything is made of s**tty plastic.
As for ghosts', I love 'em. One of my harddrive's met the exact same fate as your printer, only in my case I used a hammer. All the internal discs' were smashed to bits but I managed to salvage the motor bearings for an intended anemometer. That ghost must have jumped aboard at some stage because the last I'd seen of the anem' was during a gale, heading off skywards about 300mph.
Your missus must have done a benny when she realised just how hard it is to scrub splattered ink off the walls...........


.......ceiling/carpet/curtains/cat/goldfish...........
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sheerline

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #11 on: September 02, 2009, 05:33:03 pm »

Yo PMK! 8) No sweat man, I axed the printer on the desk in my workshop... swmbo banned from here as I do all my swearing and bad stuff in here.. >>:-( <*< this is MY domain, er indoors has no sway here!  
Having mentioned stuff up the walls, it wouldn't show right now anyway as we have ripped half the house apart and I do believe that splattered ink up the walls would make more of an improvement than damage.
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Martin (Admin)

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #12 on: September 02, 2009, 05:59:23 pm »


The hidden costs of home printing
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8231062.stm
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OMK

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #13 on: September 02, 2009, 06:45:09 pm »

..."er indoors has no sway here!"

What? Not allowed in yer shop??!
Ooh, no-no-no, old chip - you got it all wrong. What you need is to get 'er all trained-up so that when she brings your bacon sarnieshe says, "Oh yes, my little genius, that SURE is another masterpiece created by your clever little hands.", all lovely-like. It just won't happen if you don't let 'em in or how else they gonna learn to fetch, bring, carry, obey your every little whim if you don't explain to 'em the internal workings of man's shed and the sort of things he gets up to in there? Although, getting 'er to the stage of bringing you a beer without even asking for one takes a bit of working at. My advice would be to break 'er in gently. Start off by building her a few enticers first (the homemade wobbly coffee table dodge works every time). Then, once she's had a decent whiff of how shed life works, sit back and enjoy the yest of yer days being waited on hand and foot.

"... as we have ripped half the house apart and..."

Decorating, eh?
Bummer.
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sheerline

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #14 on: September 02, 2009, 09:11:51 pm »

Yer ave got it all wrong PMK, she is  fully up to speed on shed deliveries and is allowed across the threshold to deliver sustainance which she does on a regular basis. She is NOT allowed to wander, fiddle or ask too many questions otherwise she may suss that I am not working when I should be. Remember, the female of the species has a 'tidy up and 'move it' gene which if allowed to get loose in a mans workshop would wreak havoc with the finely tuned and delicate order of things. This place has stuff everywhere, but I know where it is, what it is and when I need it (most times). That would all go to the wall if a female were allowed free range in here. Also, I would not be able to use colourful language when the moment presented itself.
 
Look at it this little scenario,
 you open up the end of your thumb on the bandsaw, without looking at it, you immediately clutch it with your free hand, covering it up. You know it aint gonna be good but you don't really want to see it, then the pain hits! You look at it...  it really isn't good at all , in fact it's quite nasty and now it becomes even more painful now you've seen it!

With a female present:
 "Oh bother, look what I've done on the bandsaw, silly Billy, now I won't be able to function properly for a week, what a shame, oh dear, never mind"

Without female:
AAAArrgh"!!! ..." You f******g B*******D"! "Bo*****cks"!   " Po*y bleedin saw, oh for f***K sake"!  (rushes off indoors for plaster after doing tough guy thing with the superglue to stem the flow of gallons of blood.)
 
If a female is present when you reach the house, she will immediately pipe up..." Oh dear, what have you done"? You say " Oh, just cut myself on the saw dear".  She then comes out with those immortal words " Come here dear, get it under the cold tap and wash it out"! God, that is so feminine, have they any idea how much more it will hurt if you get it anywhere near a cold tap!!
"No, it's ok darling, it's just a nick, can you get me a plaster please"?
 "Here let me see it, I will stick the plaster on for you" she says.
You grab the plaster and scarper cos you don't want em fussing round you, the throbbing in your thumb is unbearable and the superglue has given up under the pressure and flow of blood from the wound.
You go with more superglue after licking it clean, on with the plaster and back on with the job in hand till the plaster gives up half way through the day whereupon you discard it and proceed to get the wound completely filthy.... But the job goes out the door on time and the wound eventually heals and all is right with the world cos you dealt with it and kept the female out of the frame.
The following day you go round with a rag and wipe the blood off the wall as you dripped it onto the lathe chuck whilst it was spinning.
No No PMK... keep em out at all costs.
Having said that, if there were a medal for the ideal woman, I would bestow it upon her for what she has to put up with, she's one in a million! :-))
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OMK

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #15 on: September 02, 2009, 09:48:24 pm »

Bandsaw, eh? Can't say I've had the pleasure - yet. But they say that when it happens is one of those real snotty crotch-crunching sort of happenings that you just don't want to happen. I heard your 'OOF!' even from here....... even though I'm trying me best to stifle a tee-hee-he!
Any bloke with enough bottle to shove a load of superglue in a puke-inducing, blood-spewing gash should surely be changing his handle to Rambo. So if you think about it... Yes-yes, Mr S -- keep 'em IN at all costs. As you're already attested, they're brilliant for little jobs like mopping-up bits of body. Most blokes (a-hem!) wanna puke/faint at the first sign blood - especially when it's their own. Wimmin don't faint, ergo should be deemed a must-have accessory in any shop.
I rest me case, m'lud.

"...she's one in a million! :-))"

That reminds me......

"My wife is an Angel!"
"You're lucky; mine is still alive."

 
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sheerline

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #16 on: September 02, 2009, 10:04:52 pm »

Nah, way too restricting for me mate. can you imagine the common sense response from a female had I said "Please may I slam my woodaxe into the top of my printer dear"? I think we all know the answer to that one. I might eventually end up locking the door to the workshop  and simply make a feeding hatch which could double as a body repair station, simply poke the damaged limb through the hole and shout...."fix this darling"!
Come to think of it, I just thought of another use......no, no, forget it, I'll get moderated!!  :embarrassed:
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Subculture

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #17 on: September 03, 2009, 08:07:52 pm »

Ahhh, good to hear I wasn't the only one who despised Epson printers. I had one once, and the perishing thing was nothing but grief from day one.

I think they were okay in the old days, when the resolution was lower. It's when they went for very fine photographic quality the problems began.

Personally, I prefer a laser printer. If you want pictures, go and get them printed at a bureau, it's surprisingly cost effective, and the quality is always good in my experience.
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dodgy geezer

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #18 on: September 03, 2009, 08:59:28 pm »

I think they were okay in the old days, when the resolution was lower. It's when they went for very fine photographic quality the problems began.


Yup. Epson provide amazing specifications, at a very cheap price. They manage this by having very fine jets, and by making most of their money on the ink. Trouble is, the jets are prone to clog up.

To minimise clogging, Epsons (and most other printers) start by sucking a bit of ink through the heads, and have a cleaning routine which squirts more ink through the heads. This is expensive. And where does this ink go?

For some HP models, it goes into a container and then evaporates, leaving a sludge. But for Epsons, it is dumped into a sponge in the base of the machine. After a fair bit of printing, this sponge is fairly full. But do they then give you a message - 'sponge full - please replace'? Oh dear me, no. Epson close the printer down with a message 'Maintenance required - send to service centre'. To use your printer again, yoyu will have to pay £50 for the privilege of having a new sponge and the print counter reset.

Here is my first hint. Go to http://www.ssclg.com/epsone.shtml and download their service utility. That allows you to reset the counter yourself. You can then change your own sponge, or do what I do and direct the cleaning ink into a separate container.

It seems a shame to throw so much ink away. But I don't worry any more. I use an RX 700, which has 6 cartridges. If I bought them from Epson, that would be £90. So I don't. I used to buy them from PrintRite, but that still cost £30 - about £5 per cartridge.

Then I bought some refillable cartridges from SkyHorse - http://www.refillvideo.com/ - but they got chased out of the UK by Epson legal suits. I still have the refillables - that got me down to £1.30 per cartridge.

Finally, I installed a continuous ink supply. I got it off the net from the US, but it's one of these - http://www.continuous-ink-systems.co.uk/ . And I found a great supplier of german-imported inks - http://www.promaximaging.com/ . They do top quality inks, and my costs are now the equivalent of £0.36p per cartridge.

So that's why I don't care about throwing large quantities of ink away, or counting the cost of printing photos...

   
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portside II

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #19 on: September 03, 2009, 09:23:54 pm »

Well i am going to defend the epson printers , well the ones i have/had .
about 8 years ago i ditched my lexmark z81 as the ink was nearly £50 for two cartriges , and bought an epson R200 and about two years ago i bought an upgrade in the form of an epson R265 . The old R200 is still on the shelf and still working with the new one and i can print on both at once  :-) .
As for ink i don't use the genuine cartriges as they are about £30. a set , so i use compatable ones £10 and £12. a set and that's 6 cartriges in each so that saves me a fortune on ink as when one colour expires i just replace it and not the whole set as in combination cartriges.
Another reason for my choice is that i also print on data discs and there are not many if any other printers out there , I like epson but i also like hp,lexmark,philips etc .
daz   
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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #20 on: September 04, 2009, 08:43:37 am »

My Epson stylus photo 935 was great for a while but I am now forever wasting ink doing nozzle checks and cleaning the print head. It has also started to jam and the quality of print and colour is now poor. I think the 14lb sledge is not far away and HP will be moving in soon as the other HPs we have in the office seem to last longer and they get a lot more use.
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Colin Bishop

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #21 on: September 04, 2009, 08:59:15 am »

HP printers usually have the "nozzles" built into the cartridges. This makes them more expensive but you effectively get a new print head each time you change the cartridge.
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OMK

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #22 on: September 04, 2009, 10:06:54 am »

Just out of curiosity, does HP printing software allow you an option to rescale your prints? The Epson s/w will let you reduce or enlarge the original. Do you know if HP printers do the same? Can anyone recommend one that does?
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Subculture

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Re: Epson problem solution
« Reply #23 on: September 05, 2009, 02:47:46 pm »

HP printers usually have the "nozzles" built into the cartridges. This makes them more expensive but you effectively get a new print head each time you change the cartridge.

Which is why I like HP.
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