WF-3540 Print alignment issue

I have a Epson WF-3540, and a couple weeks ago it started having print alignment issues out of the blue. It seems like every horizontal pass it makes, some of the passes are shifted a fraction to the left or right causing vertical lines to be jagged, and some of the lines of printed text not to line up. This is happening with black and color.

I tried cleaning the heads, I tried doing the built-in print alignment 5 or 6 times, and it's still doing the same thing. So, I called Epson's customer service department, and it seems like their answer to everything is "your printer is malfunctioning, we will send you a replacement." I haven't give up hope on this being fixable. I can't remember if this started happening right after I replaced a cartridge or not. I did replace one around the time this started but I can't remember if this started immediately after that. Does anyone have any suggestions?

try printing in higher quality and report

Derek N said:

I have a Epson WF-3540, and a couple weeks ago it started having print alignment issues out of the blue. It seems like every horizontal pass it makes, some of the passes are shifted a fraction to the left or right causing vertical lines to be jagged, and some of the lines of printed text not to line up. This is happening with black and color.

I tried cleaning the heads, I tried doing the built-in print alignment 5 or 6 times, and it's still doing the same thing. So, I called Epson's customer service department, and it seems like their answer to everything is "your printer is malfunctioning, we will send you a replacement." I haven't give up hope on this being fixable. I can't remember if this started happening right after I replaced a cartridge or not. I did replace one around the time this started but I can't remember if this started immediately after that. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Click to expand...

Be aware that when a manufacturer says they will send you a replacement, they don't necessarily mean one of the same model and it could be one that uses different cartridges.

Also, your problem may be related to the paper or which tray the paper is coming from so try different thicknesses of paper and/or selecting the paper from the bottom tray or the rear tray.

A reply to you both...

I tried printing in higher quality and it's doing the same thing. I've been printing in a custom quality, between the top and midgrade, since I got the printer, and I've tried the setting I've been using, the highest quality, and the midgrade quality and there's no difference. It just started out of the blue one day. It's not like I changed settings and it began.

The same with the paper. I've been using the same exact paper since I got the printer. It printed flawlessly until one day out the the blue it didn't. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what variable caused the change with no luck. The only thing I can think is maybe it did start right after I replaced an empty ink cartridge. I'd hate to waste 3/4 of an ink cartridge if that's not the problem, so I've been chicken to try that and find out.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions, though. If anyone else has an idea, please don't be afraid to lay it on me. Thanks in advance!

You printer is malfuntioning. Get a replacement.

Derek N said:

I have a Epson WF-3540, and a couple weeks ago it started having print alignment issues out of the blue. It seems like every horizontal pass it makes, some of the passes are shifted a fraction to the left or right causing vertical lines to be jagged, and some of the lines of printed text not to line up. This is happening with black and color.

Click to expand...

I think this error could also be caused by a dirty timing strip/encoder strip or what it might be called by Epson. The timing strip is a transparent plastic strip with fine vertical engravings. It is read by an optical reader in the print head carriage to determine the position of the print head.

On a Canon and an HP printer you can open the printer like you would change an ink cartridge and then pull the power cord without first switching the printer off. You can now move the print head freely from side to side by hand and clean the timing strip using a soft folded paper handkerchief moistened with a window cleaner with ammonia. I think this will also work with an Epson printer.

Here is a shot from an HP printer showing the timing strip:



The timing strip is marked with the green circle.