Epson R2880 - Problem - Blinking Lights - Won't work

Update. Thanks Websnail, I soaked two nozzles for about 12 hours each and then did a nozzle check. They now print fine. Two others were almost OK so I will be soaking them tonight and tomorrow. With any luck, I might be back to normal by Sunday. I will report back then. Also, I have ordered a waste ink bottle.

Alan Baily said:

Update. Thanks Websnail, I soaked two nozzles for about 12 hours each and then did a nozzle check. They now print fine. Two others were almost OK so I will be soaking them tonight and tomorrow. With any luck, I might be back to normal by Sunday. I will report back then. Also, I have ordered a waste ink bottle.

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I think this calls for a glass of milk to celebrate

Good stuff... Glad you're moving forward but be prepared for cartridges that drain due to wicking affect from the pads... It's an annoyance but a small price to pay compared to numerous head cleans that do nada.

Cancel the celebration. I am back to two blinking lights.

Ahh..

Next chapter. I pulled the electrical cord out of the outlet. Put it back in, turned it on and no blinking lights. I ran a nozzle check and I get a black smear that shows a lot of ink on the paper. Any thoughts?

Alan Baily said:

Next chapter. I pulled the electrical cord out of the outlet. Put it back in, turned it on and no blinking lights. I ran a nozzle check and I get a black smear that shows a lot of ink on the paper. Any thoughts?

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I'm assuming you remembered to remove the little pads of kitchen paper towel already so hopefully we can discount a little absent mindedness on your part.

The passive process will draw a fair bit of ink through from the cartridges so I'd recommend checking all your cartridges still physically have ink in them. Replace as necessary. Oh and check that you haven't left fill hole plugs open (if you're using refillables).

Do a single head clean and a nozzle check... then print off a few copies of one or more of these:
http://www.inksupply.com/zip/purge.zip

Hopefully you will find that the smears will shows signs of fading as any excess crud is used up...

If you find the issue recurs after a head clean then chances are strong that your waste tubes are clogged up and we can deal with that easily enough by filling the printhead resting/cleaning pad with cleaning solution and then leaving it to break down the clogs there and the drain into the pads. A waste kit is also an option to resolve issues if the clog is further down near the main waste pads but that's a side issue right now.


It ain't over till the fat lady sings...

FWIW, I uploaded a scan of the nozzle check printout.

Alan Baily said:

FWIW, I uploaded a scan of the nozzle check printout.

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Wow! What on earth?!

I don't think I've ever seen that sort of result from a nozzle check...

Can you print off some prints of a simple 4 colour test sheet (see the link in my earlier post) and scan one of those after the printer has done a few prints.

Alan Baily said:

FWIW, I uploaded a scan of the nozzle check printout.

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Your pdf nozzle check is due to the golden flat pin of the printhead cable is not inline with the golden pin inside the printhead. Unplug the printhead cable from the printhead and re-insert the cable to the printhead, ensuring the white printhead cable golden flat pin is well inserted deep inside the printhead pin slot.

Websnail, I tried to make a print of the file you suggested but the printer started to make a print, and then it went back to blinking red lights. I pressed the off button, then turned it on and pulled the plug to be able to move the printhead. In the process, it ejected the paper which an enormous amount of ink on it. Any suggestions.

Lin, I am not comfortable trying to get to the printhead cable. Is there a video I can see of how to do this?