EPSON 1400

[retro1]

I have a EPSON 1400 ink jet printer I purchased used 8 months ago. I printed posters and graphics on this printer almost every day from the time I brought it until now when I noticed I was losing definition on a few colors. I ran a nozzle check page which showed a few nozzles were clogged, after a few cleaning cycles I ran another nozzle check page with the same results. This went on for a day or so with no change at all, so I ran some Windex directly into the print head of the two colors that were clogged, now when I run a nozzle check page I get absolutely nothing showing on the page, the printer goes through all the motions like it is printing but there is no ink what so ever anywhere on the page. Any help/advise on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

What type of cartridges are you using - OEM - 3rd party - refill - which type of ink ?

You may try to run the WicReset utility which offers in lots of cases several cleaning options like normal and strong and a 'Ink charge' function as well as an extended cleaning cycle.
Is there a risk that some Windex got to the flat cable connection and causing some damage/interruption to the electrical connecctions ?

 

[retro1]

What type of cartridges are you using - OEM - 3rd party - refill - which type of ink ?

You may try to run the WicReset utility which offers in lots of cases several cleaning options like normal and strong and a 'Ink charge' function as well as an extended cleaning cycle.
Is there a risk that some Windex got to the flat cable connection and causing some damage/interruption to the electrical connecctions ?

Hello, and thanks for answering my distress call/message for help, and your suggestions, really very cool of you to do so. Ok first off I am not using EPSON OEM ink/ carts, I am in fact using Precision Color ink carts and filling them with there EV6 dye based ink which has given me really no problems at all with the 1400, or the other two 1430's I print with. I'm also a customer of WIC as I have purchased a few waste tank reset keys from them over the years but had no idea they also have cleaning cycle utilities to use on my printers. As far as the Windex getting onto the flat cable connection, I really do not know if i did or did not. Any advise would be greatly appreciated

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I don't think you have a problems with the inks, there is a problem with the ink flow. Check the cleaning options with WicReset and run a cycle with the highest intensity or an ink charge if available. These options vary from printer to printer model, and then a nozzle check again. I don't know how you handled the cleaning with Windex, 'flooding' the bottom of the cartridge carrier could cause a problem.

 

[retro1]

Hello, and thank you for your suggestions, and thoughts about what might have cause of my EPSON 1400 to start shooting blanks. About the cartridge carrier being flooded, I don't know if I did, or did not but I applied the Windex strait into the top of the printhead with a syringe with a piece of tubing attached. I placed the tubing on the the ink stem of the yellow ink channel that was clogged and slowly injected the Windex in to the channel. I placed a narrow piece paper towel on the bottom of the print head to help collect the Windex that I pushed through the channel. When I finished the paper towel was soaked with a mixture of Windex, and some yellow ink so I'm pretty sure what was collected on the paper towel came from the one channel. That being said I really have no way of knowing for certain one way or another. I will run some cleaning cycles via WIC and think very positive

 

[The Hat]

About the cartridge carrier being flooded, I don't know if I did, or did not

What @Ink stained Fingers was referring too was, if some of the Windex managed to get onto the data cable, and it burned out some component either in the print head or logic board then any further commination with the print head would be lost, hence no image printed..

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I placed the tubing on the the ink stem of the yellow ink channel that was clogged and slowly injected the Windex in to the channel.

That's a correct description of the process, but I have seen ink spilling around this stem when somebody was removing the tube, I have seen as much as half of a syringe load of ink there , somebody was still pushing during the tube removal......you could suck up that ink before it spreads at the bottom of the cartridge holder but it happily didn't happen to you. The construction of the cartridge holder varies from printhead to printhead, and there could be a little hole here or there or not - I have seen it all.

 

[retro1]

So I ran a few a couple of strong ink charges using the WIC web site then tried to print a nozzle check pattern, nothing, waited 30 minutes ran an other strong head cleaning cycle, the I tried an other nozzle check pattern, nada, nothing, not even a hint of color just a blank sheet of white paper. Which I found to be really strange because when I ran the head cleaning cycle I saw plenty of ink running out of the printer though the tubbing I installed diverting the waste ink into the external waste tank so you would have to think some ink was running through the print head, But yet when I try to print any thing at all not one droplet of ink from any of the six colors is on the paper. So after scratching my head for a while I figured I'd try to run a little more Windex thought the yellow ink channel by attaching a syringe filled with Windex with some tubing attached to the yellow ink stem at the top of the print head. But this time when I pressed the plunger the Windex seemed to be running though the ink channel much easier/faster than any other time I tried this procedure in the past. So I'm thinking that maybe I made a little progress, right, nope. Apparently the Windex I tried pushing through the yellow ink stem a top of the print head was not running through the print head at all. It was simply pushed through the stem and came right out the top flooding the top of the print head

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Apparently the Windex I tried pushing through the yellow ink stem a top of the print head was not running through the print head at all. It was simply pushed through the stem and came right out the top flooding the top of the print head

Flooding the printhead - the cartridge chamber apparently - you need to remove all that liquid there - use smaller pieces of paper towels. Could you see that any Windex passed through the inkjet nozzles - into a paper towel underneath ? If so I would try to use another ink cartridge as the last resort.

 

[retro1]

Ya no luck the printer is still going thought the motions like it's actually printing something, and it's drawing ink through the print head during cleaning cycles, but no ink is sprayed onto the paper. Do you know anything about the refurbished/ or rebuilt OEM print heads I see for sale on eBay or else where