Epson WP 4540 black ink dripping on paper

[nowhere]

My WP 4540 is 2 years old next week. Started having black ink trouble about 2 weeks ago. I have a 2 year extended warranty. They have approved a fix or replacement. I like the printer and cost per copy.

Can this printer be properly fixed for the long term? I've never had a printer problem in less than 4 or 5 years. I print about 1200 copies per month. What could be a good comparable replacement with low cost per copy?

Thanks for your help.

 

[annel]

You might contact Leonard John and see what he recommends. I have found him to be very knowledgeable and helpful.

Do you use a continuous ink system or refillable cartridges? He provides both for that printer and many other Epson workforce and other printers.

How long will they guarantee the new fix? I don't know anything about that particular printer but given the cost I would want it to last more than two years.

http://ljhent.com/epson/epson.html

 

[nowhere]

Thanks. I am using his ink & cartridges. The problem is internal and is only appearing on the paper at this time. I will send him an email.

 

[Leonardjohn]

Hi there, did you get the issue resolved with the printer...

 

[nowhere]

Yes and no. Thanks for asking.

I loved my WFP-4540 printer. I have a new Epson WFP-4630. It fit right on top of the 4540 aux paper tray making my 4630 a 4640. It works flawlessly. The Staples manager was great. I received a check for $199.99 from the warranty company yesterday. As I recall it cost around $20 2 years ago. Not bad. However it cost me well over $300 in time, mileage, $45 + two 30 mile trips for an authorized Epson repair center to tell me it was unfixable. Add to that the inability to make a decision until they passed judgement on my claim. I will never buy an extended warranty again.

This is the first printer ever to go bad on me. My backup is a Sharp laser printer I purchased for Window.s 95. Beautiful dense black text, no current drivers so graphics look like a 1960's newspaper. I'm generally not an extended warranty person. I read about a yellow ink leak problem on this model and the warranty was on sale. I may be able to fix this printer when I get time. I didn't want to void the warranty so after cleaning and running 400 copies I put in the claim 2 days before it expired then followed their directions. What a waste of time. They sent me to Staples and Best Buy Geek squad. Neither fixes printers, both said the warranty company knows this and usually just issues reimbursement. The Staples manager made a long call to the company and worked out a settlement. Told me I'd have an email and they would send a check. In about an hour I did get the email agreeing to pay but asking me to send the printer to Texas. I answered with a request to leave the printer with Staples. No response by late Monday morning so I took my printer for a long drive to the Epson certified repair center, paid $45 for the privilege. Just before I got the news my printer was unfixable, the warranty company authorized payment without return.

I was near the repair center so decided to pick up the bad printer and written diagnosis just to have for the warranty company. When I put the printer on my bench I noticed no fingerprints or dust disturbance. No evidence a single screw was turned. What a racket. Up front $45 to get a free machine you can possibly fix and resell if the customer does not come back for it.

This all could have been amusing had it happened when I wasn't so busy. I see you will soon have refills for my 4630. Does it use the same ink as the 4540?

 

[Leonardjohn]

Well I am glad it worked out...What an adventure ....

The 676xl cartridge in the wf 4530/4540 uses the same Durabrite Ultra pigment as the 786 cartridge in the 4630... (your ink will work)

We have held off adding the 4630 because of the lack of a reliable resettable chip, until now....

So the 4630 cartridge come with a one time use chip, and the refill kit for the 4630 come with a chip set.

When the printer has calculated that the ink is exhausted, remove, fill, and pop a new chip on....

cheers
Leonard

 

[annel]

Sorry for all your trouble. I hope you find a great deal on a printer that serves you really well.

 

[nowhere]

What are the best materials and method to clean and refurb this printer using pigment ink?

I studied youtube last night and took a shot. There is evidence of black ink in several places across the bottom under the ink head path. It's all dry and a dry rag doesn't pick up ink. I released the ink head mechanism and moved it to the left. This exposed a mess. I did a general cleaning with Windex, gauze and qtips. The wiper was possibly the problem. The first nozzle check showed no color and appeared uniform gray. I did 2 cleanings followed by checks. The second was gray but the color was evident. The third showed all colors but incomplete lines. I ran 10 sheets and no longer get black ink spots ... for now.

I did some reading on head cleaners. Everything appears to not be right for pigment ink or systems using tubes to the print heads. Any suggestions?

 

[The Hat]

This video made by @jtoolman might give you some answers and also help you to clean the whole inside area of you own printer..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itl3UsPZK2Q&nohtml5=False

 

[nowhere]

Thanks. I did put a gauze pad with Windex between the print head and waste pad for maybe 2 minutes. If Windex is the right stuff I give it overnight this time.

Attached is the nozzle check I ran after toying with the printer last night. My first concern is whether or not the black ink spots come back. I'm now using the original lite fill Epson cartridges that came with my printer.