Nozzle issue with Epson Workforce 3640

mikling

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I tried he multiple cleanings with overnight resting and no luck. I let the printhead sit on both Windex and (IJM) PiezoFlush saturated folded paper towels overnight and that didn't help. I cleaned the parking pads and wiper blade at the same time (as shown by Dana (IJM)) and it had no changes on the letter smudging for me. In fact there seemed to be very little build up on the wiper. I then tried to use the IJM squirter tool that fits over the ink nipple and lets one pressure inject either Windex or PiezoFlush through each print nipple (with the printhead over paper towels to catch the runoff) and that didn't work - in factm I lost all the channels after a nozzle check and head clean, Repeating, I finally got the black channel back (with the same misses as I started) but the cyan, magenta, and yellow channels stayed totally gone. Repeated the head soaks and cleaner injections and finally called it a day and returned the printer to Costco. I did not try to clean the timing strip, and now I can't because the printer has gone back to Costco.
I've had the printer for about 9 months and printed almost daily on it! During the summer we were away on vacation in Maine during the weekdays, but, returned home on most weekends and again printed whenever I was home. I don't think the printer was ever really idle for more than maybe 7-8 days. My R2880 has sat for months unused and after an auto clean is always ready to rock and roll. Not so with this WF printer. Mikling said in an earlier reply the precision core heads from Epson seem to be more prone to issues than other Epson heads.
If you read what I have written about Epson Printheads, then I did mention that the issue if air entering the nozzles is statistically based. Whether it happens each time or not etc is based on a lot of factors. However the printer does try and take care of it the best it can based on estimates by the engineers. If the estimate is wrong, then air gets in and is not flushed out. Now based on what I have seen, in your submission, initially there were a lot more than 3 missing steps. I picked it up right away. The fact that even when you looked and did not pick them up, tells me that text was being printed and there were missing gaps but you never noticed. This is expected. If the printer is used like this everyday for a period, it is not good and a real clog can develop because of this. I fear this is what happened in your situation.
On photos, we would see some minor banding right away on text, a few missing bars can go undetected.
Precision Core printheads are really a newer way of fabricating the printhead and squeezing more nozzles in less space. It is a breakthrough for Epson as previously their printheads were very costly to manufacture. I'm not sure it is a technology for better reliability. It could be, but its main reward is lowered cost per nozzle.
 

jpegman

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@jpegman Now that you have returned the troublesome Epson printer, why don’t you try a Canon instead, there are some great discounts to be had on the Pro 100 and Pro 10 right now...
Too late - I have too much 252XL OEM ink, and I already bought a new WF3640.
Also, Not a big fan of Canon (printers) but I do shoot exclusively Canon digital! :)
 

mikling

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Now you know to keep watch over the nozzle check carefully and tend to missing ones if they appear.
 

jpegman

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Yes I do, thank you as I enjoy a Costco hot dog;)
 

John R

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Only after a good set of at least 6 head cleans and if it does not fix the issue then you proceed to bring out the tools.
What tools are used when your head cleaning fails? For instance, I sometimes use a T252 set of cartridges filled with piezoflush and gently pressurize the air vent hole with a syringe to flush the solution through, but that's it. I have two WF3640's and one WF3620 in various states of clog. The worst clogged one I was going to pull the print head, fill the fluid holes with distilled water and see if putting the whole thing in a vacuum packer and sucking out the air helps. For the most part I haven't been able to fix stubborn clogs on this unit.
 

Steve___M_

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Greetings, I hope it's not too late to reply on this thread. It is very useful and after studying so I decided to give my 3640 a final shot before sending to the landfill. jpegman, you have a will and determination of IRON, to actually go out and get another 3640. I'm sure that comes through in other parts of your life too.

All I can find on youtube is the flushing technique, with a syringe. I'll do that since I bought one of those for my old Epson.

How do you do the "paper towel-windex soak"?
And how do you clean the parking pads and rubber wiper blade?

My 3640 has never printed well, from day one, but it duplex scans fairly reliably. I'd definitely return my 3640 to Costco if I still had the box and if I didn't already have it for three years....I've had at least 3 Epson printers in the past decade, and this one is easily the worst at printing...
 

Steve___M_

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Thanks very much for the link. I did all of that and I have just about used up an entire set of new ink cartridges but the nozzle check is basically the same set of holes, and about 50% coverage. I don't think I can bring this printer can be salvaged by me without being able to replace the head. Note that there have been periods where I didn't print for a month. What a waste of money, time, and landfill...

I've been looking at overall customer scores on a variety of ink jet printers and the 3640 is one of the worst at 3.0 out of 5.0, but I did see one or two that were even lower. Most of them seem to be around 3.7/5.0.

I think I'll take this to Costco and see if I can get a refund, and just leave it there if not.
 

jpegman

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I guess the 3640 is like a crap shoot - the printer was replaced by Costco over a year ago and I had not one problem since then!
The replacement has been working great (knock on wood!) since then, except the fax mode where it will not send faxes, only receive them but, the printer keeps working.
 

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