Stylus Pro 4000 replacement

[Lisa Miller]

Hi, I've had an Epson 4000 now for 12 years (serviced around 6 years ago). it's been a great servant but has had it's share of nozzle problems. A few cleaning cycles have always cleared this but a couple of days ago the print nozzle pattern was awful and try as I might I cannot clean it. We produce fine art prints from original paintings (via photoshop) so I either need to find some way of successfully cleaning the printer ( I haven't used the deep clean in the maintenance mode yet as my ink is low)or replacing it ASAP as I already have new print orders to complete. I've been looking at the 4900 and the new P800 (we only print to A2). Does anyone have any thoughts on which of these two might be a suitable replacement if that is the only solution? many thanks in advance.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

are you using original Epson inks, or are you using, or planning to use 3rd party inks/cartridges ? Those won't be available for the P800 at this time. In the model succession of A2 printers the P800 would be the natural choice at this time, but there can be reasons to choose a predecessor e.g. phase out pricing .You should scan the internet for reports of clogged 4900, I think, I remember that I read various reports about this problem . Clogged nozzles on the 4000 can have various reasons - it can be a worn out printhead, problems with the purge unit, problems with inks if they are 3rd party .Since that printer appears to be used for commercial business, are you getting any regular maintenance on the printer ? There are internal counters of usage and maintenance parameters which may give a hint for this or that.

 

[Lisa Miller]

Definitely original inks. I've scoured the internet for fixes to the problem and tried a few but still no joy. It has always been prone to drying out but this is the worst it's been. We're just a micro business so no regular maintenance. The one time we had this done it cost around £550 - which is half-way to a new P800 and I don't know if it's worth maintaining a 12 year old 4000?

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

you would spend time and money to get the 4000 fixed with an uncertain outcome , I rather would go in this case for a replacement , with a new unit, with warranty for a while, with support for Win 10 now or in the years to come.