Cleaning cartridge for Epson 3800

sar-photo

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I'm having a hell of a problem with some blocked nozzles on the magenta printhead of my 3800. I'm now down to two options:

1. Pay Epson 380 to fix it
2. Buy or make a cleaning cartridge

I'd like to try option 2 before having to resort to option 1. Can I take an empty cartridge, drill a hole in it, clean it out and fill it with cleaning solution (ispropanol)?
Obviously I'd have to seal the hole before I put the cartridge back in the printer!

Is this a viable thing to do?

Cheers
Simon
 

pschwart

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Have you run power cleaning cycles? I don't think this is available from the driver, it must be initiated directly from the printer. This will suck up a *lot* of ink, but it's still simpler than refilling cartridges or paying to have the printer serviced.
380 is not much less than I paid Epson for my refurbished 3800.
 

pschwart

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The 3800 is one of Epson's Advanced Imaging products. They have a special support phone for those printers. I would give them a call and see what they can do for you.
When I got my printer I used up a lot of ink before I could get good nozzle checks; I called them up and was immediately shipped some replacement cartridges at no cost. The Epson print heads can make wonderful prints, but they also clog and are not user replaceable. A lot of us don't use a particular printer every day, or even every week, and we are constantly struggling with bad nozzle checks. As long as Epson is selling printers, and a lot of ink, they aren't too motivated to do anything about this.

 

Kerik

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I had the same problem with magentas on the 3800 and so have 2 or 3 other people I know. I took it to an Epson service center and they wanted $400 to replace the print head. I bought a new 3880 for $800 instead.
 

Jon Shiu

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I also have problems with magenta, maybe 4 or 5 gaps in the nozzle check pattern. Was thinking of using the windex & paper towel method of cleaning under the head, but have never tried it with the 3800. Worked well with other Epsons I've had, such as the 1270. Am debating whether to try it. Any one else try this cleaning method with the 3800?

Jon
 

jeffreyg

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A friend has a 4880 in which he installed an all black/gray ink system and had nothing but problems esp in the magenta slot. He tried power cleans and some kind of a cleaning cartridge all of which did not work. Epson suggested returning the printer for repairs. I suggested that he get some new Epson inks and just keep using the regular cleaning cycle. It worked. He got rid of the set of blacks and uses the regular inks with excellent results.

Once you correct the clog, I suggest making a print even a small one every few days. Although there are claims that the nozzles won't clog, I say it's better to waste a little ink than to have a costly problem.

Good luck.

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