Excellent video, thanks for posting. I've been plagued with clogged nozzles as well - printer is about 3 years old and has rarely worked well - I've done a few fairly thorough cleanings, calls to customer service, etc. and I'm finally giving up on this machine. Not worth the hassle.

I have this very same Epson and I have had no issues with printing or changing cartridges. When first bought mine I read that the yellow cartridge kept exploding that never happened to mine. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Thanks James, definitely helpful. I was looking to get one, now I got to think twice.

You rock! I used the gauze on my 3540 and it worked! Thanks!

Thank you thats what I was looking for. Fixed my issue on WF5620. The only video on youtube that helped

I don't know if you were unlucky, and me very lucky. I own this machine for the last 14 years and still works pretty good except for this nozzle problem. I did not have to make a lot of maintenance, which rarely happened before. I printed 4490 pages (3868 colors 622 B&W) according to the report. Thank you for your very helpful video!

Have you done more on your print head study. A few clarifications: 1) The issue with cleaning cycles is only related to ink pushed through the print heads. If you don't fiddle with the waste ink tubes, no chance of getting a blow out on the waste ink tube that goes to the maintenance tank in the rear of the machine. 2) The maintenance tank (called waste ink tank in earlier model) required the design change to lengthen the life of the printer. Each cleaning cycle pushes about .75 ml of ink through each color nozzle. We ran three cleaning cycles with nozzle checks after each, then measured the waste ink pushed through. It measured ~8.5 ml. This is comparable to the older Artisan 50 models, since those had six colors and push through ~ 5ml. This maintenance tank is a great idea. To extend the life, simply cut the bottom section of a 60 ml bottle, and place it in the center of the wic where there is space. You can leave the top off the maintenance bin or put it back. A single waste tube slides into the top slot. But it's only there to stop splash when the tank get full. My insert can hold about 40 ml, so it's something you want to dump out every month (or 8 cleaning cycles). 3) With 105 ml of each color of ink, and the ability to add as you wish, ink is cheap. 4) The machine begs to be used every day. To keep the print heads clear and to keep them clear, print in best quality mode every day. Best or Quality mode pushes ink through 100% of pico-nozzles and keeps them wet. 5) Not sure why you'd want to remove the print head. Don't. If you want to push cleaning solution through the heads, no need to take it apart. Contact me and I'll make a video showing how. s e o -at- d o c p -dot- com 6) Never put alcohol, windex, over the counter anything in the ink. The ink is made with reagent quality stuff which means it has no impurities. Tap water for example, used in making windex and window washer fluid has particulates that will permanently clog the small picoliter nozzles. Never use ammonia or acetone as it can "melt" the plastic ruing the printer. 7) Our R&D WP4020 came to us as new-refurbished. We installed dye based ink in the cartridges, since we buy dye based ink by the gallon for other CIS Epson and Brother printers. We've used refillable dye based epson ink in the epson wp30 and nx215 with no issues. Turns out the quality is just as good to the eye, much less thick than pigment inks. Simply works. We think dye based non oem epson ink can be used in any pigment based ink system. The nozzles are bigger in pigment systems, but there is not effect on prints. We've only printed 50 8x11 pics so far in the test, but if the nozzles are clear --- works like a champ. 8) Conversely if you put pigment ink in a dye based printer it will clog immediately since the piconozzles are a bit too small to all ink to flow. 9) I was surprised to see the WP 4020 with only 4 colors, but my guess is it coasts less to build. Six - 8- more inks are better for photography since previously we've found four color systems have pumps that can't keep up with demand for over prints, and say runs of 50 color pages with 100% coverage in best quality. 10) You can use dye ink or pigment ink in the WP4020. You should not mix them together, so to switch just dump out whats there and add other. This will be fine to add dye ink when the cartridge is low using refillable cartridges with ARC chips (auto reset chip). When you add the ink, just have the printer print a bunch to push old ink out and new ink in. 11) Our R&D showed we could start with new refillable cartridges, fill them, and have results as good as using genuine epson pigment ink. Primimng is tricky, so buy refillable cartridges, pre-filled along with 120 ml of each color. This is on ebay today. 12) I use epson printers in my educational firm and have made a hobby of fixing and restoring them. Some of our R260's have more than 30,000 prints. My current opinion is that an R260 or R280 or Artisan 50 or 1400 beats the pants off the WP4020. Way smaller, easier to set up CIS, easier to reset counters, easier to fill CIS. Fantastic quality prints, uses six colors (k, C, LC, M, LM, Y) instead of the four in WP model (K

Thanks! Worked on my Epson WP4535.. My Black was as good as GONE, just 2 or three small lines...As per your clip here 1) Cleaned pads first 2) put clean cloth in with some Distilled water for 10mins did that 3 times with fresh cloth each go. 3) two head clean cycles later it's all ok again.

Success !! After managing to clear the printhead with the Windex/Alcohol mix I filled my CISS cartridges with this solution to make sure the system is completely clean. I printed a full size Cyan/Magenta/Yellow/Black sheet so that all nozzles will be in use while I print. I printed 200 or so blank pages (as I am using the Windex/Alcohol solution). I noticed that after a certain number of pages, the Epson Status Monitor will show that I'm out of a particular cartridge of ink (sometimes Cyan sometimes Black) even though there is still plenty of ink in that cartridge. This is because the Epson Status Monitor doesn't actually meaure the ink in the cartridge but counts the number of pages printed, (.... Very Bad Epson). A quick fix is to remove your CISS cartridge and short the two leads at the back end of the reset chip ( the back end is the end you see when you place the cartridge in the printer. Another thing that ocurred was that a cartridge would not be recognized no matter what I did to reset and short the chip. This was because the batttery for the chip was done. When the 377 watch size battery (bought at Rite Aid) for the chip is gone, the chip will not work and the printer will say it cannnot recognize the cartridge. After replacing all the batteries on the reset chips for the cartridges, the problem disappeared. You can remove the chip by carefully using a flat head screwdriver or pen knife to lift the chip from the top of the cartridge. I feel good about it working now. In a couple of days, I will replace the Windex/Alcohol solution with distilled water and use that to print a few hundred pages. This is to flush out the Windex/Alcohol so that it won't dissolve the ink I will later use. Then I will finally fill the cartridges with dye ink and always use the same ink (same manufacturer) for the lifetime of the printer. This was way too much work but I'm glad there was a way to make it work.

Thanks for making this! I wonder if anyone else has removed the print head yet. I'll look around and report back if I find anything.

Epson made a great interface with a problem printer. My first one lasted over a year but because the kids weren’t printing in the summer it dried up and could never recover. I was on the phone repeatedly with Epson until they finally sent me a brand new one for free and paid all the shipping and return charges. That second one lasted about nine months and then I had the same issue. They refused to do anything with the second one. This is several years later I still have the printer but I only use it for scanning and faxing because it has a great interface and I love it. I have a second inkjet from Canon now that I use for every day printing. I actually called Epson and told them they have a wonderful product if they could just fix the printer issue. I previously had an Epson photo printer that used 8 different color cartridges and loved loved loved that. But I think now Epson has failed in the printing area. I love my little Canon but the interface sucks! Considering a color laser due to the rise in ink jet ink costs of late.

Is there any way to distinguish between (A) air in the system and (B) clogged ink? Thanks!

Thanks for this. It helped for cleaning out my ET-4550 and the magenta clogging. I'm wondering if there's something about the magenta ink that causes a clog.

Hi James, can you please help me? I have a WP-4530 and the model you have looks similar but I can't get the whole top to open? My magenta also won't work and has the same exact problem as yours. Is there a way for the top to open or not? I only have a front slot with a small amount of room to get into it to do the cleaning you are suggesting. Thank you

do you have instructions to replace the print head? its not clear on your great video. If you run refurbished ink and it runs out, is it terminal? Ive spent a lot of time trying to unblock with a kit, and it still fails on nearly all nozzles

Hi- I have the Epsom 4650 and have magenta and black clogging issues. I have tried the gauze soaked in cleaning fluid- no luck. How long should I leave the soaked gauze before doing a nozzle check? Should I flush through from the Cartridge nibs? Thank you

Could you get reuseable empty cartdriges and put cleaning solution in them and then run the printer so the solution goes through the lines and cleans the nossels and head?

I'm sure Staples loves your advice: "you will have to go to Staples and buy another one and swap it out of the box" ... and then return it saying "it's broken"

The interesting thing, my magenta clogged too. I would not assume it would be the same color!! The printer is awesome until this happened.

Any feedback on what printer would be recommended to replace WP-4530?

Having the exact same problem with my epson artisan 50. The magenta will not clean.

Hey I've had exactly the same problem with my printer. Do you have any suggestions for o new one. Maybe one whrer you can take out the head unit and one without so many ink lines? It's funny in Germany my printer doesn't has the option for a Snoosle cleaning or sponge change. Thanks:)

Epsons are nightmare when it comes to clogging. That is why I like HP. some people don't like hp but I never have trouble with clogging. I have a new Epson on my kitchen table right now waiting for me to unclog it. My hp in my office I have went two weeks and went back and it always printed like a charm.

Have you tried setting the print quality to the best possible print setting for example photo settings and then printing a picture or documents instead of the head cleaning then set it back to normal print quality

Thank you for this video! I am having the same problem with this POS. Mine is a "WF-4640." They should have named this series "WTF!" I have had mine for 6 months. It never rests so there is no reason ink should be drying up. I bought new ink cartridges even though they weren't empty -- did nothing. I've done 10 print head cleanings over the past week and this is taking up way too much of my time. I sat on the phone with customer service today. SHe told me to unplug the printer and let it sit overnight, perform another head cleaning in the morning and if it doesnt fix the problem I should call back to explore further options. I loved my brother COlor laser MFC printer but the ink was sooo expensive and the cartridges did leak from time to time. Who makes a reliable, user serviceable printer??

@fulano2oo7

8 жыл бұрын

LOL! "Should have named this series WTF" very true

@benbarber2369

5 жыл бұрын

Nobody. Just can’t print anymore. Epson management deserves prison - and I mean el chapo style prison.

1) you can better results by cleaning the rubber pipes ...insert a syringe and push air or small amount of warm water/ alcohol mix back and forth 2) Also try placing a straw over the printhead and blow hard with your mouth ..then put a few drops of isopropyl alcohol /water mix inside the straw and repeat. I just think blowing with your mouth is more forceful and can unclog printer heads quickly.

@faustocaruso296

6 жыл бұрын

Cleaning Rubber pipes epdn wp 4515

JamesRRossell is correct in saying in it's not an easy process of removing the printhead and clearing a clogged nozzle. I'm in the midst of it and now I regret purchasing from Epson but I'm also hard-headed and cheap and if I can't get this thing working in a week or two, I'm going to another printer and make sure printhead cleaning is easier.

this explains everything i was confused about. all the text guides do not work.

Is this printer ready for prime time?

any updates?

The printer has just arrived from the service. The printer is new (less than 3000 prints). I have generated 400 pages print job. The printer printed the first 60 pages ok. After that, Magenta head went from 100% well working nozzles to only 20% well working nozzles in a matter of 2 minutes. I have conducted aprox 20 cleaning cycles, but no success. Any ideas?

I have a Epson WP-4530 and have the same problem with the magenta ink!

Where did you buy your Ciss.?

hey there, what is error code 0x69 for and how can i get rid of this error code?? i have epson wf 3620 and its not working saying error code 0x69 restart printer

After removing the printhead, I removed the 4 hoses that connected to the printhead and placed the printhead in a shallow pool of 8 parts Windex (original) and 2 parts Isopropyl Alcohol. I also got some Epson printhead cleaning solution from E-Bay and added some drops over the nozzles on the printhead where the hoses (which were removed) and the head met. Cyan is starting to come out, but not completely. I may have to reconnect the hose and pump some (Windex/Alcohol) solution in and out to see if it will make a difference on the Cyan line.

@stevendavid9430

4 жыл бұрын

Hi how did u access to the printhead without open up the printer?

James I figure you have fixed this problem since you have uploaded this video. This might have been your problem. When you installed your CIS carts what type of ink were you using? Was it Dye or Pigment, and if it was Pigment was it encapsulated pigments. Most third party suppliers of refill inks don't do this hence the problem with clogging since you went from an genuine Epson carts. Epson and HP use encapsulated pigments in their inks. When these mix with other ink they tend to clog, bad.

I have a Epson workforce WF-4630 printer which I bought about 18 months ago. Worked great for about a year not even. Have the same exact issues as you. I've called Epson and they are of no help other than running 2-3 print head clean cycles and then telling me to let it rest for a day. I'm sure that's because of the pressure that you mentioned in the lines. I'm at my wits end with this printer. I previously owned an R800 Epson printer which lasted more than 10 years. That one had eight color cartridges in it. Any thoughts on a reliable printer to buy now?

I don't understand what you did to unlock the little white tab at 1:55 seconds. Can you help me out as to what you did?

@aris95

4 жыл бұрын

Look at 2:03 power off. It is much easier to do when connected to extender cord with its own power switch.

My Magenta is the one that clogs all of the time also - WTF Epson (Workforce 3520)

This issue was created by Epson to sell more ink and more printers. Designed obsolesence . Working as designed. If they really wanted you help yourself they'd provide an easy way to access it and clean it with a qtip

most problem on this that uses pigmented ink, pigment usually dry faster and thicken, that dry pigment becomes sticky then become hard which make the printer hard, so the easy fix solution is just replace it with a dye ink base, problem will be solve I know most of you will not agree but try it and you will see. Just buy a refillable cartridge and buy dye ink and replace it, all printers that uses pigment ink can use dye ink as well, but don't use pigment ink on a dye base printer.

can you help me for Epson Wf C5290 Clogged Nozzle

What I decided to do was dump the whole printhead in an Epson Cleaning Solution bowl and leave it there for a couple of days. Then I attached the hose that connects to the printhead and using a syringe and a tapered syringe tip I proceeded to suck each line on the hose until (took several attempts for each color) I saw that something (dissolved ink) was coming out. I stopped when "stuff" no longer came out. I then disconnected the hose and dried off the printhead as much as possible by hand and placed the printhead in a Beastie Bag which is a bag with dessicant to dry off the remaining moisture. The printhead will remain in the Beastie Bag for about 3 days. I'm in the middle of this process so I will let you know what the results are after I put everything back together and test it.

i have an epson and is not letting me go to home it just stays on the replace ink and it doesn't let me do anything else

@aris95

4 жыл бұрын

Yes there is no bypass option. Only way is to replace the ink with new cartridge. Ink supply tube or printerhead may be clogged so it may need to be flushed with cleaning kit syringe.

Actuallty the first onebclogged with oem cartriges, the second with after market and the 3 and 4 th clogged again with epson cartriges.

I just spent $53 in ink cleaning mine and it's well and truly clogged. Epson ink every single time. Never again.

as many times as i have tried, it locks regardless of where i am with opening the door. i can't seem to shut the power off without it just resetting itself to lock.

@aris95

4 жыл бұрын

Do you have an extension power cord with switch? With the power cord switch on and printer itself switched to off, put the printer on from the printer panel. As soon as you hear printerhead moving, switch the power off from the extension cord (or pull the power cord off.) It's much easier with extension power cord with own power switch. In my own printer (WF-5690) i can open the front cover and see when the printerhead is moving and then immediately switch the power off.

Make sure you completely dry off your printhead after you've dumped it in the Windex(original)/Alcohol soluton. If it's not completely dry and you install it and turn on the printer, you wll have damaged your printhead irreparably by frying the electronics on it. The way that's worked for me is to manually dry off and shake any excess moisture from the printhead after removing it from the solution bowl and then placing the printhead in a Beastie Bag for at least 2 days (3 to be safe). After taking it out I shook it a few more times just to make sure no moisture was still residing inside. When I was satisfied, I would reinstall it on the printer.

i advise the new buyers for this model and any workforce model to use the dye ink at the first time and do not use the original ink cartridges to avoid the printhead damage

@MrUsaer

7 жыл бұрын

Hmmm very interesting. I may buy another Epson similar to this one and since dye ink is so much cheaper maybe I will try it without using the pigment ink first as u suggest. I think dye ink is thinner and I imagine that would help prevent clogs. Thanks

Nope... Best to call epson and have a refurbished beat up one sent out to you after you front the total purchase and shipping cost! Or if you should so choose, buy another new one and return the old one. You can only try to clean it 3 times..any more and the print head is toast. Nothing will work without removing the print head from disassembling the unit.

يومك سعيد لدي طابعه Epson 4525 وبعد تشغيلها يتم عرض error وشكرا

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Hahahahahahaha MY RED CLOGGED UP!!!! From what I am reading "It is planned obsolescence" or a MFG fault.

the WF40 series are not the best workforce printer about reliability.... i have owned 2 with big problems and with the "yellow ink disaster" ....

just can't use any inks other than epson inks. inkowl and other will only clog this unit

@kylerbash4451

9 жыл бұрын

JamesRRossII I wish it was that simple. well to be honest i don't (ink cartridges cost around $60 for oem)... Either way, original Epson inks have clogged mine in the past before i switched. Ink owl is what i am currently using and has been great for the last 8 months until 3 days ago and i've been playing with it trying to get it all working again. Do you have any idea why my Magenta and yellow sometimes on the nozzle check don't even show up at all? as if zero ink is flowing, but sometimes i get some. i assume its in the tubes or something. Your video has helped more than any online troubleshooting but still hasn't gotten it all working yet.

dear friend this is not good way to solve this trouble because the printhead has 3 filters inside it and that filters have the dried pigment ink material so you have to open it and remove the filter unit in the printhead and clean it with eco -solvent

@MrUsaer

7 жыл бұрын

You posted this 2 years ago.... so not sure you will ever see this, but do you have any tips on how to remove the print head and take the filters out to clean? I am usually pretty good with this kind of stuff, but not sure if this job will be to technical for me. I have the WF-4530.

Hey guy, what about a mini tripod? Getting seasick, follow your one handed cam leading - so I didn't view to the final. You know - not only knowledge, also presentation empathy are success-factors here on you tube :-(

The problem is that you are. Using reman carts in stead of epson genuine. These are new printers and shouldn't clogging like this. I agree print head are hard to get to guess that's epson for you though.

@filipslansky01

4 жыл бұрын

yeah but after couple years you save enough money for another printer with not genuine ones. Genuine cartriges are a scam.

My WF-4630 is also a P.O.S. with all the dried ink WTF issues outlined here. My solution was to buy a Brother HL-L8360CDWT color laser printer. Boom!!! no more dried up ink and clogged print heads. I will NEVER buy another inkjet. DONE!!!!

This guy says to soak the sponge with cleaner and let the head sit on it for an hour. He also shows how to clean the head once they are off. I don't know if he teaches how to remove the head but he has a lot of info on his site.- inkjetcarts.us - is the site

Fuck this, I will get a new one...I have the WF-4630 and it got so clogged that every colors are clogged beyond cleaning !?You do have the print once every 3-4 day to avoid this :/ The one in my office is been use daily for 3 years and I had no problem at all.So use it or you lose it :-))

I have a 3640 or a 3460? Whatever---The Red just won't print and this unit isn't that old. Maybe I should buy a 50 dollar unit and just take it back over and over. What else can I do? Epson knows how to fix this. Is this thier business strategy. Build crap force new sales????

This printer sucks balls, I have this and I had the same problem.

It's what makes Epson inferior. Buy a HP.