Epson C60 leaves streaks on the paper.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ken Smith
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K

Ken Smith

I've had this printer for a couple of years now but it's started to leave streaks of ink down the pages. i've cleaned the rollers
with alcohol, white spirit and lots of paper towels, but after a few clean pages, it goes back to streaking again. My next solution
looks like it will be a 10lb hammer with extreme forse to the top of it follwed by an online browsing session for an HP printer.

Ken
 
This is likely one of two causes.

1) The cleaning station has clogged up and when the head goes there the
excess ink backed up in it is getting the head full of ink and it is
dripping into the wrong places. Check the ink cleaning station, and if
your printer has one, the "funnel" where the printer does a brief
cleaning on the opposite side of the carriage movement (left side) to
make sure both areas do not have a build up of wet ink in them.

2) A cartridge may be leaking. If you refill or if the cartridge, it is
not OEM (could be a bad fit or wrong type), didn't seal correctly etc,
it can leak ink usually ends up under the heads and then deposited on
some of the paper wheels. Check for a bad cartridge seat.

Art
 
Thanks Arthur. It's probably the cleaning station. I have changed cartridges and had no change. There is nothing on the left side of
a C60 so, that leaves this reservoir of ink that's collected in the cleaning station. The C60 looks like a sealed unit. I've tried
allsorts to get the case off but haven't had any luck. I've even tried sticking my hands inside but I can't get near the underside
of the cleaning station. Is there a way of mopping up this ink?

Ken
 
Hmmm... I don't own any of the newer Epson printers, so I am not
familiar with how to open the case. They usually has some sort of
locking tabs that need to be accessed from the bottom with a long
bladed screw driver to release them.

However, the cleaning station I am speaking of is where the heads sit
after the printer shuts down or when they are being cleaned. If you can
get the head carriage moved to the left side you should have access to
this. One way to do that is to start the printer printing and when the
head is over near the left side, unplug the printer from the wall socket
(mains if in the UK). You should then be able, with a good light, be
able to see the cleaning station area, and determine if it is filled
with ink. It should not be. If it is, the purge pump or hoses may be
clogged of damaged. Try dripping some ammoniated window cleaner into
the cleaning station are, and then allow it to sit for several hours,
and then plug the printer back in and turn it on, allowing it to go
through a cleaning cycle, and see if that helps.

One other thought. If a puddle of ink has formed in the head carriage
area (where the cartridges go) it can slowly drip down, even if you have
a new properly sealing cartridge in now.

I would consider removing all the cartridges and with a flashlight, look
at the lower area of the cartridge compartment (carriage) and see if
there seems to be ink down there. If so, clean it out with cotton swabs
and water or ammoniated window cleaner until it is clean. Then
reinstall the cartridges, clean the paper transport by running some
water color paper sprayed on one side with the same cleaner. Send it
through the printer several times to clean any rollers than were
contaminated.

I hope some of these suggestions prove helpful.

Art
 
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