faulty Epson 660

  • Thread starter Thread starter noman
  • Start date Start date
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noman

Before I resign my 6 year old Epson Stylus Color 660 to the recycle yard in
the sky. Is it worth the effort to fix it.

It prints Black OK but has issues with the colour cartridge (I use non Epson
carts). When I put in a new colour cartridge it prints fine for a few sheets
but then starts turning everything to a predominately red shade.

Thought about selling as spares/or repair on ebay but the postage cost would
outweigh any benefits for someone to bid for it.

Any thoughts

Noman
 
Forgot to say that if the cleaning mode is done about 10 times it's fine but
after it's not been used for a few days it's back to red shades.

Noman
 
Forgot to say that if the cleaning mode is done about 10 times it's fine but
after it's not been used for a few days it's back to red shades.

Noman
Click to expand...



The Print head needs to be removed and cleaned..

When the nozzles get partly blocked they can't be cleaned with the cleaning
option, you need some solvent to remove the clogged up ink..

A Ammonia type cleaner works great..
 
It sounds like your cyan ink isn't delivering properly. When you get
this red image, do a nozzle check and see if the cyan nozzles are
printing. I'd guess they aren't.

You may have a defective cartridge with some bad cyan ink, or some
bubbles in the cartridge causing some intermittent air locks in the cyan
head. Or the cyan cartridge section may have a clogged air vent (the
the top of the cartridge) make sure it is clear.

If you email me in private mail, I will send you a group of articles and
information of resolving clogged heads and other related problems with
Epson printers.

Art
 
The heads of Epson printers do not need to be removed to clean them
properly, in fact, it can resolve in other problems for those who do not
have expertise in doing do.

Further there are numerous causes of intermittent printing of a head,
and not all are clogs.

I agree that ammoniated window cleaner is a good solvent in many cases
(depending upon the ink type used) to clean clogs.

Art
 
I wouldn't suggest your removing the heads to clean them, and, as I
mentioned, there may be other causes for what your printer is doing.

In fact, the 660 is a particularly easy printer to make cleaning
cartridges for, because it has no intelledge chips.

If you email me privately, I will send you a copy of a set of articles
and instructions which should get you through this and resolve the problem.

There is no fee for them, and I neither sell any inkjet products nor do
I try to sell you anything else, nor do I send any spam.

Art
 
The heads of Epson printers do not need to be removed to clean them
properly, in fact, it can resolve in other problems for those who do not
have expertise in doing do.
Click to expand...



Yes they do, as a friend works for a Printer repair firm, and they take Epson
heads out and soak them..

I did the same with my 740..

Plus you have to clean up the parking station, lots of paper dust/hairs, that
stops it sealing..
 
Look, friend, I have assisted thousands of people in the repair and
unclogging of Epson printers, yes, you've read that correctly: THOUSANDS.

The results have been way over 90% success rates, and not in one case
have I even needed to recommend removal of the heads unless they were
failed and required replacement.

However, I have had to provide the sad news to dozens and dozens of
people who have removed the heads to their printers that they have
managed to destroy the heads in trying to clean them outside the printer
and that's why they "won't print anymore".

I am not saying that Epson doesn't remove the heads, or that even Epson
service depots don't remove they heads, they indeed may do so. It may
indeed be more effective to do so IF THEY KNOW EXACTLY what they are
doing, and if (and when) they do screw up, they have free replacement
heads available to them, and the setup program required to replace the
heads.

I stand by my statement that the only reason to remove the heads on a
consumer Epson printer is to literally replace the head. Otherwise, it
is not only unnecessary, but it can be potentially hazardous to the life
of the printer, because it creates many potential problems. Further, it
requires in nearly every case, that the case be removed from the
printer, which again, on many requires knowledge of the procedure to
remove the top of the case. I have seen many Epson printers with broken
cases, ruined ribbon cables, bent or distorted shielding, lost screws,
non-functional control panels, etc, as a result of someone trying to
dismantle the printer without the service manual and even some with
people who had them.

Unless you are going to start explaining step by step or supplying
service manuals to each person who you suggest "remove the head" of
their printer, I strongly suggest you stop giving out this advice which
can lead to a lot of broken printers.

I suspect you have not personally worked on many Epson printers, or you
would be more careful about offering this advice to the average person
needing to simply unclog a head on the printer (if that is even the
cause of the printer not printing).

Art
 
Follow Arthur Entlich's instructions for cleaning the print head, parking
pad, and making and using cleaning cartridges. I have no connection with
him at all, but he very kindly sent me his info regarding epson print head
clogs and it worked perfectly! My printer is an Epson stylus color 900 and
his technique brought the printer back to working as good as new. His
instructions provide a non-destructive approach that has little risk of
leaving you worse off than you started.

At the same time, I purchased a Canon I960 printer and find that the quality
of photo prints is far superior to my older Epson. Newer technology
directed to photo printing certainly produces a better result. Evaluating
photos with an 8X jewelers loupe from each, printed from the same file, show
smaller ink "dots" laid closer together with the Canon. In many areas, the
Canon I960 appears, under 8X magnification, to produce continuous tone areas
as opposed to the series of distinct dots that the naked eye perceives as a
continuous gradation of color. I am giving my Epson (still functioning
perfectly) to my daughter and moving on to the Canon for all of my photo
printing.

Incidentally, I looked very critically at photos I had printed two and three
years ago on the Epson and compared them to photos I printed last week with
the same printer. Under 8X magnification the "dots" appear to have gotten
slightly larger, but the naked eye view doesn't show any appreciable
difference except for slightly less sharpness. If you are really critical
about your photo results and can afford it I would move on to current
technology.
 
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