Digital BW, The Print

Since a few days the 2100 spills drops and big black spots of ink over
the paper while printing. Sometimes more, sometimes almost less, but
rarely not at all.

As the printhead in the 2100/2200 is less easily accessible than in
older Epson printers, what could I do to find out what it is? I've
already put a piece of folded paper unter the printhead and manually
let the printhead go over it a few times, there was kind of inky dust
on it, but it should be gone by now, but still it spills ink...

Thanks, Bernie

Bernhard,

You should use a paper towel (or piece of thin kitchen sponge)that 
has been soaked in Windex/Glassex to clean the printhead. 

This is how I do it:

1 - Press paper button for 4 seconds, the print head should be to the 
left.

2 - Pull power cord.

3 - Tear paper towel in 1/2.  (A full sheet is too thick when 
folded). Btw, I prefer thin kitchen sponge: it is stronger.

4 - Fold paper towel and lay it in the black plastic channel below 
where the print head travels back and forth.

5 - Work the print head up over the paper towel (We are doing this on 
a dry paper towel so we can get the print head over it about an inch 
or two.). 

6 - When the print head is up on the paper towel, squirt some Windex 
on the paper towel, and then move the printhead back and forth to 
scrub off the bottom.

7 - Move the print head off the towel, pull the towel up and get 
everything cleaned up.

8 - Push the print head over to the right parked position.

9 - Plug in the printer and turn it on.

10 - Print the nozzle check and do a couple cleaning cycles as 
required to get any paper towel fibers off the bottom of the print 
head.  They clean right up - and are worth it because you have 
removed any large buildups from the bottom of the print head. If your 
nozzle check is not perfect after a few cleanings, wait and try again 
later.

Succes,

I g o r

> From: Bernie Ess [mailto:albatros-@...]
>
> Since a few days the 2100 spills drops and big black spots of ink over
> the paper while printing. Sometimes more, sometimes almost less, but
> rarely not at all.
>
> As the printhead in the 2100/2200 is less easily accessible than in
> older Epson printers, what could I do to find out what it is? I've
> already put a piece of folded paper unter the printhead and manually
> let the printhead go over it a few times, there was kind of inky dust
> on it, but it should be gone by now, but still it spills ink...

My guess is that you've got a particularly stubborn bit of fuzz, or perhaps
even a hair, stuck to the printhead. There's a technique for cleaning the
printhead with paper towel or cloth wetted with an ammoniated window cleaner
like Windex. You can find details of it in the archives of the
EPSON_Printers group, if you search on "windex".

--

Ciao,               Paul D. DeRocco
Paul                mailto:pderocco@...