Epson Stylus Photo 785EPX no longer print black. Is it possible tofix?

Ant

Hello.

My father's old Epson Stylus Photo 785EPX printer (bought it in a local
retail store when it was new, so probably early 2000s?) stopped printing
blank ink earlier. When printing, we can hear the printer printing but
nothing shows for black color like texts. He hasn't used this printer
for almost a week when it last worked. We even switched to a new
unexpired new ink cartridge (007), but it didn't make any differences.

I tried adjusting the paper thickness, quality vs. speed, cleaning
nozzles, etc. Changing to quality seems to make minor differences (see
light black texts and lines, but they are mostly unreadable). I also
tried printing without the computer connected (USB) and just directly
from the printer's buttons (print ROM information as shown in the
hardcopy manual), and that showed a blank page. I also tried folding a
paper to make the paper thicker (didn't want to waste an envelope) and
printing, and that doesn't seem to help.

Color ink is perfectly fine though. I even tried printing only black and
white (B&W). I also noticed my dad used generic inks instead of the ones
from Epson. Also, the last few months or maybe a year, the printer made
LOUD horrible noises during nozzle cleanups (even after turning on the
printer). I don't know if these are related to the black ink problem or
just old age since he usually use the printer almost daily and a lot.

I don't know if getting a new Epson black ink is even worth trying (very
expensive too) since the generic ones used to work before today (almost
a week ago that last worked) for a long time. We have not tried opening
the printer to take apart and clean the nozzles/heads manually (probably
too much work and tedious). With the old black ink cartridge, I noticed
the black hole does show fresh ink. I assume the cartridges are fine
then. I am hoping there are other ideas to try.

Is it time to get rid of this old printer? Thank you in advance.
--
"It is certain that there may be extraordinary mental activity with an
extremely small absolute mass of nervous matter: thus the wonderfully
diversified instincts, mental powers, and affections of ants are
notorious, yet their cerebral ganglia are not so large as the quarter of
a small pin's head. Under this point of view, the brain of an ant is one
of the most marvellous atoms of matter in the world, perhaps more so
than the brain of a man." --Charles Darwin (from The Origin of Species,
1859)
/\___/\
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| |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL):
\ _ / Remove ANT from e-mail address: NT
( ) or
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on his home computer.

Arthur Entlich

Hi Ant,

I would suggest you email me privately. I help people with these kinds
of problems all the time, and the printer likely can be salvaged.

I can provide you with a free manual I have written on how to unclog the
heads of Epson printers. It is almost definitely a problem with the
black head having an ink channel or ink nipple clog. It is common in
inkjet printers.

I do not charge for this service, I do not spam anyone, and I have
nothing to sell you. In fact, the cleaning method involves about a
dollars worth of home cleaning products you can usually get at the
grocery or dollar store.

Anyway, don't toss the printer. Epson printers have long life heads and
assuming it is a clog, which is likely, you can probably get it going as
new.

My email address is below:

e-printerhelp(at)mvps(dot)org

(at) = @
(dot) = .

Art

Ant wrote:
> Hello.
>
> My father's old Epson Stylus Photo 785EPX printer (bought it in a local
> retail store when it was new, so probably early 2000s?) stopped printing
> blank ink earlier. When printing, we can hear the printer printing but
> nothing shows for black color like texts. He hasn't used this printer
> for almost a week when it last worked. We even switched to a new
> unexpired new ink cartridge (007), but it didn't make any differences.
>
> I tried adjusting the paper thickness, quality vs. speed, cleaning
> nozzles, etc. Changing to quality seems to make minor differences (see
> light black texts and lines, but they are mostly unreadable). I also
> tried printing without the computer connected (USB) and just directly
> from the printer's buttons (print ROM information as shown in the
> hardcopy manual), and that showed a blank page. I also tried folding a
> paper to make the paper thicker (didn't want to waste an envelope) and
> printing, and that doesn't seem to help.
>
> Color ink is perfectly fine though. I even tried printing only black and
> white (B&W). I also noticed my dad used generic inks instead of the ones
> from Epson. Also, the last few months or maybe a year, the printer made
> LOUD horrible noises during nozzle cleanups (even after turning on the
> printer). I don't know if these are related to the black ink problem or
> just old age since he usually use the printer almost daily and a lot.
>
> I don't know if getting a new Epson black ink is even worth trying (very
> expensive too) since the generic ones used to work before today (almost
> a week ago that last worked) for a long time. We have not tried opening
> the printer to take apart and clean the nozzles/heads manually (probably
> too much work and tedious). With the old black ink cartridge, I noticed
> the black hole does show fresh ink. I assume the cartridges are fine
> then. I am hoping there are other ideas to try.
>
> Is it time to get rid of this old printer? Thank you in advance.

Ant

My e-mail addresses are shown in my signature (pick one). Thanks.


On 3/2/2008 10:41 PM PT, Arthur Entlich typed:

> Hi Ant,
>
> I would suggest you email me privately. I help people with these kinds
> of problems all the time, and the printer likely can be salvaged.
>
> I can provide you with a free manual I have written on how to unclog the
> heads of Epson printers. It is almost definitely a problem with the
> black head having an ink channel or ink nipple clog. It is common in
> inkjet printers.
>
> I do not charge for this service, I do not spam anyone, and I have
> nothing to sell you. In fact, the cleaning method involves about a
> dollars worth of home cleaning products you can usually get at the
> grocery or dollar store.
>
> Anyway, don't toss the printer. Epson printers have long life heads and
> assuming it is a clog, which is likely, you can probably get it going as
> new.
>
> My email address is below:
>
> e-printerhelp(at)mvps(dot)org
>
> (at) = @
> (dot) = .
>
> Art
>
> Ant wrote:
>> Hello.
>>
>> My father's old Epson Stylus Photo 785EPX printer (bought it in a
>> local retail store when it was new, so probably early 2000s?) stopped
>> printing blank ink earlier. When printing, we can hear the printer
>> printing but nothing shows for black color like texts. He hasn't used
>> this printer for almost a week when it last worked. We even switched
>> to a new unexpired new ink cartridge (007), but it didn't make any
>> differences.
>>
>> I tried adjusting the paper thickness, quality vs. speed, cleaning
>> nozzles, etc. Changing to quality seems to make minor differences (see
>> light black texts and lines, but they are mostly unreadable). I also
>> tried printing without the computer connected (USB) and just directly
>> from the printer's buttons (print ROM information as shown in the
>> hardcopy manual), and that showed a blank page. I also tried folding a
>> paper to make the paper thicker (didn't want to waste an envelope) and
>> printing, and that doesn't seem to help.
>>
>> Color ink is perfectly fine though. I even tried printing only black
>> and white (B&W). I also noticed my dad used generic inks instead of
>> the ones from Epson. Also, the last few months or maybe a year, the
>> printer made LOUD horrible noises during nozzle cleanups (even after
>> turning on the printer). I don't know if these are related to the
>> black ink problem or just old age since he usually use the printer
>> almost daily and a lot.
>>
>> I don't know if getting a new Epson black ink is even worth trying
>> (very expensive too) since the generic ones used to work before today
>> (almost a week ago that last worked) for a long time. We have not
>> tried opening the printer to take apart and clean the nozzles/heads
>> manually (probably too much work and tedious). With the old black ink
>> cartridge, I noticed the black hole does show fresh ink. I assume the
>> cartridges are fine then. I am hoping there are other ideas to try.
>>
>> Is it time to get rid of this old printer? Thank you in advance.
--
"An ant hole may collapse an embankment." --Japanese
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Phil/Ant @ (Personal Web Site)
| |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL):
\ _ / Remove ANT from e-mail address: NT
( ) or
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on his home computer.

measekite

Ant wrote:
> My e-mail addresses are shown in my signature (pick one). Thanks.
That sounds kind of funny. Don;t you mean . I
tried it like you have it down below but it came back.
>
>
> On 3/2/2008 10:41 PM PT, Arthur Entlich typed:
>
>> Hi Ant,
>>
>> I would suggest you email me privately. I help people with these
>> kinds of problems all the time, and the printer likely can be salvaged.
>>
>> I can provide you with a free manual I have written on how to unclog
>> the heads of Epson printers.
It would be more simple to post it on your website but then again you
would loose control.
>> It is almost definitely a problem with the black head having an ink
>> channel or ink nipple clog. It is common in inkjet printers.
>>
>> I do not charge for this service, I do not spam anyone, and I have
>> nothing to sell you. In fact, the cleaning method involves about a
>> dollars worth of home cleaning products you can usually get at the
>> grocery or dollar store.
>>
>> Anyway, don't toss the printer. Epson printers have long life heads
>> and assuming it is a clog, which is likely, you can probably get it
>> going as new.
>>
>> My email address is below:
>>
>> e-printerhelp(at)mvps(dot)org
>>
>> (at) = @
>> (dot) = .
>>
>> Art
>>
>> Ant wrote:
>>> Hello.
>>>
>>> My father's old Epson Stylus Photo 785EPX printer (bought it in a
>>> local retail store when it was new, so probably early 2000s?)
>>> stopped printing blank ink earlier. When printing, we can hear the
>>> printer printing but nothing shows for black color like texts. He
>>> hasn't used this printer for almost a week when it last worked. We
>>> even switched to a new unexpired new ink cartridge (007), but it
>>> didn't make any differences.
>>>
>>> I tried adjusting the paper thickness, quality vs. speed, cleaning
>>> nozzles, etc. Changing to quality seems to make minor differences
>>> (see light black texts and lines, but they are mostly unreadable). I
>>> also tried printing without the computer connected (USB) and just
>>> directly from the printer's buttons (print ROM information as shown
>>> in the hardcopy manual), and that showed a blank page. I also tried
>>> folding a paper to make the paper thicker (didn't want to waste an
>>> envelope) and printing, and that doesn't seem to help.
>>>
>>> Color ink is perfectly fine though. I even tried printing only black
>>> and white (B&W). I also noticed my dad used generic inks instead of
>>> the ones from Epson. Also, the last few months or maybe a year, the
>>> printer made LOUD horrible noises during nozzle cleanups (even after
>>> turning on the printer). I don't know if these are related to the
>>> black ink problem or just old age since he usually use the printer
>>> almost daily and a lot.
>>>
>>> I don't know if getting a new Epson black ink is even worth trying
>>> (very expensive too) since the generic ones used to work before
>>> today (almost a week ago that last worked) for a long time. We have
>>> not tried opening the printer to take apart and clean the
>>> nozzles/heads manually (probably too much work and tedious). With
>>> the old black ink cartridge, I noticed the black hole does show
>>> fresh ink. I assume the cartridges are fine then. I am hoping there
>>> are other ideas to try.
>>>
>>> Is it time to get rid of this old printer? Thank you in advance.

Arthur Entlich

Hi Ant,

I do not directly respond to Epson Cleaning Manual request via public
groups. This is to prevent the group from becoming clogged with
requests, and also I may not be reading every group my message gets
posted on (as an example this has been cross posted to 4 groups and I
only subscribe to one of them). Also, there are a number of third party
individuals who post my address to inform people of the manual's
existence in places I am not even aware of.

Therefore, I only respond to requests made via email to the address I
showed in the posting.

If you would like a copy, please request it via email.

Thanks,

Art

Ant wrote:

> My e-mail addresses are shown in my signature (pick one). Thanks.
>
>
> On 3/2/2008 10:41 PM PT, Arthur Entlich typed:
>
>> Hi Ant,
>>
>> I would suggest you email me privately. I help people with these
>> kinds of problems all the time, and the printer likely can be salvaged.
>>
>> I can provide you with a free manual I have written on how to unclog
>> the heads of Epson printers. It is almost definitely a problem with
>> the black head having an ink channel or ink nipple clog. It is common
>> in inkjet printers.
>>
>> I do not charge for this service, I do not spam anyone, and I have
>> nothing to sell you. In fact, the cleaning method involves about a
>> dollars worth of home cleaning products you can usually get at the
>> grocery or dollar store.
>>
>> Anyway, don't toss the printer. Epson printers have long life heads
>> and assuming it is a clog, which is likely, you can probably get it
>> going as new.
>>
>> My email address is below:
>>
>> e-printerhelp(at)mvps(dot)org
>>
>> (at) = @
>> (dot) = .
>>
>> Art
>>

Kurt

In article <HKXyj.18746$R84.11102@newssvr25.news.prodigy.net> ,
measekite <inkystinky@oem.com> wrote:

> Ant wrote:
> > My e-mail addresses are shown in my signature (pick one). Thanks.
> That sounds kind of funny. Don;t you mean . I
> tried it like you have it down below but it came back.
> >
was what he wrote.

--
To reply by email, remove the word "space"

Arthur Entlich

Measekite is an TROLL who knows perfectly well that I write my email in
the manner I do to reduce spam to that address, since it just slows down
my ability to answer questions and requests. By posting it in its normal
format it can get picked up by spammers using bots which search on
places like Usenet and Yahoo. He posts my email in its usable form
regularly to try to have my email box receive extra email because he is
jealous and hostile toward people who actually give of their time
helping people rather than providing false, misleading information.

Some people exist to try to sabotage people who try to do good deeds.
We all know some people like this. Measekite has been sanctioned and
kicked off numerous moderated news groups and lists, for misinformation,
altering people's quotes, foul and insulting language, but unfortunately
this newsgroup doesn't have a moderator, so we have to put up with this
person who acts like a pea-brained infant, whose self-esteem is so low
he needs to create problems for others because otherwise he would be
completely ignored.

As any psychologist can tell you, everyone prefers to be praised than be
punished, but they'd rather be punished than ignored. Measekite has yet
to figure out how to provide any real service here to be praised for, so
he prefers to be noticed by creating trouble for those of us who are
trying to provide a service.

Luckily, no matter what email address he uses, (and he tends to change
them regularly, and sometimes posts under several at once) filtering him
out is always just a couple of mouse clicks away.

My suggestion is to just block his postings from this newsgroup. The
vast majority of regular users have all his addresses blocked. It not
only reduces the number of worthless posts to read, but you won't even
notice he is here, unless someone quotes him, which you'll rapidly learn
is even a bigger waste of bandwidth.

Art


Kurt wrote:

> In article <HKXyj.18746$R84.11102@newssvr25.news.prodigy.net> ,
> measekite <inkystinky@oem.com> wrote:
>
>
>>Ant wrote:
>>
>>>My e-mail addresses are shown in my signature (pick one). Thanks.
>>
>>That sounds kind of funny. Don;t you mean . I
>>tried it like you have it down below but it came back.
>>
> was what he wrote.
>

Ant

Weird, now it works again but who knows how long this will last. He
basically cleaned the head nozzles few more times via the software. I am
sure it will stop working again.

I still would like the free manual from you, Arthur (sent you an e-mail
from zimage), just in case.


On 3/2/2008 7:25 PM PT, Ant typed:

> Hello.
>
> My father's old Epson Stylus Photo 785EPX printer (bought it in a local
> retail store when it was new, so probably early 2000s?) stopped printing
> blank ink earlier. When printing, we can hear the printer printing but
> nothing shows for black color like texts. He hasn't used this printer
> for almost a week when it last worked. We even switched to a new
> unexpired new ink cartridge (007), but it didn't make any differences.
>
> I tried adjusting the paper thickness, quality vs. speed, cleaning
> nozzles, etc. Changing to quality seems to make minor differences (see
> light black texts and lines, but they are mostly unreadable). I also
> tried printing without the computer connected (USB) and just directly
> from the printer's buttons (print ROM information as shown in the
> hardcopy manual), and that showed a blank page. I also tried folding a
> paper to make the paper thicker (didn't want to waste an envelope) and
> printing, and that doesn't seem to help.
>
> Color ink is perfectly fine though. I even tried printing only black and
> white (B&W). I also noticed my dad used generic inks instead of the ones
> from Epson. Also, the last few months or maybe a year, the printer made
> LOUD horrible noises during nozzle cleanups (even after turning on the
> printer). I don't know if these are related to the black ink problem or
> just old age since he usually use the printer almost daily and a lot.
>
> I don't know if getting a new Epson black ink is even worth trying (very
> expensive too) since the generic ones used to work before today (almost
> a week ago that last worked) for a long time. We have not tried opening
> the printer to take apart and clean the nozzles/heads manually (probably
> too much work and tedious). With the old black ink cartridge, I noticed
> the black hole does show fresh ink. I assume the cartridges are fine
> then. I am hoping there are other ideas to try.
>
> Is it time to get rid of this old printer? Thank you in advance.
--
"Fall in those single lines like army ants..." --unknown
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Phil/Ant @ (Personal Web Site)
| |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL):
\ _ / Remove ANT from e-mail address: NT
( ) or
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on his home computer.

David Rance

On Mon, 3 Mar 2008 Arthur Entlich wrote:

>Ant wrote:
>> My father's old Epson Stylus Photo 785EPX printer (bought it in a
>>local retail store when it was new, so probably early 2000s?) stopped
>>printing blank ink earlier. When printing, we can hear the printer
>>printing but nothing shows for black color like texts. He hasn't used
>>this printer for almost a week when it last worked. We even switched
>>to a new unexpired new ink cartridge (007), but it didn't make any differences.

>I would suggest you email me privately. I help people with these kinds
>of problems all the time, and the printer likely can be salvaged.

I was following this with interest. I have an HP1120 which I bought nine
years ago. About three years ago the yellow nozzle started being
intermittent and finally gave up after a few days. This didn't matter
much as I used the printer for printing music which is mainly black.

A week or two back, without thinking, I printed a piece of music with a
title page graphic in colour. To begin with, it printed correctly but
then the yellow nozzle stopped even before it had got through the first
page.

When the problem first happened I changed colour cartridges and tried
cleaning, both to no avail and I gave up on it, deciding that, when the
black cartridge gave out, I would buy a new printer.

I have put the printer out for recycling but, having read this thread, I
am wondering if it might be possible to get it working properly again. I
don't want to trash a printer that could possibly work for a bit longer.
I know the printer is old and one can't get proper drivers for the
latest OSs (I'm using an HP1280 driver with WIN XP in order to get
things like booklet and manual duplex printing), but it is still usable.

David

--
David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK

Arthur Entlich

I'm not well versed in the HP model numbers. Can you tell me if that
printer uses a ink cartridge with a disposable head incorporated into
it, or are the ink cartridge and heads purchased separately.

Epson heads are piezo-electric and they are designed for very long use
without replacement (pretty much life of the printer). However, HP has
several technologies they have used over the years.

1) head is disposable "per cartridge change' (thermal head)
2) head is separate and lasts about 8-10 cartridges or about a year to
18 months (semi-permanent thermal)
3) for life of printer, piezo electric, similar to Epson

Most HP are in the first two categories. If you can help me to
determine which type it is, I may be able to help you to get it going
again. Some of the technique sin the Epson printers cross to other brands.


Art

David Rance wrote:

> On Mon, 3 Mar 2008 Arthur Entlich wrote:
>
>> Ant wrote:
>>
>>> My father's old Epson Stylus Photo 785EPX printer (bought it in a
>>> local retail store when it was new, so probably early 2000s?) stopped
>>> printing blank ink earlier. When printing, we can hear the printer
>>> printing but nothing shows for black color like texts. He hasn't
>>> used this printer for almost a week when it last worked. We even
>>> switched to a new unexpired new ink cartridge (007), but it didn't
>>> make any differences.
>
>
>> I would suggest you email me privately. I help people with these
>> kinds of problems all the time, and the printer likely can be salvaged.
>
>
> I was following this with interest. I have an HP1120 which I bought nine
> years ago. About three years ago the yellow nozzle started being
> intermittent and finally gave up after a few days. This didn't matter
> much as I used the printer for printing music which is mainly black.
>
> A week or two back, without thinking, I printed a piece of music with a
> title page graphic in colour. To begin with, it printed correctly but
> then the yellow nozzle stopped even before it had got through the first
> page.
>
> When the problem first happened I changed colour cartridges and tried
> cleaning, both to no avail and I gave up on it, deciding that, when the
> black cartridge gave out, I would buy a new printer.
>
> I have put the printer out for recycling but, having read this thread, I
> am wondering if it might be possible to get it working properly again. I
> don't want to trash a printer that could possibly work for a bit longer.
> I know the printer is old and one can't get proper drivers for the
> latest OSs (I'm using an HP1280 driver with WIN XP in order to get
> things like booklet and manual duplex printing), but it is still usable.
>
> David
>