Epson 1400 printer rehabilitation or invest in something else?

[Fr. Mark]

I found a cartridge-less Epson 1400 printer out for the trash a month ago.
It powers up and talks to my Mac. Naturally with no cartridges, I can't do more testing.

I don't want to throw money after a loser, but this used to be a capable machine.

Is it wise to get cleaning fluid and equipment and where do I do this and how is it done?

I would like to print a huge backlog of color snapshots (thousands possibly, hundreds for sure).

The least expensive way to test after cleaning would be remanufactured cartridges. But, If I knew it worked, refill-able cartridges would be the way to go.

Eventually, I could see using it for B/W printing and digital negative making.

Thoughts? Opinions?

[Jim Becia]

If you do decide to try and rehabilitate, generic cartridges would be the way I would go. (I have started using them on my Epson 9600 and the generic ones have performed flawlessly. When I have left my printer unused for any length of time, I run a humidifier in my printer room for a couple of days, and this has worked well for me. In your case, who knows. Good luck.

[Ken Lee]

Is it wise to get cleaning fluid and equipment and where do I do this and how is it done?

You might find this article helpful: Maintaining Your Epson 3880. It pertains to a different model, but the principles are the same.

Note the section entitled "How to Clear a Clogged Printer Nozzle".