Epson ink clogs

[Kirk Gittings]

A trick some may find useful on their ever clogging Epson printers. During all the time I took off for my knee surgery I did no printing. As a matter of fact I haven't done a single print in about 4 months, the longest time I have ever gone without firing up the printer. First time I fired it up after one cleaning it was ready to go. What's the trick? I park the head on a folded tissue soaked in Windex. I change it out about every two or three weeks.

[Walter Calahan]

Cool idea. Thanks.

[Andy Eads]

I'd like to throw a word of caution out here. Some inks will harden in the presence of certain solvents. I would start with distilled water on the paper towel. Not knowing what the reaction will be between the proprietary contents of Windex and your printer's ink could be costly. Be careful too that the paper towel is not so thick that it causes a "head strike"; that is, enough pressure to damage the nozzles. Modern print heads seem to be pretty robust but you really don't need to risk more than is necessary to get it running.

[Ron Marshall]

I've been lucky with my 2200. I print infrequently and turn it off, but I have had only four clogs in two years requiring more than one cleaning cycle.

[Kirk Gittings]

I'd like to throw a word of caution out here. Some inks will harden in the presence of certain solvents. I would start with distilled water on the paper towel. Not knowing what the reaction will be between the proprietary contents of Windex and your printer's ink could be costly. Be careful too that the paper towel is not so thick that it causes a "head strike"; that is, enough pressure to damage the nozzles. Modern print heads seem to be pretty robust but you really don't need to risk more than is necessary to get it running.

Thanks for the caution Andy, I've been doing this for a few years now. I mentioned it now because of the longevity of the down time during this period.

Ron, Where do you live? I think ambient humidity has allot to do with clogging.
I've noticed more clogging in the summers since I had my house upgraded from swamp coolers to air conditioning.

[Greg Lockrey]

I spray the Windex directly on the parking pad. I only had to do this one time on a 4800 when I bought a used printer that was giving the previous owner some problems. Since i run my printers at least 12 hours a day, I haven't had similar issues other than the normal cleaning cylce at start up and every four hours of production.

[Michael Gordon]

I recently hired a well-reputed Epson wide format tech to repair my 7600, and he distinctly stated that using ANY ammoniated product with Epson printers is asking for serious trouble. I, too, have been doing the Windex treatment for a handful of years with no ill effects (that I can see), but he cautioned me against doing so again. FWIW....

[Kirk Gittings]

Why Michael? Did he give a reason? I didn't invent the idea of using Windex by any means. I got it from some old time Epson users (who preceded my entry by maybe 4 years) and they still use it.

[BarryS]

Maybe he meant serious trouble with out of work Epson repair techs? I've been on the Yahoo Epson Large Format Printer list for a long time and Windex has been used and recommended for a long time. I haven't read about any trouble with using Windex, although maybe it has bad long term effects. Regardless--clogs on older Epson printers are a clear and present danger and I'd take my chances with Windex over known issues with clogging, massive ink use during cleaning cycles, and permanently clogged printer heads.

[Ben Hopson]

Though I have seldom had to deal with clogging, I also have used the Windex cure and have for a few years now. I hope I am not damaging my Epson printers, but have never noticed any ill effects from using Windex.