Epson Stylus SX400 Printing Issue: Print Heads?

Hello,

In terms of the text sheet, we can't see much and zooming doesn't enlarge anything from the original.

These cleaning issues require patience; the effects are not immediate and often, it’s after 24 hours to a week that things improve...

We should still know how long this machine hasn’t printed..?? Has it been without a cartridge or with empty cartridges on the shelves..?? Or with cartridges that still have ink in them..?

Beyond the software cleaning function, real cleaning is quite a task, rather messy, that needs to be done in a garage/workshop with appropriate clothing..

Here's a cleaning guide:

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How to Unclog an Epson Printer

Please note:

We cannot accept any responsibility for any damage caused (to you or your equipment) while using the cleaning methods suggested below. Although all the following methods have been tried, tested, and proven to work (in most cases). By reading this article and performing your own repair, you agree to follow these suggestions at your own risk.

   Why do Epson printers have clogged nozzles? Epson uses a permanent and fixed print head that remains inaccessible and difficult to reach (without significant disassembly). Such print heads allow Epson to use high-quality print heads that depend on separate ink tanks to feed/provide ink to the heads. Ink tanks are generally cheaper to manufacture and supply, while other manufacturers like HP, Lexmark, Canon, and many others provide a new quality print head (and less expensive) with and attached to the ink tank. In other words, when you change the tank, you change the head "but" the cartridges are often much more expensive.   For those who fear losing a printer warranty, they will often stick with original Epson cartridges (at a very good price), but others will successfully use compatible cartridges or even refill their own. Epson “hints” and, in some cases, actually claims that compatible, refilled, and remanufactured cartridges remain inferior in quality, leading to poor performance and yields. Epson also claims that, in extreme cases, they can and may damage your printer. In our experience, this is simply not true; both original and non-OEM cartridges will encounter clogged nozzles at some point during the printer's lifecycle.   So why do nozzles get clogged?

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As a regular user of an Epson Stylus SX…, I found that every time I change an ink tank, I get streaks or gaps in the printing. At first (a few years ago), I would "clean the heads" repeatedly, often failing to improve. It’s essential at this stage to remember:
 

 “ Don’t blame the cartridges ”   

 The cartridge is merely an ink reservoir designed to deliver liquid to the print head. While we acknowledge that there is a copper chip on the front of each tank that allows the printer to know that a cartridge has been installed, it does not affect the flow of the liquid in the tank. If your heads are clogged, or air is trapped (after changing an ink tank), it’s not the cartridge causing the problem!   Clogs, streaks, printing holes, weak colors, and “blank pages in production” can occur at any time. However, in most cases, this happens during a cartridge change or if the printer has remained inactive for a long time. It’s less likely to happen if you use your printer daily and clean the head every time a new cartridge has been installed. As a routine, I perform a simple head cleaning on my Epson SX… (once) after inserting a new cartridge. Mine is now 6 years old and works like new!   So, what’s happening? Many people ignore low ink reminders and run their printing until the black ink runs out or the color prints are of poor quality (missing colors, etc.). When this happens, it’s clear that the ink has been used, the tank is empty, and the “nozzles” are now full of air. The copper chip can only “guess” ink levels because nothing in the tank indicates actual levels. In many cases, the printer merely “counts” the number of pages printed and will assume the tanks are empty. Sometimes, it can be wrong, and the tank is just printing fresh air.   In order to "clean" the air trap/blockage (which prevents the flow of fresh ink), your Epson printer will need to prime the new ink tank added to the machine. The idea is to pull and suck enough ink into the tubes, pipes, and print head to effectively eliminate any trapped air (it will also use your expensive ink). Unfortunately, this “priming” can sometimes leave excessive and residual ink on the internal pads. The wipers specifically designed to remove droplets of residual ink from the head then rub the ink across the entire width of the print head, which in turn dries and clogs some or all of the nozzles. In other words, more head cleaning often equals more ink inside the print head and inevitably more clogged nozzles.   So how do you fix this issue? Well, it’s obvious that all that dried ink needs to be removed from the print head, “easy” if you can get to it, but as previously mentioned, Epson uses a permanent, fixed, and inaccessible print head. Please note that other printer manufacturers use separate head assemblies (i.e., Canon) that can be removed. Detachable print heads can be wiped with a cloth, soaked, cleaned, and primed “out” of the printer and returned as good as new!   So before embarking on “cleaning cycles” and disassembling your printer wholesale, a quick and surprising fix can be found in the Epson printing software itself. When trying to print a text or color document/image, go to the preferences and set the print option to “best photo” (even if you’re only printing text). This will force the print head to use the full range of nozzles and, in doing so, will expel any trapped air. Repeat this several times before returning the settings to “normal” mode (that is, print at least 10 pages).   Manually cleaning the print head: Although there are a number of slightly different approaches to cleaning your print heads, we suggest trying the following methods in the order indicated. You can purchase cartridge cleaning solutions and other cleaning solutions, but it’s possible to mix your own cleaner using distilled water (if you have it) and a glass cleaning solution (50/50 mix).   See only distilled water.. also “denatured alcohol”   Method (1) Soak the print head sponge With the Epson print head in the resting or “off” position, the heads are posed on a single sponge (or sometimes double). By saturating these sponges with cleaning liquid, any excess and dried ink on the print head will soften and mix with the water before being drawn into the sponge, away from the head and into the waste tank/internal pads. To move the entire print head to a central or cartridge change position, you can follow the Epson software called “replace ink cartridge”. With the head assembly “parked” in the middle of the printer, use a syringe or dropper to saturate the sponges on the right spot. Once filled, allow the head block to return to its “park” position and wait at least 30 minutes before running a head cleaning cycle. You can repeat this procedure two or three times. It may also help if the printer is returned to its parking position (after soaking the sponges) overnight.   Method (2) Add cleaning liquid directly to the ink nozzles

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Using the Epson software, remove all ink cartridges from your printer. Looking at the entire print head assembly above, you can now see the small conical ink nozzles or ink ports that pierce the ink tanks. These nozzles draw ink directly from the cartridge to the print head itself. Using a syringe (with a blunt needle), or a plastic tube at the end of a syringe, put a few drops of the cleaning solution into the clogged cone. The color of the nozzles is determined by the color of the cartridge that resides there. Try printing several dense graphics or text pages on the “best photo setting”.
 
Method (3) Clean the head with a tissue strip.
Turn off the printer, fold a paper towel or tissue to create a strip about 25 mm wide, the length is not a concern, but it should be less than 400 mm in length to fit in the printer (long and skinny). Open your Epson printer cover to see the ink carriage. You will notice that it is parked on the right side; most Epson printers use a mechanical lock to hold the carriage in this position.

Turn on the printer and when the lock is released, the carriage will move to the left, when it is cleared from the "Park" station, unplug the power cord. The carriage will stop but will move freely by hand (the lock has been disabled).

Slowly move the entire print head assembly from right to left over the paper towel/tissue. By gently sliding the tissue under the print head, “THE TISSUE MUST NOT FORCE UNDERNEATH" if the tissue is too thick, then reduce the thickness until it slides under the head assembly. The tissue should rest in the bottom track of the printer between the feed rollers. Then the tissue should extend out on either side of the carriage.
With the heads resting on the tissue, apply drops of cleaning solution to the tissue on the left and right of the carriage; the tissue will immediately absorb the fluid and expand the tissue so that it touches the face of the print head. Let the print head rest on the damp tissue for at least 15 minutes. This will soften any dried ink and it will start to color liquid ink through the head and the tissue.

After about 15 minutes, slide the entire head back to its parking position while holding the damp tissue. The tissue will become “black” as it has pulled ink from all the cartridges onto the tissue; it has also eliminated air bubbles and any dried ink that could...