Clogged Print Heads

 

 

https://epson.ca/For-Work/Printers/Inkjet/WorkForce-WF-7720-Wide-format-All-in-One-Printer/p/C11CG37201

 

This won't apply to many of you if you don't have a printer or do sublimation.

In January 2020 I started the process of buying everything I need to start doing sublimation I was so excited.

Finally, when I built up the courage to actually put everything together and give it a try I became addicted.

I print every day so when they tell you that not printing every day will cause your print heads to clog that isn't true. For the past 2 days or so I have been fighting with my printer and it having a blocked magenta head.

A few months ago it was a black one. With a few hours of fighting and cleaning it, I got it fixed.

This one was a horrible block, it took me days of flushing it and letting it soak for it to actually clear, I was starting to think I was going to have to replace my not so cheap printer.

Today in the last-ditch effort I consulted Dr. Google. I came across a website that said to do something I had not tried before but figured it was worth it if it worked.

Now I am cheap I don't use or buy print head solutions. I use rubbing alcohol that I get from the dollar store. I buy 50% or higher compound.

I use the syringes that came with the ink when I ordered.

Qtips and cotton pads are something I use as well.

Steps:

1) Remove Cartridges

2) Check to make sure your cartridges actually have ink in them. Also, check and make sure they are primed and don't have air in them. (If there is air in them you can use your syringe and suck it out)

Stop here do a print head test to see if the problem is fixed. If nope onto the next

3) Remove cartridges

4) Soak a cotton round with the rubbing alcohol and squeeze it onto the head(s) that are clogged and leave it squished on it for an hour or two.  

5) Time-lapse for 2 hours. Clean up any excess liquid. Reinstall the cartridges, do a head check print.

At this point, I hope your good to go if not onto the next.

6) Turn the printer off then back on with the lid lifted. Unplug the printer mid startup with the cartridges sitting in the middle. This will make it so you can move the cartridges back and forth.

7) Remove the cartridges.

8) Where the cartridges normally sit you will see what looks like small sponges gently blot those with a paper towel, they might be super full.

9) Fold a paper towel up but keep it thin. Get it wet with warm water and rubbing alcohol (not soaking wet) and place it on the track, slide the print head over it.

10) For this step I had to jimmy rig something to work with it because I didn't have the special tube for it. I took the bottle lid to one of my refills that was the perfect size and placed it over the print head of the blocked colour. I put the syringe with rubbing alcohol in it and pushed it into the bottle lid that is fitted over the print head (i did order the right tube to do this so I will not have to jimmy rig it in the future).

Stop here do a print head test to see if the problem is fixed. If nope onto the next.
 I am thanking my lucky stars that this one worked for me.

11) Next is calling your local ink shop and seeing they do professional cleaning or just buying a new printer the choice is up to you!


Yes, it took until Step 10 to order to get my printer fixed and working again. It was a long process but for me worth it!

When you print every day, with clients waiting for orders it is really hard to be without your printer even for a day.

Please click this link for full details and pictures of everything.

I did order the proper tubes from amazon just to make my life easier for when this happens again, and yes in the sublimation world it is going to happen A LOT!

Good luck!

Printers

Printable vinyl, we love it!!! There is only one down side and that is printers. We have gone through so many printers trying to find ONE that will work properly with the vinyl we have found there is only one that semi works better than any other one and that is the Epson WF-4630, no its not a photo printer.

Before you start talking giant solvent printer, one they are extremely pricey, two they take up an insane amount of room and three they require a special vent system because it is extremely toxic to breath in the fumes.

We tried Cannon photo printers, Epson photo printers (including the new XP-6000) and HP photo printers. Every signal one of them leave streaks or giant globs of ink on the vinyl. Once you put it through the heat press after it has been printed on the photo printers it loses almost all of its colour and looks like it has been washed 100 times.

I have read blog after blog, and 1000's of tips and we keep going back to the WF-4630 because its the only one that works at least semi right not always perfect but better than the photo ones.

Today after spending 2 days fighting with the new XP-6000 I took it back to the store because whats the point of something that loses it's colour after going through the heat press. I have finally figured it out!! I think I know what the problem is with the photo printers. They are liquid ink the WF-4630 is powder ink, no not laser actual powder ink. So no globs.

Here is the trick with the WF-4630 you can not tell it that there is photo paper or it smears and what a mess it makes of the page and rollers. You have to tell you it that its normal paper and do high quality printing and in settings you need to turn off high speed print. You need to make sure your heads are always clean before you print and always always print on normal paper first because if the quality of the photo is horrible than it will print horrible no mater what you do.

We use special printable vinyl that we buy in bulk but we used to get the printable sheets from micheals and they worked okay but don't last as long on the shirts.

We rely on our printer and the printable vinyl to put basic images on shirts or other clothing so it has to work, be consistent and fast because we are always in a hurry and of course people leave things to the last minute.