Returning to Printmaking - Epson R3000 Maintenance

[Evergreen States]

Hey gang,

I have been wanting to get back to printing after a seven year hiatus. I would like to start a 1 camera, 1 lens, 1 year project this year to hone my printmaking skills, particularly with black and white prints. I intend to use my Epson R3000 that was last used in 2013. If it’s all right, I’d like to use this thread to pose some maintenance questions to RFF, and return to it as I need.

Because I have not used it in so long, and it has spent much of that time in my dad’s garage, I don’t know what work needs to be done to get it up and running. The first thing I figured I’d need to do is make sure the nozzles and head are working. But when I tried to run a nozzle check, it took the paper in from the rear loading tray straight to the front in a single smooth motion, not a droplet of ink having touching the paper. I was told to load paper in the printer for real this time. Several attempts at this with sheets of 13x19” Epson Premium Matte and 8.5x11” plain document were met with the same defiance.

Some searching online led me to find that dirty rollers may be at fault. However, the product Epson sold to remedy this, Epson Ink Jet Paper Cleaning Sheets, is no longer made.

My first questions are:
1) Do you think the cause of this is likely dirty rollers, or something else?
2) What substitution would you recommend in lieu of the Epson Ink Jet Paper Cleaning Sheets? Is there a third-party equivalent of the same thing?
3) Is there other maintenance I might expect to need to perform? Where I live is very dusty and I don’t know what all needs to be cleaned. The ink cartridges have been left in it since 2013, which may not have been best, but a lot has transpired in my life in that time that has had priority over caring for this printer.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

An Epson printer that has not been used in seven years will have print nozzles so severely clogged that the nozzles will be destroyed. You ruined the printer. The repair will likely cost more than a new one.

 

[Dogman]

The R3000 is an excellent and reliable printer but I'm afraid I have to agree with Chris on this. Epsons left unused for several weeks will often require several cleaning runs to clear the clogged nozzles. Left for seven years, it's very likely to be unrepairable.

As for the cleaning sheets, I have a supply of them but I haven't used them in several years. The rollers seldom need that much maintenance and I've heard you can just run a sheet of regular printer paper through occasionally for cleaning.

 

[froyd]

While the above advice is true, I think what the OP is describing is paper feed issues. I had similar paper advancement issues with the R3000 too, and they were not related to the state of my nozzles. A few times I was able to improve performance with roller cleaning sheets (available from Epson), but the long-term solution was.... a Canon printer 😛

 

[Bob Michaels]

The economics of simply buying a new printer make sense when you consider your first step in trying to resurrect your R3000 is to spend $288 on a new ink set. Only then can you try to bring it back to life with a small chance of success.

For $539 you can buy a refurbished P600 direct from Epson . My 18 year experience is that Epson factory refurbished products are as good as new. And that comes with a new $333 ink set plus new product warranty. So a new printer actually costs just over $200 for the printer itself.

Realize that all consumer inkjet printer pricing is based on the old Gillette razor blade model where the actual equipment is priced very low with the expectation the manufacturer will make the profit selling you the consumables, be it razor blades or ink.

 

[Ronald M]

I gave up on all digital printers. Went back to monochrome darkroom and farm out digital color. If you work with a good lab the prints will be cheaper than you can make them at home.
Recommend Advanced Imaging in Lisle Illinois.

 

[Bob Michaels]

..... If you work with a good lab the prints will be cheaper than you can make them at home.

If economics drive the decision where you hand over the creative process to someone else, there is no question that a lab can do it cheaper. At the same time, it is also cheaper to simply buy stock photos or even hire a pro than spend what many of us do buying gear and traveling to make our own photos.

 

[PRJ]

Unless you are planning on printing outside the box, it is better to just outsource your prints to someone else.

If you do want to get another printer, because your Epson won't work and you will throw a lot of money at it before you come to that conclusion, then don't buy another Epson. The best printers for a normal person these days are Canons. If you want a 13" then get either the Pro-100 which is a dye printer or the Pro-10 which is a pigment printer.

Epsons are only good if you want to dedicate a printer to black and white otherwise they are not worth the grief.

 

[Evergreen States]

While the above advice is true, I think what the OP is describing is paper feed issues. I had similar paper advancement issues with the R3000 too, and they were not related to the state of my nozzles. A few times I was able to improve performance with roller cleaning sheets (available from Epson), but the long-term solution was.... a Canon printer 😛

The paper feed issue is the most visible issue at this point. I don't have the ability to assess issues with nozzles, the head and the like because doing so requires printing tests. Can't do that if it won't recognize paper.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

The paper feed issue is the most visible issue at this point. I don't have the ability to assess issues with nozzles, the head and the like because doing so requires printing tests. Can't do that if it won't recognize paper.

I can guarantee you that if he fixes the paper issue, he will find the print heads are destroyed from leaving ink dried in them for seven years. There's no good reason to bother with trying to fix the paper issue, the printer is dead anyway.

 

[Evergreen States]

An Epson printer that has not been used in seven years will have print nozzles so severely clogged that the nozzles will be destroyed. You ruined the printer. The repair will likely cost more than a new one.

I do appreciate your frankness. Would that have still been the case if I had done something different before having it go in long-term storage (analogous to disconnecting the negative terminal from the battery before storing a car)?

 

[froyd]

I can guarantee you that if he fixes the paper issue, he will find the print heads are destroyed from leaving ink dried in them for seven years. There's no good reason to bother with trying to fix the paper issue, the printer is dead anyway.

That pretty much 110% guarantee. Hard to recover from long term storage in a garage that presumably was not temp controlled.

I hate consumer grade Epsons with a passion for their fickle natures. The R3000 never gave me grief with clogged heads (unlike the 2200 that preceeded it) but holy cow, that paper transport was awful.

 

[froyd]

I do appreciate your frankness. Would that have still been the case if I had done something different before having it go in long-term storage (analogous to disconnecting the negative terminal from the battery before storing a car)?

Removing the ink and flushing the lines would have been a better approach. But honestly, start over with a 600 or something similar.

 

[Bob Michaels]

...... then don't buy another Epson. ...... Epsons are only good if you want to dedicate a printer to black and white otherwise they are not worth the grief.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I can say that I have not used my Epson P600 for 4 months as I prints in spurts when printing for an exhibit and have a cheap document printer. But I ran a nozzle check today and it was perfect, no cleaning needed. That has been my experience with Epson photo printers for many years.

 

[PRJ]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I can say that I have not used my Epson P600 for 4 months as I prints in spurts when printing for an exhibit and have a cheap document printer. But I ran a nozzle check today and it was perfect, no cleaning needed. That has been my experience with Epson photo printers for many years.

Well since you quoted me all I can say is there are educated opinions based on a couple decades of experience with many types of printers and there are opinions on the internet based on "mine works in the humidity of Florida" opinions. What opinion is more valid?

All I can say is I won't use an Epson printer unless I wanted to convert it to black and white, and I have no plans to do that so as far as my experienced opinion goes, I won't use an Epson. Life is too short. I've even been offered perfectly working ones for free over the years and I still won't use one because I know what is going to happen. I'll waste time and money eventually. For the average person out there, Canon is far superior. But you know, that is just my opinion because everyone has one.....

 

[Darthfeeble]

You can get the nozzle cleaning done on plain paper just as well as the large photo paper. I have had similar issues in paper feed with my R1900 and as near as I can tell it has to do with the set up in the printer dialog that should come up when you request to print. The 1900 feeds from the rear or the top and when I've confused it I got exactly what you describe. Good luck on the head cleaning. It could happen!

 

[filmtwit]

Old and clogged head/nozzles on Epson's is a not a death sentence.
Pick up some piezoflush or similar cleaning fluid, you can soak the head and fill some aftermarket cartridges with it and that should clean it.

 

[Speedy]

i cant say anything about paper feed problem but if you want to clean clogged print head there are several videos on youtube especially for epson printers, describing how to clean them, it is really easy with some attention...
some stylus model photo printers have 1.5 picoliter(pl) minimum droplet size , yours is 2 picoliter according to epson's website, later surecolor models have 3.5 picoliter, i think early models are a little bit more precise but prone to clogging...
sometimes newer doesn't mean better, if you can handle it with some basic cleaning you can get superb images...

A picoliter is one trillionth of a liter

just don't flush the pad beneath the print head and holes under the cartridges with cleaning solution using injection syringe, some videos describe it like that but that can fill your waste ink tank and means more problem...

 

[Speedy]

A picoliter is one trillionth of a liter

 

[Speedy]

just dont flush the pad beneath the print head and holes under the cartridges with cleaning solution using injection syringe, some videos describe it like that but that can fill your waste ink tank and means more problem...