Printer Problem

[D-50]

I have an Epson stylus R300 photo printer and last night when I tried to print a photo the colors came out all wrong. I cleaned the heads and did a test print and the light magenta ink barelly printed on the 1st test page. I cleaned the heads twice more and each time the light magenta printed less and eventually didn't even print on the test page. The cartridge is not empty. what could my problem be?

 

[Alpha]

A faulty print head most likely. We had a similar problem with one of the cartridges in the HP5500 (very large format printer) in our lab. It was skewing all of the colors. When we repaced the print head itself, the problem instantly went away.

 

[D-50]

how expensive is it to change the printer head? also could it be a faulty print cartridge? I was convinced by a friend of mine to get my ink from some internet site that sold cheap ink. I got twice the amount of ink I could have gotten for $80 of the official epson ink but the cartidges I got were generic. I guess you pay for what you get. I'll try to replace the cartidge and if that doesn't work maybe its time to get a new printer. I want a wide format anyway.

 

[Arch]

The head could have just dryed up...... it happened to one of mine... took it to one of these 'cartridge world' places (were they just refill your cartridges) and they ran a quick test.....it unblocked.... and she didnt even charge me. could be worth taking it along to one of these places.

 

[D-50]

I'll llook into that. So the head is on the actual cartridge? Im not too knowledgeable of printing. I guess I should learn though huh.

 

[Arch]

Some are on the cartridge, some in the printer itself, but it could just be the actual cartridge nossel thats dryed up rather than the print head.

 

[Rick Mark]

I used to have an Epson printer, but I ended up recycling it. It constantly needed to have the heads cleaned, or the photos would come out with weird wavy lines of color, plus it was incredibly slow and noisy. I have a friend who loves his Epson, but then he was telling me about having to take some time printing pictures because - you know - the heads needed to be cleaned.

I have been using a Canon printer for about two years now and I never have any trouble with it. The heads don't jam, it's quick and quiet, the photos are beautiful.