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Can't get my Epson to print any yellow ink !
peterparsons - 11/1/09 at 07:00 PM

I have an Epson DX8400
I cant get the yellow to print.
The printer is in daily use and the yellow just stopped working.
Any ideas why ?
I've done several printer head cleans and still no joy.
All the other colours are perfect.

best regards
Peter

greglogan - 11/1/09 at 07:13 PM

Are you using genuine or spurious cartridges?

britishtrident - 11/1/09 at 07:14 PM

Only cure is to buy an HP printer - zero hassle

Some Sainsbury stores have the fairly decent F2280 All-in-One Colour Printer Scanner Copier for £29.99

maskell01 - 11/1/09 at 07:17 PM

firstly, go into your shed/workshop,
next,pick up a 17mm spanner(or similar size)
go back to printer,
give it an almighty clout using spanner!(you can scream at this point,it all adds to the effect!)
it wont help but it will make you feel so much better!

jlparsons - 11/1/09 at 07:20 PM

Try using the unblock function about a million times...

I had an epson photoprinter that blocked really badly if I left if more than a month between uses, so bad in fact that I had to use the unblock function repeatedly and use up half a cartridge before I could get it working. It wound me up good and proper so eventually I chucked it out.

I brought it because only the ink tanks were replaced, and they could be replaced one at a time. Thinking this would be cheaper.... wrong!! Next time I'll get a canon or HP that changes everything including the head when you junk the cartridge. Not eco friendly, unless you count my blood pressure as part of the ecosystem that is.

Rant complete.

That is all.

the_fbi - 11/1/09 at 07:28 PM

Is there a status monitor application which will show you ink level?

May just be the yellow has run out?

peterparsons - 11/1/09 at 07:35 PM

I've tried several different cartridges - genuine and non genuine. ink level is fine and still no joy.

trikerneil - 11/1/09 at 07:36 PM

Has it used all the yellow up?

LINKY



Neil

GeorgeM - 11/1/09 at 07:37 PM

I sell office equipment, but stopped selling smaller
epsons for this reason, too many were going wrong.
They don't like it if not used for a few weeks. They also
come up with a 'maintenance due, contact epson
light - time to buy an HP or Canon- quieter too.
all IMHO of course

martyn_16v - 11/1/09 at 07:59 PM

Probably worth having a quick clean of the print head with some isopropyl alcohol and a cotton bud.

Do you not get any yellow whatsoever? Maybe a problem with the ribbon cable to the print head?

MkIndy7 - 11/1/09 at 08:05 PM

Try opening a word processing document and write a whole line of letters and then turn them all yellow, then copy and paste and fill the whole page with them.

Atleast then when your trying to clean the print heads or whatever its only using the yellow cartridge up.

DRC INDY 7 - 11/1/09 at 08:57 PM

My epson printer died yesterday hardle used so its in the bin

I bought a HPF2280 from tesco 29.35 bargain

Simon - 11/1/09 at 11:53 PM

We had an Epsom printer and it was rubbish, always testing itself and made a right racket.

Chucked it in the skip and bought an HP

ATB

Simon

MikeRJ - 12/1/09 at 01:56 AM

quote:
Originally posted by MkIndy7
Atleast then when your trying to clean the print heads or whatever its only using the yellow cartridge up.


They don't clean themselves by simply printing (which wouldn't work if head was blocked), there is a vacuum pump built into the printer that actually sucks ink through the heads, and dumps in to a big felt pad at the base of the machine.

I've only ever had Epson printers (on third one in the last 12 years or so) and never had any major problems. The heads do tend to block is not used for a while, but always managed to clear them. I bought the last printer purely on image quality which was by the best for the money at the time, but a big advantage is that third party inks are cheap and easily available for the majority of Epson inkjets, unlike many of the newer HP and Canon printers.

Complete failure of one colour is most likely down to either a damaged cartridge connector, or the ribbon cable that connect the print head assembly to the main board has a broken connection.

[Edited on 12/1/09 by MikeRJ]

flak monkey - 12/1/09 at 01:08 PM

I've only ever had epsons and they have never been any bother, and always been quiet (the old C40 and C60 were rubbish and noisy though!).

Currently got an R200 which is excellent all around and has served me well for a good 5 years or more now. And running on compatable inks for the past 3 years.

If its not printing any of one colour you need to keep running head cleaning until it does.

Our brand new A1 plotter (HP I must add!) wouldnt print any yellow, all other colours were fine. And its was just a blocked nozzle. Took 10 or more cleaning attempts to get it to work!

David

RoadkillUK - 12/1/09 at 02:06 PM

I have to agree with the other peoples experience with Epson printers. I have recently binned mine because it never printed clearly without cleaning the heads and aligning them, by the time I'd done that I'd used most of the ink

I didn't use it often, probably about once a month if that.

Ended up getting a BW Laser printer.

MikeRJ - 13/1/09 at 12:16 AM

quote:
Originally posted by flak monkey
Currently got an R200 which is excellent all around and has served me well for a good 5 years or more now. And running on compatable inks for the past 3 years.


That's what we have had for a few years. Used to run it on original carts, but now it's worth about 20p we always aftermarket ones and it still prints fine. Looked around for a WiFi capable printer as a replacement, but didn't see anything very special for the price so think I'll keep this until it dies now.

britishtrident - 13/1/09 at 01:47 PM

A trick to save ink is leave inkjets switched on 24/7

[Edited on 13/1/09 by britishtrident]