Epson R1800 internal pads overflown with ink; a mess.

<p>Suddenly capacity of internal ink collecting pads in R1800 was reached, and the flood into paper started messing all prints.<br />After some 4 years and thousands of great photos and no problems, perhaps the printer reached the end of life.<br />I was attempting to clean and dry the pads, but seems impossible task. I would need some original replacement parts from Epson, and profesional internal cleaning, or printer refurbishing, if that is possible.</p>

<p>However, since it is harder to find the original cartridges, Circuit City, Good Guys, CompUSA went out of business, and Best Buy and Fry's frequently do not have some colors. Cannot stock up for future use due to short shelf life printed on cartridges.</p>

<p>I have a dilema if to clean/refurbish the R1800, or just get a new model printer, and then what it should be ?<br>

<br />Any suggestion would help.<br />Thanks,<br />Frank Skomial</p>

<p> </p>

<p>after thousand of print, major cleaning needed, hard time finding ink... its time to change ; )</p>

<p>On a epson 2200 it cost around 300$ - 400$ years ago to have it dissemble, clean and remount.. dont think it worth it for a r1800.</p>

<p>I will upgrade for a better printer, like a 2880, but since you say *thousand* of print i will go directly to a 3880.. cheaper to run, bigger ink capacity, can use any kind of inkjet paper matte or glossy paper (well if you have the icc profile, this printer have both photo and matte black ink) can print color and NEUTRAL real bw out of the box... your best option.</p>

<p>Patrick,</p>

<p>Thanks a lot!<br>

I was thinging the same way. The 3880 is the best for my needs. </p>

<p>Frank -</p>

<p>I had the same thing happen - first got the error message that the printer has a part at the end of it's useful life. Called a local repair shop that specializes in Epson - he quoted me $150.00 to bring the printer in, change the pads and reset the counter - plus another $50.00 for the pads.</p>

<p>He also said that I could (if I was even a slight techy) go online and find an overflow kit for the printer - and install it myself for about $50.00 - Basically the overflow kit replaces the pads with a collector tube that routes the excess ink to a bottle or bottles that sit on the side. Haven't done it yet, but am seriously thinking of it as I don't want to buy another 1800, I don't like the 1900 and the 3880 is too pricey.</p>

<p>Dave</p>

 

<p>How did you get to this point? Did you repeatedly reset the waste ink counter?</p>

<p>I recommend doing what I did and installing an external waste ink tank to collect the ink. I went with a product from these guys on Ebay: http://www.octoink.co.uk/ and it works perfectly. I also wouldn't worry about the expiration date on the carts. I haven't found any measurable shifts in color (and I have a hardware tool) when using old ink. I stock up from online sellers and refill with PK, MK and Y from large format Epson K3 carts. The ink is the same.</p>

<p>David, you can easily reset the counter using a free online utility (I use the SSC one) but I would not do it more than once or you risk overflow. Epson tends to be very conservative about when the pads are full ("part reaches the end of its service life").</p>

<p>Just to add to this a few more nuggets of info..<br>

<br /> The SSC utility has been surpassed by the A10_IPR tool which Epson released to North American Epson printer owners only but it still works on any models in Europe, etc.. that have the same model designation. The R1800 is one of these... You can get a copy of it via wasteink.co.uk along with other information on how to reset using other utilities, when using newer operating systems like Windows 7 and Vista.<br>

<br /> As to the waste pad change-out vs' an external tank... If you are printing borderless photos the overspray will be dumped straight to the waste pads and as such can't be collected by an external waste tank.<br>

<br /> My standing advice for anyone buying an external waste kit who has done or intends to do a lot of borderless printing, then it's well worth getting the printer serviced properly first and then immediately installing an external tank once it has been done. That way, any and all waste pads capacity is reserved for borderless printing and you can expect to reset the printer a number of times before another service is due.<br>

<br />Oh and don't forget that there's more to a service than just the waste pads... Things like greasing cogs, runner bars, checking for wear and replacing worn parts are also important for printers that have seen a lot of use.<br>

<br />Hope that's useful info...<br>

<br />Martin (OctoInkjet)</p>

<p>Also, I've had good luck with MIS replacement inks, although I haven't purchased any in a while. And if you're a high-volume printer, a continuous inking system may fit your needs. You'll save a sizeable sum in the long run.</p>

<p>Altex carries Epson factory ink for the 1800. Much cheaper than local retail prices at around $11.50 each.</p>