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Epson 3800 not printing black (????)

fotografz

Well-known member
Hope someone can help here.

My 3800 was working fine.

When my Canon MP980 business printer went south, and I had to print an important document on regular letter paper, I did it on the Epson ... which switched to Matte Ink.

I then tried to make a regular print on the 3800 using glossy paper, the printer switched back to Photo Black but the photo blacks didn't print, the grey tones and color did, but not black.

I cleaned the heads twice, no help. I quickly popped out the cartridge and reinstalled it. No help.

Before replacing the Photo Black, I tried printing on Matte paper so the printer would switch to the Matte Ink to eliminate the Photo Black cartridge as the issue ... still did not print the blacks.

Does the printer use the same head to print Matte or Photo black?

If the head is clogged, what can be done? The printer is long out of warranty.:confused:

Thanks for any insight.

-Marc
 

Greg Lockrey

New member
If the test strip shows no black then the head is clogged. If a couple of cleanings don't fix it then a "Power Clean" is recommended but your ink supply has to be sufficient to do this. You can get the Power Clean action from the Epson site if you aren't already configured.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
And if the power clean doesn't work, try wetting a piece of heavy art paper with Windex and feed it under the head, get the head working over it with a print test, then pull the power cord. Leave it there about an hour, plug it back in, eject the paper and run the power cleaning and print test again.
 

ustein

Contributing Editor
>Does the printer use the same head to print Matte or Photo black?

Yes, otherwise you would not need to switch.
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Thanks everyone ... Power cleaning seemed to do the job. First time I've had to use it since owning this printer.

At first I was perplexed because I couldn't find the dialog box for the 3800 to perform all this ... but it all could be done using the LCD/Buttons on the printer itself.

-Marc
 

jsf

Active member
I have owned three Epsons, and each time I curse when the heads clog, though I must say the 3800 clogs less than any other Epson that I have had. But it is nice to know of a technique the equivalent of using a hammer to make a starter solenoid engage for the Epson. Thank you, it is a great part of the value of this site, the accumulated experience of so many people, thousands of years of experience, (my back, my knees some mornings feel every ...) no really, thank you for your efforts to keep this site working. Joe
 
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