several threads i’ve looked at are giving me mixed signals on whether or not the flush kit can be used to drive piezoflush through the lines and head from the cartridge end.
i have a relentlessly clogged matte black nozzle and may be at the point of needing to try this.
it was stated in one thread that there would be some r3000 documentation and photos forthcoming…
As per the thread you referenced, “Our PiezoFlush small format print head cleaning kit is designed for use directly on the print head. Desktop printer models such as the R2400, R2880, 1400/1430, R1900, R2000, etc… use cartridges that install directly onto the print head- so removing the carts gains access to the print head for easy cleaning. With pro model printers (that have ink lines and dampers between the cartridges and print head), the dampers should ideally be disconnected from the print head in order to flush the print head directly. There have been a few customers who successfully unclogged their R3000 printers by using our print head cleaning kit in the cartridge chamber, and pushing thru the line/damper/head- but I am concerned this could damage the dampers or blow out a connection somewhere if too much pressure is applied. Also, you wouldn’t want to inject PiezoFlush into the cartridge end of your ink line, because it will mix with ink and effect your print output when it reaches the print head. The only way I would suggest trying the print head cleaning kit on an R3000 thru the cartridge chamber would be to GENTLY inject about 1ml of ink (not PiezoFlush) and apply some slight pressure to try unclogging the plug or pushing the trapped air out. By using the same ink that is in the line, you will avoid contaminating the ink line with flush fluid, and the pressure is often what does the trick.”
Under the Detailed Description tab of our PiezoFlush print head cleaning kit, it specifies:
[ul]
[li]Is compatible with Epson desktop printers that use cartridges which are installed just above the print head. Works with Epson Artisan printers, Epson Stylus Photo printers, Epson Stylus printers, Epson Workforce printers.[/li][li]Does not work with Epson Pro printers, or printers which use tanks that are not fitted to the print head such as the R3000.[/li][/ul]
Have you cleaned the printer’s capping station, wiper blade and/or bottom of the print head? If not, I recommend you try these manual cleaning procedures by following our instructions, here: http://www.inkjetmall.com/tech/content.php?133-Printer-Cleaning-and-Preventative-Maintenance
As explained on this cleaning/maintenance page, printers with ink lines and dampers should have the dampers replaced every few years, as particles build up in the dampers and restrict ink flow- so, depending on the age and use history of your printer, that may be a factor to consider.
We decided to not include photos/info, because we do not recommend or support people take apart their printers, though advanced users who feel comfortable dismantling their printers (following the Epson repair manual) can theoretically use the print head cleaning kit if they disconnect the dampers from the head, and use the cleaning kit directly on the print head as per our instructions for using it on a desktop printer model. A few users have posted helpful photos and information from their experience with 3800/3880 printers, which have a lot of physical similarities to the R3000 in how the ink system works/looks. You can find photos/info others users have shared here: http://www.inkjetmall.com/tech/showthread.php?512-Epson-3800-ink-selector-assembly-disassemble- and here: http://www.inkjetmall.com/tech/showthread.php?228-3800-LC-channel-completely-missing/page2
I hope this helps.
Best regards~ Dana 
i’ve done all the recommended steps. here’s a rundown:
had a light cyan clog some months back, quickly fixed with nozzle clean.
i live in very low humidity and was printing about 1/week. did not know at the time that leaving the machine on was a bad idea.
about 10 days after a good print, i suddenly had 4 channels blocked. 3-4 cleanings had all but matte black opened up. this is when i learned many multiple cleanings are a bad idea as the heat in the print head can gum things up even worse.
cleaned capping station and wiper with windex.
scrubbed print head with windex.
no joy.
was advised there are 2 options: use initial fill cycle with piezo flush or attempt purging single nozzle (was told the latter is difficult, unlikely resolution).
purchased 9 refill carts, pzflsh, and syringe. then learned the software to do the flush is $20 and only works on windows. i’m on osx mavericks.
continued my scavenger hunt and found quad tone rip, for $50, was necessary to do single channel purge.
downloaded the purge target photoshop file and edited it to have a single bar of matte black covering the whole page.
printed in qtr calibration mode with ink at 100%, 2880dpi and piezoflush loaded in the chamber.
15 pages later, not one drop on the paper, but somehow my cartridge is now only 1/3 full. yes, i removed the breather plug.
i don’t know what else to do besides the flush kit. after reading here, i have no confidence that using the initial fill/flush trick will do anything but waste ink from all the good channels even if i find a pc laptop to hook up to.
Thanks for the additional information.
What ink have you been using in this R3000, and about how old is the printer?
Leaving the printer on is not necessarily bad, as long as the printer is used regularly, the humidity and temperature levels are within the recommended range, and the internal parts are cleaned on a regular basis. As per our printer cleaning/maintenance procedures, we do not recommend using Windex or other ammonia cleaners directly on the print head, because of the fast drying agents.
It’s a good sign that the PiezoFlush level in your cart has gone down after making 15 purge prints (if it didn’t go down at all, that would indicate a total blockage somewhere in the line, damper or head), though the fact that still nothing is printing from that channel is a bit puzzling. Did your MK ink cartridge run totally dry (in which case you’re dealing with air in the line, and not a clog)? What is the level of PiezoFlush in the exit chamber of your refill cart? Have you done and black ink change to test the PK channel (MK and PK use the same damper and print head channel)?
Please let me know so I can try to help.
Thanks~ Dana
these were my first set of cartridges. printer was bought in 2/14 and has probably run 40 prints, most of which have been on 8.5 x 11……so not a lot of use. the mk cart did not run totally dry. pk is also blocked based on my nozzle checks. not sure about pz level.
but…here’s an update. on thursday one of your folks recommended - after hearing all this - that i run 1 nozzle clean then let it set for 24 hours and try the purge page again. i did, and almost immediately had a full page of black - but not full black - lines. to be more specific…it appeared that every other stroke was printing, and the ink didn’t seem full density. same thing in the text areas of the page. i ran 10 pages of this and it was consistent every time, so i ran a nozzle check. nothing on the mk, barely any on the pk (i hadn’t mentioned the pk since i don’t ever use it).
as i was almost out of pzflsh in the mk cart i decided to try the rest and repeat trick, but haven’t been able to get back to it today (saturday). i’ll refill and try again tomorrow.
this all suggests to me that pzflsh has diffused into the line and head, mixing with ink already there, but not cleared the blockage completely.
update:
on monday i checked the cartridge with pzflsh in it and found 2 interesting things: the exit chamber was not only 60% full, but no fluid appeared to have been used at all in spite of the indicator saying the mpk slot was near empty. makes me wonder how this silly thing measures ink “level”. i reset the cartridge and carried on.
i printed 5 more pages of purge bar that were a bit more dense but essentially the same. ran a nozzle check. still no mpk.
decided to run a single clean. bad move.
when i ran more purge bars i had essentially blank pages!
let it set until yesterday……ran more purge bars. barely any ink on them……
From what you explain, it sounds like NO ink/flush is flowing from the black channel, which would be caused by a total blockage in either the damper or print head, or the air vent plugs were not removed from the flush cartridges. If you have the same results and NO ink printing from the black channel in either MK or PK mode, then I suspect you’re dealing with a total blockage in the damper or print head- and my guess is the damper (without being there to see/inspect your printer myself). If your printer’s black channel is experiencing a total clog after just a few months of use, then you should contact Epson and have them replace your printer, as it’s still under warranty.
The printer’s ink level tracking in the cartridge is based on reading the chip, it tracks cleaning cycles, prints, etc… to count down the ink level- BUT, if no ink is flowing from the cartridge, then the cart will still be physically full, even though the printer estimates it’s lower due to the cleanings/prints it’s done. The printer can’t see inside the carts, and doesn’t track weights- it only reads the chips and tracks ink levels that way.
Best regards~ Dana
[QUOTE=barpfoto;4110]i’ve done all the recommended steps. here’s a rundown:
15 pages later, not one drop on the paper, but somehow my cartridge is now only 1/3 full. yes, i removed the breather plug.
[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=barpfoto;4132]these were my first set of cartridges. printer was bought in 2/14 and has probably run 40 prints, most of which have been on 8.5 x 11……so not a lot of use. the mk cart did not run totally dry. pk is also blocked based on my nozzle checks. not sure about pz level.
but…here’s an update. on thursday one of your folks recommended - after hearing all this - that i run 1 nozzle clean then let it set for 24 hours and try the purge page again. i did, and almost immediately had a full page of black - but not full black - lines. to be more specific…it appeared that every other stroke was printing, and the ink didn’t seem full density. same thing in the text areas of the page. i ran 10 pages of this and it was consistent every time, so i ran a nozzle check. nothing on the mk, barely any on the pk (i hadn’t mentioned the pk since i don’t ever use it).
as i was almost out of pzflsh in the mk cart i decided to try the rest and repeat trick, but haven’t been able to get back to it today (saturday). i’ll refill and try again tomorrow.
this all suggests to me that pzflsh has diffused into the line and head, mixing with ink already there, but not cleared the blockage completely.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Dana-IJM;4187]From what you explain, it sounds like NO ink/flush is flowing from the black channel, which would be caused by a total blockage in either the damper or print head, or the air vent plugs were not removed from the flush cartridges. If you have the same results and NO ink printing from the black channel in either MK or PK mode, then I suspect you’re dealing with a total blockage in the damper or print head- and my guess is the damper (without being there to see/inspect your printer myself). If your printer’s black channel is experiencing a total clog after just a few months of use, then you should contact Epson and have them replace your printer, as it’s still under warranty.
The printer’s ink level tracking in the cartridge is based on reading the chip, it tracks cleaning cycles, prints, etc… to count down the ink level- BUT, if no ink is flowing from the cartridge, then the cart will still be physically full, even though the printer estimates it’s lower due to the cleanings/prints it’s done. The printer can’t see inside the carts, and doesn’t track weights- it only reads the chips and tracks ink levels that way.
Best regards~ Dana[/QUOTE]
contacting epson may be my best option.
well….i called epson yesterday morning, and after some gyrations resulting from the r3000 being neither a “pro” printer or a consumer model, they took care of business.
the new one just arrived.
i have to say, epson handled this like a boss. they cover fedex both ways and all i had to do was take the new one out of the box and drop the clogged one in it’s place. and i essentially got a set of free cartridges for my troubles.
I’m glad to hear they quickly replaced your printer!
Best regards and happy printing~ Dana
I think what has happened is two things.
If you went the long way and tried to initial fill, it may still not work because you need to make sure the cleaning vacuum is working. Hooking a tube to the back and making this go into a bottle will tell you if it’s sucking any ink at all.
This (which is fitted properly)
or just a silicone tube + a cup will do.
In future, get a powerful large-capacity humidifier. These keep printer-death at bay.
-Walker
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