Matte Black Ink Cartridge Not Flowing

So after several months, I have now worked through all my old OEM Epson ink and earlier today replaced the final Epson cartridge – MK – with a refillable cartridge. I ran a nozzle check and all seemed OK, but after printing a couple prints, I noticed the blacks looked off. Running a nozzle check revealed that no ink at all was now coming from the MK spot. I ran a head cleaning and with another nozzle check got half of a line showing in the MK spot. Ran another head cleaning, and now got half a line in another part of the MK spot. I decided that a head cleaning wasn’t going to fix the problem.

I wasn’t sure if it was the cartridge or something else, so I replaced that MK refillable cartridge with a spare refillable one I had standing by. I then performed an Ink Charge with the Epson utility. Now, after running another nozzle check, all is well. So at least the second MK cartridge seems to be working fine.

My question is – what to do with the first one? Just for the record, I’d removed the little tab, so that wasn’t the issue. Should I consider this cartridge broken? The little cellophane on the bottom is punctured and if I touch it, a little black ink comes out.

I’m hesitant to stick it back into my printer for another attempt for fear that my black ink will run dry and some more prints will be ruined – not to mention the fact that I’d have to run another ink charge and burn through more ink.

What is your suggestion for what I should do?

Let me know. Thanks!

Alex

Hi Alex~

I’m sorry to hear your first MK cartridge wasn’t working for some reason. If you primed it and removed the air vent plug, then I’m not sure why it’s not allowing ink flow, but glad to hear the second one is working correctly.
I will have a replacement MK cart shipped to you.

Best regards and happy printing~ Dana

Thank you so much, Dana. :slight_smile: Any tips for sucking the ink out of the old cartridge and getting it into the new one?

Use the syringe with blunt tip needle to draw ink out of the fill hole, while holding the cart at an angle. You may be able to (I haven’t tried this myself) get ink out of the exit chamber by inserting the syringe tip (without needle attached) into the exit valve, then angling the syringe slightly while puling the syringe plunger. Please let me know your results with the new cartridge.

Best regards~ Dana :slight_smile: