Hello…I ordered a complete set of Pizza Flush cartridges for printer maint which have yet to arrive. In this regard I have a couple of questions. (1) When I take the old style carts out and put the new ones in, do I leave the key in or remove it? (2) After doing the three power flushes, etc. Can I go back to the old style carts which are filled with ink and continue to use them for printing? and reinsert the key if it wasn’t necessary for the new carts?. (3) When I installed the old carts I removed the cover. Is this a problem with the new carts to have the cover removed? Thanks for any help with these operational questions.
Our cleaning/storage solution is called “Piezo Flush” 
I personally like to use the new style 3800/3880 carts with the cartridge cover removed and with the switch key that came with the old style carts- this way I can easily see the carts and track the ink levels (and I didn’t see a need to reattach the cartridge covers on our printers, since the switch key works so well- and I do a LOT of testing with these printers and carts). This is your choice- if you prefer using the switch key as you have been, or want to reattach the cartridge bay cover. You will need to do one or the other (the printer will display “cartridge door open, close door” if the switch key isn’t inserted or cartridge bay door isn’t closed.
If you install the set of flush carts into your printer and do three power clean cycles to purge ink from the lines, your nozzle check should print 8 full patterns of pink nozzles (Piezo Flush is dyed pink so it can be seen on the nozzle check pattern). What is your purpose for flushing your printer- are you experiencing issues and wish to flush out the internal ink system, or do you plan to not use the printer or a while and setting up your printer for safe storage? You can find our step-by-step instructions for flushing and reinstalling ink into printers here: http://www.inkjetmall.com/tech/content.php?140-Flushing-Epson-Pro-and-desktop-model-printers-for-safe-long-term-storage-or-when-switching-inks
Please let me know if there’s anything further I can help you with.
Best regards~ Dana
I am having a persistent clog with the PK nozzle and infrequently with the MK nozzle. The others are mostly clog free. The printer is about three years old. I see that Jon recommends changing the dampers. I downloaded the Service Manual but I can’t find anything to explain how to get to them. The manual is daunting to say the least. I wouldn’t be sure where to start. I have looked on the internet without any luck. I found where you can buy the dampers, but that’s about it.
Have you already cleaned the printer’s capping station, wiper blade and bottom of the print head?
I have cleaned the capping station with Piezo Flush and the bottom of the printing head, but not the wiper blade because I am not sure how to get at it.
I reviewed the service manual and our part supply store, and it looks like the “Ink System Assembly” is one part that includes the cartridge chambers, ink lines and “ink selector” unit (whole unit containing dampers). This part costs about $170 plus shipping (from CompassMicro.com, where we get any part we don’t carry ourselves). We did get 3800/3880 dampers, as well as 7900/9900/7890/9890 dampers from the supplier where we get all our other dampers, but after reviewing the parts list and service manuals, it looks like those parts are whole units and not generally replaced individually (though from wheat I’ve read- CAN be done, but its quicker/easier to replace the whole unit).
After cleaning the capping station and bottom of the print head, you can soak the caping station with PiezoFlush, then move the print head over to soak overnight. This can help clean the print head, though will not resolve any issues that may be further up the ink system (like inside the dampers or ink lines). To clean the internal system, your best bet would be to install the set of flush carts and do 3-4 Power Clean Cycles. Print a nozzle check to see how things look, and if it’s not perfect- turn the printer off overnight to let the Piezo Flush do it’s thing, then in the morning do a regular cleaning cycle and print another nozzle check to see if there’s improvement. If the nozzle check looks the same as before, then you can try letting it sit longer, or begin looking into replacing the dampers/ink system assy.
I will check our 3800 upstairs to refresh my memory as to where the wiper blade is and how to clean it.
At this point I think I’ll wait until I get the new carts and Piezo Flush and try your suggestions and see what happens. CompassMicro indicates that installing the Ink System Assembly is very difficult. I am pretty handy but this might be above my pay grade. Judging by the diagrams it looks like the front casing has to come off to get at the assembly but there is probably more to it than that. At any rate I’ll take it one step at a time. By the way Jon estimates that to have this done {dampers,etc} by an authorized dealer would cost around $1500 dollars. How absurd is this when you can buy a refurbished 3800 for $998 which includes full ink carts from Epson USA with free shipping. I have a refurbished 3800 at another location and have had no problems at all.Lastly, I would appreciate some hints as to where the wiper blade is located.
InkjetMall Information
Why buy from us
My InkjetMall account
Contact Info