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 | Epson Stylus Photo 820 won't print in black by David (11/21/04 2:33 PM) reply | + / - | My Epson Stylus Photo 820 printer all of a sudden will not print in black. I have replaced the black cartridge with a new one from Office Max today and still it will not print in black. I have been making the text blue to print out and it prints fine. I have ran the the head cleaning and nozzle check tests that come with the Epson software. Yellow, Red, Blue and other colors all print out fine, but black will not print out. None of the red lights on the printer come on.
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| Re: Epson Stylus Photo 820 won't print in black by David (11/21/04 2:36 PM) reply | + / - | I am using the right printing cartridge btw.
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 | Re: Epson Stylus Photo 820 won't print in black by Wes  (11/21/04 5:16 PM) reply | + / - | The print head is clogged. Try running the print head utility a few times. Clean the print heads by performing a head cleaning followed by printing a nozzle check pattern. A head cleaning and nozzle check pattern must be performed as a cycle. After printing a nozzle check pattern, examine the printed dot pattern. Each staggered horizontal and straight vertical line should be complete, with no gaps in the dot pattern. If there are gaps in the dot pattern, continue with another cycle. Perform up to 3 cycles if necessary.
If that does not help then you can buy the print head cleaning kit from this site http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/kea0.html and if you want to see what is involved in cleaning the print head using the kit this link will help http://inkjetprinterhelp.us/printhead.html If you would like to find out one reason why the print head clogged after changing the ink cartridge read this link http://inkjetprinterhelp.us/why.html if you want to really test the print output try printing the page from this link http://inkjetprinterhelp.us/Color.html
I hope this helps.
Wes.
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| Re: Epson Stylus Photo 820 won't print in black by David (11/21/04 8:37 PM) reply | + / - | I used the guide to clean printer heads that you linked. I also ran the head clean and nozzle check 3 times. There is still ZERO black ink coming out. Not even a trace.
When i print a document or whatever, the printer will run like a normal printer. And appear to be printing stuff. But when the paper comes out there is nothing black on it at all.
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| Re: Epson Stylus Photo 820 won't print in black by Denny Conway (11/22/04 2:34 PM) reply | + / - | David: In that case you probably have an actual CLOGGED Black Printhead Assembly and you will need to try that "Epson Printhead Cleaning Solution" [cleaning kit], that WES told you about. It's also possible that you may even have an actual HARDWARE/PARTS PROBLEM [failing Printhead Assembly or Main Board Assembly], but normally the most common problem is clogging of the Printhead Nozzles. AGAIN: You might want to try using the Epson Stylus Head Cleaning Solution, available through the Home Page on "fixyourownprinter.com", at http://fixyourownprinter.com/ , but it will only help, if there is an actual clogged Printhead Assembly. When it opens, click-on Epson, under PRINTER REPAIR KITS. Then click-on "Epson Stylus Head Cleaning Solution" and that page should then open correctly. The Epson Solution sells for around $10.00 plus shipping. It includes a syringe and some Epson Printhead Cleaning Solution, which is designed to dissolve most clogs, especially if you were using Epson inks. This is the same chemical used by Epson in their service department. You can try it if you want to and see if you can get the printhead nozzles to open up again, but that will only help if they are actually clogged. It was basically designed by Epson Company for use on their older models of ink jet printers, but people have been using it on the newer models, with success reported. IF YOU DECIDE TO, TRY THE "EPSON STYLUS HEAD CLEANING SOLUTION", JUST REMEMBER: The "nozzles" inside the printhead assembly can be easily damaged by using to much force on the plunger of the syringe. Damage can even occur when you are using the Epson Stylus Head Cleaning Solution method, if you actually try to force the fluid thru the nozzle. To much force/pressure can damage the little tubes inside the Nozzle Assembly and then it will never work again. One individual printhead nozzle is so tiny, that it will not accept a human hair. You can see why they can get clogged so easily, or even why the nozzles can be so easily damaged. The correct method is to use the syringe to add the fluid into the nozzle and then leave the fluids set inside the nozzle for a day or two, to try and dissolve a possible bad clog. Sometimes you might have to use the fluids several times to be able to dissolve the clog in the printhead nozzles. Sometimes the clog will never dissolve, or it actually damages the nozzles. The longer the clog has been in, the worse it is to remove. Again, if the cleaning fluids don't help, then its generally time to invest in a new printer. In some more expensive printers, you may want to get an estimate to replace the printhead assembly, but as a general rule, its not really economical to do in the smaller Epson Ink Jet style printers. You can generally buy a new small printer cheaper than you can have your old one repaired for. EXAMPLE: The printhead assembly in the "C80" Printer sells for around $120 to $130. There is a REVIEW of the Printhead Cleaning Solution kit, available to view at http://www.inkjetprinterhelp.us/EKR.html ...WES suggests trying the SSC Service Utility from here: http://inkjetprinterhelp.us/epsonSSC.html . Unfortunatly, that SSC Utility does not work on all printers and on all Operating Systems and sometimes won't even work on printers that are actually listed, so you will have to check it out for yourself. If it does work for you, people have had some success using its "separate cleaning of color and black heads routine" and its "powerful cleaning mode", but be warned it uses up ink faster...Good Luck! Denny Conway
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