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Technical Help & Hints

What EPSON doesn't tell you!

Do not touch chips on cartridges-this will stop your cartridge from working.

Cartridges should be replaced six months after installation to ensure the ink is fresh whether they are empty or not.

When installing a new cartridge you must perform a print head cleaning cycle, followed by printing a nozzle check pattern.

Never leave your Epson printer without an installed cartridge (even an empty one) for more than a few minutes. Ideally you should change the cartridge immediately with NO DELAY, because the ink will begin to thicken/gel very quickly, which will require multiple cleaning routines to clear. The higher the resolution of your printer the quicker this process will occur.

Problems with 'no print or printing poorly'?

If your cartridge is not printing or printing poorly, the most common problem is that an air bubble is blocking the exit tube of your cartridge. You can confirm that this is the problem if the print head cleaning routine actually makes the problem worse. For cartridges without microchips you need to let the printer sit without printing for several minutes, while tapping on the top of the cartridge. This should allow the air bubble to rise to the top of the cartridge and allow normal print. If it does not, remove the cartridge and carefully squeeze to allow a very small drop of ink to flow from the cartridge. This should be done directly into the point where the cartridge is to be located in the printer. After relocating cartridge you should be able to print as normal.

If your cartridge contains a printer chip and is still not working after having tried the above then there is may be a problem with the chip or a software conflict. If you have touched the contact on the chip (even slightly) the cartridge will not work. If you have not then switch off your Mac or PC and re-install the cartridges just into the printer without using the software installation routine. In other words, install the cartridges with the computer turned off. Only switch it on after the printer is ready to print. In most instances this will fix the problem that arises from inconsistencies in the Epson printer driver software.

Colour and/or black sections are missing.

Occasionally when installing cartridges for the first time, you can get a chemical interaction between inks from original Epson or other compatible cartridges previously used. From the utility section found in the Epson printer driver, clean the print head by performing a head cleaning cycle followed by printing a nozzle check pattern. A head cleaning cycle and nozzle check must be performed in full, if not the process has had no real effect. If there are stripes or gaps, continue with another cycle. It may be necessary to perform 4-6 cleaning cycles.

Vertical / horizontal banding is appearing and lines are simply not lining up.

If your printouts contain misaligned vertical/horizontal lines, you may need to align the print head.

Your printer must be connected to a local port to use the Print Head Alignment utility.
Follow the steps, which are located in the printer utilities menu.
1. Turn on the printer. Then load plain, A4 paper.
2. Follow the directions for your operating system.

The quality of my printing is "Not Good".

If you are using coated inkjet paper, check that the printable side of the paper is face up. For the best quality output always use GOOD QUALITY ink jet paper. If your output is faint, check the printer driver to make sure you have selected a print resolution other than Economy. Make sure the Media Type setting matches the paper or media loaded - if you are printing a high resolution photograph onto sub standard non-photo paper the quality will always be poor. Very important- Verify that you are using the correct printer driver for your printer model e.g. the driver for the C42 is NOT the same as the C40.

Image colours on screen are different from printer output

The screen/monitor produce colours in different ways. A monitor displays colour by transmitting Red, Green and Blue light into your eyes. A printer uses existing
light to reflect cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black light into your eyes. It is virtually impossible to match transmissive and reflective colour types perfectly

I am a business user can I get discount for volume

IF you are a business user call The Inkdrop for a quote.