Trouble with an Epson printer

[RossJarvis]

The OP bought a photo printer, so a laser printer will not be able to deliver the quality he wants, assuming photo quality printing was his reason for purchasing. Epson are the best quality consumer printers for photos at the moment. However their build quality is not as good as Canon and there can be issues with software and they are notorious for using lots of ink during the cleaning cycles. Generally they work well with a high-ish through-put and get worse with infrequent use, but they're not particularly good at a high through-put.

Unfortunately all the consumer printers available have various issues and are much of a compromise. If you want a printer without too many issues, you need to buy a professional one and pay the price, although the ink is cheaper per unit. Under-use can be an issue here too.

There are a number of products that help clear the print heads, generally using a heated cleaning solution, often with a syringe to flush back and forth. Another issue can be that the "sponges" used to accept the ink when cleaning cycles are run can get saturated. Generally these can't be replaced "officially" but they can be un-officially (you may also need to find a software re-set with these).

Epson started out as a printer manufacturer, now they are the most profitable ink manufacturer in the World.

 

[Rhossydd]

In fact I have always used JetTec until this issue with the print head and blank pages.

So your issue is with Jet Tec ink blocking an Epson printer.

Hardly surprising Epson Tech support won't take an interest in a long discontinued budget printer being used with non-approved ink.

 

[SteveF]

The OP bought a photo printer, so a laser printer will not be able to deliver the quality he wants, assuming photo quality printing was his reason for purchasing.

apart from a half decent colour laser that will give a better quality than a cheap inkjet

i agree that inkjet was the choice in the past...not anymore

 

[nanscombe]

… a cheap inkjet using cheap (photocopier) paper?

Just use a glossy photo paper and the correct printer setting.

The paper may seem expensive, for the odd small print it may be, but an A4 print from the likes of Photobox will cost you £1.49.

When the time comes and you want to get a 15"x10" print the cost rises to £3.25 each.

The last printer I bought was an Epson WF7015 from Tesco currently £149 for an A3+, duplex, networked (ehthernet & WiFi) colour printer.

 

[dickm]

Occasionally needing A3 printing, I bought a Canon iX6500, not cheap but seemed to be better value than Epsons. Not sure it was a good buy; with occasional use, it drinks ink every time it is switched on and even if left on, seems to have a mind of its own about when it needs to do a self clean.
Question: is there any way to modify the frequency of self cleaning?

When in despair, I use an antiquated Epson 1270 A3 printer that came off Freecycle and still, after 5 years occasional use, will print well, but is inclined to spit out two or three blank pages before finally deciding to print.

Colour lasers are fine when they are working, but am now on my third Samsung CLP315, two having died quite early from different diseases. And it's pretty horrid when they die immediately after replacing a fiendishly expensive toner cartridge.

Basically, printers are a licence for the vendors to print money :twisted: