# Clogged Epson, give up and buy something else?



## jess0310 (Feb 21, 2017)

I have an epson wf-3620 sub printer using cobra inks and sublimating onto mugs. This is my second wf-3620 in 2 years, I have a small Etsy shop and make about 20-50 mugs every week day. The beginning of this week I noticed the heads needed a good cleaning so I ran the machine cleanings but after 25 of them I was still getting broken lines on the nozzle check. I than used a liquid head cleaner that I've used to clean clogs in the past but I'm still getting broken lines. I have over 30 orders I need to get out and I don't know if I should just get a new printer or if there's something I can do to clean the heads on this one. 

Also would like to mention, getting another 3620 is out of the question (very hard to find new and expensive because of the demand)so I'm not sure what printer to move to, especially given the small format I need.

Thanks for any advice!


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## Signature Series (Jun 11, 2016)

Epson printers are throw aways. If your only doing mugs than any cheap Epson will work fine.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

25 head cleanings!? Supposedly if the first couple of cleanings don't clear the clog, doing additional cleannings makes matters worse, not better.


When we have difficult clogs we use a huge syringe connected to a tube to force clean the heads with cleaning fluid. If you haven't tried that, it's worth a shot.


Having 2 printers in 2 years is about right, sadly. We assume ours will go bad after a year and plan accordingly.


As far as a new printer, I would consider a Epson Ecotank. No cartridges or external Continuous Ink System needed. We use one for pigment ink and so far so good.


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## jess0310 (Feb 21, 2017)

Thanks for the help! I bought an Epson et-2720 to replace the WF, I have gone though two of them and they both are doing broken lines with 2-3 cleanings. Straight out of the box! I'm so frustrated I feel like screaming! I have over $400 worth of orders I need to get done or people are going to start asking for refunds. I was thinking of bringing it back to the store and getting the ET-4700 to see if that was better. Any thoughts? Has anyone had bad experiences with the ET-2720 or am I just cursed?


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## Signature Series (Jun 11, 2016)

jess0310 said:


> Thanks for the help! I bought an Epson et-2720 to replace the WF, I have gone though two of them and they both are doing broken lines with 2-3 cleanings. Straight out of the box! I'm so frustrated I feel like screaming! I have over $400 worth of orders I need to get done or people are going to start asking for refunds. I was thinking of bringing it back to the store and getting the ET-4700 to see if that was better. Any thoughts? Has anyone had bad experiences with the ET-2720 or am I just cursed?


2 0r 3 cleanings out of the box? That in itself is an issue. Ours have printed perfectly with no head cleanings right out of the box.


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## jess0310 (Feb 21, 2017)

Signature Series said:


> 2 0r 3 cleanings out of the box? That in itself is an issue. Ours have printed perfectly with no head cleanings right out of the box.


Exactly. I brought back the first one when it was skipping black sections of the nozzle pattern and replaced it with the same model, then when I got it home... Same exact issue but worse. All four colors were missing parts of the pattern, and always the same missing parts after every cleaning. I wish I could use my print head cleaner, but I can't get to the heads!


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## Signature Series (Jun 11, 2016)

jess0310 said:


> Exactly. I brought back the first one when it was skipping black sections of the nozzle pattern and replaced it with the same model, then when I got it home... Same exact issue but worse. All four colors were missing parts of the pattern, and always the same missing parts after every cleaning. I wish I could use my print head cleaner, but I can't get to the heads!


If you cannot get a clean nozzle check out of the box cleaning the head is not going to do much.


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## BJSPUTER (Oct 26, 2012)

jess0310 said:


> Thanks for the help! I bought an Epson et-2720 to replace the WF, I have gone though two of them and they both are doing broken lines with 2-3 cleanings. Straight out of the box! I'm so frustrated I feel like screaming! I have over $400 worth of orders I need to get done or people are going to start asking for refunds. I was thinking of bringing it back to the store and getting the ET-4700 to see if that was better. Any thoughts? Has anyone had bad experiences with the ET-2720 or am I just cursed?


I went through 3 in a year and half for sublimation. Always clog and lines. So after 3 one did it I through all in garbage and bought a sawgrass. Been happy every since😃


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## lilsuz (Oct 16, 2007)

Jess,

I had been using Cobra inks and like them. You may want to check the date on the ink.

Also, what's preventing you from getting to the print head?


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## Juy (Dec 26, 2020)

jess0310 said:


> Thanks for the help! I bought an Epson et-2720 to replace the WF, I have gone though two of them and they both are doing broken lines with 2-3 cleanings. Straight out of the box! I'm so frustrated I feel like screaming! I have over $400 worth of orders I need to get done or people are going to start asking for refunds. I was thinking of bringing it back to the store and getting the ET-4700 to see if that was better. Any thoughts? Has anyone had bad experiences with the ET-2720 or am I just cursed?


I have a ET 2720 that’s clogged. Cleaned it twice


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

jess0310 said:


> ... I wish I could use my print head cleaner, but I can't get to the heads!


That is something I wondered about since I bought one of these last week. A quick Google turned up the following video. You just have to pull the plug at the correct moment and remove a few screws, then the top tilts up and it is pretty much like on any other desktop Epson. Note, the video starts and ends with a whole bunch of blather, and since this computer has no audio, I have no idea how useful that part is. However, the part in the middle shows how to access and clean the head.

EDIT: Note also, that those dampers pull out like a regular ink cart, so if your syringe setup is made to attach there, then just do it that way rather than squirting through the damper.


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## Ben10x10 (6 mo ago)

jess0310 said:


> Thanks for the help! I bought an Epson et-2720 to replace the WF, I have gone though two of them and they both are doing broken lines with 2-3 cleanings. Straight out of the box! I'm so frustrated, I feel like screaming! I have over $400 worth of orders I need to get done or people are going to start asking for refunds. I was thinking of bringing it back to the store and getting the ET-4700 to see if that was better. Any thoughts? Has anyone had bad experiences with the ET-2720 or am I just cursed?


No, you're not just curse, because I made the same mistake of buying the ET 2720, just to find out it's a big piece of Shiss. They make none of the spare parts you need to get the printing fixed, like, replacement dampers, the ink tank, where you need to replace the pads instead of buying a new box. Printing has been an all around headache in trying to get the quality they advertise, which are just lies, to get you to buy. Soon as the warranty runs out, the ET 2720 will act a fool, with noting else to do, but buy something new. And the ET-4700 is no better, with its poor print quality, and colors that refuse to print. The only good thing about these printers are the Eco Tank that lasts forever, if the printer would. I think I'm going to be looking into Cannon EccoTank, after reading many reviews, to find poor ratings


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

Ben10x10 said:


> No, you're not just curse, because I made the same mistake of buying the ET 2720, just to find out it's a big piece of Shiss. They make none of the spare parts you need to get the printing fixed, like, replacement dampers, the ink tank, where you need to replace the pads instead of buying a new box. Printing has been an all around headache in trying to get the quality they advertise, which are just lies, to get you to buy. Soon as the warranty runs out, the ET 2720 will act a fool, with noting else to do, but buy something new. And the ET-4700 is no better, with its poor print quality, and colors that refuse to print. The only good thing about these printers are the Eco Tank that lasts forever, if the printer would. I think I'm going to be looking into Cannon EccoTank, after reading many reviews, to find poor ratings


Canon printers do not use piezo heads. They use heat to expel the ink droplets, so are not compatible with sublimation ink.

As noted by others above, an ET-2720 is inexpensive, and thus a disposable printer.

The original problem of TS was probably expired ink. My WF printer developed a printhead issue I couldn't fix, so I bought another printer ... which lasted a short time before developing a very similar issue. Taking a close look at the ink, I could see it had changed, gone bad, and was thus causing clogging of the head. Lesson learned. When old ink kills your first printer, don't put that old ink into a new printer.

Side note, I was able to fix the second printer by pulling out the head and reverse flushing it. Obviously, I also flushed the ink tanks and lines. That was an ET-15000. I haven't tried that on the WF, but it has probably now sat too long to be recoverable.

Anyway, I already had an ET-2720 that I had been using to prints cards for a year or so, so I loaded it up with sublimation ink and have been using it for sublimation mugs without issue ever since. If it died tomorrow, I would buy another.


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