epson 4800 clogging

[larkis]

My printer has been clogging on a weekly basis and I'm wondering if it's at the end of it's service life. Are there any tests I can do to determine this ? I purchased it soon after this model came out and have done a fair bit of printing. Could it be that It just needs a power cleaning (it only ever had one in it's lifetime).

Also, it seems like the nozzle check/clean cycle will start with one clogged patch, almost get rid of all the issues in row to, and then have 4 new swatches blank in row 3. I'm not  quite clear on how a cleaning cycle that is almost there can worsen the situation the longer it goes. Could someone who is familiar with the hardware of those units explain this ? 

[shadowblade]

Maybe the print head needs to be replaced. It's certainly not at the end of its service life - indeed, the 4900, its successor, is much more prone to clogging.

But, before you go and change the print head, it may be worth trying something like CLF cleaning fluid by American Inkjet Systems. I can't vouch for their inks just yet, and the website's dodgy, but their cleaning fluids work wonders. It even cleared up a friend's completely gunked-up Epson which hadn't been used in two years...

[Ken Doo]

As long as the clogs can be cleaned/cleared, by normal nozzle checks and cleans, I would not do anything further on the printer to the head.  It's working right? 

You might need just some basic maintenance, cleaning the areas around and inside the printer, and cleaning/changing the wiper (more likely).  If the ink cartridges are near their end, I've noticed that my 4800 will show clogs more and be more difficult to clean, and it may be introducing air at that point, and hence the dropped channels.  Changing to a new cartridge works.