Free Epson 9600? Is it worth it?

[ejmcompany]

Well I was offered a free Epson 9600 that has not been used in 4 years so I am told. The lines were not drained and there is still ink in it. Can someone advise me as to whether or not this is just a disaster waiting to happen? Is there a chance this thing is not ruined, and if so is this thing able to produce images of professional quality still? I understand the new 9900's are of superior quality of course but would you try to bring this thing to life considering it is free?

[framah]

Just to let you know that the 9900's are not that superior to the 9600. My old 9600 was so reliable that I could leave it off for a month or more and turn it on, send a file to it and it would print perfectly. The 9900 was a real PITA in that it  was constantly having minor head clogs requiring cleaning on a regular basis till it finally had a stroke and the green channel clogged completely and no cleaning was ever going to open it.

The ONLY reason I got rid of the 9600 was the thought that the 9900 was newer technology and would be better and faster.

Odds are if you decide to take this machine, plan to spend money to replace the lines and the head and a few other pieces...a couple of thousand at least.

My 2 cents is to pass on it because it hasn't been run in 4 YEARS.

Unless you own a boat, which in that case, I hear they make good anchors.

[digitaldog]

Got nothing to lose. At least the lines have ink which I think is better than nothing (air) as even from the factory the lines have a shipping fluid. Might have some clogged heads but hopefully a good cleaning will open them up.

[huguito]

My 9600 can be parked and abandoned for weeks and wake up without a clog, truly remarkable compared to the newer versions that need to print every 12 hours or they clog up.

The printing quality is excellent.

Best of luck

Hugo

[ejmcompany]

Thanks for all the info everyone. I picked it up anyway as I have nothing to lose. The ink cartridges are out of the machine and tomorrow I will clean it up and maybe try to fire it up. As mentioned the lines may be toast but are there any other suggestions as to what to look out for when getting going? Or things not to do as I try to make it work?

[huguito]

Release the head carrier and move to the left so you can acces the wiper, gently clean with a lint free damp cloth, use warm water or original windex.

While the head is released park it over a folded paper towel damp with the same Original Windex for a couple of hours.

Squirt some warm water on the pad under the parking spot for the head before returning it to the rest position, that will keep the head surface in a moist environment while parked. Better yet, American inkjet Systems sells a fluid just for that sponge in the parking area, its called Simphonic.

Cross your fingers and print something pretty

[Peter McLennan]

My 9800 has delivered in a manner similar to the others reports of their 9600s.  Zero clogs, even with long downtimes, and lovely images. It wasn't free, but it remains one of my most satisfying and productive photographic purchases.  I hope your 9600 works out as well.

[Garnick]

Release the head carrier and move to the left so you can acces the wiper, gently clean with a lint free damp cloth, use warm water or original windex.

While the head is released park it over a folded paper towel damp with the same Original Windex for a couple of hours.

Squirt some warm water on the pad under the parking spot for the head before returning it to the rest position, that will keep the head surface in a moist environment while parked. Better yet, American inkjet Systems sells a fluid just for that sponge in the parking area, its called Simphonic.

Cross your fingers and print something pretty

I agree with the suggestions here, except I would go one further.  I had two 7600 printers for a number of years before purchasing the 9900.  The 76/9600s were certainly very reliable workhorses.  However, in this case you might be flogging a dead horse.  But, there's really no way to predict the outcome with any degree of accuracy.  The price is right, so at this point I would definitely give it a try.  If you have the space, the time and the patience I think it would likely be a worthwhile endeavour.  One suggestion I would add is as follows.  After about two years of use with the 7600s and removing the right end covers to clean the wiper blades, I had an epiphany of sorts.  I decided not to replace the end cover at all.  In order to remove the right end cover you must first disengage the control panel.  Once the cover has been removed you simply set the control panel over on the printer deck just below the paper loading area.  When I decided not to replace the end cover I used a piece of mount board, slightly larger than the control panel, and adhered it to the deck.  That would prevent any electrical connections on the control panel from coming in contact with the metal deck.  I then mounted the control to the mount board with duct tape, which almost matches the colour of the panel.  From that point on I had easy access to the cleaning station and therefore the wiper blade.  It didn't take long before I was removing the cleaning station(4 screws) and taking to the darkroom sink(YES, I still had a darkroom ).  As a matter of fact I still do, although no longer any enlargers or processors.  I would set the cleaning station in the sink and run water through the parking pad to make sure it was as clean as possible.  Then remove the wiper blade and soak it for about 5 minutes in plain tap water, and then another 5 in distilled water.  I then used lint free paper towel to squeeze the rest of the water out of the blade and felt backing and then installed it back in the cleaning station.  At that point I would use the gears to get all of the water out of the system through the small hose that normally fits into the larger one that empties into the waste tank.  Reinstall the station and you're all set.  Of course this procedure will take a bit of time initially, but after a few tries I could do the whole cleaning in about 15 minutes, including removal and re-installation of the cleaning station.  I think if you follow this procedure you will be able to make sure the wiper blade and parking pad will be as clean as possible and you can then rule out that area as being a problem.  I hope this helps.  Keep us informed, as the older machines are sometimes well worth restoring to operating condition.

Gary               

[huguito]

Hi Gary
Could you post some pictures of the modification you made on your printer.
I still use my 9600 and that mod sounds like a great project
Hugo

[ejmcompany]

Once again thanks everyone for the advice. I hope that I can find the time here over the holidays to give this a try. I'm generally not the handyman type but I will try to be patient. One thing that I may get lucky with is that I work for a software company and we do work a little with Epson for label printers. I may be able to have one of them get me some help from a real Epson service person.
Now as I write this my 3880 decides not to print black properly. The black is coming out medium grey and it shows that I have plenty of black ink. Could the indication be incorrect? I have done maybe 200 8x10 images and 6 16x20 images on this new machine.

Yikes I know why I used to send all of my stuff out now! I guess I will learn like all of you guys did by the school of hard knocks!

[Garnick]

Hi Gary
Could you post some pictures of the modification you made on your printer.
I still use my 9600 and that mod sounds like a great project
Hugo

Unfortunately I have no pictures to share.  Never really considered the possibility that someone else might be interested.  However, I will follow this thread, so if you have any further questions I'll try to accommodate to the best of my ability.  Once you get the right end cover off the rest is actually quite straight forward.  The 76/9600 printers were much less complicated than the 9900, but I've learned a lot about the 9900 and how to treat it right from this forum.  I do all of my own maintenance on the 9900, up to the point of installing a print head, but that may come at some point as well.  Hopefully not in the near future, but the machine is about 4 and 1/2 years old.

Gary     

[Garnick]

Hi Gary
Could you post some pictures of the modification you made on your printer.
I still use my 9600 and that mod sounds like a great project
Hugo

As I mentioned in my last post, I have no pictures of the adjustments I mad to the 7600.  I will try to work from memory, but not sure that will suffice.  There are 6 or 7 screws you'll need to remove to get the right end cover off.  All but the last one are obvious.  To get to that one you have to open the print deck cover(door).  In the framework at the right end of the door you will see a hole and then a Philips head screw about 3/4" behind the hole.  The hole is for the screwdriver.  In order to remove the right end cover you'll also have to remove the "handle" on the paper feed arm.  This is the arm that you raise when feeding roll paper or canvas etc, or perhaps some heavier sheet papers.  Raising that arm then raise the top paper feed rollers to accommodate the feed process.  Now here's the fun part.  There are two screws that attach the handle to the arm, they have to be removed.  Then there's a small plastic insert that fits into a slot in the end cover just below where that handle once was.  Use a flat screwdriver to disengage that piece.  It will likely fall inside of the cover, but you can recover it once the cover has been removed.  Actually the removal of the end cover is not such a big task, it's the re-installation that can be a headache.  That little piece of plastic I was just referring to is a pain in the you know what to get back in place.  Again, it will fall back into the printer very easily if you're not really careful.  Then of course you will have to remove all of the screws again, retrieve the plastic piece, and start over.  Lots and lots of FUN, NOT!  Now if you are planning to NOT re-install the end cover, the last two sentences are moot.  If you are planning on re-installing the cover, make sure you use a piece of masking tape(or other tape) and attach one end to the little plastic piece and the other end to the body of the end cover.  That way the ubiquitous "little plastic piece" cannot fall into the printer again.  Wheeeeew...glad I'm past that.  Once you have done this procedure you will understand all of this I'm sure. 

If you do decide to remove the right end cover you will have to first disengage the control panel.  There are two connectors, one top one bottom that you'll have to "squeeze" to free up the control panel.  The best way to do this is from underneath.  Open the cover(door) and you'll be able to see these connectors and how they work.  Once you have the control panel clear of the end cover you will carefully remove the ribbon cable from the bottom of the panel and set the panel somewhere out of the way.  From this point on all I did was re-install the ribbon cable to the control panel and set the panel on a piece of mount board that I had stuck to the metal part of the print deck, just above the cover(door).  I think I mentioned using Duct Tape to keep the panel in place, but of course you can use whatever method seems to work for you.  One more thing I'll mention here, even though I'm sure you are already aware of this.  As with any electronic equipment, the printer contains various types of capacitors that can retain an electrical charge.  In order to make sure to don't blow a circuit board or other controls when your hand might come in contact with the capacitor there is a procedure for draining the capacitor(s) of any residual charge.  Turn the printer off.  Unplug the printer.  While watching the control panel, turn the printer back on.  At this point the display will probably light up for a second and then disappear.  You will now have drained the capacitors and won't have to be concerned about that issue.  Last step, turn the printer off again so that it doesn't come on as soon as you plug it in again. 

Now, one last item.  If you are still not quite clear on the setup I used, take a post a pic of the right end of the printer.  I can then show you where I mounted the control panel after removing and not re-installing the end cover.  Hope this helps.  I don't have time to check for spelling errors, but I'm sure it can be deciphered.

Gary         

[ejmcompany]

Ok well I finally made the effort to get this thing going. Today I cleaned the printer, got the ink installed, (The ink that was left over from the last owner) and fired it up. I am now in the process of cleaning the head using a windex soaked paper towel underneath like I was instructed to do. I downloaded the drivers for my Mac so hopefully later tonight or tomorrow I will attempt a print to see where I am at. I am hoping for a miracle or something close. If it looks like I am getting somewhere I may go to the next lever of cleaning the wiper ect… I will keep you posted… (If anyone actually cares  )

[Peter McLennan]

I will keep you posted… (If anyone actually cares  )

Of COURSE we do!      Best of luck with your 9600.

[bill t.]

Yes, good machine if you can get it going.  It's what got me and a lot of other photo dropouts back on the wagon.  Will take you back to the slower days of yore when a large print called for a leisurely cup 0' java and maybe a trip to the supermarket.

[huguito]

So?
Does it work?

Hugo