Is my Epson 3880 Finally Dead?

[pflower]

I have had this since it was first announced, so can't really complain if it is now headed for the dump.

But I have had no problems with it - probably in 5 years or more I have had to do no more than 2 or 3 head cleans and then only because a few lines were missing on a nozzle check.  Suddenly tonight the entire PK cartridge is missing on a Nozzle check - the other 7 inks produce unbroken lines but the PK cartridge is missing completely.  The PK cartridge was highlighted as running low, but not so as to require immediate replacement.  But I did replace it with a new cartridge and then  did a routine Head clean and there was one tiny piece of a line on the PK channel - literally a tiny line exactly the same size as a hyphen "-" - that's all.

A second head clean did produce much better results, but 1/3rd of one line was missing and probably 1/2 of another line.  A third head clean showed no improvement over that.

I think I read somewhere that more than 3 head cleans in a row is not recommended. 

Anyone got any thoughts or suggestions?

[rdonson]

I’ve been told do not perform 3 head cleanings one right after another.  It will heat up the heads.  Or at least that’s what my feeble memory holds.    Anyway, I can’t speak for the 3880 but on my Epson P900 I’ve performed 3 cleanings with time between them with no negative consequences that I’ve seen.

[BrianWJH]

Could be air in the ink line, try printing a page of the missing color several times, leave overnight and try again the next day.

Brian.

[Ferp]

The Achilles' Heel of the 3880 is the black ink selector switch.  If they jam or clog or whatever, you will find that one black cart has drained.  I suspect that if you take the new PK cart out you will find that it is empty.  I can't be sure, because head cleans brought back some of the channel, but that's my hunch.

If you search you'll find plenty of discussion of this topic.  If my hunch is correct, you're stuck with a printer in which you can only use one black ink.  It can be repaired by replacing the switch, but you may not consider it economical.  The forthcoming P900 doesn't have this switch, as both blacks are always available.

[Alan Goldhammer]

The Achilles' Heel of the 3880 is the black ink selector switch.  If they jam or clog or whatever, you will find that one black cart has drained.  I suspect that if you take the new PK cart out you will find that it is empty.  I can't be sure, because head cleans brought back some of the channel, but that's my hunch.

If you search you'll find plenty of discussion of this topic.  If my hunch is correct, you're stuck with a printer in which you can only use one black ink.  It can be repaired by replacing the switch, but you may not consider it economical.  The forthcoming P900 doesn't have this switch, as both blacks are always available.

There are some YouTube videos and other places where you can find information on repairing the 3880.  If you decide to do this, parts will be about $250 or so.  I faced the same issue last year when the black ink switch failed.  Though I'm very handy doing such projects, I decided not to undertake this one as it was not clear whether the print head would continue to hold up.  I ended up moving on to a Canon Pro-1000.

[pflower]

Thanks, I have been using Epson Printers since 2000 - earlier cheaper versions then the 3800 and now the 3880.  I have never seen a whole cartridge disappear in that time.  My 3800 died after the Magenta line failed with only about half the lines appearing on a nozzle check  but my 3880s (2 of them) have performed flawlessly up until now. 

However following Brian's suggestion I printed out a purge file for the PK line and then did another head clean.  Miraculously things are now back to normal - all lines clear and printing perfectly.  Bit of a relief - I was thinking of replacing with a P5000 and was trying to work out if I really had the space for it.  So that has saved me money and lower back pain in trying to install the P5000.

It must have had something to do with the fact that the PK cartridge was running low - and as Brian WJH suggested could have resulted in air in the lines.  But in my experience with these machines is that normally you can run them until the cartridge runs out in mid print and then replace and complete the print.  So I don't know.

There are some YouTube videos and other places where you can find information on repairing the 3880.  If you decide to do this, parts will be about $250 or so.  I faced the same issue last year when the black ink switch failed.  Though I'm very handy doing such projects, I decided not to undertake this one as it was not clear whether the print head would continue to hold up.  I ended up moving on to a Canon Pro-1000.

[Eric Brody]

Glad your printer appears to have returned to the land of the living. My 3880 has been going strong for over 7 years. I'd not consider replacing it were it not for the upcoming P900 which, if it works as advertised, solves my biggest peeve with Epson, ink switching,  However, another unknown, besides basic quality and performance, is whether Roy Harrington will be able to make QTR work on it since it seems to have extra inks compared to the 38xx and P800 machines. Good luck with your 3880, may it continue to work!

[Ferp]

Also glad that the OP's 3880 came good and that my hunch was wrong.  I've had channels temporarily disappear once or twice in mine, but if a black channel disappeared then I'd fear the worst.  It should be easy to check.  Take the suspect K cart out and weigh it and see if the weight corresponds to the indicated black level on the LCD / in the driver.  If yes then you're probably ok, but if it weighs as empty when it shouldn't be, then ....

However, another unknown, besides basic quality and performance, is whether Roy Harrington will be able to make QTR work on [the P900] since it seems to have extra inks compared to the 38xx and P800 machines.

That is a very good question and a potential deal-breaker.