How to revive a long-dormant Epson Pro 4000?

[andyadler]

Hello everyone. I've had my Epson 4000 in storage (temperature and humidity controlled) for almost four years. I never flushed the ink lines beforehand -- there are 110ml ink cartridges still in place on one side, nothing on the other side. I want to put the printed back in service, and wonder if I'm doomed to an irreversibly-clogged print head. If I install a completely new set of ink cartridges, what are my chances of successfully running this machine? Will I waste all the available ink trying to clear the lines? Is it still possible to get the 4000 serviced at a reasonable rate?

Part of me is tempted simply to buy a Pro 3880 with its K3 inkset and forget about the 4000 (I rarely needed its roll-printing capability), particularly in light of the 3880's present rebate, but I hate to simply junk the older printer. Any advice? Can the 3880 stand pretty constant throughput a la the 4000 (I know the 4880 prints faster and can use the larger ink cartridges, but it's a bit outside my budget).


Thanks so much in advance...A.

[langier]

I got my Epson 4000 when it took six months for delivery back about 2003-2004. I still use it for sheet fed printing and keep it going since the print quality is still fine after all these years.

I do let it sit from a few days to a few weeks when I'm on the road. I simply turn it off. My studio is partially in the ground. It gets cold in the winter and warm in the summer. When I'm working, I simply try to keep it comfortable which in the summer means running a fan and open windows and when it's too warm, going out and shooting. In the winter, I run the heater to keep the edge off the cold. Luckily, it doesn't freeze inside here!

Sometimes I'm lucky and it prints fine after sitting a while, other times, I've got to run a bunch of cleaning cycles before it gets going. So far, it still works and prints just fine. If I'm lucky, it takes just a couple of cycles, other times, takes it will take a couple of sheets. The last time I simply added a wet paper towel under the head and let it soak a little which also helped to clean the ink off the head and the printer head path at the same time. That did the job, along with replacing a cart that was just a little bit too old and didn't have too much ink left...

Since I also have a 7600, when the ink runs out, I simply swap out the carts.

BTW, you aren't limited to simply 110 ml carts, 220 work just fine and I've been using them for years. They just aren't recommended since they stick-out and depending upon where you place the printer, may make it easier to run into...

I'd say if you are happy with the printer and print quality, you are fine in simply getting putting in new carts, fire it up and run the auto cleaning from the printer. Don't be afraid to be bold and run multiple cleaning cycles. With your old carts, take them out and give them a good shake and put them back in.

If you know someone with a few old carts they want to get rid of, you should be fine. A couple of the carts I'm using are a couple of years out of date. The worst seems to be the MK which I think is dated 2007. Old carts and ink seem to work just fine in my experience.

Good luck and have fun printing with your 4000!

[Wayne Fox]

I had a 9600 that was  shut down for a couple of years.  After starting it back up with fresh ink cartridges I ran a power clean to flush the old ink.  Quite a few clogs, so one more power clean followed by a normal clean and it was back in business.

So I believe your chances are pretty good but it may take some ink.  Using the 220ml cartridges would probably be best, especially the first set when trying to get it runing again.

Output from the 3880 would be visibly better however.  Worth considering.

[Peter McLennan]

I concur on the "Power Cleaning" option.  I had some intractable clogging issues with my 4800 which were totally resolved with a single power cleaning.  You might find that you have a brand new printer for the cost of a bit of ink.

I'd contact the Pro Epson people at 999 3777 6611 (have your printer's serial number ready) and see if they can tell you how much ink it will use during this process.  It might require that all the carts be at least a third full.

[BobShram]

If you look to see how much life is left on the heads it may give you an idea if it is worth reviving it. You can clean out the system even if heads, dampers and lines are clogged. Save the old ink carts for cleaning fluid which you can make up with stuff from walmart.

[KevinWilliams]

You may want to get a set of refillable cartridges like the ones shown here:

http://www.macroenter.com/AI_RCK_EP_4000_Refill_Cartridge_p/ia-ep-4000-s.htm

and then fill those will cleaning fluid here

http://www.macroenter.com/Printhead_Cleaner_for_Piezo_Printheads_p/ikfph201g.htm

Do a few power cleanings with that and will flush out your lines cleans

[joepix]

I have a 4000 that has been dormant for about a year. It's very low mileage. I don't feel like trying to resurrect it. Do you want it?