Epson R2880. replace or attempt to fix?

woof woof

woof woof

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I've had this a long time, certainly 16 years and maybe longer but recently I've been getting lines on prints which I assume are due to a problems with nozzles. I've gone through the cleaning cycles and test prints and obviously changed cartridges but to no avail so I'm wondering if this can be easily fixed at home or would it be an idea to get Epson to fix it (I think they'll pick it up, from what I remember) or will it be better to retire it and buy something else? If so what?

What do you home print experts think?

Are these cheap ones any good?

Cheap one...


Even cheaper...

 
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Thanks.

I might as well give it a go at that price.
 
dcash29 said:
Is it the magenta channel mostly?
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I think magenta is a problem but not the only one. I think there are several. Was that a good guess or is there any reason why magenta should be a specific problem?
 
From my experience, magenta is the most common blockage. Have you ever used third party cartridges? Personally I wouldn't buy Epson, even though we clean and calibrate our work printers every day, they have a tenancy to clog.
 
dcash29 said:
From my experience, magenta is the most common blockage. Have you ever used third party cartridges? Personally I wouldn't buy Epson, even though we clean and calibrate our work printers every day, they have a tenancy to clog.
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I always use Epson ink and paper too. That's interesting and curious. I've kept this one limping along, the last drama was the waste ink full error which was fixed with a one time code and a printer potty. I'll see how the cleaner goes and if I get problems again I'll reassess and might go for something new.

This is only my second printer. The first was a HP which gave lovely prints but suffered from constant paper jams.

I'll report back on my success with the cleaning kit just in case anyone is interested in feedback.

Just on that printer potty. It's amazing how much ink this thing throws out. And it's expensive stuff, a full set costs the thick end of £100.
 
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dcash29 said:
Yeah they waste loads. I fitted an ink potty back when I had an Epson
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What would you recommend to replace the R2880? I do want to keep the ability to do A3, I haven't done one for a long time but I do want to be able to.
 
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ecoleman said:
Have you tried Magic Bullet?

Get yourself a blue kitchen towel. Cut it to size and double it up. Soak it in Magic Bullet and put in under your printhead overnight.
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It was suggested in the first reply so I ordered a kit last night. As soon as it arrives I'll give it a go and report back just in case anyone else is having similar problems and would like more feedback. I suppose I can't really complain as I've had this printer 16 years or more and have only had two problems, the waste ink being full and having to fit a printer potty and now this. At the price it's definitely worth a try.
 
Chris_911 said:
I have a working R2880 sat gathering dust. It has been replaced by an Epson P900.
I need to get rid of the R2880. With respect to the forum rules I need to place an ad on here for it.
@woof woof
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Good luck with the sale but if the cleaning kit doesn't work I wont be looking to replace my R2880 with another one. They do give very nice prints though and I haven't suffered the paper jams that my HP was plagued with and I can imagine someone being overjoyed with yours. As I said, GLWTS if you do indeed decide to sell it.
 
Hi Alan, just to share my experience, I have had my 3880 (A2+) for a few years now and the last count had printed over 3k times. I have used a reputable third-party ink system for a while but have now switched back to Epson. I don't print as much as I used to and it is turned off when not in used. I have found that I had less clogging issues now than when I was using non-Epson inks. It's worth saving if it doesn't cost too much, not least because it's more environmentally friendly. We're so used to chucking things away these days without first trying to see if equipment can be salvaged. IMO they are good printers. Good luck with the cleaning.
 
I have had the Canon pro 100 and it's superb. No feeding issues and after an occasion of no use for 5 months, it only required one cleaning cycle and it was back up and running perfectly.
 
dragonfly said:
Hi Alan, just to share my experience, I have had my 3880 (A2+) for a few years now and the last count had printed over 3k times. I have used a reputable third-party ink system for a while but have now switched back to Epson. I don't print as much as I used to and it is turned off when not in used. I have found that I had less clogging issues now than when I was using non-Epson inks. It's worth saving if it doesn't cost too much, not least because it's more environmentally friendly. We're so used to chucking things away these days without first trying to see if equipment can be salvaged. IMO they are good printers. Good luck with the cleaning.
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Me and Mrs WW do try to keep things going and a big part of that is the whole environmental impact thing. I don't print often but I do want to keep the ability. I keep the printer plugged in but turned off as I read somewhere that that's the best thing to do but if it's really doing anything when just plugged in I don't know :D
 
dcash29 said:
I have had the Canon pro 100 and it's superb. No feeding issues and after an occasion of no use for 5 months, it only required one cleaning cycle and it was back up and running perfectly.
Click to expand...

If cleaning the R2880 doesn't work I may well go for a change and get the Canon. Thanks for the info on blockages and the recommendation.
 
dragonfly said:
Hi Alan, just to share my experience, I have had my 3880 (A2+) for a few years now and the last count had printed over 3k times. I have used a reputable third-party ink system for a while but have now switched back to Epson. I don't print as much as I used to and it is turned off when not in used. I have found that I had less clogging issues now than when I was using non-Epson inks. It's worth saving if it doesn't cost too much, not least because it's more environmentally friendly. We're so used to chucking things away these days without first trying to see if equipment can be salvaged. IMO they are good printers. Good luck with the cleaning.
Click to expand...
You are very lucky to still have a working printer.
 
woof woof said:
I've had this a long time, certainly 16 years and maybe longer but recently I've been getting lines on prints which I assume are due to a problems with nozzles. I've gone through the cleaning cycles and test prints and obviously changed cartridges but to no avail so I'm wondering if this can be easily fixed at home or would it be an idea to get Epson to fix it (I think they'll pick it up, from what I remember) or will it be better to retire it and buy something else? If so what?

What do you home print experts think?

Are these cheap ones any good?

Cheap one...


Even cheaper...

Click to expand...
16 Years? How long do you expect it to go? I'd think at some point it's time to move on. What you should know getting that long of service out of it is what company to buy from! I use Cannon for no other reason than they have served me so well. But haven't had one for even close to 16 yrs!
 
Don Fischer said:
16 Years? How long do you expect it to go? I'd think at some point it's time to move on. What you should know getting that long of service out of it is what company to buy from! I use Cannon for no other reason than they have served me so well. But haven't had one for even close to 16 yrs!
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I have electronic items which are over 40 years old. If a thing does its job why replace it? Plus there is the point about saving recourses and not throwing out items which can still be of use.

At the moment the only issue with this printer is the blocked nozzles and if this can be fixed it may well then function for years to come and keep on knocking out lovely prints and I do see that as a good thing :D
 
Just before I give up on the Epson and spend my hard earned on a Canon I thought I'd ask a last question... Although I probably know the answer...

I used the cleaning product, waited half an hour and then gave it another squirt. After another 45 minutes I ran two sheets of plain A4 though to clean out any residue and then I did a print with Epson Premium Glossy. All looked good apart from some banding on the leading edge so I squirted some more cleaning fluid in, waited the best part of an hour and then ran through plain A4 and then did a print with Epson Premium Glossy. No improvement.

What I'm getting is either a solid line like a line of dead pixels and some faint banding or nothing really solid just banding in the first inch or so from the leading edge. Just to be sure it's not camera related I did another print taken with a different camera and lens. Same thing. Lines/banding to one degree or another in the first inch or so. It's not consistent, it varies from print to print but it's always there to some degree. I then looked closer and there's banding throughout the whole picture.

So, I assume the printer is a write off?
 
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Don't do any more than 5 nozzle cleans in a row. I would recommend you layout 4 bands of colour cyan, magenta, yellow and black, about an inch thickness per colour. Duplicate to fill the sheet and run through 5 sheet. Choose highest quality but if preferred run through on copier paper.

Do three nozzle cleans and another 2 x 5 sheets tomorrow before writing off, as there could possibly be cleaner residue still on the head?
 
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dcash29 said:
Don't do any more than 5 nozzle cleans in a row. I would recommend you layout 4 bands of colour cyan, magenta, yellow and black, about an inch thickness per colour. Duplicate to fill the sheet and run through 5 sheet. Choose highest quality but if preferred run through on copier paper.

Do three nozzle cleans and another 2 x 5 sheets tomorrow before writing off, as there could possibly be cleaner residue still on the head?
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Thanks.

I've now done 3 cleans, two as per the instructions of if there's heavy blockage do two half an hour apart then I did one more when I spotted there was still a problem.

I'll do as you say tomorrow and if it's just the same I'll get that Canon 200.
 
woof woof said:
Just before I give up on the Epson and spend my hard earned on a Canon I thought I'd ask a last question... Although I probably know the answer...

I used the cleaning product, waited half an hour and then gave it another squirt. After another 45 minutes I ran two sheets of plain A4 though to clean out any residue and then I did a print with Epson Premium Glossy. All looked good apart from some banding on the leading edge so I squirted some more cleaning fluid in, waited the best part of an hour and then ran through plain A4 and then did a print with Epson Premium Glossy. No improvement.

What I'm getting is either a solid line like a line of dead pixels and some faint banding or nothing really solid just banding in the first inch or so from the leading edge. Just to be sure it's not camera related I did another print taken with a different camera and lens. Same thing. Lines/banding to one degree or another in the first inch or so. It's not consistent, it varies from print to print but it's always there to some degree. I then looked closer and there's banding throughout the whole picture.

So, I assume the printer is a write off?
Click to expand...
When my Pixma 9000 MkII went ten toes up I found directions to clean the print head and tried doing that, didn't work so I did it a couple more times and just couldn't get it Checked out a new print head and it was, to me expensive. For a few extra bucks I got the new printer. 9000 now taking up room in the back room, trying to figure out if I want to keep it bad enough to get a new print head. doubt that will happen as can't see putting a new print head in an old printer. But that 9000 was really good to me a long time and my Pixma iP 100 is still with me and going strong. These two printer's have me completely sold on Canon printer's. Tell the truth though, I'd bet someone else has had the same luck with a different brand! ie Woof Woof and his Epson.
 
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Don Fischer said:
When my Pixma 9000 MkII went ten toes up I found directions to clean the print head and tried doing that, didn't work so I did it a couple more times and just couldn't get it Checked out a new print head and it was, to me expensive. For a few extra bucks I got the new printer. 9000 now taking up room in the back room, trying to figure out if I want to keep it bad enough to get a new print head. doubt that will happen as can't see putting a new print head in an old printer. But that 9000 was really good to me a long time and my Pixma iP 100 is still with me and going strong. These two printer's have me completely sold on Canon printer's. Tell the truth though, I'd bet someone else has had the same luck with a different brand! ie Woof Woof and his Epson.
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I doubt very much that my old Epson is worth fixing. I have thought about keeping it as a general document printer but t be honest we don't really have the room for two A3 printers, they just take up too much space.

As above, I'll give it a good go tomorrow and if it's still playing up I'll give up. If I do have to replace it and the next one lasts 15 years instead of 16 I suppose I'll be happy enough :D
 
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