Epson always clogging, Canon Maxify a better option?

[Jesse]

Hi all,

I've been struggling along with an Epson XP410 for a while now. The biggest problem is that we print so seldom (just a couple pages a week if that) that every time we need it the heads dirty or clogged up and barely work. We end up wasting away all our ink trying to run cleaning cycles, which don't even solve the problem. I have since read about how these cycles can make the problems even worse, but that's all beside the point now because it's gotten so bad that the pages come out practically white and I'm done fighting with this thing.

Because of the long intervals between our prints I started looking towards color laser and wondering if it could be cost effective over time (especially since we're currently wasting tons of ink on cleaning cycles and bad prints).

However, when I went into Best Buy the salesman pointed me towards the Canon Maxify 2320. He claimed the ink system it uses involves vacuum sealing and that it's designed to fix the clogging problem that inkjets can have when they sit idle too long. This, coupled with the large paper capacity and apparently pretty good yield (black xl cartridge claims 1200 pages), makes it seem like a pretty good solution for me, especially for $99.

So is the Maxify a decent machine? Is it really any better at resisting clogging?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Bristolian]

Hi Jesse,

I am a died in the woo lEpson fan but have owned several makes over the years. TBH, I think you will have the same issues no matter which printer you use - the problem is lack of use which allows the ink to dry in the head, caud=sing the blockage. Yes, this can be very difficult to clear and can use up tons of that valuable liquid. I guess I'm lucky as I make several prints every day so blockages are non-existant for me.

Canon ink cartridges have the heads built into them whereas the print heads in an Epson are part of the printer itself. This gives Canon users the advantage of changing the cartridge changes the head and therefore removes the problem. Of course, that can be expensive too

There is a rather messy way of clearing blockages in Epson printers but it does work. You will need a syringe, several cotton buds, plenty of kitchen roll and some isopropyl alcahol. Remove the ink cartridges. Wet a cotton bud with alcahol and clean the area that the cartridges normally fit into the head. Load the syringe with alcahol and pump that into the the hole in the head where the ink normally goes - this is where it gets messy. Eventually the alcahol will dissolve the ink clogging up the heads and pour out into the inside of the printer - use the kitchen roll to mop it up. Once you have unblocked all the heads and mopped up all the spillage leave the printer for several hours to let the alcahol evaporate and you should be good to go.

If that doesn't appeal then get a new printer