[Rockyisle47]

Thanks everyone for your cleaning suggestions. Having sold computer printers for a living, back in the day, I'm fully aware of the ups and downs of ink jet printing. I really liked the Eco Tank approach which is why I spent the extra bucks to buy it in the first place.
For now, I'll limp along with just the black print which will be fine. And, I do agree that fixing printers can cost more than the cost of a new one. Having been in the business, I know full well that we could have given them away because we made our money/margins on the toner, ink, etc...
I'll keep plugging along with trying to get the nozzles to free up.
All the best.

[willis100]

When the printer has not been used for an extended period of time, take each cartridge out and then wipe face with alcohol-water mix (50-50). This will loosen the clogged, dried ink and they will work again when reinstalled.

[dougawhite]

NEVER leave an inkjjet printer turned off! They need to stay powered on so they can periodically clean their ink jets.
To revive one you have to manually move the heads back and forth while you have a rag under them that is soaked with ethyl alcohol.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

There's probably something stuck in it (like a staple, or a stuck piece of a sticker or label, or the corner of a dog-eared page that tore off).

Shut the printer off, unplug it, get some canned air, lift the document feeder up from the platen (as if you were going to make a single copy of something without using the document feeder), and spray into it for a few short bursts. That will probably loosen whatever's stuck in there.

Just don't spray for seconds at a time, that can cause damage. Short bursts only.

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately I've done all that already.

I did find the problem: on the paper feed there are two little metal tabs that the paper encounters as soon as it starts to feed in from the top and that retract as soon as the paper hits them. one retracts; the other doesn't. I can re-set the problem tab to the correct position and one page will feed correctly, but the tab immediately goes back to non-retracting and the next page doesn't feed correctly, instead wandering off at an angle and wrinkling. The tabs are housed in something that appears to be non-accessible. I can either keep using it as is, manually putting pages on the scanner glass--a bit slower but then again I'm not much in a hurry for anything these days.

I had planned on replacing it with an Epson Eco-Tank 8500--prints up to 13 x 19 which is an attractive feature--but the demand for them puts them in the category of "not available unless you want to pay through the nose". They were first listed at $599, but just about the only place that has them now is Amazon and when I checked last month they had jacked up the price into the $$900 range.

[villagetinker]

OP, back when I had a color ink jet I went through the clogged jet problem a few times, and did all of the cleaning suggestions. I finally found the problem was that the print head had actually failed and a new one was MORE than the cost of a new printer. That was the final straw and I bought Brother Laser printers, a black and white for general printing and a color when needed.

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

OP, back when I had a color ink jet I went through the clogged jet problem a few times, and did all of the cleaning suggestions. I finally found the problem was that the print head had actually failed and a new one was MORE than the cost of a new printer. That was the final straw and I bought Brother Laser printers, a black and white for general printing and a color when needed.

Great advice, we use a Brother Laser black and white. Prints super fast, toner is relatively inexpensive, easy to change, doesn’t require cleaning, and lasts a very long time. After a short while, you will never want to go back to a color inkjet. In the rare event we need to print something in color, put the file on a thumb drive and bring it to a print shop.

[Marine1974]

I just bought a new wireless HP printer , fax and scanner for $159 .
No more dedicated landline anymore .

[fixit6404]

Originally Posted by Rockyisle47

Looking for someone who does computer printer repairs. My Epson 2720 Ecotank needs some help. We've been gone for 4 months and the color ink jets are clogged. Black is working fine after a few tries, but the color ones must be jammed with ink. I've done all the prescribed cleanings with no change. I've looked on Youtube and am not willing to take the plunge to clean the heads myself.

Any recommendations would be wonderful.. Thanks in advance.

Look for the video on you tube that shows how to clean the heads with a folded up paper towel and ammonia. I have had to clean ours twice over the last 4 years and it did the trick fine both times. I got the ammonia at the dollar store and it is a simple job. I have seen some videos showing taking the heads apart and squirting in solvent and it looks complicated. The way I did it you slide the head back and forth over the soaked folded paper towel a few times then just let the head sit on top of the towel 3-4 hours. works great!

[kkingston57]

[QUOTE=kathyspear;2018784]When we were snowbirding we found that the ink always dried out while we were gone. Inkjets are just not practical unless they are used regularly. You can get a brand name b&w laser printer for $150 and up on Amazon. Unless you really need color printing, I would suggest a monochrome laser printer. (My HP Laserjet 1012 was purchased in 2005 for <$100 and is still going strong!)

Good luck.

For non color, laser is the way to go. Had same printer. It was a battleship,

[airstreamingypsy]

Toss the inkjet and get a laserjet, they never dry out.

[Villages Kahuna]

You’ll probably discover that getting an old printer repaired and ink cartridges replaced will cost more than buying a new printer—and it won’t be close. And a new printer will come with all new ink cartridges!

We’re only a month from Black Friday. I’d await the best sales of the year,

[Shadow8IA]

I have this problem every year. Epson told me to take out the ink which doesn’t always work. By the time you do a few cleanings it uses up the ink & you don’t want to replace them if it’s going to be clogged. My solution… I buy a new cheap one then they replace it free the next year under the one year warranty. Then the next year I buy another. Sometimes they don’t dry out so I get a 2nd year. I got a free one last year so I need to buy a new one now. There was a laser printer in the house when we bought it but I’m never tried to see if it works.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

This is my third printer in over 20 years. The second one I gave to my sister after winning this one. All three have been HP inkjets. The first one lasted almost 10 of the 20 years. Not sure why people have so many problems with them. My #1 gripe with mine is that it sometimes randomly stops communicating with wifi, and I get notifications from HP Instant Ink that I have to re-set it so they can tell if they need to send me more ink.

[thelegges]

We have 3 printers, at each house. Since they are WiFi connected I print a single page with black/white, and color every week, no matter where I am. Never have problems. One, cartridge, laser, and tank. When one dies I just buy a new one, my geek guy said it’s practical to buy, than repair.

Black Friday already advertised starting first of November. Tanks are in the mix, reasonably priced.

[casqueglia@gmail.com]

If it is not working after running through all of the trouble shooting, it is time to buy a new one. I just bought an epsom Xp4105 that has everything including cloud printing for $49 on Walmart.com