It's been a while since I have updated the blog, and will try to add some useful information on a more regular basis!
Today I wanted to explain a common problem that I am seeing come into the store with the Epson Pro 3800 & 3880 printers. We have seen a increase in the numbers of this printer coming in with black drops of ink on the paper, most of the time on the left side as the paper is exiting the printer.
This problem will also cause a few other symptoms that you might be encountering, including:
- Drops of black ink dropping onto the paper during print operations, these usually are not small drops, but large black drops of ink.
- The yellow color will sometimes not appear yellow anymore, it is instead darker then usual, and sometimes almost a grey shade. This is caused by the leaking black ink which is located right next to the yellow color on the bottom of the printhead, and the yellow ink is getting tainted with the black ink during prints.
- Eventually the Photo black ink will stop printing completely. You may be able to print with the Matte black ink, but when in Photo black mode and you do a nozzle check, a very small section if any at all will appear on the page.
The Ink System Assembly needs to be replaced to resolve this issue. You can contact us at the store for more information, and a quote on service prices.
I love the Epson Pro 3800 & 3880, but we have seen enough of these printers with similar problems to know that sometime during the life of the unit, you will typically encounter this problem.
13 comments:
Help - I have the Epson 3800 photo black leak problem you describe! How much to repair it? Or is it time for a new printer?!
Thanks,
Cody in Tucson
Cody,
How did you fix this situation? I am currently encountering the same problem!
What was the cost of repair?
Dave
Cody / Dfisher,
To resolve this issue, the Ink System Assembly needs to be replaced. That is the part that contains the ink bays for the cartridges, the tubes that connect the bay to the valve/damper assembly, and the valve assembly itself. Epson only sells that as one part, and in the US that part retails for right about $199.00. Right now we charge two hours of labor to replace the part, so typically our repair costs are right about $400 USD parts and labor. In addition, you will need at least 20% in each ink cartridge in order to refill the new part that has empty ink tubes. The photo black cartridge also needs to be replaced as ink has leaked from that cartridge, and the printer will say there is ink inside, but of course since ink has leaked the actual amount of ink remaining inside the cartridge is less than what the printer is reporting. Hope this info helps!
Yep, I replaced my ink pump assembly for around $500, actually. (It's apparently difficult and messy to replace). Then I found out my print head was also bad. The repair guy had mercy, though, and replaced that for free - I just had to pay for the part! ...so, roughly $600+ later I have a working printer again. Was it worth it? I'm not sure. Frankly, with 20-20 hindsight, I think I would have rather put that $600 towards the new model they just came out with! (Or the Canon 17" equivalent they just came out with!)
Yeah, and per MitchC's comments, I forgot about the extra $100+ I spent on 2 photo black cartridges that leaked out all over the inside of the printer, almost immediately after installing them!
Very frustrating! I have a 3 year old Stylus Pro 3880 and first the Photo Black stopped working. It took me almost a month to get the print head cleaned with a solution of windex and alcohol (you tube video instructions) and then when I installed a new Photo Black cartridge thinking that might now get my Photo Black back (the previous cartridge still showed as having some ink) then the black streaks of ink started showing on the edges of my prints. At $65 per cartridge I now have a printer that I cannot print photographs with and hundreds of dollars of ink cartridges that I have not used yet. What a waste of $$! A little over a month ago I was printing tons of fine art photographs with no problem. Epson has instructed me to check to see if there was a certified repair shop nearby but with the closest almost an hour away and the information from others with the same problem stating the pump assembly replacement at $500 I doubt I will do that. Time to log onto B&H website and order a new printer. Looks like this one will wind up being an e-mail printer from here on in. Epson really needs to get their act together and provide printers that are easily serviced by the owners. I have an HP desktop printer at my office and if a printhead gets clogged I just order a new one and replace easily.
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Nice Post! Wonderful to know that there are posts related to printer service. Being a service person in hp printer service center I had to learn a lot from my seniors. The issues mentioned in the post are very right because not only the printer mechanism but also cartridge toners can also cause print issues. Dark patches, lines at the end, blank space in between are all related to cartridge toners also.
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