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IceEnclosure · Jun 2, 2008, 07:09 AM

I've been doing quite a bit of printing with my Epson Stylus Photo 1400 printer, including some 13x19" prints. Everything looks awesome. I knew I'd be notified pretty soon by the printer utility that I was running low on ink, and I have a set of store-bought Epson inks for my printer waiting to be installed.

Well today, I was informed that "light cyan" was low and to replace it. I used the utility which puts the ink tanks in their changing position, easily clicked out the old and clicked in the new(after removing the yellow protective strip). Closed it back up and clicked the "next" button in the utility which is supposed to charge the ink. Minutes later, with the printer still flashing, it continues to report that light cyan is low and to replace it. The previously flashing red light on the printer now glows steady(no doubt a "you suck" light).

I've popped all of the inks out, popped them all back in, same thing. I've restarted the computer and unplugged the printer power and usb. I haven't trashed any prefs, would it be a good idea? I've re-downloaded the Epson software (mine is up-to-date), thinking of reinstalling it.

Any advice?

I've been printing lots of beautiful 13x19" skies, hence the need for more cyan:

ghporter · Jun 2, 2008, 08:47 AM

Was the tank an "genuine Epson" tank? I think it was Epson that pioneered "screw the customer, they HAVE to buy our ink or their printer won't work" method of sales. Their cartridges (like Dell's) have some sort of chip that identifies them as "genuine" and if you don't use that, the printer refuses to work.

OreoCookie · Jun 2, 2008, 08:54 AM

Epson uses chips in their inktanks to prevent other manufacturers from offering cheaper replacement ink tanks (they use, yes, you've guessed it, in part the DCMA). My guess is that your replacement ink tank's chip is malfunctioning, I'd bring it back to the store and replace it with another one.

IceEnclosure · Jun 2, 2008, 09:11 AM

They were store-bought Epson inks, as I said. I might agree that I got a bad one, finding the receipt for it will be a challenge.

ghporter · Jun 2, 2008, 09:47 AM

I missed the part about 'em being genuine Epson too. Have you cleaned the cartridge contacts in the cradle?

IceEnclosure · Jun 2, 2008, 10:09 AM

I haven't done that, you mean the electronic contacts between the ink tank and the printer? or where the ink goes into the printer?

IceEnclosure · Jun 2, 2008, 10:53 AM

Just got off the phone with Epson, they think the replacement ink cartridge I put in is busted, so they're sending me a new one. That's nice of them. Meanwhile, I'm off to the store to BUY one anyhow because I gotta print!

Let me not re-visit this thread in an hour freaking out about how the newly purchased ink cartridge doesn't work either!

OreoCookie · Jun 2, 2008, 11:04 AM

Good luck!
I'm glad your pics don't just stay on your computer.

IceEnclosure · Jun 2, 2008, 11:32 AM

I love printing! I have a Canon iP5000 that I've loved for a few years, prints excellent photos, but I stumbled upon the Epson Stylus Photo 1400 on BB's website for an erroneous $68 so I had to scoop that up!

Oh, and I just went to the store, got a new light cyan, and I'm back in business!

OreoCookie · Jun 2, 2008, 11:52 AM

Lucky bastard

You're right, $68 is to good an offer to pass up. They sell for €300~350 here (about $450~525!)

IceEnclosure · Jun 2, 2008, 12:34 PM

yeah but at the price I paid for the printer, to fill it with ink costs almost 2x the cost of the printer!

ghporter · Jun 2, 2008, 06:11 PM

At least it works! If cleaning the contacts between the tank and the printer hadn't fixed it, then calling Epson would have been the next step. You just jumped past the cleaning step.

Have you had any issues with the ink clogging the jets on this printer, or do you print so often that the ink never dries in the print heads? I had an Epson a long time ago and because I didn't print much color for a while it just clogged up—permanently. I have another, low-end Epson sitting in its box because I haven't "needed" to print in color for a long time, and I have not opened it up for fear I'll get it clogged when I don't print for a week or two.

IceEnclosure · Jun 2, 2008, 11:22 PM

I've only had this Epson for a few months, and yes I've been printing from it pretty heavily. I did read about needing to print every now and then to keep the heads from drying out(on Epsons) but I don't know if that applies directly to the 1400.

I also have a Canon photo printer and it can sit idle for a couple months and still churn out a nice print.

ghporter · Jun 3, 2008, 08:38 AM

Since I finally have a really nice camera AND something I want to photograph (my cats) and send physical prints of through the mail, I've been thinking about unboxing that printer and playing with it. I guess I can always set iCal to give me a reminder to print something now and then, just to keep the printer working...

OreoCookie · Jun 3, 2008, 10:50 AM

I thought about getting a big printer in addition to my bw laser (which has printed over 20k pages), but I decided against it. Instead I went for a dye-sublimation printer (Olympus P-11) which can print 4x6 photos in great quality and I don't have to worry about inks drying out. If I want something bigger, I have it printed in the city center (takes about an hour). It's much cheaper in the end.

If I had seen an Epson A3 photo printer for $70, I'd go for it, of course