[ReasonTee]

Hello all,
I think it's time to admit my Epson F2000 SureColor printer needs a new printhead. I purchased it cheap used from Zazzle when they were closing. I had to replace some parts, such as the left side ink holder station. I went through and did a thorough clean and replace any basic maintenance parts as well as some internal components (left ink holder and cap station). Right now, white disappears almost immediately and requires medium head cleans, usually two, to get back up and working. All other colors require light head cleans after printing about 10 garments.

So far, I have found that working on the Epson F2000 printer is very easy, easier than working on a server. The company that Epson uses to install printheads wants $1000 for labor and offers only a 90 day warranty. That seems.... excessive. Especially since it seems pretty straight forward.


I was curious, are there any DIY'ers out there that have replaced their F2000 printhead themselves? Any advice? Recommendations? How did it go?


Thanks!

Ryan

 

[TABOB]

Piece of cake.


Remove the dumperunit (4 screws on either side)
Remove the black clip on the right
Pull dumper unit out and disconnect the ribbons


Now you will see the head which is held by 3 screws
One is obvious and the other 2 are on the left and right of the small ribbons.
That's it....you can now pull the print-head out.

 

[ReasonTee]

Yeah, it looks pretty easy and straight forward. Epson is trying to get me to not install it myself saying I need the proprietary software for calibrating. I never had the Epson tech software before, and replacing printheads in previous Epson 1400(s) was fine. They said the same thing with the ink holder, saying I needed software to control the pressure. Funny, ink holder installed just fine.

So Tabob, how did your printer work after replacing the printhead? Was it up and running strong, no longer wasting ink on too many print head cleanings?


Thanks for the reply!

 

[TABOB]

They are not Epson...
They are subcontractors and want to make money.


The printer works fine if you put a genuine head in it. The only problem is when you put one intended for a Chinese printer. These are locked, and will not work.


Just put it in and the printer knows what to do.


Any problems, you can still go to Epson for support. You don't have to tell them you changed the head. Tell them nothing. I did this once with another model, and the charged me something like $60 to fix the issue.

 

[chasser70]

People sell the service program for the F2000 on Ebay. You can purchase it there and input the new print head's serial number into the program and you should be set. However, it doesn't seem the program works with Windows 10. You need Windows 7 or XP.

 

[ReasonTee]

@TABOB, thank you for sharing and the reassurance. I am going to order the parts today.
@chasser, good to know! Thank you for the heads up. I have already found eBay listings just like you said. I didn't think to look on eBay only because it seems like Epson has such a tight death grip on anything related to repairing the Epson F2000. I had searched high and low online for the app but never thought to look on eBay. Maybe I have an old laptop somewhere with Win 7 or XP....

 

[TABOB]

I think you only need that software if you have reached the counter limit. I might be wrong though.

 

[schenk]

you need it to take the pressure off the lines. if you do it without the software make sure you have many cloths around to soak up some ink possibly coming from the lines. or let the printer sit unplugged overnight. that will help.

 

[TABOB]

Well... I removed the head to unclog it a few times, and I put it back without any software. I leave the damper unit attached to the ink lines of course.

 

[chasser70]

I removed the ink lines without using the software when I was changing the dampers. Get some dog pee pads and lay them out below the print head. The ink will start running out of the lines once you remove 2 or 3 screws but the ink will run onto the pads you laid down and not the printer itself. An Epson tech taught me this when he changed out my print head a few years back. He said he doesn't use the software to decompress the inklines because it wastes more time and ink.

 

[gatorGRAFIX]

So, are you up and running yet? I am sure curious to hear the outcome.

 

[schenk]

Well... I removed the head to unclog it a few times, and I put it back without any software. I leave the damper unit attached to the ink lines of course.

yes you right my comment was more for replacing the damper, i forgot how it looks in there, was a while ago

 

[lordhelemt]

If you haven’t already replaced the print head you may want to look at your capping station. If you can get the nozzles to clear the print head is not clogged. My bet is you need a new capping station. It’s about $200 and an easy fix


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ReasonTee]

Hi again all,
Ok, I need to pick your brains again. I have indeed changed the printhead and duct assembly. Yes, it made a mess . Now, the white prints fine after only a light printhead clean and stays good. However, all of the CMYK colors, especially black, are missing a 3rd of the lines in a nozzle check. I can print about 10 images fine and then I start to get banding and colors dropping out. Also, the black has lost it's clear precise lines - it's printing "fuzzy". I ensured everything is clean around the printhead. I also removed the filter from the dump area.

I replaced the entire cap station and the left-hand ink holder months ago. As the left-hand ink holder has been replaced, which also includes the pumps, I am wondering if I am having a pump issue. I know the printhead is good.

I bought the software but can't get the printer and PC to talk to each other through the Epson tech software. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[TABOB]

Hi again all,
Ok, I need to pick your brains again. I have indeed changed the printhead and duct assembly. Yes, it made a mess . Now, the white prints fine after only a light printhead clean and stays good. However, all of the CMYK colors, especially black, are missing a 3rd of the lines in a nozzle check. I can print about 10 images fine and then I start to get banding and colors dropping out. Also, the black has lost it's clear precise lines - it's printing "fuzzy". I ensured everything is clean around the printhead. I also removed the filter from the dump area.

I replaced the entire cap station and the left-hand ink holder months ago. As the left-hand ink holder has been replaced, which also includes the pumps, I am wondering if I am having a pump issue. I know the printhead is good.

I bought the software but can't get the printer and PC to talk to each other through the Epson tech software. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

For the service software, I'm suspecting the problem is your OS. I still use windows 7 because of problems like this.



The issue with the colors missing lines after a few prints is most likely due to ink starvation. I'd run the tube wash maintenance for one of the colors, and see if the problem goes away. If yes, do the others as well.

 

[ReasonTee]

@TABOB, I was thinking the same thing but I wasn't sure where to start. I was thinking maybe I have another pump out somewhere. I know the cap station is good. I didn't think it was the scale or CR encoder, as white looks great. I figured the printhead doesn't need adjustments either, as the four whites look great on a nozzle check. It's just the CYMK and mostly the black. Also, the left side ink holder has been replaced, which includes the pump for the yellow, but yellow also has a 3rd of the lines missing.

I am guessing I need the tech software to work for the single color tube wash maintenance, correct? Not referring to a standard end of the day cap station tube wash here but a tube wash as if I am putting it into storage mode, correct? I am running Windows 10 on all my PC's, I was guessing that was my issue - the Windows 10 virtual app doesn't really work well. If I can't get the appt to work, I could just put it in storage mode. Wouldn't do the same thing as a full system tube wash?

I must say, this is frustrating - I change the printhead to fix white printing and now my CMYK is all messed up.

I can't stress this enough, your help is greatly appreciated.

 

[TABOB]

I am guessing I need the tech software to work for the single color tube wash maintenance, correct?

You don't need the service software, and you don't have to put it into storage mode either. You can do just one color, just as you do the white...The procedure is the same. Have you not noticed the color sub-menu? It is also mentioned in the manual, as "optional" maintenance. You could of course use the storage mode if you like, and flush everything, but that's a lot of waste, without knowing if this is the problem. I'd try one color first.


Just out of curiosity, and obviously helping others facing the same problem... The print-head worked by just putting in, just as I said... no?

 

[ReasonTee]

Ok, so I figured out what I was missing. I remembered the printer offering the option of tube cleaning all color lines but couldn't recall why it was missing. I discovered that when I updated the firmware and set the printer to Eco tube wash, the option for a full-color tube cleaning is no longer available. I changed it back to standard and the option for tube washing the color lines was available. It does not provide the option to clean a specific color, only all color lines.

I ran a full tube wash for the color and it charged the lines after swapping the cleaning carts out and the color carts back in. The Cyan and Magenta came back beautifully. The yellow and black continued to have a handful of broken lines when running a nozzle check - always the exact same spots. However, the black and yellow looked great except for the few broken lines. Before, I was missing about a 3rd of the lines on all CMYK.

So, I spent a quick 20 minutes and opened the printhead cover, carefully popped the duct assembly off, and ran some Printhead 911 through the yellow and black nozzles. Sure enough, had some minor blockage but the printhead cleaner opened it up real quick and easy.

After reassembling I ran two light head cleans and one medium. The blocked nozzles were back, but it was having ink starvation again, as I had disassembled the duct assembly from the printhead. The black and yellow ink was getting low, but I had enough to run a full tube wash again to charge the lines. Well, even though I ran it on color only, the printer was using up white ink and now I am all out of white ink for slot 2.

Now the printer wont come out of the cleaning mode until it gets a new white ink cart installed. In the meantime, I can't finish the tube wash, complete a cap station/tube cleaning, or put it in storage mode while I wait for new ink carts. By the time the cart gets here, I will probably have to clean the printhead again and charge all the lines.

So I am stuck waiting for an order of printer carts.

I will post an update once the cleaning carts are here.

 

[TABOB]

Ok, so I figured out what I was missing. I remembered the printer offering the option of tube cleaning all color lines but couldn't recall why it was missing. I discovered that when I updated the firmware and set the printer to Eco tube wash, the option for a full-color tube cleaning is no longer available. I changed it back to standard and the option for tube washing the color lines was available. It does not provide the option to clean a specific color, only all color lines.

I ran a full tube wash for the color and it charged the lines after swapping the cleaning carts out and the color carts back in. The Cyan and Magenta came back beautifully. The yellow and black continued to have a handful of broken lines when running a nozzle check - always the exact same spots. However, the black and yellow looked great except for the few broken lines. Before, I was missing about a 3rd of the lines on all CMYK.

So, I spent a quick 20 minutes and opened the printhead cover, carefully popped the duct assembly off, and ran some Printhead 911 through the yellow and black nozzles. Sure enough, had some minor blockage but the printhead cleaner opened it up real quick and easy.

After reassembling I ran two light head cleans and one medium. The blocked nozzles were back, but it was having ink starvation again, as I had disassembled the duct assembly from the printhead. The black and yellow ink was getting low, but I had enough to run a full tube wash again to charge the lines. Well, even though I ran it on color only, the printer was using up white ink and now I am all out of white ink for slot 2.

Now the printer wont come out of the cleaning mode until it gets a new white ink cart installed. In the meantime, I can't finish the tube wash, complete a cap station/tube cleaning, or put it in storage mode while I wait for new ink carts. By the time the cart gets here, I will probably have to clean the printhead again and charge all the lines.

So I am stuck waiting for an order of printer carts.

I will post an update once the cleaning carts are here.

This looks exactly like what I would say, if asked why I got rid of this printer. Not that other printers are better, but I like to control of the machine, instead of the machine telling me what to do.
I'm pretty sure I was able to select the color for the cleaning... but it's been more than a year, so I don't remember exactly how. Possibly a different firmware version.

 

[chasser70]

Do you have an update? I am having similar issues. I do a cleaning and get a good nozzle check. After printing a few shirts, I begin to get drop out on the yellow and white. I did a tube wash, ran printhead 911 through the head and still the same issue. I changed the capping station/suction and CR ducts last month but am still having these issues. Any other advice?