There's a swiper that wipes the nozzle tips. Sometimes it gets hard, or need to be adjusted (if is adjustable), sometimes I just pull it down, to make sure it's wiping the head clean. If you don't have a head cleaning solution, you can use dish detergent, just a drop in the size of a large baby milk bottle is enough. You fill syringes, and the syringes are filled with almost hot water, and with a rubber hose attached, and the Ink Cartridge removed, you flush out the printer head, never puling back on the syringe. Sometimes Ink mixed water will come out of the bottom so do it on a surface,like an aluminum throw away pan, so you don't stain anything..
A good cleaning will solve many problems. You also have to clean the paper rollers, especially if the swiper isn't any good, as they will get contaminated with ink and leave marks. The best thing to do is to print a full color picture of something every week, this keeps the nozzles fresh. Wait any longer than that, and the ink gets hard, and the spray just doesn't come out right out of the nozzle. They are temperamental little machines.
I have lost really nice printers for lack of using them. I have a 13" x 19" Epson I just got going again, but I had to disassemble that printer. Frankly, it wasn't worth it. I only paid $169 for it, and the last time it was available it cost $699. Talk about price swings.
If I start getting into modeling again, I've had a "modelers black" for quite some time, I've been looking at some printers.
I will be buying whatever
www.inkproducts.com recomends, as I can buy bulk ink from them, and they really only recomend printers that they put through the paces.
