Whilst having a sort out at home I came across my old Epson R300 printer which had been stuck in the loft for over 4 years. The ink cartridges were still in the printer cradle and with most Epson printers having a separate print head to the cartridges I feared that the print head on my printer was blocked with dried up ink.
I replaced all the cartridges with a fresh set I had purchased on Amazon and then did some random printouts; I was not getting the results I was expecting!
After a couple ‘Head Cleaning’ cycles I reprinted the images/text etc that I did previously so I can compare the two sets of prints to see if there was any positive change in quality, but my printouts had lines going through where the ink had not ejected from the ‘Print Head’ onto the paper.
So I decided to fix my old printer and at the same time write this post. I’m hoping this guide will help you fix your printer.
This will be a two part guide; this post will explain everything you need to know in order to remove the Print Head from the printer, at the bottom of the page will be a link that will take you to my second guide (Second guide will be published soon) which walks you through the steps to clean your printer head from blockages caused by dried ink.
The instructions provided in this guide is for reference purposes only. By following this guide you agree and accept that I take no responsibility for any damage to your printer. Only proceed if you are competent to carry out the following instructions otherwise please take your printer to a reputable company that can repair any problems you maybe experiencing.
Tools required:
- 1x Philips Head Screwdriver
- 2x Small Flat Head Scredriver
- 1x Syringe
Lets Get Started!
Step:
1: Plug in printer and lift up the top cover to reveal the ink carriage.
2: Switch off the printer either from the mains or pull out the power cable when the ‘Ink Carriage moves across to the opposite side of the printer.
3: The Ink Carriage is now free, slide it back to the ‘Ink Replacement Position’.
4: Disengage the top lid and open fully, Get your ‘Philips Head’ Screwdriver to hand.
5. Remove the following 12 screws then 2disengage the lid using an upward motion
6: On the Back Plate locate 1two small holes. 2Insert two small ‘Flat Head’ screwdrivers in each hole then 3pull outwards (Towards yourself). 4Lift and Remove the ‘Back Plate’.
7: Now we need to remove a plate on the outer side of the ‘Ink Carriage’. 1Remove the small screw, 2Using an outwards first then downwards motion remove the ‘Outer Side Plate’, 3I found using your index and middle finger worked best for this (See pic 3 below), 4Lift and remove the ‘Side Plate’.
8: Using your fingers free the Plastic Ribbon Cables. Be careful as you do this.
9: Withing the Ink Carriage remove 1Two screws that hold the ‘Print Head’ in place, 2With one hand lift the ‘Print Head’ and with the 3Other hand fish the ‘Plastic Ribbon Cable’ through the hole slightly then 4Unplug the two cables from the ‘Print Head’, 5Lift and remove the ‘Print Head’.
10: You have successfully removed the ‘Print Head from your printer.
So there you have it, This took me between 15-20 minutes to get to this stage. If you are following my guide as you go along then it may take you a little longer but just take your time. I have tried to make this guide as in depth as possible and added all the relevant pics to help see you through.
The Second guide will be published soon.
Ends