First, I am sorry about your clog.  Second, I feel your pain.  Third, so does half the world…

Through MYX900.com I get contacted by Epson Stylus Pro 4900, 7900, 9900, and 11880 users from all over the world.  USA, Asia, Africa, New Zealand, Brazil, Italy, Canada, Germany and on and on.  This is great because each user offers their experience, their struggles, and as a result I gain knowledge.

If you area facing an un-clearable clog on your machine, based on my experiences and those that have been shared with me, you might try the following:

1 – Step one on the journey to clear deadly clogs is to call Epson at (562) 276-1305 .  But chances are unless you are prepared to spend about as much money to fix your machine as you did to buy it, you’ll leave the phone call still searching for answers.  …On to step two

2 – If you own an Epson Stylus Pro printer with an X900 head you are no stranger to nozzle clogs or cleanings.  Still this is step one, so try some standard cleanings – but understand them first HERE.

3 – If standard cleanings don’t clear your clogs try pairs cleanings in service mode, there are four different levels of intensity.  Finally if your deadly clogs persist, try SS Cleanings but they can be dangerous.  Flowing ink not only creates color on paper, but it acts as a coolant inside a piezoelectric head on it’s way to the paper.  A clogged head has reduced ink flow and therefore is a hot head as well, so understand SS Cleanings before you try them so you don’t fry your head – HERE

4 – Once you have tried all of the above cleanings and your most stubborn clogs are still not clear – you are most likely scared, you hate Epson, the thought of buying more expensive ink carts to flush down the sewer makes you ill, and you feel abandoned….  but if you’re anything like me you still somehow innocently cling to hope that your next nozzle test will be a clear nozzle test.  Trust me, it won’t be.  Not if you keep this pace.   …On to step five

5 – Here is where my friends from New Zealand to Africa, the UK to the US – all of the emails research and experimentation are paying off.  There actually IS hope.  One Epson Stylus Pro 4900 user, a guy by the name of John Schwaller, actually cleared an un-clearable clog by refilling the printer with ink.  It’s the first step in your printer’s life – to fill itself with ink – the dampers, the lines, and the head.  This process is called an “Ink Charge”.  If you go into the service mode, under cleanings, you will find the ink charge option last on the list.  It is not possible to charge pairs only, but it is possible to charge just one side of the machine rather than both.  That helps save ink, a little.  What John told me was he performed a few ink charge processes.  His machine was a 4900, so the lines aren’t very long, which leads me to believe a 4900 is the least expensive machine to try this on.  Either way it’s a roll of the dice.  There is no danger here though, except to your wallet.  Charging your machine does not fire the nozzles in the head, so there is no danger of overheating them.  I have not tested this, yet, but I expect this process – when you already have ink-filled lines to begin with – must push a ton of ink through your clogged head, effectively flushing it.    …which brings us to step six

6 – While it is very tempting I know, the thought of removing your X900 head and soaking it in Windex, Simple Green, your mother’s favorite cake mix or even gasoline (trust me I have tried them all, including ultrasonic cleanings) this is dangerous territory.  The internals of your amazingly tiny piezoelectric maze of a printhead are exceptionally fragile.  It is therefore best to leave the application of fluid pressure to the engineers who created this clog-monster of a machine in the first place – leave the head in place.  Should I say that again?  LEAVE THE HEAD IN PLACE until you have no intentions of using it again.  But before you declare your X900 head dead and replace it, there’s one more thing to try – an ink charge series using cleaning carts filled with Epson’s own cleaning fluid.  I don’t know yet if this will work, but I will by the end of this week.  Stay tuned for updates!

Eric