Ricoh 3300

[Smitha]

Hello all,

I am having a small issue with my printer and I hope you can advise me if im on the right path to sorting the issue out.

Printer has not been used for a while (10 months) and was kept in a unheated unit.
Moved printer back in to the warm and have run numerous head cleans and head flushings
I am getting horizontal lines across the page (please see image)
Does the paper have a shelf life? would it cause this issue? should I just run a load of prints through to clear?

Any help much appreciated

Andy

[FutureProject]

looks like print head problems, depending on the ink levels you may be better off cutting your losses and shotting the cartriges into a new printer else you could try flushing solution

[Smitha]

the inks are low around 10% so I have ordered fresh cartridges and new paper, don't really want to buy a new printer as this one has not been used much, I may go for the "print a load of images" method to see if it clears it

[FutureProject]

I wouldn't risk putting £200 cartriges in a printer which has head problems, if your willing to waste the ink you have left I would try some head flush before you waste it all then use them to clean out the flush and test

[pisquee]

I'd avoid putting more ink in it until you clear the problems (if you can) it may be worth getting some cleaning fluid and a set of refillable cartridges .
I can't remember how easy it is to get to the print head on a Ricoh, but if you can, cleaning fluid and paper towelsmay be of use too, as I expect there is some dried up ink on the front of your print head, which is being put down onto your paper with every head pass.
Are you likely to be storing the printer out of use for a long period again? If so, you should question whether you need your own printer, or whether you should outsource your transfer production.

[Justin]

Have you followed all the guidelines for checking head alignment etc?

[Smitha]

yes I have gone through all the maintenance options

[Smitha]

the printer will be used daily once I get it going, I will have a look for some info on cleaning the print head manually

[Scotty@BMS]

You may find an improvement the longer your printer sits in the warm. Unheated environments often mean moisture pervading the atmosphere so as he warms up and dries out your 3300 may start feeling a bit happier about life!

[GoonerGary]

I've tried to rescue two printers with a fairly similar issue and failed. Dried blocked ink is probably causing it or damaged heads. But dissolving that dried sublimation ink is near impossible, I've tested most of the raw ingredients of cleaning solutions on printed sheets.

Those cleaning solutions on the market are fine for standard ink, but our ink has different properties and possibly has a different pH level, so normal solutions will not dissolve or could even further clog when it reacts to the ink. The length of time it has taken to attempt to fix them, could have been better spent buying a new printer and earning again.