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Forgive the slightly OT posting, but this group has a lot of experienced printer users on it.

I'm trying to stop this printer from dropping ink spots all the way down my A3 prints.

I've found two sponges, either side of the carriage, and they are swimming in ink, no exaggeration.

The LH one came out easy, but the RH one seems to have six hard bits in it.

Can anyone tell me if I can just lever out this sponge or are these some sort of sensor?

There is also a white "wick" hanging nearby and disappearing "down below", again this is dripping with ink.

Any suggestions for getting this apart without damaging the printer.

I've heard there is a sensor there somewhere which stops the printer working after so many cleans.

Were you using non-Epson cartridges?

Hi Bob,
Sounds like you've needed to run a cleaning cycle nearly every time you
need to print. I can't remember the link to where I found this info, but
what you need to do is push the yellow button as if you were going to
change ink carts. When the carriage gets to the changing position,
unplug the printer. Don't turn it off, just unplug it. Get some paper
towel, fold it up, and use it as a sponge. When you get the majority of
it mopped up, you can also do the windex trick. Using some paper towel
again, fold it lengthwise until it will fit in the space between the
rubber rollers and the pizza wheels. Some people tape it in place. Soak
it in windex, then grab the ink carriage and drag it across the paper
towel a few times. You will be amazed at the amount of crud that comes
off. Use another paper towel and do it again. Replace the ink carriage
at the changing position. Then clean the rubber rollers with paper towel
and windex. Plug in the printer. Print a test pattern, clean if
necessary. Worked wonders for me.
Tom

Bob wrote:

>Forgive the slightly OT posting, but this group has a lot of experienced printer users on it.
>
>I'm trying to stop this printer from dropping ink spots all the way down my A3 prints.
>
>I've found two sponges, either side of the carriage, and they are swimming in ink, no exaggeration.
>
>The LH one came out easy, but the RH one seems to have six hard bits in it.
>
>Can anyone tell me if I can just lever out this sponge or are these some sort of sensor?
>
>There is also a white "wick" hanging nearby and disappearing "down below", again this is dripping with ink.
>
>Any suggestions for getting this apart without damaging the printer.
>
>I've heard there is a sensor there somewhere which stops the printer working after so many cleans.
>
>
>
>

>From: "Bob"

>Forgive the slightly OT posting, but this group has a lot of experienced
>printer users on it.

>I'm trying to stop this printer from dropping ink spots all the way down my
>A3 prints.

>I've found two sponges, either side of the carriage, and they are swimming in
>ink, no exaggeration.
>
>The LH one came out easy, but the RH one seems to have six hard bits in it.
>
>Can anyone tell me if I can just lever out this sponge or are these some sort
>of sensor?

Look to the right, underneath where the ink cartridges normally "park." You'll
see a rectangular area which is actually 3 very thin sponges stacked together.
When these get totally saturated the ink gets on the bottom of the cartridge
and gets dragged along the print. It's a real ****er.

But fear not!
With some careful effort and at least one sharp object (I used an Exacto knife)
you can pry the sponges out where they can be easily washed and dried. Then
simply clean everything you can see, reinsert the sponges and go back to
printing.

If I recall correctly, the sponge assembly sits on a spring-loaded thingy so be
careful not to twist it or break it during the operation.
Patience sinks the putt.

Good luck.

In article <W%yTb.2065$>,
"Bob" <> wrote:

> Forgive the slightly OT posting, but this group has a lot of experienced
> printer users on it.
>
> I'm trying to stop this printer from dropping ink spots all the way down my
> A3 prints.
>
> I've found two sponges, either side of the carriage, and they are swimming in
> ink, no exaggeration.
>
> The LH one came out easy, but the RH one seems to have six hard bits in it.
>
> Can anyone tell me if I can just lever out this sponge or are these some sort
> of sensor?
>
> There is also a white "wick" hanging nearby and disappearing "down below",
> again this is dripping with ink.
>
> Any suggestions for getting this apart without damaging the printer.
>
> I've heard there is a sensor there somewhere which stops the printer working
> after so many cleans.
>
>

I set my 1270 on on the mailbox with a "Free" sign so I can't do an
autopsy. It appears that the pump under the head cap fails.

Start up a print job then grab the print head so it can't park. Turn
off the power. Use a vacuum cleaner to suck the ink out of the pads at
the sides of the platen. Use a clean vacuum bag just in case you need
to find anything that comes loose. Power it back up and it will be
drip-free for a month or two before the pad in the head cap saturates
again.