Epson R200 Gone down the pooper

[spector]

Well, I just cant get this damn thing to work.

I think the JLW Sales CIS might have been the fatal wound to my printer, since I took that off I cant get a damn thing to work right.

I bought a replacement set of carts after i chucked the CIS system from one of the places recommended around here, cant remember the name but the carts have CTC on the box.

Anyways, getting these carts didnt help any. It started off with all the colors appearing to work fine besides the magenta which wouldnt show up at all on nozzle checks. Then it started to show up a little and i started to get excited but that was premature, stupid me. Today Magenta showed up all the way, yay! Except the yellow and light magenta were all messed up on the nozzle check. It seems with every nozzle check something different happens.

After cleaning the heads (after quite a few head cleanings so far Epson is reporting 1/4 ink left in all the carts and I havent even printed anything yet), the yellow shows up fine but I got absolutely 0 light cyan and just a few lines of light magenta.

I also tried to do the printhead alignment, now that was a laugh. I was supposed to choose the box with the least lines for all 4. The problem was eveyr single box looked like a striped t-shirt even after multiple alignments.

I dont know what the hell is going on, it could justg be junk in cartridges I guess and just more bad luck on my part with cheap inkjets (which are spawns of satan which I have learned).

If anyone happens to have any suggestions on why my printer sucks so much, feel free to respond. I've spent probably 300$ on this printer setup and it hasnt worked quite right since I moved on from the stock Epson cartridges, thats what I get I guess.

[fscrocco]

I had the same problem with the r200 too. Every Epson I've owned ended up with clogged heads with 3rd party ink and you can't get to them very easily. I loved the dvd printing though. I now have bought a Canon Pixma 4000 from a site that sells the UK version, which prints on DVD and Cd. The printer is head and shoulders over the Epson. The ink lasts longer, cheaper to buy third part ink, and never clogs. Much faster than the Epson too. When you get the printer, you install the heads into a cradle, then the cradle into the printer. If you do clog, you take the head out yourself and run it under water or blow with compressed air. I love this machine.

[spector]

Yeah I've had good luck with my i950 with that stuff I was just trying to avoid getting yet another printer. Do you recall which site it was you got the Pixima 4000 from? Is there actually any difference between the US and European versions anyway? I remember with the i965 everyone was waiting for it to come to the US but it never did.

[fscrocco]

It was http://www.expansys-usa.com/. Make sure it is the U.K. version you order. It was much more expensive than the U.S. version. I think I paid about 225 and then had to buy an up-converter at Radio Shack for about 30. It was well worth it though. The tray is solid, not with a flimsy glued on lead-in, like on the Epson. It doesn't bind up and have to be pushed. The printer is very solid. I got the Pixma 4000, but I think its being replaced by the 4200. There are alot of threads about converting a U.S. model to print on dvds. Here's a good one: http://www.pixma.web1000.com/

[TBoneit]

One thing I learned with Epson printers is, TaDa... Buy epson ink. I killed one with refills and before it died the colors were too bright, the black streaked etc.

What I decided was look for the r200 on sale where it ends up less than or equal to buying the genuine epson refills and always have a new printer.