I was having issues with blank horizontal lines with my printer. The ink cartridges were low, so I replaced all of them, assuming this would resolve any print head issues.
However, I still have the exact same problem. Running the test, the black squares some are missing, I don't see any issues with the colors. So I am assuming black is the culprit.
I have tried cleaning, deep cleaning, doesn't seem to resolve anything. I checked the encoder film strip, I did not attempt to clean it, as it appeared to look perfectly clean. If this is something I should still do, let me know. I did not want to make anything potentially worse.
What else can I do? I would like to remove the black so I can try to clean the print head and carriage, but I cannot seem to find a way to get the ink carts out. the printer refuses to let me remove them unless they are empty. If I shut the printer off by unplugging it during power up, so the carriage isn't locked in it's home or whatever position. I can slide it around, but no matter how I try to line it up to eject the carts, the lever doesn't want to pop them out.
Is there a service mode I can put this in that will allow me to remove the ink carts?
Edit: Oh I found out how to do it. More or less just do what I did to get the carriage to release by yanking power. Then there's a plastic gear on the inside you turn until it clicks which then will allow the lever to work for 1 pull.
As far as I can tell there isn't a service mode, or at least anything published about one. If I got bored enough maybe take apart the firmware to see if there is one. Probably won't be motivated enough to do that though.
Edit 2: It looks like you can remove the print head by pulling straight out on the carriage which should release by 2 tabs and slide forward a bit, then you can remove the part that the ink carts sit on. Which I suspect is where my clogging issue may be. Seems to be various methods of cleaning. I think I may try just putting an inch or so of IPA in my ultrasonic, just enough to submerge the contact surfaces, and let that go for a very short period of time. either a good idea or a bad one. we will find out.
