Printer Head Repair
"I have a few Epson dot matrix print heads
with stuck or sunken pins. Does anyone have experience with disassembling
these things for cleaning/repairs? It looks like you just have to
pop a few clips to get them apart."
(From: Chris Serrano (brace@loop.com).)
I resurrected one by hanging it pins downs in
an ultrasonic cleaner. A lot of old dried up ink floated right out
and the stuck pin became obedient again.
(From: Filip M. Gieszczykiewicz (filipg@repairfaq.org).)
Greetings. If one does not have the use of an
ultrasonic cleaner, I have found a different way to get these suckers
working again.
- Go to your local plumbing store and look in the chemicals department
for 'CPVC-PVC-ABS CLEANER' (used to clean plastic pipes). This
stuff is a combination of groovy chemicals Methyl Ethyl Ketone
and Acetone. It will 'melt' most plastics so be sure the print-head's
any plastic parts are safely taken off.
- Pour some of this stuff into a GLASS container and put the print
head, business-end first, in it and leave it there for a few minutes.
When the stuff turns dark-purple (all the ink and goo from the
print head) you are done. Let it dry (few minutes) and then oil
it with LIGHT OIL. Note: Do NOT use WD40 - we're interested with
something that sticks around for a few months... WD40 just leaves
a 'protective layer' with almost zilch lubricating properties
(it's a Water Displacer (WD), after all).
I have done this for a few DataSouth DS-180, Infoscribe
1000s, and Xerox [monster] printers that see a box of 132 column
paper a month (each) for a number of years with excellent results.
Note: YMMV... these printers have rugged print heads (7/9 pin)...
I don't know how a 24-pin Made-in-China feather will respond.
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