my printer not printing out words in word

Maisy_Moo

Hi, for some reason my epson stylus photo r200 has stopped printing the written word when I try to print from Word. It will still print pictures but no script. I've checked the leads and defaulted the settings but still no luck. Does anyone have any ideas please?

espresso

Have you checked the colour of the missing text? Does the text display on the Epson print preview window?

Maisy_Moo

Hello, the missing colour is black and my ink levels are fine. Yes it does display the whole document in print preview. That's what is confusing me so much. Hope someone can help. Thanks

espresso

Try Start, Settings, Printers & Faxes, Highlight your Epson Photo R200 then right click Properties, Print Test Page.

frivolous_fay

My money's on a problem with the black cartridge, or print head. Has the black cart been replaced recently? Has the printer been inactive for a while?

Maisy_Moo

Hi, I have printed out the test page. It is somewhat fuzzy so I probably need to clean the heads or something but it has certainly used the black ink ok so don't think it's a problem with the ink itself. It was changed some time ago and has worked until now.

johnmc

Does it print text from an editor like Notepad?

Epson has an option for turning off the black ink if the tank is low and using the combined colours instead.

I would say that the black is either empty but the onboard chip doesn't know it or the heads are not letting the ink through, so the printer doesn't know to use colours.

If the printer has been left un-parked for any time it can leak. The chip isn't aware of this "lost ink" and so thinks the tank is still full.

When it's parked there is a rubber cup which comes up against the heads, sealing them off. Check the condition of that, in particular that the ink can get down the small drainage tube to the felt pads under the printer. If the tube comes off - sorry; "when" the tube comes off - the print head is left open to the air and will dry out.

Try cleaning the heads with a cotton wool swab dipped in water.

You can buy specific head cleaning cartridges, but to be honest if some basic cleaning and a new / refilled cartridge doesn't sort it then it's easier and cheaper to buy a new one.

Maisy_Moo

thank you all for your replies. After doing the test page as suggested above, I saw that the heads and nozzles needed cleaning. Was surprised as there was no fading of the black at all before it stopped working. Have now realigned as well and the problem has been resolved. Thank you to all but particularly espresso. I didn't know how to do the test page so would not have known the problem without doing it. Cheers again.

espresso

You may find the SSC Service Utility for Epson Stylus printers useful here. It allows the different heads to be cleaned individually e.g. just the black head or just the colour head, which saves ink compared with the standard Epson Printer Utility. I have a Stylus Photo 790 (six inks) which does print very well but the print heads do clog if not used regularly.

Maisy_Moo

Many thanks for that. I have saved it in my favourites for future use. :j