Tom, This was a very helpful post, as many of yours are. The only complaint I have with my two older HP Deskjets is that the black cartridge sometimes congeals and stops printing. I had often soaked it in alcohol but that did not help. I found that by blowing gently in the vent hole on top of the cartridge, I could get ink to flow. Now, using your test method on the paper, I discovered that water is a much better solvent than alcohol for HP ink. I also looked inside the printer on the right side where the cartridges are parked and, as you suggested, found a mess of congealed ink. I used a small dish of water and about 25 QTips to clean that area. There is a rubber or neoprene gasket there which I removed and cleaned. It seems resilient and in good shape. I'm sure that my printer will be better for this. Thanks for the suggestions. Bob Lendrim At 11/11/2003, you wrote: >I used water to frequently unclog my printhead, until I discovered the 'park >position' for the cartridge, off to the side where the cartridge goes when >the printer is powered off, was dirty. I cleaned that and replaced a small >rubber gasket there that fit snugly against the print head when the >printhead parks, and now the printhead never clogs. You can try water on >your ink by first wetting a printed page to see how soluble the ink is. If >the ink runs on the page, water will unclog the printhead. >Tom Turak > >-----Original Message----- >From: E B Lund [mailto:[log in to unmask]] >Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2003 3:08 AM > >There's info on clogged heads here: > >http://kalvins.com/(wihcqj3gqxs2gnewvrzkvrfj)/support/faqs.asp#q6 > >William Closure > > >----- Original Message ----- > > > Date: Sun, 9 Nov 2003 19:30:59 -0500 > > From: Jim Cooley <[log in to unmask]> > > Subject: Epson Print heads > > > > I live in 2 houses, 6 mos in each, and have 2 printers, Epson Stylus = > > Photo 600 and 700. The color heads clogged, probably due to being idle = > > 6 months. =20 > > 1. Is it possible or practical to replace the print heads? > > 2. I understand that HP cartridges include the print heads so will not = > > give me this problem. Is this so? > > Thanks in advance. > > Jim Cooley [log in to unmask] > > PCBUILD's List Owners: > Bob Wright<[log in to unmask]> > Drew Dunn<[log in to unmask]> > > >--- >Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.537 / Virus Database: 332 - Release Date: 11/6/2003