At 11:23 AM 12/9/98 -0700, you wrote:

>>ran the head cleaning utility numerous times replace the ink cartage
>>and tried a quick swab of alcohol.  Still no go with the black ink
>>(color is ok).
>
This might interest you and other Epson owners...     
http://www.pollit.com/wpoll/webpoll2.php3?ID=10098

Tom LaMotta

and from Epson's website.....

Epson America, Inc. - Serving the Americas
Online Technical Support - EPSON® WebAdvice™ 
The EPSON Connection 
This is usually caused by dried ink clogging the print head nozzles.
The most common causes are: 
1. The printer has been turned off using a power strip rather than the
printer's power button. This may cause the ink to dry because the print head is
not positioned properly when shut down. It will also cause long cleaning cycles
on power up. 
2. Refilled, improperly installed or removed and reinstalled ink cartridge.
Never attempt to refill ink cartridges. Make sure that only the yellow tape is
removed from the ink cartridge before installing it. Never remove a cartridge
to visually check the ink level and reinstall it. It is not possible to
visually check the ink level because the ink is contained in a sponge-like
material and it will always appear to contain ink, even when empty. 
3. Ink cartridge has been in the printer more than 6 months. The ink will
slowly lose it's viscosity and dry up over time even if not used. Also check
the "USE BEFORE" date on the cartridge box when you purchase it to make sure it
is fresh. 
4. Extended periods of printer inactivity. 
If using the printer's cleaning buttons on the control panel does not clear the
print head. The printer's cleaning utility program should be used which is a
more intense method. 
IMPORTANT! A head cleaning and nozzle check page must be performed as a cycle
so subsequent cleanings will advance to a higher intensity cleaning cycle. This
process ought to be repeated until the nozzle check prints correctly. When the
nozzle check prints correctly the printer is ready to go. If you run more than
6 cleaning cycles and the nozzle check is still not printing correctly, the ink
cartridge may need replacement or the printer may require service. First make
sure your printer has fresh ink cartridges then do the following in Windows: 

1. Click Start - Printer - Settings in Windows 95/98 
or open Control Panel - Printers in Windows 3.1 
2. Click on your Stylus printer model 
3. Click on Properties 
4. Click on Utilities 
5. Run Nozzle Check 
6. Check printout for missing black or color ink. If any lines are missing,
that indicates a clogged ink nozzle(s) 
7. Click on Head Cleaning 
8. Run Nozzle Check 
9. Repeat head cleaning/nozzle check 3 times 
10. If no improvement, repeat cleaning/nozzle check sequence up to 6 times. 
Depending on the severity of the blockage, after going through this cycle up to
6 times (with fresh ink cartridges) some improvement should be noticed, if not
totally cleared. If improvement is noticed, continue the cleaning/nozzle check
cycles until the blockage is cleared. Slight improvement may be seen after each
cycle. This could require many cleaning cycles in sets of 3 cleaning/nozzle
checks but as long as improvement is continous it should solve the problem. 
If this doesn't solve the problem contact Epson Support via our web site
technical support E-Mail form or phone for repair instructions.

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