Epson ET 4700 not Printing? Clean Epson ET 4850, 4750, 4700 - Printing Blank Pages
Is your Epson ET 4700 not printing properly or at all? Don't worry, as this is a common problem with most printers, including the Epson ET 4800, 4850, and 4750. There is an effective remedy to this issue. However, the process is much more intricate than pushing a few buttons. Not to mention, in printer maintenance, taking the wrong step can damage your printer permanently.
Fortunately, this article contains a guide on how to clean an Epson ET 4700 printing blank pages.
Common Causes for Epson ET 4700 Not Printing
There are several reasons your Epson ET 4700 not printing, including:
Dried Ink: When ink remains in the printer for an extended time, it can dry up and solidify. This causes a blockage and prevents the liquid ink from flowing freely.
Leaving Printer On: Most printers have a self-clean cycle that runs when the printer is off or first turned on. Keeping the printer on for long will halt regular cleaning and accumulate dust and debris.
Infrequent Use: On the contrary, barely using your printer also causes the printhead to fail. It will build up dried ink and debris in the nozzles.
Preparing for Cleaning
Now that you know why your Epson ET 4700 not printing, let's prep for the cleaning process:
Lint-Free Paper Towel: To wipe and absorb expelled ink residue.
Gloves: To protect hands from ink and cleaning solutions.
Cleaning Kit/Solution: Specialized cleaning kit designed to help unclog your printers. For this, you can use the Epson ET 4700 cleaning kit, which includes a cleaning solution and syringe.
Guide to Cleaning Your Epson ET 4750, 4700, 4850 Printer
Here are the steps you need to take when your Epson ET 4700 not printing:
Step 1: Run a Print Check
If your Epson ET 4700 not printing properly, the first thing you need to do is run a print check or a nozzle check. This step will verify which color cartridge is clogged.
To run a print check, open the Menu screen. From the Menu screen, select Setup, then Maintenance, and finally, Nozzle Check. The printer will then print out a small test of each print color.
If the colored lines on the print test are faded, broken, or blank, their cartridges are clogged.
Step 2: Unplug Printer
Naturally, you’ll need to unplug the printer for safety precautions. However, there’s a necessary prelude to this step, which involves bringing the printer head to the middle of the printer.
For this, all you have to do is run a print check like before. But this time, unplug the printer’s cable in between the process. This will halt the printer head as it's in motion and bring it to the middle.
Step 3: Prep Printhead
To prep the printhead, do the following:
Move the printhead to the extreme left and place a paper towel underneath it. Fold the paper towel a couple of times into a narrow strip so that it fits. Then, move the printhead back to the middle so it sits directly above the paper towel.
Next, remove the print head cover barring the cartridges. This step is straightforward as it involves removing a single screw with a small Phillips head screwdriver.
Step 4: Remove Cartridge
Before removing the cartridge, you need to detach the ink veins connected to it. Don’t worry; this step doesn’t damage the printer head. By the end of the cleaning process, you can easily reattach the ink veins.
Next, dislodge the color cartridge that was previously identified as defective. Underneath the cartridge, you will find a nozzle where most of the clogging happens. Besides the first cartridge, you will also need to remove the one adjacent to it so you have better access to the clogged nozzle.
Step 5: Use Cleaning Kit
The Epson ET 4700 cleaning kit comprises a cleaning solution, a syringe, and a short silicone tube. Fill the syringe with the cleaning solution and attach the silicone tube to its tip. Then, fix the other end of the tube to the clogged nozzle.
Once the tube is tightly attached, push the cleaning solution from the syringe into the nozzle. The syringe can hold 20 ml of solution, but each nozzle only requires 10 ml. After injecting 10 ml of the solution, swap out the dirty paper towel underneath the printer head with a fresh, clean one.
Repeat this process for each clogged nozzle.
Step 6: Replace Printer Components
Return the cartridges in the exact same order you removed them from. Next, reattach the ink veins to their respective cartridges. This step tends to be messy, so make sure to wipe off any ink residue left behind with a wet paper towel.
Lastly, fix and screw the print head cover back on the cartridges.
Step 7: Run Power Cleaning
For this step, make sure the printer's ink tank is at least one-third full. Since most of the ink was spilled out during cleaning, activating the Epson ET 4700 power cleaning process pushes more into the system from this tank. Additionally, this process takes exactly 12 hours to complete, so remember to remain patient during it.
To run the process, go into the Maintenance section and select Power Cleaning. You’ll be given several dialogues and options. You can agree to all of them and finally activate the Power Cleaning.
Finish with a final print check to verify that the inks are working properly.
Conclusion
While there are several reasons for your Epson ET 4700 not printing, unclogging the nozzles is usually the solution. Fortunately, once you follow these steps, you’re sure to get your printer back in working condition.
If you’re interested in learning more about printer cleaning and maintenance, check us out at Best Printers.
