Is my Epson Stylus Photo 895 Repairable?

[John H White]

Some years ago, whilst trying to clean the above mentioned machine, I accidentally badly damaged some sort of pad at the back which I gather was meant to take up surplus ink. So far as I can remember, it was made up of some kind of material that, to me, resembled thick blotting paper and was easily torn. I'm just wondering if it is possible to obtain some of that material of the correct size and thickness and how difficult it would be to fix it in place. I am rather loath to dump this machine as it has produced lots of good photographic and other prints in the past and I still have quite a number of ink cartridges for it.
Cheers,
John.

 

[Printman]

If you haven't gotten the printer repaired yet, there is a simple way to get around the waste ink retainer pad. There is usually a small tube going into the pad near the back of the printer. Some of the Epsons have a little door about 1 1/2 inch sq. at this point. If you can find the little usually white tube that goes into the pad, gently pull it out (you may have to add an extension to the tube if it isn't long enough to reach the bottle). Make a hole in the rear of the printer to the outside. Use some kind of small bottle ie, (pill bottle with cap), drill a small hole in cap to fit tube or close to top of bottle, and another small hole for ventilation. You can use Velcro to attach it upright to the back of the printer. insert the tube in the top through the small hole. Leave the other hole open for venting. Now, when the heads are cleaned, the waste ink will go into the bottle and can be discarded at any time you desire. Empty, rinse and replace. If there is no other damage, this will get you going even better as you don't have to worry about the pad getting full and making a mess inside, spilling out on the table etc.
P.S. Some people I have heard of use the waste ink to refill the black cartridges. Haven't tried it as I use a CISS unit with ink tanks on the outside of the printer.
Good Luck,
PrintMan

 

[John H White]

Many thanks, Printman, for those detailed instructions. Sounds like a major engineering job that I need to do on my printer, but I'm willing to give it a try when I get the time.
Cheers,
John.

 

[Printman]

You are very welcome. Sorry about being late on the reply. I am not sure if there is a door on your printer or not. Usually, the little tube comes out from under the bottom of the capper for the carriage at rest. It possible goes through the pump near the right end lower part then to the waste ink pad. The case is a nightmare if you don't have the little door. The cases have those snap in holders to keep it secure with no screws etc. It may be worthwhile to carefully cut an inspection hole/door about 3 or 4 inches up from the bottom and same distance from left side looking at the back. As long as it isn't in warranty, probably be the easiest way to find the small tube going down into the pad.
If the 825 is anything like the 800, it is a workhorse! I really liked my 800 until it finally clogged up so bad that I couldn't get it going normally. I wanted a printer which directly prints on dvd/cd s. That was when I bought my Epson stylusPHOTO 1400. Wide format printer also.
good luck if you haven't already got it fixed.
Roy