watch out for printer head problems (Epson Stylus Photo 830)

Member Name: mikerhodes

Product:	Epson Stylus Photo 830
Date:	31/03/03 (3525 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cheap to buy, good quality

Disadvantages: integral print heads may fail, continuous need to clean heads eats cartridges

I liked this printer when I bought it. Cheap, excellent photo quality output. A bit noisey but I don't print very much so I wasn't too bothered.

Watch out for printer head problems though. I may be just unlucky but after 3 months of light use, mine started to go wrong. I tried head cleaning 6 times, it improved a little but was still too awful to use. (The test page came out stripy and it would even smear black into the other colours).

I rang Epson, they said change the cartridges. They said something about the cartridges dry out after 6 months and need to be replaced. Mine was only 3 months old but I did this anyway (I was on the original genuine epson cartridges supplied with the printer at this stage) and still the same problem.

Epson sent out an engineer today. He brought a reconditioned unit to exchange but, it too had the same problem. (He's gone away to order another one but he also said he has 4 other Espon Stylus 830s to see today!)

I'm left with a slightly sick feeling in my stomach and the suspicion that this printer has a problem with the heads becoming clogged if you don't keep using it. I may go a couple of months without printing a thing and I'm concerned that whilst the warrantee is still in place I'll be able to keep calling Epson out but after that I'll be left with something which is virtually useless.

With some printers the heads are replacable (sometimes they are part of the colour cartridge). With this printer they're integral part of the printer. This unfortunately means, if they go wrong, you've had it.

Summary: