Question Epson XP-640 cleaning

[Weathered]

I have an Epson XP-640. Every once in a while, when printing something, whether it be a 4x6 photo or regular document, there will be some black blobs of ink on the page. Without doing anything to it manually, the only way I can get it to go away is to do its own self head cleaning option, sometimes it will take multiple cleanings before it goes away. But will eventually do it again after a while. After looking at it, where the ink sits at, there is what looks like a small piece of foam and it looks like it is covered in black ink. Wondering if that is where the blobs are coming from. Is that made to take out and clean? If so, what do I clean it with? I did not see anything in the manual about this or on from doing a google search.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wypnan5od0ztsks/IMG_20221206_071410505.jpg?dl=0

Tried inserting image directly in post but says something went wrong. Not sure I am doing something wrong or what

 

[Ralston18]

Post images here using imgur (www.imgur.com).

How old is the XP-640 printer?

Are you using official Epson ink/ink cartridges? Third party products often cause problems either directly or via some refill process.

Many printers have some sort of sponge or sponges that absorb excess ink. Ink absorbers...

May or may not be correctable/fixable.

FYI:

https://printerkeys.com/reset-epson-xp-640-waste-ink-pad-counter.html

https://files.support.epson.com/docid/cpd5/cpd51727/index.html

The above links are for reference purposes only to help identify or otherwise narrow down what is causing the ink blobs.

Read as necessary and then do additional research as you read and learn more about what may be happening.

Be very leery of any online "fixes" or "solutions". Put the burden on Epson to help resolve the problem. Especially if the printer is still under warranty.

= = = =

Note: My old Canon printer had two such sponges and when one filled the printer started having problems. Although, in theory, the sponges were replaceable, the required resets (counters) etc. never really worked. And the sponges/absorbers were physically difficult to reach and manipulate. With nothing to lose, I tried.

I now have an HP printer......

 

[Weathered]

Post images here using imgur (www.imgur.com).

How old is the XP-640 printer?

Are you using official Epson ink/ink cartridges? Third party products often cause problems either directly or via some refill process.

Many printers have some sort of sponge or sponges that absorb excess ink. Ink absorbers...

May or may not be correctable/fixable.

FYI:

https://printerkeys.com/reset-epson-xp-640-waste-ink-pad-counter.html

https://files.support.epson.com/docid/cpd5/cpd51727/index.html

The above links are for reference purposes only to help identify or otherwise narrow down what is causing the ink blobs.

Read as necessary and then do additional research as you read and learn more about what may be happening.

Be very leery of any online "fixes" or "solutions". Put the burden on Epson to help resolve the problem. Especially if the printer is still under warranty.

= = = =

Note: My old Canon printer had two such sponges and when one filled the printer started having problems. Although, in theory, the sponges were replaceable, the required resets (counters) etc. never really worked. And the sponges/absorbers were physically difficult to reach and manipulate. With nothing to lose, I tried.

I now have an HP printer......

Did the image link work for you?

Guessing the printer is 2-3 years old. Always used genuine epson ink.

I will look into those links.

 

[Ralston18]

Image is fine.

Good photo.

It appears that your may be able to easily replace the absorbers and reset the counters.

Absorber/housing could just need to be perhaps unlatched and/or or lifted out.

However, verify that that can indeed be done via Epson provided documentation: User Guide/Manual or Maintenance Manual.

Use a flashlight to see if ink/goo has spilled out and down into the inner parts of the printer.

Do be careful - wear disposable gloves. The ink can really stain things.

 

[Weathered]

Image is fine.

Good photo.

It appears that your may be able to easily replace the absorbers and reset the counters.

Absorber/housing could just need to be perhaps unlatched and/or or lifted out.

However, verify that that can indeed be done via Epson provided documentation: User Guide/Manual or Maintenance Manual.

Use a flashlight to see if ink/goo has spilled out and down into the inner parts of the printer.

Do be careful - wear disposable gloves. The ink can really stain things.

I have not been able to find anything about this in the epson manual unless I overlooked it. Without removing anything, can't really see if any ink has spilled down to the inner parts.

I sent epson an email asking about this. They replied back with usual questions, what type of ink, type of paper, I answered them and I got another response saying I need real time assistance and to give them a call. I will do that when I get a chance.

 

[Ralston18]

Good luck.

And perhaps someone else here that happens to be using the XP-640 printer may be able to offer additional ideas and suggestions.