Epson R220 disc feeding problems at DVinfo.net

Terence Murphy · February 11th, 2007, 07:45 AM

We've been using an Epson R220 for a couple of months now (~100 discs), and its a very picky printer. If I insert the disc tray and send a print job (from a Mac, if that matters), maybe a quarter of the time it will give the tray a little push out and then not be able to pull it back in. I'm typically forced to turn the printer off/on, going through the whole head-cleaning routine in the process, before it will try again. Its taken as many as four tries to get a disc to print. Do we have a lemon, or is there a trick to making this printer feed consistently?

-Terence

Mike Teutsch · February 11th, 2007, 08:31 AM

I believe that this is a common problem with the Epson printers. Mine does the same thing and it has since day one.

You just have to get into the habbit of pushing the tray back in after the print head has made its movements and is ready for the tray to feed. I just put my hand on the tray and assist it for the first inch or so. Don't push it in hard, just assist the feed rollers.

It is a pain, but for a $50.00 printer that prints hundreds of disks so cheaply for me, I'll put up with it. :)

Mike

Richard Alvarez · February 11th, 2007, 10:23 AM

Exactly as Mike said. I put the disk tray in, and then ever so lightly, apply a little bit of pressure to the free end at the start of the feed. Then when it's done printing, I pull the tray out of the feed during the last inch or so.

Yes, it's annoying. Yes, it's an INCREDIBLY cheap printer. It's almost more cost effective to buy a new printer instead of a whole new set of cartridges. But I don't do a lot of mass prinitings. Probably no more than ten discs at any one time, maybe once a month. IF I was doing volume, like a dozen or so a day, I'd opt for a bigger/better printer.

Mike Teutsch · February 11th, 2007, 12:10 PM

It is just sooooo cheap to use, I would not replace it unless it broke. By the way, I buy ink on ebay and the stuff is just fine. I can't tell the difference and I get more printing on these ink catrtidges than the originals I think. Five full sets, 30 cartridges, for $35.00 with shipping. You can't beat the low cost of this unit.

Mike

Terence Murphy · February 11th, 2007, 01:04 PM

That's what I kind of figured, on the "you get what you pay for" angle.

As far as giving the tray a push at the beginning of the printing cycle, do you risk having the alignment be off, or does the printer set the alignment automatically when it does the whole feed-in, feed-out thing at the beginning? Does it actually matter how well the arrows are lined up with the feed tray, or can you just push it in a bit more and have the feed mechanism work better?

Thanks for the advice! I'll have to try the e-bay ink supplier, although I'm pretty well stocked on Epson-brand ink from BJ's Wholesale for now. I just had a really bad experience with off-brand ink in my Canon printer, and it never really recovered fully, so I've been hesitant to try other brands of ink.

-Terence

Richard Alvarez · February 11th, 2007, 01:35 PM

Terence,

I am very carefull to line up the white arrows with the marks on the tray. Then I just 'barely' apply a little pressure against the lip of the tray to assist the feed-in process. If you notice, the tray goes in, then does a little 'back and forth' dance which I take to mean the printer is reading those big white arrows and squares on the tray to assist in alignment... then the printing starts. When it spits it out, sometimes it won't go all the way out, so I pull it the last half inch or so.

From the 'assist' I give it at the beginning and end of the cycle, my assumption is that the pinch/drive rollers aren't really strong enough to pull/push the tray when it's weight is way off balance by being so far out of the printer. Yeah, a poor design, but l'm willing to deal with it for the price point.

(EDIT: I just looked up at my printer, and I see it's the R200, not the R220. But they are very similar, and I'm certain it's the same drive mechanism.)

Mike Teutsch · February 11th, 2007, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terence Murphy

That's what I kind of figured, on the "you get what you pay for" angle.

As far as giving the tray a push at the beginning of the printing cycle, do you risk having the alignment be off, or does the printer set the alignment automatically when it does the whole feed-in, feed-out thing at the beginning? Does it actually matter how well the arrows are lined up with the feed tray, or can you just push it in a bit more and have the feed mechanism work better?

Thanks for the advice! I'll have to try the e-bay ink supplier, although I'm pretty well stocked on Epson-brand ink from BJ's Wholesale for now. I just had a really bad experience with off-brand ink in my Canon printer, and it never really recovered fully, so I've been hesitant to try other brands of ink.

-Terence

The printer has self-alignment sensors inside, so it aligns itself, after the tray goes in.

Mike

Greg Boston · February 11th, 2007, 09:27 PM

FWIW, I have the R200 and haven't had any feed issues. I don't print a lot of DVD's though.

-gb-

Don Bloom · February 11th, 2007, 09:44 PM

I have 2 of the 200s and on 1 I have to give the 'Epson Push' and the other I have to give the 'Epson Pull' BUT I can't complain-I've tried to do a count in my head and figure I've done about 1000 discs thru each machine maybe a few more or less but they have actually held up rather well.
Oh I also print my DVD covers on them as well so add some paper runs thru them (no push or pull needed) ;-)
I figure I'll retire before they die on me-they're cheap but really pretty solid.
Don

Vic Owen · February 12th, 2007, 11:51 PM

"Epson Push"...I love it! Until I saw this thread, I thought mine was the only R200 that needed a helping shove. It seems like just a slight amount of pressure does the job. Not much of a price to pay, considering how many flawless disks I've printed. BTW, Magicmouse.com just released Discus 4.06, with the new program CD soon to be shipped, for those that use this nifty program.

Mike Teutsch · February 14th, 2007, 10:50 AM

Well, guys and gals, I dug into the Epson Push-Pull phenomenon and found a cure! See this new post for the answer. It is very very simple!

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...161#post625161

Mike

February 11th, 2007, 07:45 AM	#1
Terence Murphy Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 161	Epson R220 disc feeding problems We've been using an Epson R220 for a couple of months now (~100 discs), and its a very picky printer. If I insert the disc tray and send a print job (from a Mac, if that matters), maybe a quarter of the time it will give the tray a little push out and then not be able to pull it back in. I'm typically forced to turn the printer off/on, going through the whole head-cleaning routine in the process, before it will try again. Its taken as many as four tries to get a disc to print. Do we have a lemon, or is there a trick to making this printer feed consistently? -Terence

February 11th, 2007, 08:31 AM	#2
Mike Teutsch Inner Circle Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Port St. Lucie, Florida Posts: 2,614	I believe that this is a common problem with the Epson printers. Mine does the same thing and it has since day one. You just have to get into the habbit of pushing the tray back in after the print head has made its movements and is ready for the tray to feed. I just put my hand on the tray and assist it for the first inch or so. Don't push it in hard, just assist the feed rollers. It is a pain, but for a $50.00 printer that prints hundreds of disks so cheaply for me, I'll put up with it. :) Mike __________________ Chapter one, line one. The BH.

February 11th, 2007, 12:10 PM	#4
Mike Teutsch Inner Circle Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Port St. Lucie, Florida Posts: 2,614	It is just sooooo cheap to use, I would not replace it unless it broke. By the way, I buy ink on ebay and the stuff is just fine. I can't tell the difference and I get more printing on these ink catrtidges than the originals I think. Five full sets, 30 cartridges, for $35.00 with shipping. You can't beat the low cost of this unit. Mike __________________ Chapter one, line one. The BH.

February 12th, 2007, 11:51 PM	#10
Vic Owen Major Player Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 540	"Epson Push"...I love it! Until I saw this thread, I thought mine was the only R200 that needed a helping shove. It seems like just a slight amount of pressure does the job. Not much of a price to pay, considering how many flawless disks I've printed. BTW, Magicmouse.com just released Discus 4.06, with the new program CD soon to be shipped, for those that use this nifty program. __________________ -- Vic Owen --

February 14th, 2007, 10:50 AM	#11
Mike Teutsch Inner Circle Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Port St. Lucie, Florida Posts: 2,614	Cure Found! Well, guys and gals, I dug into the Epson Push-Pull phenomenon and found a cure! See this new post for the answer. It is very very simple! http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...161#post625161 Mike __________________ Chapter one, line one. The BH.

February 11th, 2007, 10:23 AM	#3
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	Exactly as Mike said. I put the disk tray in, and then ever so lightly, apply a little bit of pressure to the free end at the start of the feed. Then when it's done printing, I pull the tray out of the feed during the last inch or so. Yes, it's annoying. Yes, it's an INCREDIBLY cheap printer. It's almost more cost effective to buy a new printer instead of a whole new set of cartridges. But I don't do a lot of mass prinitings. Probably no more than ten discs at any one time, maybe once a month. IF I was doing volume, like a dozen or so a day, I'd opt for a bigger/better printer.

February 11th, 2007, 01:04 PM	#5
Terence Murphy Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 161	That's what I kind of figured, on the "you get what you pay for" angle. As far as giving the tray a push at the beginning of the printing cycle, do you risk having the alignment be off, or does the printer set the alignment automatically when it does the whole feed-in, feed-out thing at the beginning? Does it actually matter how well the arrows are lined up with the feed tray, or can you just push it in a bit more and have the feed mechanism work better? Thanks for the advice! I'll have to try the e-bay ink supplier, although I'm pretty well stocked on Epson-brand ink from BJ's Wholesale for now. I just had a really bad experience with off-brand ink in my Canon printer, and it never really recovered fully, so I've been hesitant to try other brands of ink. -Terence

February 11th, 2007, 01:35 PM	#6
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	Terence, I am very carefull to line up the white arrows with the marks on the tray. Then I just 'barely' apply a little pressure against the lip of the tray to assist the feed-in process. If you notice, the tray goes in, then does a little 'back and forth' dance which I take to mean the printer is reading those big white arrows and squares on the tray to assist in alignment... then the printing starts. When it spits it out, sometimes it won't go all the way out, so I pull it the last half inch or so. From the 'assist' I give it at the beginning and end of the cycle, my assumption is that the pinch/drive rollers aren't really strong enough to pull/push the tray when it's weight is way off balance by being so far out of the printer. Yeah, a poor design, but l'm willing to deal with it for the price point. (EDIT: I just looked up at my printer, and I see it's the R200, not the R220. But they are very similar, and I'm certain it's the same drive mechanism.)

February 11th, 2007, 09:27 PM	#8
Greg Boston Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: DFW area, TX Posts: 6,117 Images: 1	FWIW, I have the R200 and haven't had any feed issues. I don't print a lot of DVD's though. -gb-

February 11th, 2007, 09:44 PM	#9
Don Bloom Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,609	I have 2 of the 200s and on 1 I have to give the 'Epson Push' and the other I have to give the 'Epson Pull' BUT I can't complain-I've tried to do a count in my head and figure I've done about 1000 discs thru each machine maybe a few more or less but they have actually held up rather well. Oh I also print my DVD covers on them as well so add some paper runs thru them (no push or pull needed) ;-) I figure I'll retire before they die on me-they're cheap but really pretty solid. Don