Epson c88 only prints in redish pink. Have tried head cleaning, nozzle check, alignment, swabbing with alcohol. Are there any other options?

Probably dirty heads on the nozzle. In most inkjets there is a maintenance option to clean the heads. I would first clean the heads, and then make sure that the print heads were aligned. If that is all squared away then check for any driver or firmware updates. Finally get some rubbing alcohol and gently clean the print head. Sometimes if the printer is not used that often the ink will congeal and smear.

Reload the printer drivers, you can get this from the manufacturers web site under support or downloads.
its a common error and an easy fix.
good luck !

Try these :
- Do a Nozzle check from the Computer. Start > Control Panel > Printers and Faxes Right-click on your printer, click Printing Preferences, click Utility, then click Nozzle Check. - If you can see multiple missing lines on the Nozzle Check Pattern, clean the print head. (Head Cleaning Utility). - You can clean the print head 3 times. - Also try to reinstall the ink cartridges. - If that does not work, your printer may need servicing/repairs.

Hi Good day!! Try to do a printer maintenance
Cleaning a Clogged Print Head


1. Press the cleaning button located on the front of the printer. Hold it down for 3 seconds to begin the cleaning cycle.

2. Run a cleaning cycle using your Epson printer utilities program. In Windows, go to "Start," "Printers and Faxes," right-click on your printer and choose "Printing Preferences." Select the "Utility" or "Maintenance" tab, depending on your printer model, and click "Head Cleaning." When the head cleaning cycle is complete, run "Nozzle Check." Repeat the head cleaning and nozzle check one to three times.

3. To access the Epson printer utility in OS X, select the Epson Printer Utility icon in the Applications folder in Macintosh HD. If prompted, select your printer from the Printer List, then click "OK."

Clean the print head manually. Remove the ink cartridges from your printer according to the instructions in your owner's manual. Turn off your printer. Dip a cotton swab in isopropyl alcohol, ammonia or hot water and rub the swab against the print head. Let the printer sit overnight.

Remove the print head according to the instructions in your owner's manual. Soak the print head for at least an hour in a small dish of hot water or isopropyl alcohol.


Preventing Clogged Print Heads



1. Use your printer at least once a week. Regular use will keep dried ink from clogging your print heads. If you have a color inkjet printer, print full color pages in addition to black-and-white documents.


2. Turn your printer off when not in use. This will prevent warm ink from bleeding onto the print head. If you have to store your printer, remove the ink cartridges.


3. Use a cleaning kit regularly. A cleaning kit usually includes a tube of ammonia that you spray on the printer head to clean dry ink.

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You should run a nozzle check to verify if the heads are printing all the inks correctly. If the pattern is incomplete you need to run head cleanings.

Sounds like there's a problem with the print head. I'd recommend doing a nozzle check, if any colours are missing from the print out then try some head cleans. You can find the nozzle check and head clean options in the maintenance/utility tab of your printer driver.

If you have carried out 4 to 5 head cleans, waited about 8 hours and done another 3 or head cleans doing nozzle checks after each clean (as recommended by the manual) and there is still no improvement then you will need a third party head cleaning solution such as this one:
http://websites.uk-plc.net/UK_Inkjet_Cartridges_PLUS/products/Print_Head_Cleaner.htm
Other makes & brands are available just google "inkjet head cleaning solution" Hope this helps.

Are you confident the new cartridges are full and in-date? Can you confirm that the old cartridges were not removed until immediately before the new cartridge was installed. Did you remove the yellow tape from the new cartridges before you installed them? Were the cartridges changed properly such that an ink charging cycle occurred. Have you carried out any head cleaning cycles recently? If not, do it. Then do a nozzle check print. Any improvement? Yes, but not perfect? If so do a couple more head cleans and nozzle checks. If still not perfect, let it rest for 24 hours to disperse air bubbles. Then repeat.

If you have already done lots of head cleans with no result, and you're sure you have good ink cartridges properly installed, then you can try soaking the print heads for 24 hours (or more), as follows. Turn the printer on, and as soon as the print head moves pull the power cord out of the back, or turn the printer off at the mains. You may now carefully move the print head by hand over to the left hand side out of the way. Look inside the print head parking area on the right and you will see a small rubber cup that comes up to cover the print nozzles when the head is parked (to stop it drying out). Use a syringe or dropper to fill this cup with head cleaning fluid or distilled water. DO NOT USE TAP WATER. Carefully push the print head fully into its parking position so that the cup full of fluid comes up over the print head. Leave this for at least 24 hours, then try a head clean/nozzle check again. If still nothing, post a new comment detailing what you have done and the results.

Check in the printer utilities and make sure that it is not set to "draft" mode. Also may want to clean the area in the printer where the business end of the ink cartridge rests. Using the "head cleaning" feature doesn't always work completely. Go to your local pharmacy and ask the druggist for Lab Swabs. They are longer than a Q-Tip and only have cotton at one end. You will need the extra length to reach where you need to clean. Use isopropyl alcohol and gently rub the effected area. See if this helps. also may want to try uninstalling the printer drivers completely and reinstalling them. This works in a lot of cases. There are more problems with printers than any other component in a computer system.

Its possible that your printer is fooled to think that the yellow ink level is lower than it really is. not uncommon. Have you changed the different carts on different occasions? You should try resetting the printer. I can tell you that the stylus 500 is reset by turning off, then back on while holding down the Load/Eject button, can't say if it will do the trick on your r300. BTW - epson printers do not like refills or generic - they will clog. I ran across the following cleaning method on the web, it might help you: "Follow this procedure AT YOUR OWN RISK for all I know I may have damaged my printer irreparably, but it does not appear so.) With the power off I manually moved the print heads to the left exposing the pad under the color head. I used several cotton swabs to soak up as much old ink from this pad as I could. I then liberally applied rubbing alcohol to the pad with a cotton swab. About three swabs worth, saturating the pad. I manually returned the print head to *exactly* the same position it was originally in. I turned on the power. This activated the cleaning sequence. (You might also want to press the color head cleaning button to make sure that at least one cleaning cycle runs with the alcohol on the pad.) I turned off the power. Then, while holding down the color cleaning button, I turned the power back on. This activates the self test. By the time the printing of the second sheet of the test was half way completed I had all my colors back."