First, be advised that EPSON cartridges report often (because of an internal chip) that the cartridge is empty when in fact it still contains 1/3 ink still......its a long story but believe me it relates to their corporate aim to increase EPSON cartridge sales. Secondly, it sounds like that since you have not used the cartridge/printer for a long while, either the cartridge ink (inside) is dried out OR the printer heads on your printer are clogged/dried out with dry ink. So to repair this issue, you need to use a cleaner (or alchohol or Windex on a real soft tissue) and lightly clean the bottom of the ink cartridge. Also apply very lightly the wet tissue against the backing where the cartridge touches the electronic contacts on your printer. In addition, place several drops of the cleaner in the overflow sponge slot where the cartridge rests off to the side. And now come the dirty part of the job......you need to get a sheet of paper and fold it once or twice the long ways so that it covers the total width of where your printer prints on paper......now, this strip of paper ought not be wider than 1/2 inch wide but aprox 8 in long .....soak the middle part with the cleaning solution and now slide your cartridge heads (installed) manually over the wet spot and then let it soak for atleast 15 minutes....preferably over night.....this process will dampen your clogged heads and you need to change or move the paper strip several times because it will get inky/dirty. This overall approach should help resolve your problem. Another more cleaner process is to obtain an empty ink catridge and fill it with the cleaning solution only via a seringe and then try pringing several times until the clogged situation is attained. Good luck.
lou, January 2009
