Fixing a Broken Capping Station Foot on the Epson L1800 Printer

Question:

I’m talking about the square area where the printhead resides—the portion with a minuscule spring attached. One of the “feet” on the end of my L1800 capping station pad broke off. How can I fix this?

Answer:

What You Need to Know About the Capping Station

The capping station is an integral part of your printer, and its purpose is to seal the printhead when the printer is not in use (idle) to keep the ink from drying up. During cleaning cycles, it also comes into play when ink and other debris are purged from the nozzles to keep print quality high. If a capping station foot is broken or misaligned, it can lead to printhead drying, clogging, and/or ink flow problems, greatly impacting print quality.

Fixing a Capping Station foot on the Epson L1800

the capping station should correctly align with a printhead to enable sealing and cleaning, but if a capping station has a broken foot, the station may be misaligned. Here’s how to fix this problem:

Assess the Damage

• If the foot is only partially broken, you might be able to reinforce it with adhesive or a small support piece.
• If the foot is broken off entirely, replacing the whole capping station assembly is the best solution.

Temporary Fix Using Adhesive

• If the crack is small, try reattaching the broken piece with super glue (such as UV glue or plastic epoxy) instead.
• The repair shall not affect the capping station's spring mechanism or height adjustment.
• Allow the glue to fully cure before testing the printer.

Replacing the Capping Station

If the foot is beyond repair or is severely damaged, the entire capping station unit should be replaced for long-term maintenance free operation. Here’s how:

1. Turn off and unplug the printer to prevent any electrical damage.
2. Take off the printer cover to access the capping station assembly.
3. Detach the tubing and screws securing the capping station.
4. Replace your capping station with a new one, then re-connect everything.
5. Do a cleaning cycle and test the printer that the new capping station is closing the printhead properly.

For a video demonstration on addressing this problem, refer to our YouTube video on fixing a broken capping station leg (https://youtu.be/5UC2IMu9V90). In this video, you'll learn to diagnose, repair, and replace the capping station so your printer continues to run as it should.

Printer issues can be difficult to diagnose because they are about hands-on repair. By the way, we cannot remote past 2023 nor support printer repairs. But we do have a physical in-person evaluation and repair service (https://bchtechnologies.com/printer-repair-service), that is on a first-come, first-served basis and may be a few weeks yet for the evaluation / drop off of your printer due to demands placed upon us.

If you prefer to do it yourself, we suggest you look up a YouTube repair tutorial. You can go to our YouTube Channel homepage( https://youtube.com/@bchtechnologies ) and click on the search icon (next to “About” in the menu bar) to find relevant videos. Despite having over nine years of content, this is the quickest approach to finding unique solutions.

Thank you again for reaching out! We thank you for your support and we hope that this helps you to solve your Epson L1800 Capping Station too. If you have further questions, please let us know!