Perform a print head cleaning cycle. This can be located within the printer maintenance menu. Print a nozzle check to see if all the nozzles are free of blockages. If breaks still appear on the printed page, repeat the process. If the nozzle check page displays one set of black nozzles shown below, only perform up to two cleans.
If the screen displays up to three sets of nozzles, perform up to three cleans: 99% of all blocked nozzles are caused by trapped air within the print head. If the cleaning cycle does not remove the lines, rest the printer for half an hour and perform a nozzle check. (Do not continue to clean the cartridges as this will use up valuable ink from all the cartridges).
If there is no improvement, leave the cartridge for a further two hours. During the rest period, ink from the cartridge will migrate through the cartridge and absorb / push trapped air from the print head.
If Epson cartridges are removed from the printer for any length of time, the print head is liable to dry out and block up. Always remove used cartridges when you have a replacement available.
Never remove the power supply when the printer is in operation such as paper feed, cleaning cycle and printing. When the printer is not in use, the print head will park over the ‘capping mechanism’ which seals over the print head preventing it from drying out.