Yellow lines appear in printed outputs on my Epson 1280. Printer was inactive for about 5 months. ....have cleaned and soaked print head several times. Lines are less intense, but still there. Thanks for your help.

If NO print pattern then the Printer heads clogged or damaged. New printer is cheaper than fixing.

The problem is the print head, The ink cartrige for this printer is just a little bottle of ink. What really causes problem in it IS THE CLOGGED HEAD. If you have skill to reach thepen of the head (part that touchs the paper) use a quill tip or rag soak on water and clean it. Or go to EPSON SITE AND ORDER A HEAD CLEANNER FLUID TO POUR INSIDE THE HEAD AND CLEAN IT.

i've tried to remove it from the sliders and to have it soaked in alcohol for about 10 hours without any luck. It is too much work without any guarantee. I suggest to junk it and get a new one (if possible with heads on the cartridges so they are replaced with each refill)

Let's try a couple of things. First, have you tried a different yellow cartridge?
If you have, we can try cleaning the printhead. Remove the printhead and soak it overnight in a warm distilled water bath. This is the gentler alternative to the more aggressive head cleaning solutions. After the soaking overnight, blot the printhead being with a lint free cloth being careful not to brush the electronics. Reinsert the printhead and reinstall the ink cartridges. Try printing. This should clear the printhead clog. If the printhead is severely clogged, you may have to repeat the soak.
Let me know if this clears the problem.

Epson printers have their print head nozzles built directly into the printer instead of into the disposable ink cartridges. These print heads can become clogged over time, especially if you are using ink refill kits instead of replacing the cartridges with new ones. To clean the nozzles, you will need to open up the printer and physically remove the print head.

Use this solution for cleaning your printer nozzle

85% distilled water
10% Isopropyl alcohol
5% ammonia

use soft cloth or sponge + solution and carefully wipe the print head

You may have to clean your HEADS. I found this on the Web. Hopefully this will help. Pls rate me.
Good Luck

Found this on the Web:
http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/forums/inkjet/14116

Epson Stylus Head Cleaning Solution Plus
Re: Epson printer problem

You will want to press the button that you use to change the ink cartridge (the 3rd button). Once the carriage is in the "cartridge change position" you can unplug the printer. Then you are ready to flush out the heads. Click here for cleaning instructions http://www.wesesweb.web1000.com/printhead.html

The instructions are fairly easy to follow. If you need the head cleaning solution click here .http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/kea0.html

Repairs: All Epson Stylus printers (except for the C64-C86, CX4600-CX6400 series) which don't print, or print choppy in black or color. For the other printers, as well as Canon BJCs, use the other repair kit.

Description:

• This is the same chemical used by Epson in their service department
• Easy to use, no disassembly required
• Gently dissolves even the most stubborn clogs and restores output to dried out print nozzles and clogged printheads
• In our testing on an Epson 600 that sat unused for several months, it 100% restored a head that had no output, with one application (Individual results may vary)

Note: This is not alcohol or Windex; it is an ink-specific solvent that has proven to be safe and effective for use on Epson printheads. Do not use alcohol or Windex, they will very likely ruin your printer.

Kit Includes:

• 1 oz bottle Epson Stylus Head Cleaning Solution (enough to fix several printers)
• 1 syringe applicator for dispensing solution
• Simple directions for use

Price: $9.99 order form on link below
http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/kits/Epson/K89

I thru out an epson ink jet and never bought one again. I did not use it that much and the ink dried in the head and it would not clear out.
I toke it apart and soaked it is almost all the solvents from dish detergent lye for denatured alcohol to napa tested it each time and nota so save the frustration buy a new head or a printer instead. where anytime you place new ink the heads are changed too.

You have the classic single nozzle failure it appears. You say you have done a nozzle check. This should reveal that one of the black nozzles is not working i.e. there is a single gap in your nozzle check printout for the black nozzles. Now, this may be due to a blocked nozzle. Try the following print head soak process.

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 again. If still nothing, report back

I would get it repaired. you could get one off ebay. they are a lot of money new.

One of the best possible solution that we can suggest is to run a cleaning cycle for three times. Just to make sure that cleaning is effective please try the step below:

1. Using your computer go to printer utility.
2. Click on Maintenance then select Head Cleaning. Head cleaning usually took 1 minute.
3. Once the Head Cleaning is done Print a nozzle pattern to check whether the head cleaning is effective or not.

Repeat those steps for 3 times. If the nozzle pattern after 3 cleaning cycles still bad. Reseat ink cartridge if possible replace the ink cartridges.

After all those steps and issue still present printer needs to be in service.