Digital BW, The Print

* Paper needs to be as flat as possible. If the paper is curled, especially if it's a small size, the print head can be damaged if it hits the edge of the sheet. Curled paper also can lead to ink splatters when the paper curl "whacks" the print head as it emerges from the guides. The best option is to avoid curly paper (e.g., Premier Art Smooth Bright White 200 gsm seems to be very prone to this). If you have a supply of curled paper, you can flatten it by ironing each sheet. I use a regular clothes iron set to high heat with no steam. Place the paper face down on a clean sheet of cardboard on your ironing board, and then place a sheet of clean baking paper on top. It doesn't take long and you don't have to press too hard. If you have a dry mount press, that will work even better.

* Easy does it on the cleaning procedures. There's a lot of good advice on how to clean and maintain the printer if necessary (e.g., see the video for the 1400 at Inkjet Mall). My advice is clean the printer with these "Epson unapproved" techniques only when you really have to. Use the procedures in the order specified. Avoid doing the really aggressive procedures unless the alternative is throwing the printer out. I would call forcing cleaning solutions through the head with a syringe really aggressive. I'm pretty sure I wrecked my first 1430 through aggressive cleaning to deal with persistent failed nozzle checks.

* Don't rely on head cleanings. The consensus seems to be that you don't want to run more than 3 head cleanings in a row. I've found that aggressive head cleaning usually makes things worse. You can often get much better results, using a lot less ink, by making "purge" prints. MIS and other sites supply TIF files that print bands (or full pages) of each color (or tone in this case). Cranking a few (or a dozen if need be) through the printer cleans up a lot of issues. BUT, be careful if you're using regular copy paper. I've found that the QTR profiles I use to do this lay down much more black ink than copy paper can absorb, which can create new problems because ink pools on the paper in the K position and covers the head. The back side of old test prints on proper paper will suck up a lot of ink.

* Pay attention to the instructions for filling cartridges and CIS units. There really is a trick to using refillable cartridges and CIS units. For example, the CIS I'm using works great ... unless you allow ink to fill the air chamber. When that happens, the print head gets flooded with ink, and you have a mess (and probably need to clean the printer). It's easy to avoid the problem... if you follow the instructions.

* Understand the differences between cartridges and CIS units. Eboni ink mixtures are prone to sedimentation. This isn't a problem if you're using cartridges on your 1430 because they move with the print head. However, it is a problem if you're using a CIS because the external ink tank does not move. Don't forget to agitate the external tanks occasionally to avoid ink sedimentation. My own procedure is to agitate gently the night before to allow air bubbles to dissipate from the tank.

* Patience is a virtue. A lot of problems really do clear up by themselves if you just wait. For instance, sometimes I can't get that perfect nozzle check until I let things settle down for a day.

I hope these are useful. If you have more, or improved ones, please add them to the conversation!

Very beneficial and appreciated.  I have an R3000 and most all of your message is applicable to it also. The R3000 has stationary ink cartridges so that would present a different challenge from the 1430, more like a CIS printer.  Another very generous blogger (Jeff) recommended periodic flushing/cleaning of the ink lines leading to the print head.  Thanks,

Michael Nagle
513-461-1143

> On Feb 21, 2016, at 13:49, rdeloe1@... [DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint] <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
> 
> In my epic journey to get myself sorted out using an Epson 1430 to print with Eboni inks I've learned some best practices (many from members on this forum). Future users of this printer and ink combination might benefit from knowing these (I sure would have). Therefore, I've started this thread to provide "one stop shopping". 
> 
> To get things started I summarized my own best practices. Please feel free to comment on these, and to add your own. 
> 
> * Paper needs to be as flat as possible. If the paper is curled, especially if it's a small size, the print head can be damaged if it hits the edge of the sheet. Curled paper also can lead to ink splatters when the paper curl "whacks" the print head as it emerges from the guides. The best option is to avoid curly paper (e.g., Premier Art Smooth Bright White 200 gsm seems to be very prone to this). If you have a supply of curled paper, you can flatten it by ironing each sheet. I use a regular clothes iron set to high heat with no steam. Place the paper face down on a clean sheet of cardboard on your ironing board, and then place a sheet of clean baking paper on top. It doesn't take long and you don't have to press too hard. If you have a dry mount press, that will work even better. 
> 
> 
> * Easy does it on the cleaning procedures. There's a lot of good advice on how to clean and maintain the printer if necessary (e.g., see the video for the 1400 at Inkjet Mall). My advice is clean the printer with these "Epson unapproved" techniques only when you really have to. Use the procedures in the order specified. Avoid doing the really aggressive procedures unless the alternative is throwing the printer out. I would call forcing cleaning solutions through the head with a syringe really aggressive. I'm pretty sure I wrecked my first 1430 through aggressive cleaning to deal with persistent failed nozzle checks.
> 
> 
> 
> * Don't rely on head cleanings. The consensus seems to be that you don't want to run more than 3 head cleanings in a row. I've found that aggressive head cleaning usually makes things worse. You can often get much better results, using a lot less ink, by making "purge" prints. MIS and other sites supply TIF files that print bands (or full pages) of each color (or tone in this case). Cranking a few (or a dozen if need be) through the printer cleans up a lot of issues. BUT, be careful if you're using regular copy paper. I've found that the QTR profiles I use to do this lay down much more black ink than copy paper can absorb, which can create new problems because ink pools on the paper in the K position and covers the head. The back side of old test prints on proper paper will suck up a lot of ink. 
> 
> 
> 
> * Pay attention to the instructions for filling cartridges and CIS units. There really is a trick to using refillable cartridges and CIS units. For example, the CIS I'm using works great ... unless you allow ink to fill the air chamber. When that happens, the print head gets flooded with ink, and you have a mess (and probably need to clean the printer). It's easy to avoid the problem... if you follow the instructions.  
> 
> * Understand the differences between cartridges and CIS units. Eboni ink mixtures are prone to sedimentation. This isn't a problem if you're using cartridges on your 1430 because they move with the print head. However, it is a problem if you're using a CIS because the external ink tank does not move. Don't forget to agitate the external tanks occasionally to avoid ink sedimentation. My own procedure is to agitate gently the night before to allow air bubbles to dissipate from the tank. 
> 
> 
> 
> * Patience is a virtue. A lot of problems really do clear up by themselves if you just wait. For instance, sometimes I can't get that perfect nozzle check until I let things settle down for a day. 
> 
> 
> 
> I hope these are useful. If you have more, or improved ones, please add them to the conversation! 
> 
>

This article says not to use this procedure to unclog a printer. But you won't know whether it is a genuine clog that needs heavier treatment, rather than air in the system, until you've tried it. Someone from IJM claimed that you could burn out a nozzle doing this, but honestly, I printed a LOT of purge patterns with nozzle gaps and my heads are all just fine, thanks. (It's also possible to selectively purge channels using QTR custom curves, but I think most people will find the IJM approach the simplest.)