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Flush refillable ink cartridges

Flush refillable ink cartridges

2016-09-13 by nigel@...

Hi,

I have just been given a semi working Epson R2880, It had blocked heads with after market pigment ink in refillable cartridges, the heads are now unblocked and a nozzle test is perfect however the ink in the K, LK and LLK seem contaminated with a colour, very strong magenta colour cast on my B&W prints which makes me think the previous owner made a slip up when refilling. A purging test print seems to confirm this. Also the pigment had settled to the bottom from lack of use.

Is there any way to flush out the existing ink from the refillable cartridges so I can start again? The ideal solution would be to buy new carts but until I satisfy myself that the printer is 100% working I don't want to spend the money. I basically intercepted the printer on the way to the rubbish tip.

I intend to use carbon blacks in it eventually, and print with the three blacks in the interim.

Thanks

Nigel in the UK

Re: [Digital BW] Flush refillable ink cartridges

2016-09-13 by Paul Roark

I've rinsed out many cartridges. If the cartridge has a sponge that is saturated with a color, however, it may be nearly impossible to get every bit of the color out.

For initial flushing, distilled water with a little surfactant (like the darkroom wetting agents) added helps. I use the base for whatever inkset I'll be using as my last clear flush, and a few ml's of the ink for the final rinse to minimize dilution of the ink by the flushing fluid.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com
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On Tue, Sep 13, 2016 at 6:07 AM, nigel@... [DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint] <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Hi,

I have just been given a semi working Epson R2880, It had blocked heads with after market pigment ink in refillable cartridges, the heads are now unblocked and a nozzle test is perfect however the ink in the K, LK and LLK seem contaminated with a colour, very strong magenta colour cast on my B&W prints which makes me think the previous owner made a slip up when refilling. A purging test print seems to confirm this. Also the pigment had settled to the bottom from lack of use.

Is there any way to flush out the existing ink from the refillable cartridges so I can start again? The ideal solution would be to buy new carts but until I satisfy myself that the printer is 100% working I don't want to spend the money. I basically intercepted the printer on the way to the rubbish tip.

I intend to use carbon blacks in it eventually, and print with the three blacks in the interim.

Thanks

Nigel in the UK


RE: [Digital BW] Flush refillable ink cartridges

2016-09-13 by Nigel Richards

Thanks, I will give it a go.  

Cheers

Nigel
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From: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com [mailto:DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com] 
Sent: 13 September 2016 15:03
To: DigitalB&WPrint
Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Flush refillable ink cartridges

 

  

I've rinsed out many cartridges.  If the cartridge has a sponge that is saturated with a color, however, it may be nearly impossible to get every bit of the color out. 

 

For initial flushing, distilled water with a little surfactant (like the darkroom wetting agents) added helps.   I use the base for whatever inkset I'll be using as my last clear flush, and a few ml's of the ink for the final rinse to minimize dilution of the ink by the flushing fluid.

 

Paul

www.PaulRoark.com 

 

On Tue, Sep 13, 2016 at 6:07 AM, nigel@....co.uk [DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint] <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

  

Hi,

I have just been given a semi working Epson R2880, It had blocked heads with after market pigment ink in refillable cartridges,  the heads are now unblocked and a nozzle test is perfect however the ink in the K, LK and LLK seem contaminated with a colour, very strong magenta colour cast on my B&W prints which makes me think the previous owner made a slip up when refilling. A purging test print seems to confirm this. Also the pigment had settled to the bottom from lack of use.

Is there any way to flush out the existing ink from the refillable cartridges so I can start again? The ideal solution would be to buy new carts but until I satisfy myself that the printer is 100% working I don't want  to spend the money. I basically intercepted the printer on the way to the rubbish tip.   

I intend to use carbon blacks in it eventually, and print with the three blacks in the interim.  

Thanks

Nigel in the UK

Re: [Digital BW] Flush refillable ink cartridges

2016-09-14 by Paul Roark

Paul W.,

I thought the first issue for the initial poster was to rinse the carts themselves. I would do that outside the printer with syringes and a bottom fill adapter. I'd first rinse the reservoir by putting clear fluid into the cart and pulling it out the same way -- through the fill hole. After the reservoir was clean, I'd put some clear fluid into the cart and pull it through the outlet until the clear fluid was clear coming out the outlet. If there is a saturated sponge in the flow, that may make this a difficult task.

Only when the carts are clean would I install them and run a cleaning cycle. And for the cleaning cycle I'd use a clear fluid that was about half distilled water and half my generic base c6b. One might also rinse the parking pad to remove the old color. I'd print a purge pattern after each cleaning cycle to see if the system is clear.

Note that the purge pattern that we typically use with the Epson driver does not show each ink separately. Only the QTR calibration mode print really shows the ink channels totally separately. As such, it is what one should use to see exactly where the color is coming from.

The problem with the clear fluid in the system is that you won't be able to see from a nozzle check if they are all functioning. Some use a dilute dye in the carts -- like mixed into the cleaning fluid -- to do this. If the nozzle check was good before the rinsing out of the color inks, it's almost certainly going to be clean after the rinse.

With old desktop printers and all this cleaning and rinsing, there is a distinct risk that the printer will reach it's "end of life" (bottom, built in waste tank full) point and the lights will be flashing. Epson has a utility that will reset this and extend the life of the printer a bit. Ultimately, even if the head is still OK, the bottom waste tank will be full and ink will start leaking out of foul something inside. My only experience with a desktop unit that was that old was that you don't want to use the reset utility more than once on a printer.

Some people install tubes that connect the pump under the head assembly to an external waste tank. I think if the machine or inkset is so troublesome that that amount of cleaning is needed, it's time to start over.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com
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On Wed, Sep 14, 2016 at 4:05 AM, paulmwhiting@... [DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint] <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Elementary question: how do you do the actual flushing? Run 2 or 3 cleaning cycles? No more, right?

Paul W.


Re: Flush refillable ink cartridges

2016-09-14 by paulmwhiting@...

Thanks for that detailed answer, Paul. I'm printing it out and will keep it posted near my workstation.

Paul W.

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