Homebrew PCBs

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Robert Hedan <robert.hedan@...>
wrote:
>
> Update on the situation:
> 
> The black cartridge registers as totally empty, both using the Epson
utility
> and that Russian SSC utility.
> 
> No more black is getting on the paper, BUT, the cartidge continues
to 'wet'
> that plastic injector at the bottom of the chariot.  Everytime I
remove the
> cartridge, that stub is very wet, much more so than blue, and blue
prints
> nicely.

That sounds like you have ink but it is not getting pulled in.

> So I know I have black ink, this is much more than a matter of
cleaning the
> print heads from the bottom.  I believe I should clean them more
> 'aggressively' by the top.  It's not a matter of ink having a hard time
> getting out, it's a matter of ink not getting in at all.  This is
where I
> need advice from experienced players.
> 
> 1. Can I just dap a drop of IPA 99% onto that stub?

Bad idea. Anyone who's tried to wash a window with 99% IPA knows it
evaporates too quickly to help much. And IPA is not that great a
solvent for inkjet ink. Use Windex with Ammonia D, or the solution I gave.

> 2. How is that ink fed into that stub, gravity?

Gravity and capillary.

> 3. Can I use light air spray to increase penetration?

Bad idea! Those heads are small and fragile. Take a 0.5ml syringe, put
4 pounds of force on it (a child can do that) and you've just put
>70psi on a head meant for a fraction of a psi column of ink.

> I looked around at removing that chariot for a complete soak, and that
> doesn't look like an option.

A -very- bad idea. That would require realignment, which requires a
DOS program from Epson that they only give to Epson factory techs.

Read my links: patience is a virtue! It takes a while for the cleaning
solution to dissolve clogged inks. No amount of pressure is going to
speed that up enough to matter. The nozzles are smaller than a hair.

BTW, your park pad station is filthy! Have you tried putting cleaning
solution in the park pads as I direct in the link I keep posting? This
softens the ink in the heads (the vapor of the ammonia and IPA will
rise into it) and helps unclog the vacuum hose.

Steve Greenfield