Homebrew PCBs

The ink resetter I got from Staples seems to have killed the only
black chip I have for my Epson printer that I refill. I have
auto-reset chips, but since I bought a C88+ and not a C88, they don't
seem to work right so I'd prefer to use the real Epson chips and reset
them myself once I get a better resetter. I'd be willing to trade the
auto-reset chips for a bunch of the epson chips.

By the way, the ink I got from the InkJetCarts eBay seller doesn't
work on brass sheets, as far as I've found, though I still need to try
heating it up and to try it with copper sheets. The ink seems
permanent though, the ink that got into the scratches I made with 2000
grit sandpaper wouldn't come off the brass with acetone - I figure
there's a micro thin layer of ink still on the metal that I'd need to
sand out.

I have one set of T60x series cartridges and I don't
use their chips. I think C88 is also using same
cartridge series but I am not sure. If one set is ok
for you I can give them.
Volkan

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Volkan Sahin <vsahin@...> wrote:
>
> I have one set of T60x series cartridges and I don't
> use their chips. I think C88 is also using same
> cartridge series but I am not sure. If one set is ok
> for you I can give them.
> Volkan
>

I should have posted the numbers, yes, I need the T060x series of
chips from the C68/88/3800/4800/etc. I've sent you an e-mail. If
anyone else has any from empty cartridges, let me know. I'm looking to
keep one or two extra sets around just in case. Thanks!

On Fri, 04 Aug 2006 05:04:51 +0200, fenrir_co <fenrir@...>  
wrote:

>
> I should have posted the numbers, yes, I need the T060x series of
> chips from the C68/88/3800/4800/etc. I've sent you an e-mail. If
> anyone else has any from empty cartridges, let me know. I'm looking to
> keep one or two extra sets around just in case. Thanks!
>


I'm not sure you considered this, so here you go:

If you use manual reset chips you need to remove the cart from the printer  
each time you refill, introducing air and requiring some waiting and  
cleaning. If you never ever take the cart out you do not have this problem.

A workaround is to remove the chips from the carts, remove the small PCB  
with the contacts, split off the ribbon connector, and mount the chips in  
a more reasonable place than the head. I soldered them all together.

But in the end i got the automatic chips with the spongeless carts so i  
put it all back for simplicity.

ST

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Trethan"
<stefan_trethan@...> wrote:
>
> On Fri, 04 Aug 2006 05:04:51 +0200, fenrir_co <fenrir@...>  
> wrote:
> 
> >
> > I should have posted the numbers, yes, I need the T060x series of
> > chips from the C68/88/3800/4800/etc. I've sent you an e-mail. If
> > anyone else has any from empty cartridges, let me know. I'm 
> > looking to
> > keep one or two extra sets around just in case. Thanks!
> >
> 
> 
> I'm not sure you considered this, so here you go:
> 
> If you use manual reset chips you need to remove the cart from the 
> printer  
> each time you refill, introducing air and requiring some waiting and  
> cleaning. If you never ever take the cart out you do not have this 
> problem.

After much experimenting and the destruction of a C88 I've found that
refilling in the printer can cause the carts to flood ink into the
printhead, making you have to run a cleaning cycle anyway to make the
squeegee clean off the head.

> 
> A workaround is to remove the chips from the carts, remove the small 
> PCB  
> with the contacts, split off the ribbon connector, and mount the 
> chips in  
> a more reasonable place than the head. I soldered them all together.
> 
> But in the end i got the automatic chips with the spongeless carts 
> so i  
> put it all back for simplicity.
> 
> ST
>

Not being that technically inclined myself (I do copper and brass
decorative etching, not PCB work, but since the process is nearly
identical this group is very useful for me), and having had massive
disasters getting a printer running with refill inks (after the
destruction of a HP 1100D, due to either bad inks, old age, or both,
and a new C88 due to bad, leaking empty carts), I'm not doing ANYTHING
to risk ruining things now that I have my C88+ running.

I'd use the Auto-Reset chips I already have, but they are the type
that will not reset without either turning off the printer, or hitting
the replace-ink button (SSC utility allows you to put the printer head
in the ink replace section without triggering the cartridge exchange
purge), so they do not save anything in that regard. They sometimes do
not even reset after doing this, making the printer go down to 0% and
creating a 'defective cartridge, please use Epson originals' error
which requires several power on/offs to reset them. Apparently the
auto-reset chips that MIS carries now do the same thing, not many are
still available that will reset just by taking them out of the
printer. Also, using Epson Genuines seems to make the printer purge
less ink than with compatibles. I wish I could just use SSC and reset
the Epson chips, but the printer keeps its own record of the ink
levels until you use the ink replace function. So there's really no
good way to avoid having to power cycle it without, as you tried,
doing something like creating your own chip emulator. It seems that
the chips are easily damaged by static, so I'm starting to get worried
that I'll have to keep finding discarded ones or buying replacements.
I may wind up being forced to use the auto-reset chips, whichh,
despite being abused a lot at this point, still work fine. The last
two Epson Black chips I used only reset once each before refusing to
work. I've ordered a different chip resetter, just in case.

On a whole I've found the whole refilling business to be more hassle
than it's worth, except for the fact that the last run of prints I did
would have cost $156 taking them to Staples for 39c copies, or near
$300 in OEM cartridges. If you are /not/ doing massive print runs of
color copies, it's more trouble than it's worth (buy a Canon IP4200
which has nice, big ink tanks, or a HP Deskjet that takes 96/97 carts)

>On a whole I've found the whole refilling business to be more hassle
>than it's worth

Here we go again. Even though you indicate that this is your 
experience, you word things in such a way as to imply that more than 
likely it should be a global experience. It's like those newbies who 
buy a particular item that has a flaw or issue, they turn up in some 
relevant newsgroup with the assumption that just about everyone with 
that item has the same problem. Did it ever occur to you that the 
refillable cartridges you are/were using are crap? Or if not, maybe 
you just got a bad batch or something?

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "fenrir_co" <fenrir@...> wrote:
>

derekhawkins wrote:
>>On a whole I've found the whole refilling business to be more hassle
>>than it's worth
> 
> Here we go again. Even though you indicate that this is your 
> experience, you word things in such a way as to imply that more than 
> likely it should be a global experience. It's like those newbies who 
> buy a particular item that has a flaw or issue, they turn up in some 
> relevant newsgroup with the assumption that just about everyone with 
> that item has the same problem. Did it ever occur to you that the 
> refillable cartridges you are/were using are crap? Or if not, maybe 
> you just got a bad batch or something?

What most epson refill instructions don't say is to never refill
with the syringe from underneath or from top that would pierce the
porous membrane deep inside the exit hole. You can see it by cutting
a cartridge open. I've done dozens of refills with 100% success.

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "fenrir_co" <fenrir@...> wrote:

> After much experimenting and the destruction of a C88 I've found that
> refilling in the printer can cause the carts to flood ink into the
> printhead, making you have to run a cleaning cycle anyway to make the
> squeegee clean off the head.

If I hadn't mentioned that before, I'm sorry I didn't. With things as
they are meant to be, the pressure of the ink is as if the level of
the ink is just above the level of the ink spike. But with the plug
pulled from the cartridge, now the pressure of the ink matches the
actual level of the ink in the cartridge. So an overpressure causes
ink to leak out the head.

Same thing happens if there is -any- air leakage around the refill plug.

> On a whole I've found the whole refilling business to be more hassle
> than it's worth, except for the fact that the last run of prints I did
> would have cost $156 taking them to Staples for 39c copies, or near
> $300 in OEM cartridges. If you are /not/ doing massive print runs of
> color copies, it's more trouble than it's worth (buy a Canon IP4200
> which has nice, big ink tanks, or a HP Deskjet that takes 96/97 carts)

That's why I use bulk ink systems in my printers.

BTW, the right auto reset chips should -not- reset to 100%. If they
do, the printer assumes you've slipped new carts in while it was off
and runs a heavy cleaning. The correct chips reset to 99%. No way
around turning the printer off and on again, but that's not so bad, is it?

Steve Greenfield

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <alienrelics@...> wrote:
>
> --- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "fenrir_co" <fenrir@> wrote:
> 
> > After much experimenting and the destruction of a C88 I've found 
> > that
> > refilling in the printer can cause the carts to flood ink into the
> > printhead, making you have to run a cleaning cycle anyway to make 
> > the
> > squeegee clean off the head.
> 
> If I hadn't mentioned that before, I'm sorry I didn't. With things 
> as
> they are meant to be, the pressure of the ink is as if the level of
> the ink is just above the level of the ink spike. But with the plug
> pulled from the cartridge, now the pressure of the ink matches the
> actual level of the ink in the cartridge. So an overpressure causes
> ink to leak out the head.
> 
> Same thing happens if there is -any- air leakage around the refill 
> plug.

Actually I think you did mention this, I was responding to the other
Steven who said you should not take the cart out to avoid getting air
in the system. While I think this may work for some people if they do
it really quickly, I  find that it's generally a bad idea. Plus, you
can't really see how full the cartridge is if it's not one of the end
ones. There's really no way to get around having to turn the printer
on/off or using the ink-replace button, as even Epson chips require
that the printer be turned off and on again to 'notice' that it's been
reset.

The little silicone plugs MIS offers with their cartridges seem
entirely too flimsy to seal well. I ordered a dozen extra ones, but I
may look for a better way to open/close the carts, possibly some kind
of small screw and O-ring combination.

> > On a whole I've found the whole refilling business to be more 
> > hassle
> > than it's worth, except for the fact that the last run of prints I 
> > did
> > would have cost $156 taking them to Staples for 39c copies, or 
> > near
> > $300 in OEM cartridges. If you are /not/ doing massive print runs 
> > of
> > color copies, it's more trouble than it's worth (buy a Canon 
> > IP4200
> > which has nice, big ink tanks, or a HP Deskjet that takes 96/97 
> > carts)
> 
> That's why I use bulk ink systems in my printers.

I studied refilling a lot before I actually did anything, and still
managed to destroy two printers (MIS' ink for HP 1100d formed a huge
dried out glop of ink on the printhead and InkJetCarts carts leaked
into the printer). Both of these companies have extremely good ratings
(Inkjetcarts provide superb instructions, far better than MIS), but I
suspect the quality of supplies other than ink depends on 'whatever
the cheapest deal from China they found'. The MIS blanks I bought work
perfectly but I've seen reports that people have had MIS blanks leak
ink into the printer as well. I'm looking into converting Epson tanks
to refillables, but now I'm seeing recent posts that even the OEM
cartridges have air/ink flow issues or possible poppet valve 'sticking'.

> 
> BTW, the right auto reset chips should -not- reset to 100%. If they
> do, the printer assumes you've slipped new carts in while it was off
> and runs a heavy cleaning. The correct chips reset to 99%. No way
> around turning the printer off and on again, but that's not so bad, 
> is it?
> 
> Steve Greenfield
>

The auto-reset chips supposedly reset to 95% and I seem to remember
that they /did/ do this on the C88, though I was spending more time
figuring out how to stop the ink leakage inside the printer rather
than the chips themselves. The replacement was a C88+, which goes to
100%, it may not be totally compatible with the auto-reset chips (Many
auto-reset chips failed to work at all in the R220/R340 despite being
the exact same cartridge number, Epson messed with the firmware a
little). I'm trying to switch to manual resetting so that if the
printer gets low on ink and I refill it, I can reset it rather than
having to wait for it to print down low enough to reset on its own
(since these do not reset with power on/off, which seems to be the
case with MIS' current chips as well according to their message board).

I recycle the waste ink back into the black cartridge (make sure you
have a well sealed waste ink container with air and waste tube holes
on the sides and not the top), so far it seems to be working - the
printer purges more black ink than color ink with each cleaning cycle,
after nearly 450 prints and three recycles the black ink still looks
perfectly black for text. I suspect if I tried to print a photo it
would look weird.

On Sat, 05 Aug 2006 03:14:18 +0200, fenrir_co <fenrir@...>  
wrote:

>
> After much experimenting and the destruction of a C88 I've found that
> refilling in the printer can cause the carts to flood ink into the
> printhead, making you have to run a cleaning cycle anyway to make the
> squeegee clean off the head.


I woudn't see how a little leaked ink could possibly harm a printer.
Yes, ink will be more likely to drop out of the head with the plug in the  
cartridge opened. But it is very little ink and drops very slowly. it is  
no problem to have the head over the park station and have it go in there.  
With even only a small amount of suction (which the stock printer does  
regularly) it will be cleaned up again. Since i have disabled the suction  
pump i simply dry the park pad with a syringe.

IMO it's no problem at all and much better than removing the carts.
A CIS is very complex in comparision, and you may have much more problems  
for example if the level in the bottles is not correct.

The only issue i had is not knowing there's a plastic membrane on the  
other side of the cart also, so i punctured this with a sharp syringe  
needle (using that one instead of the blunt one that came with it). Not a  
problem any more after fixing the puncture with some sticky tape. So  
simply do not insert the needle very far, and keep it straight down, or  
use a blunt needle.


I must say after getting the right gear the refilling does not seem as  
annoying as it looked at first. I'm rather surprised actually how well the  
printer "keeps" with the vacuum pump disabled. It will still have all  
nozzles working after several days of standing there. Only once or twice i  
had to apply some vacuum with the syringe to clear a nozzle.

Does anybody know the ideal head gap for those printers? Can anybody  
measure it with the c84 "stock" configuration?

ST

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "fenrir_co" <fenrir@...> wrote:
...
> I studied refilling a lot before I actually did anything, and still
> managed to destroy two printers (MIS' ink for HP 1100d formed a huge
> dried out glop of ink on the printhead and InkJetCarts carts leaked
> into the printer). Both of these companies have extremely good ratings
> (Inkjetcarts provide superb instructions, far better than MIS), but I
> suspect the quality of supplies other than ink depends on 'whatever
> the cheapest deal from China they found'. 

HP cartridges are another animal entirely. They carry a slight
negative pressure (ie, slightly under ambient pressure) or they leak
until they reach that slight negative. Not hard to do with the large
#15 and #45 style carts as it has a fairly simple bag (just don't
overfill, and purge all internal air), but it takes an extra step when
refilling the #26/29/33 style cartridges (hard shell, internal air
bags that must be vacuumed out).

Sponged cartridges have sort of a "virtual" negative pressure due to
the sponge. However, Epson print heads seem less prone to leakage if
you use a spongefree cartridge, as long as the pressure/level of the
ink is kept no higher than the top of the ink spike. The sweet spot is
between the level of the base of the ink spike and the bottom of the
print head. You can only get that pressure with a sponged cartridge, a
CIS, or the funky valving and hydraulics inside the C6x/C8x series
cartridges.

BTW, if you refill OEM Epson C6x/C8x series carts from the top, you
are doing it the wrong way and can never refill more than about half.

Steve Greenfield

On Sat, 05 Aug 2006 21:16:07 +0200, Steve <alienrelics@...> wrote:

>
> BTW, if you refill OEM Epson C6x/C8x series carts from the top, you
> are doing it the wrong way and can never refill more than about half.
> Steve Greenfield


Sponged ones?

I see no reason why the spongeless shouldn't get full...


There seem to be two mechanisms inside a spongeless carts. The air vent is  
brought down in a channel with many twists to the very bottom of the cart.  
Also, in the center there is a strange round chamber that leads to the  
spike. I'm not sure which purpose it serves.

ST

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Trethan"
<stefan_trethan@...> wrote:

> I woudn't see how a little leaked ink could possibly harm a printer.
> Yes, ink will be more likely to drop out of the head with the plug
in the  
> cartridge opened. But it is very little ink and drops very slowly.

I've read of too many people having entire cartridges, even entire
bulk ink bottles drain overnight through the park pad. A leaking fill
hole is equivalent to raising the ink feed from 1 to 2 inches,
depending on which cartridge/printer model.

As for it not hurting, this link isn't about leakage, just about
buildup of ink from cleanings over a longer period of time:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EPSON_Printers/message/40363

Steve Greenfield

On Sun, 06 Aug 2006 19:08:14 +0200, Steve <alienrelics@...> wrote:

> I've read of too many people having entire cartridges, even entire
> bulk ink bottles drain overnight through the park pad. A leaking fill
> hole is equivalent to raising the ink feed from 1 to 2 inches,
> depending on which cartridge/printer model.
> As for it not hurting, this link isn't about leakage, just about
> buildup of ink from cleanings over a longer period of time:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EPSON_Printers/message/40363
> Steve Greenfield


That's why i removed the vacuum pump and gummed up waste ink pads and  
instead plugged the hose with a plug. When i need to clean the head i'll  
remove the stopper and apply a syringe. The amount of wasted ink was  
reduced to near zero this way.

Almost all of the cleaning the printer does seems unnecessary.

BTW there is no significant amount of ink drained into the waste pad when  
refilling while parked there, i tried it.
The ink will leak (i saw that when i had a puncture) but far too slow to  
be any concern while refilling.
The stopper must be airtight though, but the silicone stoppers that came  
with the carts seem good, the trick to install/remove is twisting  
otherwise it'll never go in.

ST

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Trethan"
<stefan_trethan@...> wrote:
>
> On Sat, 05 Aug 2006 21:16:07 +0200, Steve <alienrelics@...> wrote:
> 
> >
> > BTW, if you refill OEM Epson C6x/C8x series carts from the top, you
> > are doing it the wrong way and can never refill more than about half.
> > Steve Greenfield
> 
> 
> Sponged ones?
> 
> I see no reason why the spongeless shouldn't get full...

Then you aren't looking closely enough. :') I am not talking about
-all- spongeless cartridges. As I stated, only OEM Epson C6x/C8x
series, maybe (haven't checked yet) the R200/300 series.

> There seem to be two mechanisms inside a spongeless carts. The air
vent is  
> brought down in a channel with many twists to the very bottom of the
cart.  
> Also, in the center there is a strange round chamber that leads to the  
> spike. I'm not sure which purpose it serves.

Some of that goomba is to make it impossible to simply inject ink in
through the outlet. Some is there to regulate ink pressure.

The upshot? Turn it upside down, drill a hole next to the ink outlet.
Fill a syringe with the proper amount of ink for that cartridge,
insert it into the hole you drilled. You should have selected a drill
bit so that the syringe (or blunt adapter from MIS) is a tight fit in
the hole.

Now using either another syringe (twice as large as the first) or a
vacuum pump, suck air out of the ink outlet.

The syringe full of ink will pull itself down, the second it hits
bottom stop pulling out the outlet. Bang! It is a full as it is going
to get, both top and bottom chambers.

Now if you are talking about MIS spongeless, those are -made- to be
refilled so they do not have all the extra junk just to make refilling
hard.

However, MIS instructions leave out an important step: you should
temporarily tape over the air inlet hole before removing the fill
plug. Then -after- reinstalling the fill plug, -before- drawing a
little ink out the ink outlet to prime it, remove the tape over the
air inlet.

If you don't, ink flows up into the air inlet. This can cause problems
later, and you won't know why. Dried ink in the air inlet can hinder
air, so nozzle checks look fine and light printing is OK, but heavy
printing can show random banding as printing progresses. Then a nozzle
check or light printing immediately after can still look just fine.

Steve Greenfield

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Trethan"
<stefan_trethan@...> wrote:
>
> On Sun, 06 Aug 2006 19:08:14 +0200, Steve <alienrelics@...> wrote:
> 
> > I've read of too many people having entire cartridges, even entire
> > bulk ink bottles drain overnight through the park pad. A leaking fill
> > hole is equivalent to raising the ink feed from 1 to 2 inches,
> > depending on which cartridge/printer model.
> > As for it not hurting, this link isn't about leakage, just about
> > buildup of ink from cleanings over a longer period of time:
> > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EPSON_Printers/message/40363
> > Steve Greenfield
> 
> 
> That's why i removed the vacuum pump and gummed up waste ink pads and  
> instead plugged the hose with a plug. When i need to clean the head
i'll  
> remove the stopper and apply a syringe. The amount of wasted ink was  
> reduced to near zero this way.
> 
> Almost all of the cleaning the printer does seems unnecessary.
> 
> BTW there is no significant amount of ink drained into the waste pad
when  
> refilling while parked there, i tried it.
> The ink will leak (i saw that when i had a puncture) but far too
slow to  
> be any concern while refilling.

But you cannot make generalized statements about it as you have, as
you've plugged your drain hose. That will stop all but a little flow
of ink.

Steve Greenfield

On Sun, 06 Aug 2006 20:00:29 +0200, Steve <alienrelics@...> wrote:

>
> Then you aren't looking closely enough. :') I am not talking about
> -all- spongeless cartridges. As I stated, only OEM Epson C6x/C8x
> series, maybe (haven't checked yet) the R200/300 series.

Well, mine clearly can get filled as much as you dare to ;-)

> Some of that goomba is to make it impossible to simply inject ink in
> through the outlet. Some is there to regulate ink pressure.
> The upshot? Turn it upside down, drill a hole next to the ink outlet.
> Fill a syringe with the proper amount of ink for that cartridge,
> insert it into the hole you drilled. You should have selected a drill
> bit so that the syringe (or blunt adapter from MIS) is a tight fit in
> the hole.
> Now using either another syringe (twice as large as the first) or a
> vacuum pump, suck air out of the ink outlet.
> The syringe full of ink will pull itself down, the second it hits
> bottom stop pulling out the outlet. Bang! It is a full as it is going
> to get, both top and bottom chambers.
> Now if you are talking about MIS spongeless, those are -made- to be
> refilled so they do not have all the extra junk just to make refilling
> hard.

I'd dread to make a hole in the bottom (where gravity will not be your  
friend), also, that would make it impossible to fill inside the printer.

> However, MIS instructions leave out an important step: you should
> temporarily tape over the air inlet hole before removing the fill
> plug. Then -after- reinstalling the fill plug, -before- drawing a
> little ink out the ink outlet to prime it, remove the tape over the
> air inlet.
> If you don't, ink flows up into the air inlet. This can cause problems
> later, and you won't know why. Dried ink in the air inlet can hinder
> air, so nozzle checks look fine and light printing is OK, but heavy
> printing can show random banding as printing progresses. Then a nozzle
> check or light printing immediately after can still look just fine.

OK, i can see how that happens - the ink levels will equalize due to  
gravity.
The vent hole is the same size as the fill hole, but i didn't get any  
spare stoppers with it..
Maybe i'll make one from silicone... OTOH i might just remember the  
warning and wash it out when the problem turns up, or stick in a syringe  
since the hole fits a luer taper.
Thanks!

BTW, the carts came with some strange syringes. Huge diameter and the  
plunger is hollow inside, so that there's always much air inside it that  
can not be expelled. Any ideas how those are supposed to be especially  
useful?

ST

On Sun, 06 Aug 2006 20:42:43 +0200, Steve <alienrelics@...> wrote:

>
> But you cannot make generalized statements about it as you have, as
> you've plugged your drain hose. That will stop all but a little flow
> of ink.
> Steve Greenfield


Well, i do recommend that to everyone!
I can't speak for anyone else, but for me filling in the printer works  
loads better than outside of it, that's all i know.


ST

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Trethan"
<stefan_trethan@...> wrote:

> I'd dread to make a hole in the bottom (where gravity will not be your  
> friend), also, that would make it impossible to fill inside the printer.

Yes, and I use hot glue to seal. I was doing that for a short time
when I worked for a cartridge refiller. He has anger management
issues, manages to destroy a lot of cartridges and even broke his
centrifugal cartridge spinner (used to empty cartridges). I came up
with the method myself, however it is highly likely that others came
up with it and simply haven't published it. Only for OEM carts as 3rd
party carts don't try to stop you from refilling.

> > However, MIS instructions leave out an important step: you should
> > temporarily tape over the air inlet hole before removing the fill
> > plug. Then -after- reinstalling the fill plug, -before- drawing a
> > little ink out the ink outlet to prime it, remove the tape over the
> > air inlet.
> > If you don't, ink flows up into the air inlet. This can cause problems
> > later, and you won't know why. Dried ink in the air inlet can hinder
> > air, so nozzle checks look fine and light printing is OK, but heavy
> > printing can show random banding as printing progresses. Then a nozzle
> > check or light printing immediately after can still look just fine.
> 
> OK, i can see how that happens - the ink levels will equalize due to  
> gravity.
> The vent hole is the same size as the fill hole, but i didn't get any  
> spare stoppers with it..
> Maybe i'll make one from silicone... OTOH i might just remember the  
> warning and wash it out when the problem turns up, or stick in a
syringe  
> since the hole fits a luer taper.
> Thanks!

No problem. Since it's a temporary hole, I find a bit of vinyl
electrical tape works well enough. -Don't- pull it tight.

> BTW, the carts came with some strange syringes. Huge diameter and the  
> plunger is hollow inside, so that there's always much air inside it
that  
> can not be expelled. Any ideas how those are supposed to be especially  
> useful?

I don't know what you mean, so I'd have to see pictures.

One issue with syringes: if there is no air, it is possible to cause a
remarkably high PSI, especially with small syringes. With an air
bubble, the air acts as a spring that has the effect of causing a
lower PSI. There is that internal thin plastic sheet inside Epson OEM
cartridges that I suppose could get blown with too much pressure. I
don't know if that has anything to do with it.

Steve Greenfield

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <alienrelics@...> wrote:

> Yes, and I use hot glue to seal. I was doing that for a short time
> when I worked for a cartridge refiller. He has anger management
> issues, manages to destroy a lot of cartridges and even broke his
> centrifugal cartridge spinner (used to empty cartridges).

That looks ambiguous. -He- (my former boss) managed to destroy a lot
of cartridges, and -he- broke his cartridge spinner because he's too
impatient.

Steve Greenfield

On Sun, 06 Aug 2006 22:17:37 +0200, Steve <alienrelics@...> wrote:

>
> One issue with syringes: if there is no air, it is possible to cause a
> remarkably high PSI, especially with small syringes. With an air
> bubble, the air acts as a spring that has the effect of causing a
> lower PSI. There is that internal thin plastic sheet inside Epson OEM
> cartridges that I suppose could get blown with too much pressure. I
> don't know if that has anything to do with it.


I was thinking also that might be it.
When i make more pictures of the printer i will throw in a syringe -  
hopefully finally tomorrow.


BTW i found my printer has all the cal parameters set to zero (and by far  
not ideal).
Does this mean the guy at epson decided he'd rather have a longer break or  
is it normal that they don't adjust them printers?

ST

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Trethan"
<stefan_trethan@...> wrote:

> BTW i found my printer has all the cal parameters set to zero (and
by far  
> not ideal).
> Does this mean the guy at epson decided he'd rather have a longer
break or  
> is it normal that they don't adjust them printers?

Normally they are set at mid-scale. I've only ever bought one Epson
brand new, an R200 and it was also set at mid-scale.

I'm not sure of the alignment numbers are stored in the printer or the
computer.

Steve Greenfield

On Mon, 07 Aug 2006 00:48:46 +0200, Steve <alienrelics@...> wrote:

>
> Normally they are set at mid-scale. I've only ever bought one Epson
> brand new, an R200 and it was also set at mid-scale.
> I'm not sure of the alignment numbers are stored in the printer or the
> computer.
> Steve Greenfield


They are in the printer.

I'm wondering what point there is to them if they are not used, usually?

I mean why add complicated adjustment procedures if only a few people will  
ever tinker with them?
To give the service center something to charge for?
Why explain the procedures in the service manual and why make a software  
to support the whole mechanism?

It is like adding trimmer pots to a circuit only to have them all set to  
mid-scale ;-)


ST

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Trethan"
<stefan_trethan@...> wrote:
>
> On Mon, 07 Aug 2006 00:48:46 +0200, Steve <alienrelics@...> wrote:
> 
> >
> > Normally they are set at mid-scale. I've only ever bought one Epson
> > brand new, an R200 and it was also set at mid-scale.
> > I'm not sure of the alignment numbers are stored in the printer or the
> > computer.
> > Steve Greenfield
> 
> 
> They are in the printer.
> 
> I'm wondering what point there is to them if they are not used, usually?
> 
> I mean why add complicated adjustment procedures if only a few
people will  
> ever tinker with them?
> To give the service center something to charge for?
> Why explain the procedures in the service manual and why make a
software  
> to support the whole mechanism?
> 
> It is like adding trimmer pots to a circuit only to have them all
set to  
> mid-scale ;-)

Um... I was talking about the user adjustable fine alignment. The ones
you access from the Printer Properties menu under Maintanence.

Not the factory software. For that, there are physical levers that
move the head around. And that only needs to be touched if you change
the head.

Steve Greenfield

On Mon, 07 Aug 2006 06:00:20 +0200, Steve <alienrelics@...> wrote:

>
> Um... I was talking about the user adjustable fine alignment. The ones
> you access from the Printer Properties menu under Maintanence.
> Not the factory software. For that, there are physical levers that
> move the head around. And that only needs to be touched if you change
> the head.
> Steve Greenfield


Hmm, i see what you mean, there are some settings in the maintainance  
section.
But the service tool seems to adjust much more parameters.

The levers on the head seem to be no more with the c84. The older epsons  
clearly had them, and the service tool would instruct you which way to  
move it. But now it is just a number to adjust in software.

ST