[Alt-photo] Re: Third party inks

[andy schmitt]

When the 4880 came out with the same cartridges, I cornered an Epson guy at
one of the show & asked him flat out why I couldn't use "vivid" magenta in
my 4800.
He responded that the 4880 had a different print head due to the
reformulated magenta and the old print head would definitely clog using it.
To tell you the truth, I've never had the nerve to try it in my 4800... so
who knows...
Regards
Andy

-----Original Message-----
From: alt-photo-process-list-bounces at lists.altphotolist.org
[mailto:alt-photo-process-list-bounces at lists.altphotolist.org] On Behalf Of
Sandy King
Sent: Monday, September 09, 2013 4:43 PM
To: alt-photo-process-list at lists.altphotolist.org
Subject: [Alt-photo] Re: Third party inks

Cleaning the print head with Windex (non-ammonia type recommended), and/or
cleaning the capping station and wiper blade are all good practices that
should be done on a regular basis, like housekeeping. 

However,  keeping all of the nozzles firing is not in my experience an
either/or issue. Some times cleaning as above helps, at other times you need
to run a regular cleaning cycle (which uses just a bit of each ink) , and at
other times you have to run a power cleaning cycle (which uses a lot of
ink). 

Unfortunately if you allow the printer to go unused for long periods of time
you may get a nozzle clog that will not clear, no matter what you do. And
the probability of this happening is much greater in arid climates. Andy's
suggestion to place something inside the printer near the head that
maintains constant humidity is a good one that has been used in many
professional printing establishments. 

Regarding the 3800, many people I know got a permanent nozzle clog with the
Magenta. And you can read about it all over the internet. In fact, my deep
suspicion is that Epson changed the name to the 3880 with the new Vivid
Magenta and Vivid Light Magenta because of the problem of the Magenta ink in
the 3800, but have never publicly recognized the problem. Or perhaps I am
just too skeptical?

Sandy







On Sep 9, 2013, at 4:19 PM, Jeremy Moore wrote:

> My suggestion is to not use the cleaning option to clear clogs when one or
a few colors is the problem. Instead, print blocks of that color onto typing
paper until the clog is cleared. If no color comes out at all, then use
windex on the print heads. Those cleaning options usually kill every color
and not just the one you need to get working.
> 
> - Jeremy
> 
> On Sep 9, 2013, at 11:19 AM, Diana Bloomfield <dlhbloomfield at gmail.com>
wrote:
> 
>> Yeah . . . that comment stopped me short, too.  Given that
nozzle-clogging seems to be the main problem that the 3800 has (in my
experience)-- I wouldn't like to encourage that.  And the cleaning just eats
up so much ink.  I just got rid of my last 3800.  I've had two and really
loved them, but the constant cleaning and clogging and replacement of inks
(mainly because of all that clogging and cleaning) was enough to just say--
enough.  I recently bought a refurbished 3880, and so far that seems to be
working great.  My main problem with Epson (all brands of printers?) is what
I call their Polaroid business plan.  While the printers (in Polaroid's
case, the cameras) are wonderful and relatively inexpensive, the cost of the
inks (film) can put you in the poor house.
>> 
>> 
>> On Sep 9, 2013, at 12:07 PM, Marek Matusz wrote:
>> 
>>> Sam
>>> 
>>> I am a little concerned about your nozzle cleaning comments. Do u use
your printer on regular basis ?
>>> 
>>> Marek
>>> 
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>> 
>>> On Sep 8, 2013, at 8:36 PM, "sam wang" <samwang864 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> I have just started using the Inkjet Mall cartridges in my 3800 - just
PK and LK so far. They seem to be very much like the Epson inks except that
the PK blocks more UV light so you'd need to redo your curves. The PK also
needs more nozzle cleaning, it seems. But the cost is definitely a big draw.
Their video instruction is excellent.
>>>> 
>>>> Sam
>> 
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