Epson 4800 refillable ink carts

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upperhandprinting
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Epson 4800 refillable ink carts

Post by upperhandprinting »

Hey everyone.

We've been set up with an Epson Stylus Pro 4800 for about two months now. It's using 17" roll film and working beautifully. We finally hit the end of the main cartridge. So, I installed the refillable bulk ink system cartridge, filled it with dye based ink and continued to print films. About 15 films later it quit printing half way through an image. After a bit of inspection I saw the black ink line was pretty much empty. I did some research and thought it might just be air in the lines. I took the cover off the print head, unscrewed the black line and tried drawing the air out. There was too much air in the line so I thought working in reverse might work better. So I filled the syringe with ink and pushed it in the line. About two syringes later the line was pretty full. I reattached the line, ran a cleaning, and printed a film. I thought I had it fixed. Then about 10 films later it quit again. So here's where I sit. It's not an issue with the print head because its printing fine when it has ink. When I filled the line, it printed. But I don't think it's pulling ink in to the line from the cartridge. It printed until the line was empty and quit again. So, does anyone have any ideas on how to fix it? Something I'm missing when installing these type of systems? Thanks for reading my long winded posts.

Craig
Craig
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Catspit Productions
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Re: Epson 4800 refillable ink carts

Post by Catspit Productions »

Hey Craig,

I know very little about this sort of thing but I do know the inkjet cartridges and heads work with some pressure. Perhaps there is an air leak somewhere in the cartridge.

That’s my initial uneducated guess ;)
Jonathan Monaco
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upperhandprinting
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Re: Epson 4800 refillable ink carts

Post by upperhandprinting »

Thanks Jonathan. Actually, on the back of the cartridge are two holes. One is for filling the cartridge with the funnel, and the other is for air. Now, with no printer knowledge, I assumed this was for air to enter the cartridge. When ink leaves the cart, something has to go in it to replace it. Otherwise, it would suck in on itself (in theory). But maybe if they print because of pressure, the cap needs to be plugged to force ink through the line? I can give that a shot tomorrow and who knows!
Craig
Upper Hand Printing - Custom band merch
http://www.upperhandprinting.com
Trumpet The Harlot - My band
http://www.trumpettheharlot.com
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Catspit Productions
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Re: Epson 4800 refillable ink carts

Post by Catspit Productions »

Yes, I would totally agree with you on that. However I was actually speaking with a guy who had a new screen printing invention and he modeled it off of an inkjet printer. When I spoke with him about how his system works he referred me to an inkjet printer and spoke of the pressure needed to push ink through the print head.

Evidently there is an electric charge that heats the inkjet ink to a gas and it moves through the print head to the substrate. So this gaseous transformation may have something to do with the pressure and why the system may need to be sealed.

I know on my Epson 1400 the cartridges appear sealed. It is possible there is a breather I am unaware of but if there is it is not simply an open hole.

You may have to contact the manufacturer of your refill system to see what they say. They should know what the problem is I would imagine.
Jonathan Monaco
Catspit Productions, LLC
Learn how to screen print tee shirts!

http://catspitscreenprintsupply.com/
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upperhandprinting
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Re: Epson 4800 refillable ink carts

Post by upperhandprinting »

Well. I got the printer fixed today. To keep a very long and confusing story short, I ran an ink conversion thing on the printer which pulled ink through the line. Then I ran a power cleaning and viola. It's printed with the air hole open and closed, so I'm not sure that matters, but the main thing is, I can finally print films!! I've only got 27 to print now! Haha.

If anyone has issues with a 4800, let me know. I feel like I know them inside and out now!
Craig
Upper Hand Printing - Custom band merch
http://www.upperhandprinting.com
Trumpet The Harlot - My band
http://www.trumpettheharlot.com
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Catspit Productions
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Re: Epson 4800 refillable ink carts

Post by Catspit Productions »

Cool, glad it worked out.

And good information to know, thanks.
Jonathan Monaco
Catspit Productions, LLC
Learn how to screen print tee shirts!

http://catspitscreenprintsupply.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/CatspitProductions
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