large capacity ink not good for cleaning heads

[AKA Gray Asphalt]

I bought some ink with a large receptacle for six colors and tubes that feed
cartridges in an Epson R200. There was a not with the ink that says the ink
is not suitable for head cleaning. I'm stuck because my heads or nozzles are
blocked to the max from not being used for a couple of months. Any help?

 

[Arthur Entlich]

I have no idea what they are getting at in this note. Head cleaning
processes occur all the time and it is done with the ink in the heads.
I don't know how you could use an ink that could not be used for head
cleaning.

If you have not yet done so, send me an email and request my Epson head
cleaning Manual. It is free and may help you through this process.

My email address is:

e-printerhelp(at)mvps(dot)org

(at) = @
(dot) = .

Art

AKA Gray Asphalt wrote:

 

[AKA Gray Asphalt]

I have no idea what they are getting at in this note. Head cleaning
processes occur all the time and it is done with the ink in the heads. I
don't know how you could use an ink that could not be used for head
cleaning.

If you have not yet done so, send me an email and request my Epson head
cleaning Manual. It is free and may help you through this process.

My email address is:

e-printerhelp(at)mvps(dot)org

(at) = @
(dot) = .

Art

AKA Gray Asphalt wrote:

Their note said that their ink would not work on previously clogged heads
but said that if the heads or nozzles ? were clean when their ink was
installed, everything would work. I would appreciate your information on
cleaning heads/nozzles. I have an R200 Epson and I'm not sure if print heads
come with the cartridges or not.

 

[Jan Alter]

I'd send for Art's manual as it will give you a good understanding of what's
taking place in the printhead and underneath through disuse. Besides that
he'll explain what kind of ink the R200 is running and some very clear
instructions as to how to unclog the head with little $ cost.
The man charges no money for this advice and from the knowledge he's
accrued about Epsons he should be touting an MVEP (Most Valuable Epson
Professional) badge.

 

[Fenrir Enterprises]

I bought some ink with a large receptacle for six colors and tubes that feed
cartridges in an Epson R200. There was a not with the ink that says the ink
is not suitable for head cleaning. I'm stuck because my heads or nozzles are
blocked to the max from not being used for a couple of months. Any help?

In the future, MIS has an Autoprint program that prints a C M Y K
document (you can use any image, but you should use the one that MIS
supplies) to keep the printhead from drying out. If you were using
pigment ink and not dye, you may be in some trouble. I agree with Jan
that you should contact Arthur Entlich because his manual deals
specifically with dealing with the pigment ink issues, but it's good
advice for all Epson printers. If you are using dyebased, it should be
even easier to purge it.

--

http://www.FenrirOnline.com

Computer services, custom metal etching,
arts, crafts, and much more.

 

[AKA Gray Asphalt]

In the future, MIS has an Autoprint program that prints a C M Y K
document (you can use any image, but you should use the one that MIS
supplies) to keep the printhead from drying out. If you were using
pigment ink and not dye, you may be in some trouble. I agree with Jan
that you should contact Arthur Entlich because his manual deals
specifically with dealing with the pigment ink issues, but it's good
advice for all Epson printers. If you are using dyebased, it should be
even easier to purge it.

--

http://www.FenrirOnline.com

Computer services, custom metal etching,
arts, crafts, and much more.

The ink company finally wrote back and said their warning was about using
pigment ink ... so I'll keep trying to clean the heads with the new ink. Can
someone enlighten me on the difference between pigment and dye inks? .. in
application, I mean.

 

[Fenrir Enterprises]

The ink company finally wrote back and said their warning was about using
pigment ink ... so I'll keep trying to clean the heads with the new ink. Can
someone enlighten me on the difference between pigment and dye inks? .. in
application, I mean.

Dyebased ink is more common (though nearly all printers have a pigment
black tank available for text printing, since pigment is usually
sharper and darker than dye). The Epson C88 is one of the very few
(current) models that has pigment colors for under $300. The
difference is that while dyebased ink is completely liquid, and only
has solid particles on a molecular level, pigmented ink has small
particles (microscopic in the case of printer ink) that aren't
dissolved. Dyebased ink tends to be glossier, has a wider color gamut
(tends to be brighter), and is less likely to clog a printer, but is
also far, far more likely to fade quickly. Pigmented ink tends to be
more matte (Epson's more expensive pigment printers have a gloss tank
to get around this, for the C8x series they have a Durabrite paper,
though the C88 is supposed to be glossier than the older ones with OEM
paper), has a smaller color gamut (the expensive ones have more than
six colors which helps compensate for or exceed this), is more likely
to clog a printer (more of an issue with the C8x Durabrite inks than
the Ultrachrome inks for the bigger printers), but tends to be much
more permanent, and more water resistant.

The R series printers under 800 are dyebased printers, and not
designed for pigment ink printing. While this seems to be a common
modification, the head isn't specifically meant for pigment printing,
which can be 'rough' on it. I have not been able to find much
long-term data on how well this works, other than from ink companies
which all claim 'We've got one in the back that's been running on
pigment for awhile and it works just fine'. I think they really need
to warn people better that you need to print continually or the
printer will clog up. If the pigment printing isn't important to you,
you are better off getting dyebased refills, though now that you have
pigment ink in the printer, you might have to flush it out somehow
(cleaning carts, etc). Someone else can probably give you better
advice on how to do this.

--

http://www.FenrirOnline.com

Computer services, custom metal etching,
arts, crafts, and much more.

 

[AKA Gray Asphalt]

Dyebased ink is more common (though nearly all printers have a pigment
black tank available for text printing, since pigment is usually
sharper and darker than dye). The Epson C88 is one of the very few
(current) models that has pigment colors for under $300. The
difference is that while dyebased ink is completely liquid, and only
has solid particles on a molecular level, pigmented ink has small
particles (microscopic in the case of printer ink) that aren't
dissolved. Dyebased ink tends to be glossier, has a wider color gamut
(tends to be brighter), and is less likely to clog a printer, but is
also far, far more likely to fade quickly. Pigmented ink tends to be
more matte (Epson's more expensive pigment printers have a gloss tank
to get around this, for the C8x series they have a Durabrite paper,
though the C88 is supposed to be glossier than the older ones with OEM
paper), has a smaller color gamut (the expensive ones have more than
six colors which helps compensate for or exceed this), is more likely
to clog a printer (more of an issue with the C8x Durabrite inks than
the Ultrachrome inks for the bigger printers), but tends to be much
more permanent, and more water resistant.

The R series printers under 800 are dyebased printers, and not
designed for pigment ink printing. While this seems to be a common
modification, the head isn't specifically meant for pigment printing,
which can be 'rough' on it. I have not been able to find much
long-term data on how well this works, other than from ink companies
which all claim 'We've got one in the back that's been running on
pigment for awhile and it works just fine'. I think they really need
to warn people better that you need to print continually or the
printer will clog up. If the pigment printing isn't important to you,
you are better off getting dyebased refills, though now that you have
pigment ink in the printer, you might have to flush it out somehow
(cleaning carts, etc). Someone else can probably give you better
advice on how to do this.

--

http://www.FenrirOnline.com

Computer services, custom metal etching,
arts, crafts, and much more.

Thanks for the info. I haven't installed pigment ink and my 3 year old dye
based prints seem to be standing up pretty well, so I guess I stay with the
dye, for now. I kind of hate being a guneau pig, anyway ... or a guneau
pigment. Thanks. After a few more head cleanigs the R200 seems to be back to
normal, for now. : -)

 

[Arthur Entlich]

OK, this clarification makes a HUGE difference.

What they probably are suggesting is that the heads should be flushed of
the previous ink prior to loading their ink. Some inks are NOT
compatible with one another and can clot or further clog if they are mixed.

The R200 comes from Epson with inks that are dye colorant based. The
heads in all Epson printers are permanent, and they do not get exchanged
when you replace the ink cartridge, and that may be for the warning too,
because if the heads are already showing clogs, replacing the cartridges
with those from the CIS will not cause the heads to be replaced, as they
would with a printer that incorporates the heads and ink cartridges
as one unit.

Art

 

[AKA Gray Asphalt]

OK, this clarification makes a HUGE difference.

What they probably are suggesting is that the heads should be flushed of
the previous ink prior to loading their ink. Some inks are NOT compatible
with one another and can clot or further clog if they are mixed.

The R200 comes from Epson with inks that are dye colorant based. The
heads in all Epson printers are permanent, and they do not get exchanged
when you replace the ink cartridge, and that may be for the warning too,
because if the heads are already showing clogs, replacing the cartridges
with those from the CIS will not cause the heads to be replaced, as they
would with a printer that incorporates the heads and ink cartridges
as one unit.

Art

I completely unclear about the difference between nozzles and print heads.
Can you enlighten me, some? Thanks

 

[Arthur Entlich]

You asked about Nozzles versus heads in inkjet printers.

The terms have become a bit less clear regarding the word heads, over
the years due to changes in designs.

Originally, Epson color inkjet printers had a black head and a color
head, which contained the nozzles for the three colors (Cyan, Magenta
and Yellow). So there was a separate black head and color head. Today
all the "heads" are actually one head.

When I refer to a head, I really mean the group of nozzles that make up
one color. For instance, a printer make have 32 nozzles (the holes or
jets in which the ink comes out of) for yellow. I refer to those 32
nozzles as the yellow head. The same printer may have 32 nozzles for
Cyan, light cyan, magenta, light magenta, etc. The black "head" may
have 64 nozzles.

In all Epson printers, this unit, actually a series of groups of
nozzles, is permanent. Only the ink cartridges are changed. A printer
may have several nozzles of one color clog, or the complete 32 nozzle
contingent may clog together, depending upon where in the head the clog
occurs.

When you do a "nozzle test" on your printer, each short line represents
one nozzle firing numerous times to make a line.

Art

 

[AKA Gray Asphalt]

I'm going to learn something here if I'm not careful, especially if you keep
replying in easily understood terms.
: -)