Ink pad reset utility for epsons!

[Gordon]

Thanks for that Martin, but are you saying that I DO need to reset my printer at some time????? or do I just leave well alone??????
Thanks
Gordon.

[bms]

Leave well alone until the printer needs this resetting. You'll know when as the printer/ computer will tell you. A message normally comes on the computer saying that parts inside the printer need replacing and this reset utility avoids having to go to the expense of replacing the item.

[bms]

i heard about plastic waste ink tank conected to the printer and physically eptied. Also i read all that ink can refill your ciss black ink (!) i dont know how true is that tho...

Some modified systems on the A4/A3 printers have external waste tanks but for the vast majority of users the waste pad is inside the printer. Don't know about your other comment though.

[Matt Quinn]

i heard about plastic waste ink tank conected to the printer and physically eptied. Also i read all that ink can refill your ciss black ink (!) i dont know how true is that tho...

I've seen tanks as add-on modifications for the smaller printers... Not entirely sure how necessary they are; though changing an inkpad is not the nicest of nice clean jobs! Maybe a tank is easier to clean?

As for the black ink thing...

Theoretically C+M+Y = Black - Only it doesn't in real life its usually some yucky purpley-brown. Which is why we also use the 'Key' (K) black ink....

I guess good black ink contaminated with yucky purpley brown will satisfy some requirements... Might be OK for printing letters or something. NOT sure I'd want to try printing high quality photographs that way though!

[Paul]

ohh no! no for photographs I only mentioned that not because i want to try it. only coz i read about this somwhere thats all...

[bms]

I've seen tanks as add-on modifications for the smaller printers... Not entirely sure how necessary they are; though changing an inkpad is not the nicest of nice clean jobs! Maybe a tank is easier to clean?

As for the black ink thing...

Theoretically C+M+Y = Black - Only it doesn't in real life its usually some yucky purpley-brown. Which is why we also use the 'Key' (K) black ink....

I guess good black ink contaminated with yucky purpley brown will satisfy some requirements... Might be OK for printing letters or something. NOT sure I'd want to try printing high quality photographs that way though!

This goes totally off topic, but where does 'K' come from in CMYK ? I assumed 'K' was the final letter of black because using 'B' might cause confusion with 'blue'. Does it come from anywhere else such as 'Key'? Who's the oracle on this?

[Matt Quinn]

This goes totally off topic, but where does 'K' come from in CMYK ? I assumed 'K' was the final letter of black because using 'B' might cause confusion with 'blue'. Does it come from anywhere else such as 'Key'? Who's the oracle on this?

I think you almost have it on the second one... CMYK colour theory is incidental to what I teach ( TV production; so we're dealing exclusively with RGB)

It is my understanding that it indicates "Key", as in "Key Plate." - This is what is taught to students looking at technical (as opposed to aesthetic) colour theory at HND level

In printing, the Key plate is the one assigned to the darkest ink (usually, but not always black), which usually carries the main elements of image detail. This makes sense in terms of how the eye works... The key plate is the reference to which others are aligned. Human eyes are far less sensitive to colour differences than brightness (luminance) differences...

-The converse in TV colour theory is that the inverse of 'K' is 'Y' or the luminance signal; which carries all the picture detail in greyscale. In fact most TV encoding systems carry reatively poor colour resolution...

I've also heard old school printers and art teachers refer to cyan as 'process blue', magenta as 'process' red and yellow as 'process' yellow - So references to 'B' for black could, I guess, get very confusing

[John G]

All the inks used when we screeen printed full colour sets, years ago, were called process inks as Matt suggested. All colours were printed individually and for some reason we always printed the black (K) last, sometimes when we came to put the black on it didn't look like it needed it as the halftones were fooling the eyes. Once the black was printed though you could tell the difference straight away and brought the print alive!

I only ever printed a few full colour sets and then it seemed to all go digital - probably due to the cost saving and speed of turnaround.

Cheers John

[DS Designs]

Thanks for the note Martin...just to be on the safe side I added external tanks to two of my printers, they work a treat. The one connected to my c84 has been fitted for a couple of months and has quite a bit of waste in it already. Got mine from www.octoink.co.uk. Very good service.....And no I don't work for them lol

Dave

[zeb]

Hi Guys, no need to put your hand in your pocket and buy a plastic waste tank!!

There is an easy free option and it's a simple modification to do using a 125ml ink bottle that the CIS (Continual Ink System), inks usually come supplied in (I use either a Lyson or Fotospeed bottle as they have a wide screw top).


- The first thing to do is remove the RHS cover off the printer (the side the head parks when not in use), there are a few secret clips to poke to release the panel and a couple of screws to remove from the back of the printer.

- You will need to remove the back panel because there is a hook clip which will only release when the back is removed.

- Once you have removed the panel you will see 2x clipped pipes which attach to the capping station (the thing the head sits on when not in use), and run into the printer waste pads

- You can either pull the pipes out of the pads OR un-clip them and re-clip some spare pipe you may have knocking around

- Next, drill a hole in the side panel slightly larger than the 2x pipes so they pull through easily (make sure the holes you drill are in a place that has enough room as to not interfere with any internals of the machine, you don't want those pipes jamming in a mechanism or gear)

- Refit the side and rear panel.

- Drill 3x holes in the cap of the empty ink bottle so the pipes are a nice tight fit (the 3rd hole is to allow air through when the cap is screwed on)


This easy mod, a CIS and a reset program will allow you to keep running until the printer gives out elsewhere, you will be amazed how much ink is collected in the bottle over a period of time from head cleans alone.

I've been using epson printers for donkeys years and ever since I installed my first CIS , when there was no-such-thing as a plastic waste tank available I've modded them with this bottle trick.

I have been through a few Epson printers and still counting
2x R2400
2x R1800
1x R2880

I am currently using a P600SC for desktop photo printing (un-modded) and a 1500w for Dye-Sub

Hope this may help some of you.

Happy Modding, Zeb