Digital BW, The Print

Hi Paul. Yes I have done just that. It's beside me as I type and came to me because it had been set aside for trash pickup(because it had been clog city I was told).
You already know all the techniques needed and I've spoken here about what I generally use for a flushing fluid (ie:diluted RV potable water antifreeze). You can ,of course, use any commercial version you choose as well.The only perhaps new info would be that there is no risk in using diluted ethyl(or denatured) alcohol as a solution for puddling the heads to remove ink and open the nozzles if needed, despite all the things said inferring that you'll dissolve the heads into a mass of goo or something equally disastrous.It just isn't so.

I also have never had any clogs with the machine period.I cleaned and flushed it immediately after I acquired it and have it running third party color pigments.I suspect that it's clog free because it is used for about 6 months,flushed and sits for 6 more before being reloaded with inks and another 6 months use and so on.
My personal opinion of the 4000 is that it is a terrific machine.The only bad thing I can say about it is that it is god-awful heavy for a table top machine.

Currently  I have 4 wide format machines(all older and all ones I personally have refurbed where needed) and have used in them to date most of the various pigment ink sets you've devised over the years as well as Epson and the Image Specialist color pigment inks and some very outdated Pantone pigments I salvaged by using an ultrasonic bath to put them back into solution for use.None of the four have ever given me a clog--not even one.

My guess would be that you generally switch inks over so often in your use that you should very seldom have problems if you  flush between switches or once a year or so at least.

Regards,
Duane


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Paul" <roark.paul@...> wrote:
>
> The 4000 has a bad reputation for clogging from what I can tell, but I've never actually owned or used one.  The used ones are, for that size printer, dirt cheap.  But, I'm curious what luck people with them have had un-clogging the heads.  Is it worth even "dirt cheap" to bother with getting one?
> 
> My target would be to set up a 17" dye printer.  As such, if I could get one un-clogged, the dyes might have a fighting chance of working in the machines without clogging them.  (I've never had a clog with these dyes -- in other printers.)
> 
> Has anyone had any experiences trying to un-clog a 4000 that has sat unused for a long time?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Paul
> www.PaulRoark.com
>