Digital BW, The Print

Austin, you wrote:

> > There is  an "ink status" in the utility part of the W98 driver.
>
> For the 3000?  I have W2k, and there is no such thing for the 3000, but
for
> my 1270, there is a graphic display of ink level.  Why would there be one
> for the 3000 for W98, an earlier OS, and not for 2k?  Perhaps.

Don't know, could it progress :-)

> > Counting is done in the printer itself...
>
> Of course, where else could it be done?

In the driver, based on sheets printed instead of droplets.
But it isn't working like that.

Excerpt from the SM of the 3000:
page 2.4.2. Counters
Ink Consumption Counter
This counter accumulates the amount of ink used throughout the printing,
cleaning and flushing operations after a new cartridge is installed. The
value is used to monitor the ink amount remaining in the ink cartridge. The
counter value is reset when the ink cartridge is removed (only when the
printer is on, Ernst). This counter is normally reset with an ink low
condition detected by the ink end sensor* (empty tab, Ernst). Then the Ink
End error occurs when the counter exceeds the specified value.

Note)  The ink end sensor detects an ink end condition when the remainder of
the ink drops to 5% of the capacity. (5% of 110 ml = 22 ml, Ernst)

> > I think all ink monitoring in the driver is based on droplet counts,
> > will check the 3000 service manual for it...
>
> Well, that's my point, it isn't with the 3000, at least as far as the
status
> lights go, and since I don't have any status monitor for ink level in the
> W2k driver, that's the only indication I have, aside from weighing them.

On the 9000 the status lights on the printer are only triggered by the
sensors. It will not print when they are on.
But all monitoring in the driver is done on numbers given by the printer
which of course will also give an empty status to those level indicators
when the cart isn't in or the empty tab has triggered its sensor. It must be
the
same with the 3000 in W98 fashion. I have no desire to install the W2000
driver, I trust your words it doesn't have that facility. BTW, you are not
using an USB/Parallel converter ?

> For the 3000, the ink light on the printer is solely based on the status
of
> the two ink level sensors.  It either flashes when the ink low sensor is
> triggered, and then stays on when the ink out sensor is triggered.

The empty tab of the cart and the sensor for it isn't an analogue system but
just an on/off switch (digital but 1 bit only ;-). It says 'cart empty' when
there's approx 20 ml left in the cart, the pouche is nearly flat then. The
same happens on the 9000.
But on the 9000 the printing stops then as well so you have to insert a new
cart to continue. Could be different on the 3000, it hasn't happened here as
we do not use it often enough, 9000 carts in the 3000.

The two 9000's here have a DIY CIS that bypass the carts straight to the
inklines, the cart empty tabs are removed and the carts are empty. Not empty
enough I discovered Friday when the error 'magenta cart empty' came up and
the 9000 didn't start. Impossible as it has a CIS and the bottle was full.
What I feared was correct, the few ml in the magenta cart had leaked out and
gone to the stupidly located PCB underneath the ink carts, short circuited
the magenta sensor cable plug and triggered that error signal. Dried the
connector and made the magenta cart really empty.

Ernst