Digital BW, The Print

Air trapped in the printhead is not always "fatal".  Sometimes just 
letting the printer sit over night is all that is needed for the 
bubbles to clear.  After that, if you are into this, its time to 
inject bubble free cleaning solution, either Windex or 9 parts water 
to 1 part household ammonia, through the printhead using a syringe 
and tubing (search the archives here or visit the MIS or Inkjetmall 
web sites for lots of info) or take it to your local Epson repair 
shop.  BTW, Epson folks strongly advise against cleaning your 
printhead your self.

Detecting blockages in the tubing is difficult. I often see small 
bubbles traveling along the tubing thus I know the ink is moving.  
Sludge can also build up in the carts.  A CIS/CFS cart will not last 
forever.  To clean the tubing is easy.  Just disconnect them and 
blow/suck water through them with a syringe and reinstall.  Some 
folks have had luck with the system repriming itself.  I find that I 
need to pull ink from the bottom exit port of the cart to reprime.  
MIS sells a bottom fill adaptor that works well.  You can pull the 
ink through and squirt it back into the appropriate bottle.

I find the rivits to work very well for me, but you could always 
place some black electrical tape (or your favorite tape varity) over 
the rivets.  Remember, the cart is vented, therefore it is not 
hermetically sealed.  Make sure to store the carts in the upright 
postion as if they were installed in the printer.  Again, remember 
the CIS/CFS system will not last for ever, so don't store them for 
long periods of time and expect instant success.  

Your mileage may vary!

Hope this helps.

Jeff Randall




--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "donbga" <dsbryant@m...> 
wrote:
> Jeff,
> >  Two things to remember: the more frequently you swap, 
> > the more likely you are to introduce air into the printheads, and 
> the 
> > longer a CFS unit is unused, the more likely it is to develop 
> sludge 
> > in the lines due to the water/solvent permeability of the tygon 
> > tubes.  
> >
> 
> What are the consequences of getting air inside the print head(s)? 
A 
> blocking of ink flow obviously but would that be a fatal situation 
> requiring Epson service?
> 
> How does one detect sludging of the feeder line? And how do you 
> recommend clearing it?
> 
> And as Jerry Olson pointed out the MIS rivets don't provide a 100% 
> seal. What do you use?
> 
> Thanks very much for your help. 
> 
> Don Bryant