Digital BW, The Print

Ken Alexander <k.alexander@...> wrote:

> ... it's time to get the Epson 7600 a friend gave me going again...
> I plan on using the Carbon 6 system.
> 
> ... my friend actually bought the printer outfitted with UT7 
> from MIS.  Apparently, it was a printer they used.
 
> I mixed up a batch of Paul Roark's base clear solution 
> and filled the carts with enough to dilute the remaining ink...

 
> My plan is to run some of the diluted ink through the printer 
> to make sure it's firing on all cylinders, ...

> The questions are:  1) Is this a smart way to do it, 
> for someone who's too cheap to buy a spare set of carts?

Rinsing out carts can work. 

I wish I knew a simple way to clear the lines that did not wear too much on the printer.  On the 7500 there is a way to prepare the printer for transport that pumps the ink out.  Then one can do an initial fill procedure.  However, the pump is a weak point, and these procedures fill the waste tank quickly.  The alternative of printing lots of square inches of ink is slow and, of course, wears the head a bit.  I'm not sure which is better for the printer.  I suppose one could go into the machine and pull the dampers, then use a syringe to suck the ink out of the lines.  That's probably a messier job than most want to try.  The Epson Wide Format group 
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/EpsonWideFormat/messages
may be a good place to ask these questions.

  
> 2)  Are there any problems I can expect to encounter 
> considering the printer has sat idle for half a year 
> without carts plugged in?

Idle without carts??  I hope the lines are not clogged.  I can see a problem with dry ink in the lines.  There may be a reason the printer was free.  

Even if you get solution through the lines, if there is a lot of dry ink in them that could come off and clog the dampers, which have little screens in them.  They are fairly inexpensive and changing them is a job I expect many wide format owners do themselves.  On the 7500 it's not a bad job if you don't mind a little ink on your hands.

Good luck with what is probably a properly priced printer.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com