Digital BW, The Print

I use an Epson 1280 with the MIS VM hextone inkset.  I recently came 
back from a 10-day vacation, during which the heat was off in my 
house.  I ran a nozzle check, a couple of cleaning cycles, printed a 
print, and then checked the nozzles again.  All the inks but one 
cleared up nicely on the nozzle check, showing the normal 4-line 
diagonal pattern for each ink.  But the lightest gray ink is only 
showing the two upper lines.

I tried the Windex-on-the-sponge trick (from the Piezo website).  No 
help.  I then tried the more drastic cleaning, removing the "color" 
cartridge and blowing Windex through the print head via a plastic 
tube (stopping well before any air got into the print head).  I 
believe the lightest gray is in the yellow position, which is the 
rightmost intake tube in the print head, as you look down on it. This 
was followed by a couple of cleaning cycles.  

This got the lower two lines of the light gray ink partially 
displaying, but then they went away again after I printed a couple of 
small purge patterns followed by more nozzle checks.  By then I'd 
exhausted the ink cartridge and switched to a new one.  A second 
Windex treatment had no further effect.  

The funny part of all this is that my prints look OK.  I'm probably 
losing a smidge of highlight detail, but it doesn't make that much 
difference.

Any thoughts on how to proceed?  Just keep printing and hope the clog 
eventually dissolves?  Use Fantastic instead of Windex?  Buy some 
Epson color ink and print color for a while, hoping the native ink 
will dissolve the MIS stuff?  I'll send it in to Epson if I must, but 
I'd rather not if I don't have to.

Thanks for any advice
--Peter Klein
Seattle

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Peter A. Klein"
<pklein@2...> wrote:
> I use an Epson 1280 with the MIS VM hextone inkset.  I recently came 
> back from a 10-day vacation, during which the heat was off in my 
> house.  I ran a nozzle check, a couple of cleaning cycles, printed a 
> print, and then checked the nozzles again.  All the inks but one 
> cleared up nicely on the nozzle check, showing the normal 4-line 
> diagonal pattern for each ink.  But the lightest gray ink is only 
> showing the two upper lines.
> 
> I tried the Windex-on-the-sponge trick (from the Piezo website).  No 
> help.  I then tried the more drastic cleaning, removing the "color" 
> cartridge and blowing Windex through the print head via a plastic 
> tube (stopping well before any air got into the print head).  I 
> believe the lightest gray is in the yellow position, which is the 
> rightmost intake tube in the print head, as you look down on it. This 
> was followed by a couple of cleaning cycles.  
> 
> This got the lower two lines of the light gray ink partially 
> displaying, but then they went away again after I printed a couple of 
> small purge patterns followed by more nozzle checks.  By then I'd 
> exhausted the ink cartridge and switched to a new one.  A second 
> Windex treatment had no further effect.  
> 
> The funny part of all this is that my prints look OK.  I'm probably 
> losing a smidge of highlight detail, but it doesn't make that much 
> difference.
> 
> Any thoughts on how to proceed?  Just keep printing and hope the clog 
> eventually dissolves?  Use Fantastic instead of Windex?  Buy some 
> Epson color ink and print color for a while, hoping the native ink 
> will dissolve the MIS stuff?  I'll send it in to Epson if I must, but 
> I'd rather not if I don't have to.
> 
> Thanks for any advice
> --Peter Klein
> Seattle


Hi Peter,

I use the same printer but with PiezoTones and the one thing that has
really worked for me with clogs (though I rarely have any) is to use a
syringe with VERY hot water, remove the cartridge and place the
syringe in the nozzle (pibot) where the cart is placed. Lightly press
downwards and let some of the water flow through the head nozzles. Be
sure to place a piece of absorbent napkin under the head, this avoids
water from spilling all over. After that do the same procedure with no
water, put the cart back in place and run a cleaning cycle or two and
you're ready to run again. It has never failed!!! 
I hope it works for you!

* -----Original Message-----
* From: Peter A. Klein [mailto:pklein@...] 
* Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2003 11:32 PM
* To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
* Subject: [Digital BW] Clog from Hell - Epson 1280

(snip)
* 
* I tried the Windex-on-the-sponge trick (from the Piezo website).  No 
* help.  I then tried the more drastic cleaning, removing the "color" 
* cartridge and blowing Windex through the print head via a plastic 
* tube (stopping well before any air got into the print head).

Peter,

I push cleaning fluid through with a syringe and the pull back sucking any
dried ink out of the nozzles in case there are any particles that might be
too large to be pushed through.

(snip)
* 
* Any thoughts on how to proceed?  Just keep printing and hope the clog 
* eventually dissolves?  Use Fantastic instead of Windex?

Besides Windex I have used ammonia diluted with water. This seems to really
dissolve the inks well. Generally though Windex works fine.

*  Buy some 
* Epson color ink and print color for a while, hoping the native ink 
* will dissolve the MIS stuff? 

Epson color cartridges make excellent cleaning cartridges. All the stubborn
clogs I have had were cleared up by installing a set and running a few
cleaning cycles.

* I'll send it in to Epson if I must, but 
* I'd rather not if I don't have to.

Get an estimate before you go this route. If they are going to charge $200
or $300 to replace the head you are probably better off getting a new or
refurbished 1280.

Good luck,
Martin Wesley
http://www.carolyn.cc/Guests/MartinWesley/pages/MW_01.html
http://www.borderless-photos.de/guests.html

Peter,

I have had several serious clogs and ended up putting in the Epson 
carts.  Both times the clogs cleared in short order with a few 
cleaning cycles.  After the first, I pulled the Epson carts, taped up 
the vents and holes, and then used them again without a problem a 
month and a half later.  MIS sells Epson replacement carts for a 
fraction of the OEM price that they claim work just as well.  At the 
end of the day, it is probably easier than all of the Windex tricks, 
and in the hands of someone like myself who is mechanically 
challenged, there is probably a lot less risk of doing serious damage 
to the printer.

Steve

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Peter A. Klein" 
<pklein@2...> wrote:
> I use an Epson 1280 with the MIS VM hextone inkset.  I recently 
came 
> back from a 10-day vacation, during which the heat was off in my 
> house.  I ran a nozzle check, a couple of cleaning cycles, printed 
a 
> print, and then checked the nozzles again.  All the inks but one 
> cleared up nicely on the nozzle check, showing the normal 4-line 
> diagonal pattern for each ink.  But the lightest gray ink is only 
> showing the two upper lines.
> 
> I tried the Windex-on-the-sponge trick (from the Piezo website).  
No 
> help.  I then tried the more drastic cleaning, removing the "color" 
> cartridge and blowing Windex through the print head via a plastic 
> tube (stopping well before any air got into the print head).  I 
> believe the lightest gray is in the yellow position, which is the 
> rightmost intake tube in the print head, as you look down on it. 
This 
> was followed by a couple of cleaning cycles.  
> 
> This got the lower two lines of the light gray ink partially 
> displaying, but then they went away again after I printed a couple 
of 
> small purge patterns followed by more nozzle checks.  By then I'd 
> exhausted the ink cartridge and switched to a new one.  A second 
> Windex treatment had no further effect.  
> 
> The funny part of all this is that my prints look OK.  I'm probably 
> losing a smidge of highlight detail, but it doesn't make that much 
> difference.
> 
> Any thoughts on how to proceed?  Just keep printing and hope the 
clog 
> eventually dissolves?  Use Fantastic instead of Windex?  Buy some 
> Epson color ink and print color for a while, hoping the native ink 
> will dissolve the MIS stuff?  I'll send it in to Epson if I must, 
but 

> I'd rather not if I don't have to.
> 
> Thanks for any advice
> --Peter Klein
> Seattle

>Hi all,

So I've had my 1280 setup with the UT inkset (pre-filled carts) for 
about...oh...3 days now.  Have printed a handful of test prints, am now 
tweaking some of my negatives to do more testing.

One thing I noticed is that some low-light, 3200 speed pictures I took at a 
wedding, which are obviously rather high grain, didn't come out 
particularly well at all.  They look almost pixelated in the blacks, and 
there isn't anything close to a smooth transition between those really dark 
shades of grey and black.

Do grainy negatives not work so well with this system? The fine-grain, 
50-100 speed stuff I've also tested look fabulous.

allan


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Stanford University
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