Digital BW, The Print

Last night my R200 turned on its red light (far left ink-out light), 
and it is now dead. This printer is only a couple months old, and has 
performed flawlessly up until now. Am using MIS carts/ink, resetting 
the carts without any problems or issues until now. It suddenly will 
not recognize the cartridge in the LC position. I switched carts 
around thinking the chip was bad, but it's not the carts...it's the LC 
position which will not recognize a good cart, and thus is rendering 
the printer dead. I believe this is a hardware issue, not software, 
since it turns on and off with the red light coming on whether the PC 
is on or off. Any help appreciated if someone knows how to reset the 
printer.! I even tried a piece of 600 sandpaper to lightly rub the 
contacts/fingers which contact the chip...no go. (BTW the SSC utility 
does not fix this problem.)
Best,
Mark

Hi Mark;

I've had this happen a couple times, usually replacing the chip with 
a new one will fix it. Don't know why, perhaps static buildup on 
your hands? BTW I assume when you say you 'switched the carts 
around' you put in another LC cart, yes?

The only other thing I can thing of is that the chip fell off and on 
the way way out the prong that positions it on the cart snagged a 
couple of the contacts in the printer? if that's the case, you may 
as well start the Epson process, or if you don't have OEM carts, 
toss the printer and buy a new one, it's probaly cheaper than 
putting Epson ink in it.

Steve Karafyllakis  

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "mark_roth_505" 
<mark@m...> wrote:
>
> Last night my R200 turned on its red light (far left ink-out 
light), 
> and it is now dead. This printer is only a couple months old, and 
has 
> performed flawlessly up until now. Am using MIS carts/ink, 
resetting 
> the carts without any problems or issues until now. It suddenly 
will 
> not recognize the cartridge in the LC position. I switched carts 
> around thinking the chip was bad, but it's not the carts...it's 
the LC 
> position which will not recognize a good cart, and thus is 
rendering 
> the printer dead. I believe this is a hardware issue, not 
software, 
> since it turns on and off with the red light coming on whether the 
PC 
> is on or off. Any help appreciated if someone knows how to reset 
the 
> printer.! I even tried a piece of 600 sandpaper to lightly rub the 
> contacts/fingers which contact the chip...no go. (BTW the SSC 
utility 

> does not fix this problem.)
> Best,
> Mark
>

At 5:06 AM +0000 12/18/05, Steven Karafyllakis wrote:
>[snip] ... or if you don't have OEM carts, toss the printer and buy 
>a new one, it's probaly cheaper than putting Epson ink in it. [snip]

Epson USA's on-line store has R200 re-furb's (w/ink) for $59 plus tax 
but no shipping.

Atlex.com lists the carts at $14 for the K and $10 for each of the 
other five, i.e., $64 total, plus shipping. (An Epson Store multipack 
at $61.74 is close to competitive.)

So a re-furb seems to be not just an economical way to replace a R200 
you can't return, but also an economical way to replace Epson carts 
even if you don't want a spare printer. I'd want a spare if I had a 
place to store the box. It's roughly 21 x 11 x 12 inches. I know 
because I ordered one just before I learned that the 220 is better!
--
Sam

Marc;
How interesting that I should have a repeat of this problem myself 
this morning after trying to help you out! The cyan cart no 
less...but it may have given me a new option for you to try: at the 
end of the cart were the spring-clip is, wedge something springy 
between the body and the spring clip so as to push the cart tighter 
against the contacts. It worked for me, I hope it works for you.

Steve Karafyllakis

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "mark_roth_505" 
<mark@m...> wrote:
>
> Last night my R200 turned on its red light (far left ink-out 
light), 
> and it is now dead. This printer is only a couple months old, and 
has 
> performed flawlessly up until now. Am using MIS carts/ink, 
resetting 
> the carts without any problems or issues until now. It suddenly 
will 
> not recognize the cartridge in the LC position. I switched carts 
> around thinking the chip was bad, but it's not the carts...it's 
the LC 
> position which will not recognize a good cart, and thus is 
rendering 
> the printer dead. I believe this is a hardware issue, not 
software, 
> since it turns on and off with the red light coming on whether the 
PC 
> is on or off. Any help appreciated if someone knows how to reset 
the 
> printer.! I even tried a piece of 600 sandpaper to lightly rub the 
> contacts/fingers which contact the chip...no go. (BTW the SSC 
utility 

> does not fix this problem.)
> Best,
> Mark
>

Hello Sam,

>R200...I ordered one just before I learned that the 220 is better!

What's the difference between the 200 and 220?  I too got a 200 just
before the 220 appeared.  Is it worth switching?

Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Clayton Jones" 
<cj@c...> wrote:
> What's the difference between the 200 and 220?  I too got a 200 just
> before the 220 appeared.  Is it worth switching?
> 
> Regards,
> Clayton
> 


From what I've read other places, the biggest change is to the disk 
tray. If you don't print disks, then there may not be any advantages. 
And if you will never print disks, you might consider selling that 
tray for about $10 on ebay or elsewhere.

I don't about switching, but I understand that there have been
driver improvements that would be of interest to fine art
photographers. To quote Paul Roark recently on this forum:

"The R220 is a step up from the R200. I've posted ICCs for the R220,
but will probably not do that for the C86 or R200. "

and 

"> ...I hear you saying two things: a) the R220 is less expensive
> than I think, and b) even if it costs a bit more than the R200, it's
> money well spent for better results and/or functionality.

Yes, there are a few improvements in the R220 that are worth the very
slight
price difference, if any."

Paul uses both the R200 and R220, so he should know.

Seems the going price on Ebay is $60-80 including shipping for new
R220's, most of them ones that people got for free or real cheap after
rebates because they bought it with a digital camera. Considering you
can get it for $90-100 retail, I'm not sure it's worth the risk. If
you're in the market for a digital camera or PC you can get an R220
for real cheap or free. Check the various rebate offers on Epson.com,
Staples, Amazon, etc. There's also a 12% off Staples coupon.

Cheers,
Bob

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Greg"
<dfaprinting@y...> wrote:

>
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Clayton Jones" 
> <cj@c...> wrote:
> > What's the difference between the 200 and 220?  I too got a 200 just
> > before the 220 appeared.  Is it worth switching?
> > 
> > Regards,
> > Clayton
> > 
> 
> 
> From what I've read other places, the biggest change is to the disk 
> tray. If you don't print disks, then there may not be any advantages. 
> And if you will never print disks, you might consider selling that 
> tray for about $10 on ebay or elsewhere.
>

> 
> What's the difference between the 200 and 220?  I too got a 200 just
> before the 220 appeared.  Is it worth switching?
> 

In addition to what has already been said, the 220 needs less slider
adjustment to print papers.  (Compare the recommendations in my Readme files
on the printers -- accessible from my index at
http://home1.gte.net/res09aij/index.htm.)  The less slider adjustments
needed, the better in terms of the final ramp.   The 220 also has a new
paper type -- "Ultra Premium Glossy Photo Paper" -- that gives a better dmax
on some important papers than any other that I've run across.  

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

I'm wondering if the pigment inks will print OK onto
CD's in a 220 and if so will I need to use the PK or
will Eboni work OK? i plan to use the EZ warm inks in
it for B&W printing  almost exclusively , but might
want to print the occasional CD.  If the Pigment
and/or matte inks don't work, can I just put the OEM
color inks back in for this  - or is that just asking
for trouble?

Thanks...Michael J. Vendrell, MD

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>Hello Sam,
>
>>R200...I ordered one just before I learned that the 220 is better!
>
>What's the difference between the 200 and 220?  I too got a 200 just
>before the 220 appeared.  Is it worth switching?
>
>Regards,
>Clayton

I've been meaning to ask you, Clayton, because I ordered a R200 
primarily for black-only/BO printing onto matte papers w/Eboni in the 
single K place. And none of Paul's comments which I've seen address 
the BO case in the R200 vs. R220 context (for any combination of ink 
and paper).

But if the R200 and the R220 use the same carts (I haven't checked), 
I guess adding a R220 to a R200 would be virtually cost-free if we 
just think of the R200 as a set of carts we'd want to have, even if 
only in reserve, anyway, just in case of a return.
--
Sam

Thanks Paul, Bob, Greg,

>In addition to what has already been said, the 220 needs less 
>slider adjustment to print papers. The less slider adjustments
>needed, the better in terms of the final ramp.   The 220 also 
>has a new paper type -- "Ultra Premium Glossy Photo Paper" -- 
>that gives a better dmax on some important papers than any other 
>that I've run across.  

Sounds good.  Does the 220 still have the Black Only option?  I seem
to remember someone not finding that.


Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm

> ...Does the 220 still have the Black Only option?  

Yes, but not if "Photo RPM" is selected.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

To refer back, I tried all those fixes which were suggested, but 
didn't work, except have not yet tried a new chip on the cart. That 
will be tried end of this week when they arrive. I did order a new 
refurb printer r200, though. I have a dead 1160, a 1280 that's turned 
into a piece of s**t, an R200 that is dead, and am sick and tired now 
of Epson printers. My next major purchase will NOT be an Epson, unless 
the damn thing can prove to be RELIABLE OVER MORE THAN A 2 YEAR F*&
(&*ING TIME FRAME.

Best,
Mark

How many shades of black does the R220 actually have with the MIS ink 
set?  The C86 had two, right?

> 
> How many shades of black does the R220 actually have with the MIS ink
> set? 

The dark grays (C & M) are equal in density, and the light grays (LC & LM)
and Y are equal.  In the C86, all the grays were equal.  

As a practical matter, with each jet having 3 levels or dot sizes, you end
up with quite a few shades on the R220.  Most find it very smooth.  It also
has a higher resolution in terms of dpi than the older hextones like the
1280.

>The C86 had two, right? 

Yes, all the grays were equal.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com