K3 Inks In 4000 - How?
2006-07-13 by Shilesh Jani
Steven Martin asked this question. The thread got a little off, so I start this new one. First, the 4800 carts will NOT fit into the 4000. The innards, however, are the same. There is a bladder full of ink in each cart, with a spout that mates to the printer intake. Another important note: The 4000, 7600, 9600 printers share the exact same ink carts. The 4800 and 7800 (and 9800) don't. So make sure you get the 4800 carts. All you have to do is take the full bladders out of 4800 carts and put them into the corresponding spent 4000 carts. Then you reset the chips on the 4000 carts and load your printer. It is rather easy to do. I urge you to first open up a spent 4000 catridge to familiarize yourself with the innards. The plastic casing is a 2-piece design that snaps together. It is not welded or otherwise sealed. The label goes across the seam. Take a razor or very sharp knife and slit the label along the seam - careful not to cut yourself. Place the cart flat, label side up. Then take a small flat head screw driver and pry open the carts at the four tab recesses. With some patience the cart will come apart. Once open, you will notice how truly simple the procedure is. Open up a 4000 cart and the corrsponding 4800 cart and lay them side-by- side. With the 220 ml inks, you will have to gently lift off the bladders which are attached to the cart with double sided tape. Swap the blladers and place them in identical positions as before. Like I said, it is easier than I have the capacity to explain. Snap the lid back on, and that is it. You don't have to tape it it shut. Reset the cart with a chip resetter, and you are done. I would recommend you do all inks at the same time (not the MK, which is the same for 4000 and 4800 printers). You will waste a lot of ink the first time around so be sure to have a spare maintenance tank. Do 2 power cleaning cycles, which should replenish all ink. You will have to redo ALL of your color profiles, and ALL of your b/w Profiles too (QTR, or other RIP). So be prepared for some hard work. Is it worth it? You will get much better Dmax on papers that you use PK. For instance, on Epson Premium Luster you will go from approximately 2.0 to greater than 2.4 plus. That is a big, clearly visible jump. You will see less bronzing and gloss differential, but not as low as the real 4800 prints, because you are not loading the LLK ink. In full color printing using the Epson driver, you will need to bump up the ink density to 20% to see the 2.4 Dmax. I have done very little color printing, so be cautioned that this may not be ideal. For b/w, however, I am making the best high Dmax prints I have ever made; they are rich, lucious and under controlled gallery type lighting, they can be breath taking. On Fiba F Glossy I am routinely nailing down Dmax of 2.6 after a light coat of print shield. I must say, for uncontrolled lighting (typical home and office)framed prints made on William Turner 190 gsm with MK absolutely ROCK & RULE in my opinion. Good luck. Shilesh