Digital BW, The Print

Related question to my 3 vs 4 grey part question: I have a 3000 with 3
working heads. I'd like to give it to a colleague as a BW printer.
Would it be likely to be worth the effort to load 3 tones (K, MG, LG?)
and calibrate/profile with QTR?

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "John Wilton"
<raga@...> wrote:
>
> Related question to my 3 vs 4 grey part question: I have a 3000 with 3
> working heads. I'd like to give it to a colleague as a BW printer.
> Would it be likely to be worth the effort to load 3 tones (K, MG, LG?)
> and calibrate/profile with QTR?
>

Interesting question.  I also have a 3000 with a dead head (clogged).
 I never thought about using it for BW printing, so the answer will
apply to me also.  I have tried everything for weeks trying to unclog
the head.

Levi Brothers of Dallas, TX repairs all high-end Epson printers.  They
do a complete refurbish and replace all four heads with new ones. 
They have a minimum charge of $300 for this service, and I might have
to  resort to this.  Your question, however, opens up an alternative.

Uncle Dannie

>I have tried everything for weeks trying to unclog
> the head.

Have you tried flushing the damper? It's not too hard to take the
cover off and get to the dampers. Service manual is free online:
http://web.archive.org/web/20031206214254/www.visual-artists.com/Manuals/manual3000.PDF

 In my case, the damper was completely blocked by dried out ink; it
was easy to clear with flushing solution. Unfortunately we followed
the directions for removing the damper in the 7000 service manual (to
pry it up with a flat bladed screwdriver). No instructions in the 3000
manual for removing damper; plenty of posts here about dampers in
general. Unfortunately in the case of the 3000, with the acute angle
you have to approach with a screwdriver due to the damper housing, we
found out when we came to reinstall the clean damper that we had
broken the tiny plastic nipple on the head that the damper attaches
to. In fact, the dampers come off easily--and safely!-- by simply
pulling straight up on them.

To answer my own question: I suspect you'd get very good results with
3 inks, people seem very happy with UT2 etc (if that is indeed a 3
grey tone situation). Plus, because of mislabeled Piezotone ink
bottles, I have effectively have only 2 tones in my 1160 and after
calibrating with QTR am getting very good prints.

The 3000 in my case was a free stuff item on craigslist that hadn't
been used for years, so we had nothing to lose. A few cleaning cycles
had the cmy heads printing a perfect nozzle check, but nothing
whatever coming from k.

I'd give a qualified yes to your question. It worked very nicely with
inksets called VM and VMS designed by Paul Roark, a member of this
group. These consisted of 3 grays and a toner. One used the grays
alone or in conjunction with the toner. Larger prints are quite
beautiful. Smaller ones, less than approximately 8x10, will be a bit
gritty looking due to it's large dot size IMHO.
I still use one regularly with updated versions of these inksets as
well as quad gray sets. It has proved to be an extremely robust and
easily maintained printer in my experience.

Regards
Duane

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "John Wilton"
<raga@...> wrote:

>
> Related question to my 3 vs 4 grey part question: I have a 3000 with 3
> working heads. I'd like to give it to a colleague as a BW printer.
> Would it be likely to be worth the effort to load 3 tones (K, MG, LG?)
> and calibrate/profile with QTR?
>