Epson pro 4000 print head is not aligned. Epson Stylus Pro: Frequently Asked Questions

If you use your device for printing quite often, you have probably noticed that various defects have begun to appear on printed documents, for example, blurry pictures, fuzzy lines, uneven edges, overlapping colors, etc. The cause of all these problems is the printer calibration, which was not done or was done incorrectly. Therefore, in this case, it is necessary to perform a procedure such as calibrating the print head.

A process such as print head calibration refers to the precise synchronization of the movement of the printer carriage, as well as the alignment of print heads in inkjet devices.
Calibration is also sometimes called the loading procedure. color profiles, thanks to the performed calibration, you can obtain the maximum possible similarity in the color rendering of the picture on the screen and the printed sheet of paper. This procedure is also carried out for laser devices. It is produced using special color profiles separately on laser and inkjet models; it can be used to adjust the color balance to ensure the correct transmission of both colors and their shades on the device.

How to calibrate inkjet printers

Printhead calibration is not a complicated process. But it requires accuracy and consistency of actions from the user. To get a calibrated printer, use a utility called “Print Head Calibration”. Keep in mind that it will not start if the printer is busy printing documents. To align the print heads, first turn off the printer and set the paper thickness adjustment lever to the standard position. Then place several sheets of paper in the tray.

On some printers and MFPs, print head calibration can be started directly from the device menu. To do this, press the button with which you can set the number of copies and, while holding it, press the power button of the device. Following these steps will allow you to print calibration pages. On the first sheet of paper, the device will leave several rows, which will be necessarily numbered. You should choose the template in which the two lines match each other as much as possible. Then click on the button that allows you to specify the number of copies and enter the number of this template. Next, select “Copy Black and White” and, having confirmed your choice, repeat the steps described above for all pages, the number of which will be equal to four. It is better to familiarize yourself with the procedure for starting calibration of your printer model in the user manual, because The startup process may differ on different devices.

On some printers, you may need to print a calibration sheet from your computer to align the printheads. It is necessary to ensure that the print settings are correct. The calibration scheme is the same as in the case of calibration on the device without the participation of a computer. We print, select one sample (the least grainy) in each resulting column and enter their values ​​in the appropriate fields. If you fail to select the optimal sample, then give preference to the most suitable one and click on “Recalibrate”. The device will then print a new table.

Laser Printer Calibration

Some users of office equipment have the following question: how to calibrate laser printer? It should be noted that this procedure starts automatically in the device after each cartridge replacement. But if necessary, it can be launched manually from the menu of the printing device or driver itself.

In the case of laser printer models, this procedure is necessary to ensure that there are no color shifts during operation of the device. Thanks to this, each of the four primary colors of the printer, which are applied by an individual printing mechanism, will precisely fall on the right place on the surface of the paper. Only thanks to this can you achieve a clear image without the slightest color mismatch.

Thus, calibrating the printer’s print head is a necessity when using this office equipment frequently. And to solve this problem it is not necessary to have any special knowledge and skills.

A very interesting topic, isn’t it? Many copies have been broken, many different assumptions and reasoning. However, I have a printer ( Epson L800) worked out a huge resource (about 18 liters of ink for almost 5 years). I never found out what depressurization is. Although I, in general, regular user. I didn’t shake over the printer, it prints, and that’s okay. But, of course, sometimes I lubricated it with some kind of oil from a can, may the service people forgive me for such words :)

I started cleaning with or without reason. I didn’t do deep ones, but I made sure that the ink tap was always open. During periods without printing, I wrapped it in a 120-liter garbage bag (for dust). And in this form he stood in the off-season. Halfway through the run, some movements were made; I will write about this in detail in the next review.

Where did it all come from? One of the readers of my site wrote to me that in the West there are no models for 6 colors with CISS. All officially announced models are four-color. We do not take Malaysian and Indian models sold on Amazon into account. Of course, I am not an expert on the European and American markets, but a superficial search really did not reveal 6-color models.

Next, a seditious assumption was made: 4-color models are more reliable because they contain different inks. The idea is definitely not for the faint of heart. I have always found the original 6-flower ink to be a very good product. Excellent color, good light fastness. What can I say, I always recommend original ink to anyone who doesn’t print a lot.

But the pen pal was very eloquent in his arguments (but he got through - he is a Siberian, they are persistent!). And actually, after a while, a thought stuck in my head: who said that Epson makes super ink, especially for emerging markets?

All information described below is a fantastic work of art about parallel universes, and has nothing to do with Seiko Epson Corporation.

Epigraph:

Simplicity is enough for every wise man. Now I understand that any crazy idea can lead to interesting results. And what you will do with these results is completely unclear. If the experiment had initially been intended for illumination, then, of course, it would have scanned and photographed everything possible. And so, it was a get-together, just for fun. Everything that was interesting I photographed myself; what I didn’t, alas, you’ll have to take my word for it.

Again, I do not pursue the goal of exposing the evil bourgeoisie who staged a global conspiracy. Just for people with brains, I think the information published will be useful, regardless of whether they agree with it or not.

If you take away the heads, clogged with all sorts of incomprehensible ink, and the huge layer of PGs killed when trying to revive 1-2 nozzles, then there are only two external signs of death of modern PGs.

Death of PG No. 1- this is very popular on the L800 and is called “head depressurization”.
Death of PG No. 2– very popular on expensive large-format pigment machines from Epson. The story is usually very banal, everything was printed fine in the evening, but in the morning there is no whole color channel.

So, first of all, the popular question is: why does the print head depressurize? The answer is simple, the “nozzle” plate peels off from the ink channel elements. More precisely, it does not completely peel off, but the sealant tears. The ink then bleeds into each other. The most classic case for L800 is mixing cyan and mangenta.

The first symptoms of depressurization

Progressive depressurization

There are many assumptions: a very powerful pump, bad dampers, etc. But there are very few votes, maybe the original ink just doesn’t work? After all, the print head was not developed specifically for the L800.

We attached the cans to the side and voila. Sales are growing, the percentage of defects under warranty is reasonable. And how many carcasses of printers are lying in the closets, sorry, none of our Japanese business :)

If this happened to one of the suppliers of alternative inks, it would instantly fly out of the market. And here the company, you can’t argue, couldn’t be better? Again, with models in 4 colors, even in Russia there is not such a widespread percentage of defects. And by the way, they have a longer warranty and a declared resource, although the print head is clearly simpler.

I will try to simulate the process of peeling off the nozzle plate using my fingers using a simple everyday example.
An analogy is easy to draw with some brands of glue for hot-melt guns; it sticks so well that you can’t tear it off, but just a drop of alcohol is enough, and the entire glue line just bounces off the part with a bang. Doesn't something like this happen in the depths of the print heads?

The correspondence with the Siberian lasted sluggishly for more than six months; I have my own work. Well, there’s absolutely no time to do tests. But as always, chance helped, they presented me with a dead l800, I don’t know what they poured into it (most likely Intek), but half of the nozzles were missing. He died in the office, due to standing on the window in the sun without work for a year. They simply forgot about him. After washing, only the outermost channels fully came to life, but that was enough. After this, the idea arose to conduct testing.

Why do you need this?

The answer is simple, I want to get a larger format Epson. The prices for them have become inhumane, and in terms of reliability there is a lot of negativity on the Internet. Before spending my hard-earned money with many zeros, I decided to understand the issue more thoroughly.

Cyan from L800 was bought inexpensively - it was poured into the live outer channel. In the next one, as it was used up, everything I had was: DCTEC (it was basically like shoe polish - they changed the batch that produced flakes in the cold) and Revcol. All other colors (containers) were filled with yellow disitec, there was a lot of it :)

The test consisted of the fact that when I was not too lazy, I ran a script that printed test pages from these two channels. Like 20 sheets of A4 and cleared in line. And so on in a circle, printing in RPM mode on matte paper. The paper was clearly inserted into the usual cheapest ala Snow Maiden.

Well, the result was not long in coming. After about 4 months and 5 bottles of the original, the head lost its seal between the channels.

I understand perfectly well that the test is not complete, not clean, etc. But from the moment the steam generator was depressurized, everything was filmed. Disassembling the steam generator was interesting to me, I filmed everything. I don't think you'll find such detailed photos. On the Internet, a lot of nonsense has been written about print heads for Epson, many do not even understand in detail how they work. I wanted to close this issue for myself once and for all.

PG from Epson L800

Removing filters

Remove the seal on the ink channels

In this form, the PG is cleaned in case of particularly severe blockages.

We firmly remove the connector board

As you can see, the nozzles work in pairs on colors, i.e. 6 colors and 3 boards with piezo elements.

Removing the nozzle plate

It is useless to look for traces of sealant or anything else on this plate; after a drop of washing and wiping, it is cleaned to a shine without any traces of ink exposure. By the way, traces of the old ink were very well ingrained and were not washed off when washing the PG. After I rubbed the plate with my finger, it became mirror-like. So even dropsy of the PG “silts up” during annual downtime. Those. the colors used to print the tests were washed out with warm water, and what was there before the blockage could not be removed without mechanical action.

Removing the nozzle plate

The nozzle plate is made of a non-magnetic alloy, on one side there is clearly some kind of sputtering yellow color. On the other hand, in normal lighting it looks like stainless steel. But I clearly had a yellow tint; I didn’t want to change the light to normal, it was filmed as is. If you look closely, traces of ink are visible in the foreground. But the color of the plate on the pg side is metallic.

PG inspection

Holy shit, the membrane of the piezoelectric elements was eaten like acid, of course, I touched it a little when I removed the plate, my hands are still crooked: (But look at the next frame.

PG inspection

I took a toothpick and began to vigorously poke at the membrane in the adjacent channels. Everything is fine, the material is dense and very soft (similar to silicone), difficult to break through. And in the extreme, as soon as I touched it, everything crumbled into ashes. Well I do not know. If I were to run the acid, but here is the original ink, and for a slightly longer period of time. By the way, in this frame we managed to select the wavelength well, and the sealant began to “phosphorize” white. No obvious violations are visible anywhere.

Large channel plates

I’m showing close-up the channels for the ink approach to the nozzles, for those who haven’t yet understood, these thin ribs of the adjacent channels are sealed with sealant (we managed to highlight it well), the thickness of the ribs is probably about 0.1 mm. And any violation of the tightness will cause a disruption in normal operation, at least a skew jet with the mutual influence of the nozzles different colors Each other. And in the worst case, a mixture of different colors. The sealant is tricky, more like glass, or polymyrized UV glue, very hard, and a very thin layer, I think the thickness is only a few microns. I did not see any traces of separation from the base of the PG between the channels. Most likely, the adhesive layer “snaps off” as in the case with hot-melt adhesive. Although I tried soaking a couple more heads in solvent, acetone, etc. I was unable to dissolve this sealant. The nozzle plate fit like a glove.

Another angle of the channel plate.

I took it at an angle and in different lighting to highlight the height of the ribs. It’s very funny to read about craftsmen who write that they smeared glue and stuck the nozzle plate back to the channel plate. It is not possible to glue the “nozzle” plate into place, and it only becomes a nozzle when, after gluing, the nozzles are burned out with a laser. Those. First, the device reads the location of all the nozzles on the rulers, then in one technological operation the plate is glued and the nozzles are formed. For those who like to talk about picalitres, I advise you to pay attention to the sizes of the supply channels. In fact, Epson heads pump anything through themselves. The physical dimensions of the channels and nozzles make it possible to work with fairly large fractions.

Cutting the PG.

So we got to the piezo elements.

Cutting the PG.

We remove the forming channels of the print heads and see the plates of piezo elements. Peculiar pushers that push ink into the channel plates.

We remove the piezo elements.

Next, please pay attention, these are fragments of the membrane that cover the piezocrystals. This is an important point that is poorly covered on the Internet. It is the membrane that receives tens of kilohertz of pokes from the piezoelements, and so on for days on end, without breaks or vacations. I advise you to remember this moment!!!

We remove the piezo elements.

Here is a frame showing that the film over the piezo elements is a monolithic whole over the entire area of ​​the PG. From above it is simply pressed down by the channel plate.

We remove the piezo elements.

But the heart of the print heads is an aluminum plate with piezo crystals. Crystals for two color channels are installed on one plate. The decoder/driver chip is located on the same plate.

We remove the piezo elements.

Here's a larger view, you can see that the plate is under one of the poles of the supply voltage. The crystals are very fragile and are not intended for crooked hands with only one screwdriver in the arsenal :)

Channel plate.

Let's return to the channel plate, or rather to its reverse side. It's like the other side of the moon, not lit at all. There are no descriptions or photographs on the Internet. By the way, it also cost me a lot of effort to get sane photographs. Let's look at the holy of holies from Epson. We see the channels formed for the piezo element, they all go in a row. But the ink supply channels come from different sides, alternately for one color or another. Of all the tricks, this is a kind of water seal at the color inlet (small oval thing). It forms a “flow” of ink, i.e. first, the ink goes above it, and then enters the channel for the piezo element, so that when the piezo is hit sharply, the ink flies into the nozzle, where the hydraulic resistance is much lower.

Ink entry into hydraulic seals.

Here is another unique photo, we managed to catch the angle of the entrance channels to the water seals. This slot at the base is the entrance for ink, then the ink goes around the protrusion shown in the previous photo and goes along the membrane along the piezo element.

View of the entrance channels to the water seals on the channel plate. Here we managed to catch the thin walls of the input channels that are visible in the previous frame.

Channel plate hydraulic valves.

This is an attempt to shoot from the front, unfortunately this is the limit of the possibilities for me, I shoot portraits, I have almost nothing for macro. It is extremely difficult to capture detail on a 0.4mm edge.

Block diagram of Epson PG.

I’ll give you a block diagram of a PG from Epson; by the way, it’s like two peas in a pod like Canon, with the only difference being that thermal printing uses less resistant materials. Instead of a stainless steel nozzle plate, a layer of varnish, instead of a piezo element, a heating element under a layer of varnish.

1) nozzle plate

2) sealant to the nozzle plate

3) membrane for waterproofing piezoelements

4) input liquid reducer (hydraulic seal)

5) piezo element

6) housing forming channels for ink

I hope these photographs will be useful to many for understanding the principles of PG operation. As well as my assessment of many common misconceptions regarding service life, flushing, etc. and so on. But this article is not about that :)

Why did I bring so many photographs here? Based on the inspection, I draw two important conclusions.

1) I did not find any peeling of the sealant between the channels; most likely, it is the “snapping off” of some segments from the nozzle plate that is taking place. Those. It is simply impossible to delaminate such a micron-sized and durable layer of sealant.

2) In the channel on the original ink, the tactile membrane has become more fragile. Clearly, a toothpick is not an accurate measuring device. But if it had also easily ruptured in the neighboring channels, I would not have focused on it.

Let's assume that in one sunny country in a large corporation there are two divisions that make ink and print heads. And like in any big company, they don’t like each other. Considering that they are the axis around which everything revolves in this company. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Well, at least this is a more pleasant theory than the assumption that the ink is made more aggressive on purpose.

Why do print heads die on Epson printers?

Death of PG No. 1

I believe that it is the aggressiveness of the original L800 ink that contributes to the occurrence of this defect. With minimal physical impact, the separation zone will expand until the channels are completely mixed. Because the physical structure of the print head is absolutely the same, we conclude that the most aggressive ink is cyan, it is from this channel that in most cases the color is mixed.

The aggressiveness of inks for L800 relative to L100 can be easily explained by their improved light resistance, at least twofold. Most likely, some more aggressive (and cheaper) thinners have been added. But who tested them for PG resource. Well, or they tested it, they have a guarantee and that’s okay. It is not surprising that the nozzle plate also “snaps off”.

Producing print heads using this technology (probably not very expensive) is quite justified with ink from the Claria series, or 664 series. But for the 673 series, such an increase in production volumes has a disastrous effect. But because Ink 673 is not supplied to civilized countries; the risk for the corporation is justified.

And in fact, where do the roots of this problem grow from, because I described only the results. As always, everything comes down to increasing profits and production volumes. Let's take a look at the top of the “channel” plate.

Doesn't anyone have a question? why such an extensive network of edges? Wouldn't it be easier to make a smooth plate and spread it well with glue? A nozzle plate glued to this channel would definitely hold more securely. This is certainly true. But, I assume that in production the “nozzle” plate is already formed on the assembled PG by burning nozzle holes of the required diameter using a laser. And since you want to do it quickly, let’s say about 100 heads per minute. Then it was necessary to create an extensive network of thermal barriers so as not to overheat the lower membrane. The downside of this solution is a very small contact area (well, as if this is why it is a thermal barrier). It is precisely because of this that, when exposed to certain chemical compounds, “snapping” occurs from such thin ribs. Among other things, the gluing (welding) operation in such areas may itself contain a manufacturing defect - which, after factory testing, appears in a variety of Chinese stores.

By the way, on the PG for expensive plotters the “nozzle” plate is ceramic. It is glued with centering in place. But this requires a more precise location of the nozzle channels on the SG itself. Those. on cheap heads, the automation looks at how the channels are located and burns holes in the nozzle plate in place. Those. the primary assembly accuracy is quite low. You can do everything quickly and cheaply. But in expensive PGs, when the holes are already cut, it is necessary that the assembly be very accurate. According to fragmentary information from Epson, the runout accuracy of its machines is about 2 microns.

By the way, the answer to a popular question about pigment. For large resources (square kilometers of printing), only a ceramic “nozzle” plate will withstand the abrasive influence of the pigment. Those. You can pour pigment into the L800 without any questions. But you will get a bone blast faster than with dropsy.

Yes, of course, I also heard the theory that second-class GHGs are supplied to developing markets. I think this idea is not without rational grain. You just need to understand that the second grade is usually associated with defects in the first period of operation (primary failure curve). Those. turned it on, a week later it broke. I think in such cases the PG will replace everything under warranty.

This defect is the rejection of technological batches when the percentage of defects is higher than those. tolerances (usually 1-2%), but in all developing countries it can be delivered with a defect rate of 10-15%. The main thing is that the service centers can handle it.

And now the final thought, for deep thought, well, the L800 is for the “poor people” with ink in jars, what can we take from them poor people. And here we move on to point number 2.

Death of PG No. 2

Isn’t the low survivability of the PG of modern wide-format printers from a well-known corporation related to the same factor? New and improved pigment ink. Moreover, and the company itself does not even deny this, it makes different inks for different regions. Explaining this to the different color preferences of different nationalities.

After all, just think about how convenient it is, the heads are stamped by one plant. Nothing specifically changes. But you can easily regulate the turnover of printers in each region. Because the cartridges are regionally locked.

How does the death of PG occur in the second type. Let's remember the membrane, remember it in the photographs?

But first, let's fast forward 15 years ago. The engineering service of a large corporation has created a prototype of a PG. In which I laid this same membrane. It was thick, you could pour anything on it, including solvents. She didn't care about that. But there was one drawback: a lot of strength was required to push through such a thick skin. Time passed, and some third force came running (let’s say managers), and the managers said, we need crazy speed, so that everything flashes before our eyes.

What could be done for speed? That's right, increase the number of nozzles and the speed of their operation. That’s what they did, but the pushers (piezo elements) turned out to be weak, so we had to change the properties of this very membrane, it became softer and thinner.

Now, in current realities, cause of death No. 2 is the roughening (loss of properties) of the membrane, it simply bursts in places where piezoelectric elements are exposed. Then ink enters the electronics, the driver burns out (or turns off). Everything happens in a hundred milliseconds.

The usual scenario of death, we printed all day, turned off the printer. During the night, through a crack in the membrane, ink leaks onto the piezo elements, in the morning we press print, bang - there is no channel. Did everything seem to be fine yesterday?

But I don’t believe that in 10 years it was impossible to find a stable polymer with the required softness and resistance to various chemical compounds. More likely, this feature turned into a benefit for the corporation. For the American markets, we supply ink that ensures a reasonable service life for devices (otherwise they will be dragged to court).

For developing markets (where all the printers use something unknown), you can supply slightly corrected ink, which will perfectly cover the warranty period, or even a couple of warranty periods. But who will spend so much time on the originals? It will flood the “compatibility” and give it full performance, and in a few months it will take its printer to the landfill. Confirming the well-known theory that any left-handed ink kills the printer.

I think that I lost the battle with the “leftist” by trying to put up a barrier in the form of tricky chips on cartridges. Epson decided to use its developments in the field of technology to fight. And then a hundred Chinese with soldering irons in their teeth broke off. Unnoticeably and quietly, the Japanese company began to control the lifetime of printing devices as it pleased.

Conclusions: Having rather meticulously studied the design of the print head from Epson, I can say with great confidence that this is a very impressive product in terms of design simplicity and reliability. All measures have been taken to avoid blockages. In fact, the head is an L-shaped forward flow with a thickness of only about 0.5 mm; it should be easy to clean with standard means. And in especially severe cases, it can be easily washed with special means.

By the way, Epson has also done a great job in terms of the length and structural arrangement of channels and piezoelements. Its print heads have become “short-running”, like thermal inkjet PGs from Canon.
The dimensions of all channels before approaching the nozzle plate are huge (tenths of a millimeter). You can drive car paint through such sections if you dilute it thinner with a solvent :) And only the nozzle plate limits the size of the output nozzle by 10 times. But since the plate is very thin, blockages on it can be cleared simply with a standard pump.

With the existing kinematic scheme, failure of the PG can only be planned, or when the output exceeds the reasonable service life of this class of devices (like mine, almost 18 liters of ink on a household L800 printer).

In terms of artistic reflection, it can be assumed that the corporation conducted research on the chemical composition of the most popular alternative ink manufacturers. And a certain common denominator was found (usually a cheaper substitute for some kind of plasticizer or wetting agent). If it is present, the ink begins to have a detrimental effect on the PG elements (More precisely, the glue or membrane, there are simply no other bottlenecks there!!). Unfortunately for us, this same component is found in the CYAN 673 series, thereby shortening the life of our favorite printers.

Assumptions:

1) I’m not a fan of “conspiracy” conspiracies, but given that different inks are supplied to different markets, it is quite possible that old printer devices are being taken out of circulation in a controlled manner.

2) When starting the printer on the original consumables The countdown process starts.

3) You can extend the life of the PG by using ink that has the least impact on the elements of the print heads (sealant and membrane). No one has such statistics. And I think there will soon be a lot of speculation on this topic.

4) From the latest “gossip” - ammonia affects the L800 sealant. But these are only unconfirmed rumors from a couple of people (or rather, different emails) who allegedly managed to peel off the nozzle plate by soaking it for a long time in ammonia. I soaked it in strong organic solvents, but nothing happened.

5) It is necessary to somehow develop a mechanism for launching and checking the warranty L800 without using original ink, at least Cyan 673 series.

What to do?

1) For those who use original ink, replace the most aggressive cyan 673 series with 664 series. There will be a loss in light fastness, but presumably this will significantly extend the life of the PG. Again, we replace the original ink with original ones.

2) When calculating depreciation costs for modern printers from Epson Corporation, when using original materials, you should only refer to the warranty mileage.

3) For fans of alternative inks, keep “your” statistics on which L800 works longer. I suspect that after the publication of this material, everyone is “oversold” and will rush to prove, foaming at the mouth, that their ink is the most delicate and fluffy.

P.S. And after conducting this series of tests, I thought very hard. Recently DCTec has New episode EverNew ink, I have already printed it - everything is fine. Lightfastness is the same as the original L800. I just wrote with boiling water :) But the question is, what will happen to the aggressiveness of this ink? Naturally, company representatives cannot clearly answer such questions. Those. again, like 5 years ago, we must take risks. Last time I was very lucky with DCTec, I took the right path, and without knowing grief I stomped along it for almost 5 years. The high season begins in March, and the printing must already be working non-stop.

P.P.S. This article is a titanic work, which was inspired by particularly persistent and meticulous readers. More than six months of time and a significant amount of money were spent on experiments and preparation for them. To obtain photographs, a special shooting technique was developed, when by selecting the radiation length it was possible to increase the contrast of the objects being photographed. All details of the PG in reality are dark gray. The conclusions described in this article may not be accepted or even irritating. But I suggest respecting the unique “content” on the Internet. And at least provide a link to the original source. For copywriters, I’ll immediately say what “Yandex - unique texts” is, I’m aware of it :) Well, because. I am not the mouthpiece of official companies, there are many typos in the text, I will correct them as time and effort go.

Additions:

How come, you forgot the L1800 version also has 6 colors. And it works great. No, I didn’t forget, or rather, I remember very well that the PG there was created before historical materialism (compatible models 1410 1430 R380 R390 R360 R265 R260 R270 R380 R390). So, if nothing has changed in production, then these PGs are quite oak. And by the way, the L1800 prints noticeably slower than the L800. Not significantly, of course, but slower. Therefore, I don’t see any “low-handedness” here. It is for this reason that the L1800 is given a guarantee of 30 thousand prints, and not 3 thousand as on the L800. It is possible that such GHGs are no longer produced. Warehouses are being cleared.

31.01.2017

Several people have already promised to send dead PGs from various printers (including wide-format), no more!!!
I still don’t have a research laboratory :) But to the best of my ability, I’ll film everything and put it on display.

28.01.2017

A popular question, okay, the theory with aggressive cyan, but what about black? After all, the depressurization of black into yellow is in second place after cyan into the cuff. Yes, there are actually no difficulties with the answer here, I apologize for not focusing your attention right away. And so, the simplest experiment, a drop of original black ink, a glass of water, crack-pex-fex...

Well, here you have it: concentrated cyanogen mixed with black. Black dye is expensive. And cyan is cheap. So the “epson kids” wander around that got into the black color: (And then the black channel dies, because the same cyan is in it.

By the way, the black one from L100 (664 series) is made on the basis of a cuff, you can check for yourself by dropping it into a glass of water. It looks like it would also be nice to put black in the L800 from the 664 series.

Read my reviews about printers and other equipment on my website and stay tuned for updates.

If you are using paper from another manufacturer, make sure that the paper settings are correct.

	Parameter	Description
ROLL PAPER REMAINING	REMAINING PAPER SETUP	The remaining paper counter function can be set only when there is no paper loaded in the printer. OFF: The ROLL PAPER REMAINING function is disabled. The roll paper counter icon does not appear on the LCD. ON: The LCD displays the remaining amount of roll paper. When you press the up button, when you remove the roll, a bar code is printed on the edge of the paper containing information about the paper type, roll paper length, and roll paper length threshold. If the roll paper has been changed, the barcode is scanned and these values ​​are entered.
	ROLL PAPER LENGTH	These settings are available when REMAINING PAPER SETUP is set to ON. The printer may display messages indicating that it is low on paper. To do this, you need to set the warning threshold for roll paper. If using roll paper, enter the length of the roll loaded in the printer and the warning threshold. You can set the roll paper length from 5.0 to 99.5 m, and the roll paper length threshold from 1 to 15 m.
	ROLL LENGTH ALERT
PAPER TYPE	Photo Paper	Allows you to specify the type of paper loaded in the printer.
	Matte Paper
	Plain Paper
	NO PAPER SELECTED

CUSTOM PAPER

If you are using paper from another manufacturer, you must make the appropriate settings.

After the paper number is selected, set following settings. Make sure to first select the paper for PAPER TYPE, then make the PLATEN GAP setting, etc.

	Parameter	Description
PAPER TYPE	Photo Paper	You can select a media type that is most similar in properties to the paper you are using.
	Proofing Paper
	Fine Art Paper
	Matte Paper
	Plain Paper
PLATEN GAP	NARROW (Narrow)	Allows you to adjust the distance between the print head and paper. STANDARD: Normally, the STANDARD gap is selected. NARROW: Select this when printing on thin paper. Wide or WIDER: Select this setting if printed images appear blurry.
	STANDARD
	WIDE:
	WIDER (Wider):
THICKNESS PATTERN	PRINT	Allows you to print a paper thickness pattern.

	Parameter	Description
PAPER FEED ADJUST		Allows you to adjust the amount of paper fed into the print area. Accepts values ​​from -0.70 to 0.70%. If this value is too high, white horizontal streaks may appear on the printout. If this value is too low, dark horizontal streaks may appear on the printout.
	from -0.70% to +0.70%
DRYING TIME		Allows you to set the length of the drying period after each print head pass. Range of values: 0-10 seconds. Depending on the weight or type of paper, this may not be enough time for drying. In this case, set a longer drying period.
	from 0.0 sec to 10.0 sec
PAPER SUCTION	STANDARD	Allows you to specify the suction pressure to feed printed paper.
SET ROLL PAPER TENSION	NORMAL	When using fabric or thin paper, or if the paper wrinkles during printing, select HIGH or EXTRA HIGH.
	HIGH
	EXTRA HIGH (Maximum)
REMOVE SKEW		You can choose whether to correct the paper skew or not.

HEAD ALIGNMENT

Allows you to calibrate the print head.

When the printer is used frequently, minor defects may sometimes occur. When printed, the image may have jagged edges or thin, fuzzy lines, may appear blurry, or colors may overlap each other. This is the reason incorrect setting positioning of the print head. To eliminate the above problems, you need to calibrate the head of your printing device.

The cause of miscalibration may be some mechanical impact to the printer, for example when moving the printer from one place to another. In this case, the printer's print head carriage may move. Miscalibration may also occur when printing on high-density paper.
How often should calibration be carried out?

Of course, it all depends on how often you print. Your printer itself will alert you if the print quality becomes unsatisfactory. We should also not forget about compliance operating rules and fulfilling a number of requirements to prevent the operation of your printing device.

First you need to go to the printing settings, (Start / Printers and Faxes - Your Printer - Right Click - Printing Settings)

Windows XP - Start/Printers and Faxes
Windows 7 - Start/Devices and Printers
Windows 8 – My Computer/Control Panel/Devices and Printers
Windows 10 - Start/Devices and Printers

and then find the "Service" tab.

There you select the “print head calibration” item. Insert a sheet of A4 paper and click “Print”.

The printer will print a picture like this

	Parameter	Description
PAPER THICKNESS	SELECT PAPER TYPE	When using appropriate Epson paper, select the paper type. When using paper from other brands, enter the paper thickness from 0.1 to 1.5 mm.
	SELECT THICKNESS
ALIGNMENT	AUTO	When AUTO is selected, the sensor reads the result adjustment pattern and the optimal adjustment value is automatically registered by the printer. If MANUAL is selected, you need to check the pattern and enter the adjustment value.
	What is Epson UltraChrome K3 technology? A new eight-color pigment ink system developed in recent years by Epson in collaboration with printing industry professionals. Designed to completely replace previous generation Epson UltraChrome inks Epson ink UltraChrome K3 is currently the highest level product. What is the difference between Epson UltraChrome and Epson UltraChrome K3 inks? Eight completely new high-density pigment compositions, a new technology of rubber encapsulation of pigment particles that gives high gloss to the print, the presence of three types of black ink. Only the matte black ink is the same as previous Epson UltraChrome. What allows Epson UltraChrome K3 ink not to exhibit metamerism? Thanks to the properties of new pigments, rubber encapsulation, three types of black ink and a new screening algorithm, it is possible to significantly reduce the effect of metamerism and bronzing on both color and black and white prints. The point is that the degree of these effects is much weaker than the human eye can detect. What allows Epson UltraChrome K3 inks to reduce the gloss differential? New technology of encapsulating pigment particles with high-gloss resin, combined with a three-level black system, makes it possible to significantly reduce the effect of gloss differential on color and black-and-white prints and achieve uniform gloss (especially on papers like Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper). This result is achieved without the use of additional gloss optimization tools. What allows Epson UltraChrome K3 black ink to provide such high color density? The high density of pigments combined with a high-gloss encapsulating coating results in black density levels that are as close as possible to those of most water-based dye inks. This is one of the most important achievements of Epson UltraChrome K3 technology. Why do prints made with Epson UltraChrome K3 inks have such high color and light fastness? Because they do not contain dyes, but are 100% pigmented. What is the reason for such a wide color gamut of UltraChrome K3 ink? Increased pigment density combined with a new high-gloss polymer coating on the pigment particles provides a wide color gamut and allows for prints to be produced in an extremely wide color gamut. Why are prints made with Epson UltraChrome K3 inks so resistant to abrasion? And what can be said about papers for art graphics regarding this issue? Epson UltraChrome K3 technology uses special methods of linking pigment particles and polymer encapsulation coating, called “Cross linking Chemistry”. This chemical process produces prints that are significantly more superficially hard than previous generation Epson UltraChrome technology. The result is wear resistance comparable to conventional full-color and photographic printing materials (traditional photography). Digital art papers have a number of advantages, but there is a problem: although the ink layer is scratch-resistant, the surface of the print can still suffer contact damage due to friction. This is similar to the situation when you run your hand against the nap of suede. The ink does not fall off, but appearance the print surface still deteriorates. Does Epson UltraChrome K3 ink have reduced off-gassing compared to Epson UltraChrome ink? The new Epson UltraChrome K3 inks have approximately the same off-gassing levels as the previous generation of inks. Epson recommends that regardless of environmental conditions, prints made on multi-layer coated papers (Epson Singleweight Matte, Doubleweight Matte, and Presentation Matte) should be allowed to fully degas. Before the beginning further work with a print, it must be kept unfolded for at least 48 hours. Attention! To speed up the drying process of the ink, it is advisable to place the print face down on a clean sheet of paper for 24 hours. When framing work, compliance with all technological rules is required, including preventing contact (leaving a gap) between the print and the inside protective glass(silicate, acrylic or polyester). Is it possible to use new printers using Epson UltraChrome K3 technology? automatic switching between Matte Black and Photo Black inks is similar Epson Stylus Pro 4000? No. This is a unique feature that is only available on the Epson Stylus Pro 4000. Since Epson's UltraChrome K3 technology requires all eight channels to be used simultaneously to print both color and black and white graphics, there is no more room to install both Matte Black and Photo Black cartridges. How long will it take to switch black printing modes on Epson Stylus Pro 4800, 7800 and 9800? This process will take less than 10 minutes. How much ink is consumed when switching black printing modes on Epson Stylus Pro 4800, 7800 and 9800? The amount of ink used during the mode switching process varies by model and may be affected by manufacturing tolerances within each product line. Epson estimates the total ink volume used (combination of all cartridges) to be between 88 and 117 ml per switch cycle. Switching from one black mode to another (for example, from Photo Black to Matte Black) requires a significant amount of ink, some of which is used to complete removal the previous type of ink from the tube system, dampers and heads and initially filling the system with enough of the other type of ink. To prepare the print head for subsequent printing, the switching process also flushes a small amount of each different color of ink through the print head. All these procedures are performed to achieve maximum High Quality prints in the new mode after switching. How much ink is used during the initial installation of Epson Stylus Pro 4800, 7800 and 9800? To start the printing mechanism, during the installation of a new printer, it is planned to use about one-third of the ink (or more) from each ink cartridge (a starter cartridge kit is included in the equipment delivery package). Can the new Epson Stylus Pro 4800, 7800 or 9800 be started straight away in matte black ink mode? Yes. When you first start, you can install the Matte Black cartridge instead of the standard Photo Black cartridge. The printer will be in Matte Black mode from the start. Is the Matte Black cartridge included with the printer as standard? No. The standard cartridge is only Photo Black. If you need to use Matte Black ink from the start, you will need to purchase this additional cartridge when you purchase your printer. When should Matte Black mode be used? Seems standard mode Photo Black allows you to print high quality on any type of media... Standard Photo Black inks have been specifically optimized for vibrant, full-color images and photographic media. If you are printing on matte papers such as Epson Velvet Fine Art, Enhanced Matte or UltraSmooth Fine Art, black density will increase significantly when using Matte Black inks. This is the advantage of changing from one mode to another. What volume of cartridges are included in the standard delivery of Epson Stylus Pro 4800, 7800 and 9800 printers? The standard delivery of these printers includes eight cartridges with a capacity of 110 ml each. For black ink, Photo Black ink is supplied as standard. Which Epson media types provide maximum optical density (Dmax) and color saturation (L* value)? Tests conducted by Epson have demonstrated that Epson Premium Luster Photo Paper, when used with Photo Black inks, achieves Dmax values ​​of up to 2.4 and L* values ​​below 3.1. Note: You may get different results for these metrics depending on the media type, black print mode, driver settings, and ICC profile used. What is Epson Advanced Black & White Printing Mode? This is Epson's proprietary screening and color management technology, specifically designed to produce professional-quality black-and-white images. The mathematical algorithm behind this unique screening technology provides the advantage of using three levels of black in parallel with yellow, light cyan and light magenta. This mode takes full advantage of the three neutral-toned cartridges to produce professional black-and-white prints, even from color or grayscale files. The result is pure black and white images without the slightest color deviation. Epson's new Advanced Black & White Printing technology is another accessible tool and an alternative way for professionals to obtain black and white prints of the highest possible quality. Is it possible to get professional quality black and white prints without the metamerism effect using the usual "No Color Adjustment" driver settings and built in Adobe PhotoShop CS2 ICC profile? Yes. In fact, many professionals can print high-quality black-and-white images using Epson's standard eight-color screen technology and Adobe PhotoShop CS2. Experienced users can easily use both of these solutions to accomplish their tasks. Are the ink cartridges the same for Epson Stylus Pro 4800, 7800 and 9800? No. The Epson Stylus Pro 4800 uses new ink cartridges similar to those for the Epson Stylus Pro 4000. However, the Epson Stylus Pro 4800 can use Matte Black ink cartridges designed for the Epson Stylus Pro 4000, 7600 and 9600. For Epson Stylus Pro 7800 and 9800, cartridges of a completely new design have been developed, which fully corresponds to the sealed ink supply system implemented in these devices. Cartridges for Epson Stylus Pro 7800 and 9800 are interchangeable. What are the benefits of the sealed ink system found in the Epson Stylus Pro 7800 and 9800 printers? First, it ensures that sufficient ink is quickly delivered to the print head to ensure Epson work Stylus Pro 7800 and 9800 with the print speed set for these devices. Secondly, the design of the cartridge has been improved, which is significantly smaller than the 220 ml cartridge for the Stylus Pro 4800. The 110 and 220 ml cartridges for the Epson Stylus Pro 7800 and 9800 printers have same sizes, which are almost the same as cartridges for Epson Stylus Pro 4800 110 ml. Does Epson Stylus Pro 4800 have a sealed ink system? No. This system is only available on Epson Stylus Pro 7800 and 9800 printers. Are 220 ml cartridges for Epson Stylus Pro 4800, 7800 and 9800 installed on the front of the printers? On the Epson Stylus Pro 4800, only 220 ml cartridges are installed on the front side of the printer (just like on the Epson Stylus Pro 4000). For Epson Stylus Pro 7800 and 9800, easy installation of 110 and 220 ml cartridges is provided on the back of the printer. Can Epson UltraChrome K3 ink be used in Epson Stylus Pro 4000, 7000 and 9000 printers? No. The internal hardware of these models is not compatible with Epson UltraChrome K3 technology. In addition, a special cartridge design has been developed for the Epson UltraChrome K3, which does not correspond to the mounting slots of the previous Epson Stylus Pro 4000, 7000 and 9000 models. Is it possible to upgrade existing Epson Stylus Pro 4000, 7000 and 9000 models to support new technology Epson UltraChrome K3? No. Epson has thought about this problem, but significant engineering changes require unreasonably high costs. What is Epson PreciseColor technology? This is a unique manufacturing process in which each printer produced is measured to measure the amount of ink that its print head can handle. The received data is loaded into the printer's memory to provide information about how much ink the new print head can handle. The printer also stores data on the maximum amount of ink that should be passed through the print head. By operating with two results, the printer is able to compensate for the nuances of the manufacturing process and operate with parameters similar to those of every other printer produced. What is Advanced Meniscus Control (AMS™) Technology? This is one of the most important technologies that Epson has developed for photography. This additional technology is used in the print head to control the trajectory of each ink droplet within each nozzle before it is ejected onto the media surface. The result is extremely precise droplet positioning, resulting in exceptional photographic image quality. How much faster is Epson Stylus Pro 4800 compared to Epson Stylus Pro 4000? Approximately 20% with much best quality in bi-directional printing mode. Many beta tests confirm that the best print mode is 2880 x 1440 dpi with “High Speed” set to “ON”. How much faster is Epson Stylus Pro 7800 and 9800 compared to Epson Stylus Pro 7600 and 9600? Almost twice; with significantly better quality in all print modes. Is the floor stand included as standard on the Epson Stylus Pro 7800 and 9800? Yes. Both the Epson Stylus Pro 7800 and 9800 printers come standard with a floor stand. Which connectivity systems enable new devices to operate at maximum speed? Any type of connection allows all three models to work at their maximum speed. However, when using a USB connector, only the USB 2.0 version allows you to achieve maximum speed. The central processing unit (CPU) is the most important factor affecting the speed of a printer. You must also have at least 1 GB of memory for both operating systems. Windows systems. A minimum of 2 GB of memory is required for Tiger system users. How accurate is Auto Head Alignment ( automatic calibration print head) and Cleaning implemented in Epson Stylus Pro 4000, 7000 and 9000? Very accurate. In reality, these maintenance procedures can be performed manually, but the user is unlikely to be able to perform them as efficiently as the beam sensor (White Beam technology) built into the system. Will the new devices have a maintenance facility similar to the Maintenance Tank for the Epson Stylus Pro 4000, 7000 and 9000? Yes. The new product line has slightly different colors, so the Maintenance Tank color will be changed to match the new models. Comment. Epson Stylus Pro 7800 and 9800 use two waste ink tanks at the same time; If one of them is full, further printing will not be possible. Will Epson offer a Professional Edition for the Epson Stylus Pro 4800, 7800 and 9800? Yes. All three models are available with a professional suite of applications including RIP ColorBurst and network card 10/100 BaseT Ethernet. Can the raster processor included in the Professional Edition be purchased separately? No. RIP ColorBurst, which includes only Epson Professional Edition SKUs, is not available for sale separately. If you need to purchase a product similar to RIP ColorBurst, you must contact ColorBurst directly or visit www.colorbustrip.com. Will any third party RIP be available for new Epson Stylus Pro printer models? Yes. Many leading raster processor and driver companies have received orders for the Epson Stylus Pro product line. Their final proposals are expected soon. Contact your preferred RIP/driver company to determine the availability of their appropriate products. Epson strives to be RIP neutral. Since there are many good RIP/driver solutions suitable for the Epson product line, it is difficult to choose just one. Let's list a few of the best: EFI/BEST, CGS, GMG, ColorBurst, ColorByte, ONYX, KPG/Creo, Wasatch. What types of media are SWOP (Specifications for Web Offset Publications) certified? SWOP certification depends on the printer model, ink, raster processor, and media used, not just one media type. Many RIP development companies will probably certify their own RIP solutions in combination with some models in accordance with the SWOP standard Stylus printers Pro and some media types. Contact your RIP company for accurate SWOP certification information. Epson Professional Editions is certified for Epson Premium Semimatte Photo Paper (250) and Epson Proofing Paper Semimatte, including SWOP environmental compliance. Can Epson produce enough Stylus Pro 4800 printers to meet consumer demand? Yes. Unlike the Epson Stylus Pro 4000, the Epson Stylus Pro 4800 printer will be produced in sufficient quantities to be enough for everyone. Epson does not expect any backlog for this model. If you already have your own Epson Stylus Pro 4000 printer floor stand and internal network card, can you use them on the new Epson Stylus Pro 4800? Yes. The existing Epson Stylus Pro 4000 floor stand and internal network card are fully compatible with the new Epson Stylus Pro 4800 printer. Comment. The body of the Epson Stylus Pro 4800 printer has a slightly bluish-silver color. In some lighting conditions, the Epson Stylus Pro 4000 floor stand may look slightly different from the product itself. Only the difference in color distinguishes the stands for Epson Stylus Pro 4000 and Epson Stylus Pro 4800. The internal network card used on many Epson Stylus Pro 7600 and Epson Stylus Pro 9600 printers may not be compatible with the new model line. To make sure that your card is compatible with the new model line, you need to remove it and check serial number. It should be “C82405*I/F”, marked in the lower left corner. There was a need to buy a new computer after installing a new Epson printer. Are there any recommendations on this issue? This question always arises after the release of a new product. The answer is: you should buy a fast PowerPS G5 or Windows XP CPU (whichever is easier to obtain). It's important to make sure you have at least 1GB of memory available (2GB if you're running Tiger). You also need to have an internal 10/100 BaseT network card. This option is highly recommended. If you are using USB, make sure you have USB 2.0 High Speed ​​and not USB 1.1. In addition, it would not be superfluous software tool Adobe PhotoShop CS2. If you are a Macintosh user, upgrade to Tiger. Epson has optimized Mac OS X drivers to work with this operating system. Tiger is a valuable upgrade and the best system Mac OS ever created.