Continuious Ink system

[louise020171]

Please could anyone help me and give me some information on my epson D120 printer. I have a continious ink supply for sublimation printing. I have a lot of mugs and things to do for people for xmas and the printer will not play ball and just print lovely pictures to print onto things, it either comes out very pinky or says it is out of ink so you have to take the cartridge out and shake it and clean the nozzles and at the moment nothing is working and i have so much to do for xmas. I only started up doing this in may and everything has been self taught as didnt get any help from the guy i bought all the stuff from (said he was at the end of a phone, but never was). I would really like anyone to help with advice with this problem as need to do these things asap but dont know what else to try.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE HELP !!!

Karen xx :(

[Justin]

Hi Karen,

Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear you're having problems.

Do you get a broken pattern when you do a nozzle check? If so, does this clear after 1 or more head cleans?

Have you tried purging the ink into the carts, i.e. drawing the ink through with a large syringe?

Justin :-)

[GoldRapt]

Hi karen,
welcome to the mad house.
Did you get a profile with the cis?

[Paul]

icc profile and r they artanium inks?

[louise020171]

Hi Karen,

Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear you're having problems.

Do you get a broken pattern when you do a nozzle check? If so, does this clear after 1 or more head cleans?

Have you tried purging the ink into the carts, i.e. drawing the ink through with a large syringe?

Justin :-)

Hi justin,

yes i get a broken pattern when i do a nozzle check and blue doesnt appear but there is ink in the cart. done several cleaning checks. i have put ink into the carts but still a problem. Why is the magenta one coming off so much in the picture everything has a pink tinge and doesnt look right.
many thanks
karen :(

[louise020171]

Hi karen,
welcome to the mad house.
Did you get a profile with the cis?

Hi,
what do you mean i have a disc and a booklet with it. Sorry new to it all and i am self taught.

karen x

[louise020171]

icc profile and r they artanium inks?

hi,

Yes they are artanium tanks and i have a disk with it, do i need to load it to the computer and is there something on there.
sorry to ask so many questions just want to get it right.

karen :(

[swimwivsquid]

Karen, you need to clear the printer heads so that you know the printer is working properly. Have you got ordinary inks that you can put back into the printer instead of the Artanium system. If so use these to do the cleaning cycle they will clean the nozzels more effectively. Then when you are happy that the nozzles are working fine put the artanium system back in. Next stage will be to check for an icc or icm profile on the cd that you have. What software are you using to print from? This will help us to advise you.
Regards Richard

[bms]

You will get a pink tone if the cyan isn't coming through properly so to start with the nozzle check has to be perfect. There's no point trying to print if the nozzle check issue hasn't been sorted out first.

I'd suggest you start by re-priming all the ink cartridges. You can do this by removing them from the printer and putting the syringe that came with the system (not with the needle) into the base of each cartridge. Pull back on the syringe to suck ink from the bottles through and refill the cartridge. Do this with the bottles of ink at the same level as the cartridges to prevent the ink from simply being drawn back out of the cartridges by gravity. Do this with each cartridge in turn to refill them and put the ink drawn out back into the bottles (clean the syringe each time).

You should get pure liquid ink coming through into the syringe, but if it is foaming (or very bubbly) then there is an air leak in the system somewhere and you may need to get the cartridge system replaced - you can get the cartridges and tubes as a replacement part and these connect into your bottles where the lock nuts are.

Assuming you have reprimed okay then you should be able to perform a good nozzle check. From then on you will be on the road to proper prints, subject to making sure the printer is set up correctly via the Control Panel and also that your graphics package is configured properly (both of these are explained in detail in the pdf documents that are on your CD that came with your system).

[louise020171]

You will get a pink tone if the cyan isn't coming through properly so to start with the nozzle check has to be perfect. There's no point trying to print if the nozzle check issue hasn't been sorted out first.

I'd suggest you start by re-priming all the ink cartridges. You can do this by removing them from the printer and putting the syringe that came with the system (not with the needle) into the base of each cartridge. Pull back on the syringe to suck ink from the bottles through and refill the cartridge. Do this with the bottles of ink at the same level as the cartridges to prevent the ink from simply being drawn back out of the cartridges by gravity. Do this with each cartridge in turn to refill them and put the ink drawn out back into the bottles (clean the syringe each time).

You should get pure liquid ink coming through into the syringe, but if it is foaming (or very bubbly) then there is an air leak in the system somewhere and you may need to get the cartridge system replaced - you can get the cartridges and tubes as a replacement part and these connect into your bottles where the lock nuts are.

Assuming you have reprimed okay then you should be able to perform a good nozzle check. From then on you will be on the road to proper prints, subject to making sure the printer is set up correctly via the Control Panel and also that your graphics package is configured properly (both of these are explained in detail in the pdf documents that are on your CD that came with your system).

Thankyou for this information i will try this tomoz as need a break till then as it has stressed me out and need clear head. Just need to get it right.

[louise020171]

You will get a pink tone if the cyan isn't coming through properly so to start with the nozzle check has to be perfect. There's no point trying to print if the nozzle check issue hasn't been sorted out first.

I'd suggest you start by re-priming all the ink cartridges. You can do this by removing them from the printer and putting the syringe that came with the system (not with the needle) into the base of each cartridge. Pull back on the syringe to suck ink from the bottles through and refill the cartridge. Do this with the bottles of ink at the same level as the cartridges to prevent the ink from simply being drawn back out of the cartridges by gravity. Do this with each cartridge in turn to refill them and put the ink drawn out back into the bottles (clean the syringe each time).

You should get pure liquid ink coming through into the syringe, but if it is foaming (or very bubbly) then there is an air leak in the system somewhere and you may need to get the cartridge system replaced - you can get the cartridges and tubes as a replacement part and these connect into your bottles where the lock nuts are.

Assuming you have reprimed okay then you should be able to perform a good nozzle check. From then on you will be on the road to proper prints, subject to making sure the printer is set up correctly via the Control Panel and also that your graphics package is configured properly (both of these are explained in detail in the pdf documents that are on your CD that came with your system).

Forgot to say that i have printed some info from the disc and put all the details into the printer settings, which others do i need to print out and put info into the computer, What graphics package is a good one to use. I have CS3 or 4 on the computer, but i mainly insert pictures via word. Is there a better way to do this and make a better picture. many thanks for your help.
karen x :)

[John G]

Why would you want to print from word?

[louise020171]

Why would you want to print from word?

I transfer images into office word and resize in there and print them from there. Can you give me info on the best way to do it better. I have the lastest
CS4 i think downloaded to the computer now is it better to use one of the applications in that then. I am looking for the best way to do this for the sublimation and would like help to get it right. everything i know now is self taught.
many thanks karen

[Stitch Up]

After I've edited the pictures how I want them, I use Microsoft Publisher to arrange them on the A4 page - also allows me to add text or other effects.

John

[John G]

For resizing images theres no better program than photoshop so if you have that I'd use it. I design and print in coreldraw, if photo's need re-touching or resizing I use photoshop.

I'm not 100% certain but I don't think the print profiles actually work in word as its a typerwriter. http://illiweb.com/fa/i/smiles/icon_biggrin.png

Cheers John

[GoldRapt]

Stich,
I didnt realise publisher allowed you to do vector text.

[bms]

You will need to use CS3 or 4. These packages will accept the profile which is also supplied on CD. Word won't be able to handle the colour matching so your colours would be off regardless.

[louise020171]

You will get a pink tone if the cyan isn't coming through properly so to start with the nozzle check has to be perfect. There's no point trying to print if the nozzle check issue hasn't been sorted out first.

I'd suggest you start by re-priming all the ink cartridges. You can do this by removing them from the printer and putting the syringe that came with the system (not with the needle) into the base of each cartridge. Pull back on the syringe to suck ink from the bottles through and refill the cartridge. Do this with the bottles of ink at the same level as the cartridges to prevent the ink from simply being drawn back out of the cartridges by gravity. Do this with each cartridge in turn to refill them and put the ink drawn out back into the bottles (clean the syringe each time).

You should get pure liquid ink coming through into the syringe, but if it is foaming (or very bubbly) then there is an air leak in the system somewhere and you may need to get the cartridge system replaced - you can get the cartridges and tubes as a replacement part and these connect into your bottles where the lock nuts are.

Assuming you have reprimed okay then you should be able to perform a good nozzle check. From then on you will be on the road to proper prints, subject to making sure the printer is set up correctly via the Control Panel and also that your graphics package is configured properly (both of these are explained in detail in the pdf documents that are on your CD that came with your system).

Forgot to say that i have printed some info from the disc and put all the details into the printer settings, which others do i need to print out and put info into the computer, What graphics package is a good one to use. I have CS3 or 4 on the computer, but i mainly insert pictures via word. Is there a better way to do this and make a better picture. many thanks for your help.



I have done as you have said more so with the cyan, put the syringe into the botton of the cartridge and pulled it through until it is flowing and put ink back into the tub. It is saying there is ink in the cartridge on the maintenance screen but when you do a test page it is still not bringing the blue onto the test page. all the others are fine. I really dont know what else to do. many thanks karen
karen x :)

[bms]

The printer will say there is ink in the cart as this is what the small chip says - it doesn't actually bear any meaning to the actual liquid inside the cartridge.

Once you have re-primed have you performed the nozzle check and head clean? The head clean will be necessary to force the inks through, but don't do more than 3 at a time otherwise you'll flood the printer and you'll have to wait for a hour or so for this to soak away.

[John G]

When was the last time you had a decent print from this printer?

Cheers John

[louise020171]

The printer will say there is ink in the cart as this is what the small chip says - it doesn't actually bear any meaning to the actual liquid inside the cartridge.

Once you have re-primed have you performed the nozzle check and head clean? The head clean will be necessary to force the inks through, but don't do more than 3 at a time otherwise you'll flood the printer and you'll have to wait for a hour or so for this to soak away.

I have done this several times it is getting better everytime i do it. This is really starting to stress me out now as loads to do for orders for xmas. Is there a better printer i can use to get it right. many thanks

[louise020171]

When was the last time you had a decent print from this printer?

Cheers John

about a month a ago do more with vinyl but do some sublimation things aswell. really dont know what to do now. Just need to get a good print without a pink tinge so i can do the mugs properly and have a few money boxes to do aswell.

[Justin]

Forgive me if this has been answered already but did you manage to put normal cart's in and get a print?

Justin :-)

[louise020171]

Forgive me if this has been answered already but did you manage to put normal cart's in and get a print?

Justin :-)

I havnt got normal carts, the guy that sold me the printer sold it with sublimation ink in them, but i think i have got rid of them when i got the continuous flow system.

[louise020171]

If anyone would like to call me to try and help i would be most gratefull, my mobile deleted it may be easier to try to sort the printer out. I am trying to sort it at the mo. karen x

[John G]

Hi Karen,
With out a clean test print there's not a lot anyone on here can do. I think your wasting a lot of expensive sub inks - I might be wrong but could you not go and buy some cheap standard inks, put them in and run the headcleans using the cheaper ink until you get the clean test print.

[John G]

Actually, it might be best to ask Martin, or anybody on the forum, if its OK to swap between normal and sub inks http://illiweb.com/fa/i/smiles/icon_redface.gif as the above was me thinking outloud.

[louise020171]

Hi Karen,
With out a clean test print there's not a lot anyone on here can do. I think your wasting a lot of expensive sub inks - I might be wrong but could you not go and buy some cheap standard inks, put them in and run the headcleans using the cheaper ink until you get the clean test print.

so if i go and buy the standard inks for the system D120 i can do test prints using the normal ink. When this is working properly put the sublimation flow system back in and it will then work fine again. ?? is this what i should do or just give up.

[John G]

Hi Karen,
Thats what I was suggesting but I would get a second opinion on this as I'm not an expert on inkjets. http://illiweb.com/fa/i/smiles/icon_redface.gif All I'm saying is the sub ink is very expensive and the standard compatible inks are a fraction of that cost.

PLEASE CHECK THAT SWAPPING BETWEEN STANDARD AND SUB INKS IS OK ON YOUR PRINTER.

[louise020171]

Hi Karen,
Thats what I was suggesting but I would get a second opinion on this as I'm not an expert on inkjets. http://illiweb.com/fa/i/smiles/icon_redface.gif All I'm saying is the sub ink is very expensive and the standard compatible inks are a fraction of that cost.

PLEASE CHECK THAT SWAPPING BETWEEN STANDARD AND SUB INKS IS OK ON YOUR PRINTER.


Ok but who is martin ??

[Paul]

Martin - bms :)
mickey mouse on his avatar ;)
http://illiweb.com/fa/i/smiles/icon_cheers.png

[swimwivsquid]

It should be ok...I had a similar problem with heads getting clogged up in my d88 printer and was advised by Kris at Listawood to use the standard inks to clear the heads

[louise020171]

It should be ok...I had a similar problem with heads getting clogged up in my d88 printer and was advised by Kris at Listawood to use the standard inks to clear the heads

ok now i know who martin is and i will go and buy some standard inks tomoz and give it a try. thanks k x :)

[accdave]

Actually, it might be best to ask Martin, or anybody on the forum, if its OK to swap between normal and sub inks http://illiweb.com/fa/i/smiles/icon_redface.gif as the above was me thinking outloud.

I've done it loads of times :D

[louise020171]

Actually, it might be best to ask Martin, or anybody on the forum, if its OK to swap between normal and sub inks http://illiweb.com/fa/i/smiles/icon_redface.gif as the above was me thinking outloud.

I've done it loads of times :D

I have now been out and bought original cartridges for the printer and tried to clear the nozzles using them, it still wont give me a perfect nozzle print from the yellow and blue. Is my best bet is to get a new D120 printer. Do you think there is a problem with it and how much guarantee do you get with a printer. any or nothing.

[Justin]

you should have a warranty on the D120, 12 months from purchase at a guess. I had same problem with my 1400 and got it swapped out under warranty. Just remember that you invalidate any warranty using non Epson inks (i.e. subli inks) ;)

Not much new D120 stock around at the moment, couple on ebay £45-£70.

I tried everything to clear a single blocked head on my 1400 but nothing worked :-(

Justin

[louise020171]

you should have a warranty on the D120, 12 months from purchase at a guess. I had same problem with my 1400 and got it swapped out under warranty. Just remember that you invalidate any warranty using non Epson inks (i.e. subli inks) ;)

Not much new D120 stock around at the moment, couple on ebay £45-£70.

I tried everything to clear a single blocked head on my 1400 but nothing worked :-(

Justin

I think i am just going to cut my loses and buy another D120 printer to start again. Not sure if there is something wrong with it now as not picking up the yellow or blue cartridge. I will have a look on bms as need some mugs aswell and see if they can post them off together asap. I think this is my only solution to try to solve the problem. Who would i get in touch with epson about the printer.

[swimwivsquid]

You can get a head cleaning solution..I use a Rotech one from Listawood and what I did was to take out the cartridges and put a drinking straw on each nozzle head then with a syringe put some of the cleaning solution in each straw and leave to soak overnight....it cleared a couple of stubborn blockages that I had with my printer having left it in storage for a year. A lot of fiddling about but it worked.

[louise020171]

You can get a head cleaning solution..I use a Rotech one from Listawood and what I did was to take out the cartridges and put a drinking straw on each nozzle head then with a syringe put some of the cleaning solution in each straw and leave to soak overnight....it cleared a couple of stubborn blockages that I had with my printer having left it in storage for a year. A lot of fiddling about but it worked.

Going to give BMS a call in the morning and speak to them about it, i think there is a guy there call martin that people have told me about. The have a new printer for sale cost about £400 inc inks and doesnt get clogged with left for a while, sounds quite good. Dont want to buy another D120 and the same happen again in 6 months time. What one that will last. Many thanks for your help. k xx :)

[Justin]

Martin is on the forum here :-)

You're probably thinking of the Ricoh 5050 A4 printer? I have a couple sat here. Most folk are raving about them, others (myself included) are having problems. It's a big investment.

Justin :-)

[louise020171]

Martin is on the forum here :-)

You're probably thinking of the Ricoh 5050 A4 printer? I have a couple sat here. Most folk are raving about them, others (myself included) are having problems. It's a big investment.

Justin :-)

I have just read your review on another part of here and i think i will just replace my D120 machine, not going to pay all the money out when i have a cis system at home aswell and that would go to waste. What software have you got for printing sublimation prints for mugs etc. I have been using microsoft word to put pictures into and resize but someone said that was not good. I have CS4 on my computer but cant seem to work out how to put images onto it and use that. What else could i use. Hoping i can get something sorted as got 30 mugs to print for people for xmas. Where is the best place to get a D120. BMS dont know if e.bay will deliver very quick. Thankyou for all your help. Much appreciated. karen xx :)

[Paul]

I think this is best idea. dont waste your ciss if you already got it. just get another d120...
regards to printing software forgeret about word! word is not a graphic software. you need something what can work with ICC profile. as adobe photoshop. is not dificult to place picture. Let me know what exacly you want to place and I will do short step by step for you with pictures ;)


thanx
Paul

[Justin]

I use CorelDraw, always have and rate it very highly. You could also try Adboe Photoshop Elements if you wanted more control over the photo, brilliant software basically just a stripped down version of Photoshop with pretty much anything you'll ever need at a fraction of the price.

You'll need to use either of these programs ideally as they are commonly used for sublimation and setting them up is easy with regards to colour management and icc profiles.

I havn't found anywhere other than eBay for D120's at the moment.

Justin :-)

[louise020171]

I use CorelDraw, always have and rate it very highly. You could also try Adboe Photoshop Elements if you wanted more control over the photo, brilliant software basically just a stripped down version of Photoshop with pretty much anything you'll ever need at a fraction of the price.

You'll need to use either of these programs ideally as they are commonly used for sublimation and setting them up is easy with regards to colour management and icc profiles.

I havn't found anywhere other than eBay for D120's at the moment.

Justin :-)

Thankyou for that BMS have got them for sale on their own. many thanks karen

[louise020171]

I think this is best idea. dont waste your ciss if you already got it. just get another d120...
regards to printing software forgeret about word! word is not a graphic software. you need something what can work with ICC profile. as adobe photoshop. is not dificult to place picture. Let me know what exacly you want to place and I will do short step by step for you with pictures ;)


thanx
Paul

Thankyou for that i have the complete CS4 system brought from e.bay which has everything, adobe photoshop. What i do is people give me photos to scan or e.mail them or even down load pictures from the internet and i place them and re-size them to print on mugs, money boxes etc. Also i print info on teddy t-shirts so just a few things like that. On here is my e.mail address so if you would put a step by step guide that would be fab. thankyou for all your help with this. I have found the forum really good for getting some information as all my work is self taught. I do more vinyl printing at the mo but would like to more sublimation things canvas etc people are asking me for. Also what is the show like that is on at the nec in feb/march can anyone go and how do you get tickets for it. take care karen x :D

[bms]

We have about 10-12 D120's in stock at the moment so should be able to help you out Karen. I think you have done just about everything you can with your other printer. If you call, try to speak to me and I'll include some nozzle rocket for you - this is a more powerful printer head cleaning solution and you can squirt some into those cartridges you bought for the other printer to see if that will start to unblock the printhead.

[louise020171]

We have about 10-12 D120's in stock at the moment so should be able to help you out Karen. I think you have done just about everything you can with your other printer. If you call, try to speak to me and I'll include some nozzle rocket for you - this is a more powerful printer head cleaning solution and you can squirt some into those cartridges you bought for the other printer to see if that will start to unblock the printhead.

Your a star. What time do you open. Will give you a call. Thankyou all for your help. k xx :D

[louise020171]

I would like to thank everyone for all their help with the sublimation printer issues i had, after talking to martin and getting a printer delivered next and installing the sub inks i was back up and running the same evening. All the orders are done and delivered and everyone is happy and even got a full refund for the inks bought from staples. Bonus ! Once again thanks all for the help. HAPPY XMAS TO YOU ALL.
KAREN xx :))

[bms]

Happy (stress free) Xmas Karen :D