Old Ink Purging

[accent]

I have an Epson R290 printer with CIS using Rotech sublimation ink and the black has started to "double print" (best term i can think of), like a shadow approx 1mm horizontally offset. I have been advised by my supplier that this is caused because the ink is too old and needs to be replaced. Does this sound right? The ink would be more than 12 months old and the other colours are all working fine. I have tried cleaning and realigning the heads numerous times to no effect.

I have been given a VERY basic set of verbal instructions on how to purge the old ink from the system and replace with the new ink but i have never done this before and am not confident with the instructions given. It sounds complicated! Can anyone help? I imagine a number of issues can arise if i stuff it up (not to mention the mess and ink wastage) so i would rather get a bit more info before i attempt it if necessary.

Any info would be great! :?

[bms]

Is this the Epson 1290? The A3 6 colour model? Haven't come across a R290 before now...

If it is the 1290 then it sounds like the black head is clogged/ worn and I wouldn't have thought replacing the ink would necessarily solve the problem. You might want to try removing the black cartridge from the printer and putting in a normal, cheap compatibe black cartridge and see if this prints fine. If that doesn't print okay then the head is the problem and I/ we can then go to the next stage (but the chances of getting it back to printing perfect start to diminish)

Can you please confirm the model number before you go down this route - if it isn't the 1290 then the advice might be different.

[TransferGraeme]

The R290 is an A4 Epson that didn't really ever make an impact in this country, but sold a lot in Asia, and as the OP is from Australia I suspect this is the model he means.I believe it was a very similar printer to the R265 or the R280 - possibly the same as one of these with a different badge.
As far as I can ascertain at a quick glance Sawgrass never created profiles for the R290 in any market (though I may be wrong on this) for any of their ink brands. My instinct would be to dump the printer and get a new B40W (may be known under a different number in Australia).

[bms]

Good spot Graeme re the Australian connection.

My advice would be to change the black cartridge for a cheap compatible brand to see if this corrects the problem. If not then it might be worthwhile sourcing an alternative printer - does the R290 still exist? Do you have Rotech profiles for this printer? If no to both of these then it sounds like a new printer. If you go for Rotech ink again then you'll be able to reuse any ink you have left in your ink system so not all would be lost.

[accent]

Thanks, it is the R290 A4 model, very similar to the R280. And I have the correct Rotech profiles.

I have put the original cartridges in and the black is still not printing properly (though it does look slightly better, the shadow is not as pronounced). The printer is not very old so I doubt this would be the problem (but what do I know! ;) ). Any more ideas?

[accent]

OK so after taking some time to clean the heads and do a print head realignment I have got it printing perfectly with the original cartridges (still no luck with the CIS). So I guess this means the heads are ok. Next idea please?

[bms]

Ok, so printer printing fine with normal inks.

Have you re-primed the CIS to make sure the CIS cartridges are full. I've posted before about re-priming so please do a search for prime or reprime and you'll find some help there. Once reprimed (if successful) the printer should print okay. An unsuccessful re-prime mught be caused by air getting into the system and you'll need to sort that out (if applicable). We can cross that hurdle later if necessary.

[accent]

OK I have now re-primed the CIS and there are no air bubbles in the lines. All colours are printing great now - except black text and lines. Photos are printing ok with black in them but the black lines and text are still doubling up.

[bms]

When you re-primed the black, did it pull through pure ink or was the ink very bubbly? If bubbly then there might be air getting into the system somewhere which needs to be corrected. If the ink came through okay then the system okay.
Are you able to contact your suppliers of the system to see if they can supply you with a cart & tube assembly under warranty?

[accent]

Ahuh! The ink was bubbly. The CIS is not under warranty anymore. I have had a look over the lines and everything seems to be plugged firmly in place. Is there any way to find the leak and fix it?

[bms]

Is there any way to find the leak and fix it?
Needle and haystack comes to mind ;) There could be an air leak where the tube enters the cartridge and hot glue glue might seal it. Alternatively a new cart & tube assembly is a purchasable part and your supplier should be able to supply one of these to you as these are available from Sawgrass. We don't supply Rotech ink, but have available various cart and tube assemblies for different printers with Artainium ink in case of support issues.

[accent]

Needle and haystack comes to mind

I was really hoping you wouldn't say that! ;) I will see what I can do. Thanks heaps for all your help!

[Claretman]

If I were to buy an epson R1800 secondhand for use with dye sub CISS ink, anyone know a) do I have to purge the old pigment inks already installed and b) if I have to, how do I do it? Any help appreciated as I do not want to flood my living room lol.

[bms]

You wouldn't need to do any purging. By the time you've cleaned the heads a few times this will have cleaned out any old inks.

[bms]

Forgot to say - make sure the R1800 is printing perfectly before spending money on a sublimation ink system for this printer as otherwise you'll be stoking up problems for the future.

[Claretman]

Many thanls Martin, Steve!