4800 Ink Change

[Mac_from_Maynard]

Hello All,

Great forum, wonderful information.

I've searched about, and can't find the answer to this:

I understand that on an Epson 4800, when changing from matte black to photo black ink, there is a (excessive) purge of all colors of ink.  Does this occur when changing any individual cartridge?

Is there a way around this big ink flush?  Is it the same procedure that is recommended for the black ink switch?

Thanks!


Mac

[howardm]

Are you from Maynard, Massachusetts?  I'm just up the road in Acton.


Q:
How much ink is used during the switching of black ink modes?

A:
The amount of ink flushed through the printer in the switching process varies, but we estimate the total ink usage (all cartridges combined) to be between 88 ml and 117 ml per switch.

Switching from one black mode to another (for example, from Photo Black to Matte Black) does use a significant quantity of ink. Part of it is used to flush all of the old ink type out of the printer’s tubing, damper, and head, and to prime those components with a sufficient amount of the new ink type. As part of the switching process, the printer also flushes a smaller amount of each of the other colors through the print head in order to prepare the head for printing again. All this is performed in order to ensure high-quality prints in the new mode after the switch.

Ernst Dinkla:

--- Quote from: jpegman ---I guess about 100ml or at your 0.50/ml about $50


According to Epson: http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/support...mp;subcat=53472

[Rand47]

You'd be better off buying a good used second printer than paying the freight and frustration of swapping MK/PK on a 4800 series printer. Not only ink cost, but it pretty quickly trashes the waste ink tray.  DAMHIKT

My 4880 is a workhorse in my small operation, but it only gets fed PK carts!

Rand

[Mac_from_Maynard]

Hey there,

Thanks for the responses.  However, I'm not asking about the black ink change-over, but rather if there there is a similar flush that occurs when replacing, say, light magenta with another light magenta cartridge.  I thought I read somewhere that one ought to change all cartridges at once, since each change causes a big ink flush.  Now I can't find where I read that, but I wondered if it's the same flush that occurs with the black ink swap.  If so, I did find some instructions that seem to suggest a way around it.

So, just wondering what happens during a non-black cartridge replacement.

Thanks!