Epson 3880 cartridges empty showing 50%

[BobShaw]

I just had the experience of changing from matte black to photo black on the 3880 and having no black. After doing many cleaning cycles I discovered that the PK cartridge was completely empty, even though it showed 50% in the status. A search on the Internet reveals that this has occurred to others. For some reason it only affects the PK.

Although the remaining capacity is only calculated and not measured, to be out by 50% is interesting. Apparently it can be a fault in the printer also, but would not be worth fixing.

I weighed the cartridge and it was 60g. A full cartridge weighed 143g. Just for information sake.

[dseelig]

You might have the infamous stuck valve problem

[howardm]

yes, most likely the stuck valve.  Check your maint. cart cause that's where all the PK ink is

That's why I'm deathly afraid to do much if any PK/MK swapping, until at least there is a sane 17" printer

[BobShaw]

Thanks. Is the patient dead or does it respond to treatment?
Can I continue using MK please?

[howardm]

it may be beyond economical to repair but you should be able to keep using it for matte but you may want to call a repair place and see what they say.

I wonder if infrequent swaps causes ink to dry in/around the change cam and the plunger/orifice thus causing leakage. 

I'll try to attach something I found on the net about this.

[BobShaw]

Thank. I put the empty PK back as the new one had already used 20ml. I swapped it back to matte and it printed perfect. I'll make some service enquiries.

[Jeff-Grant]

Bob, a while back I used Mato Edmar of Edmar Electronics to service my 3800. He was very good. He would be my first port of call for an out of warranty service.

[BobShaw]

Thanks Jeff. I have already spoken with them. I think it is Mato Rasic. The prognosis was not great. It would need a proper inspection, but likely to be $600 - $1000. So I will keep using it on matte for the moment as it is pretty old to fix compared to a new printer.

[Jeff-Grant]

Bob, I have a 3880 which is still under warranty if you are looking for another. It's a long story. Contact me via PM if you are interested.