Running Epson 7900 Ink Tanks to Empty

[DeanChriss]

The ink level display on this printer appears to be very granular, seeming to have a 1% resolution. But the thing seems to print forever after an ink hits 1%. For instance, I just printed 46 8x10s after the LK ink reached 1%, and it's still printing. According to the manual they say it's best to replace low ink before starting a big job, but you can wait until the ink is expended, replace the cartridge, and continue the job without loss of print quality. Given some of the things I've read I'd be pretty nervous about letting it run out in the middle of a huge print, but when doing loads of smaller stuff, is there any reason not to?

[datro]

I've noticed the same thing on my 7900.  My LK cartridge has been at 1% for what seems like a long time through MANY B&W test prints I've been doing lately.  I've been waiting to see how the printer handles the cartridge changeover once it's empty.  In the meantime, I've had to put in a full LK cartridge once or twice to allow the printer to complete a cleaning cycle.  But then I put the 1% cart back in so I can fully use the remaining ink.

[Tony B.]

Dean, I do not have an Epson but a Canon iPF5000.  I would believe they would be similar in this.  The printer will not run itself out of ink.  If the Canon calculates that it will not have enough ink it will inform you to replace the ink cartridge but gives you the option to continue to print.  If you continue, normally,  at some point in the print it will stop printing and tell you that you have to replace the cartridge to continue printing.  Once you replace the cartridge it will continue with the print.

There is the possibility that there could be a visible line where the printer stopped then restarted the print process after the cartridge replacement.  This is why it is not recommended to print when the printer informs you that there is not enough ink for the print job.  From posts I have seen on this issue, there is normally no visible area on the print where the print stops and restarts.

NOTE:  On the Canon printer, if you wait to long to replace the cartridge it will automatically cancel the print job.  So, when you are in this situation make sure that you are around the printer when it wants the cartridge replaced or replace the cartridge before the print.  You can reinstall the low cartridge and print smaller jobs until it will no longer print.

Also, would need someone in the Epson camp to confirm this.

Tony

[DeanChriss]

Thanks for the info. It looks like if I'm doing numerous smaller (read inexpensive) prints there's no reason for concern. If one gets wrecked in an ink change it's worth it for all the "free" ink. I expected this to run out almost 50 8x10s ago! For what it's worth, my 7900 hasn't needed to do a cleaning cycle for 2.5 months now, and that includes two 2-week periods of being powered off and completely unused. I was initially printing nozzle checks each day I'd run prints, but I don't even do that now unless it's been off for several consecutive days. So far, every nozzle check is perfect. I couldn't be happier!

[Wayne Fox]

Dean, I do not have an Epson but a Canon iPF5000.  I would believe they would be similar in this.  The printer will not run itself out of ink.  If the Canon calculates that it will not have enough ink it will inform you to replace the ink cartridge but gives you the option to continue to print.  If you continue, normally,  at some point in the print it will stop printing and tell you that you have to replace the cartridge to continue printing.  Once you replace the cartridge it will continue with the print.

There is the possibility that there could be a visible line where the printer stopped then restarted the print process after the cartridge replacement.  This is why it is not recommended to print when the printer informs you that there is not enough ink for the print job.  From posts I have seen on this issue, there is normally no visible area on the print where the print stops and restarts.

NOTE:  On the Canon printer, if you wait to long to replace the cartridge it will automatically cancel the print job.  So, when you are in this situation make sure that you are around the printer when it wants the cartridge replaced or replace the cartridge before the print.  You can reinstall the low cartridge and print smaller jobs until it will no longer print.

Also, would need someone in the Epson camp to confirm this.

Tony

With the 7900, the printer will pause mid print when a cartridge needs replaced.  It won't cancel the job, nor ruin the print.  I've done this twice now.

You may need to replace a cartridge if doing a head cleaning and the printer doesn't think there is enough ink, but here again you could put the almost used cartridge back in when printing until it is actually empty.