Empty Epson Cartridges... Not really.

[arcman]

How's this for anal?

Being a tightwad, I'm overly concerned about the cost of ink for my Epson 9800 printer.  After the first time I changed out a cartridge, I was surprised how much ink was actually left in it.  I mentioned this to the guy who sold the printer to me, and he was kind enough to save me his empty carts.  They upgraded to 9880's and go through a lot of ink.  Last week I came home with 88 "empty" carts and got down to getting my hands dirty (or colored I should say).  I'm not sure if they swap out the carts as soon as the printer says it's low or they wait 'til it stops printing, but each cart had on average 50ml in them!

Getting the ink out was easy.  I used a 60ml syringe with a "modified" 14ga needle.  Just suck it right out.  The tough part was refilling.  There is an extremely small (almost invisible) plastic disk in the back of the neck of the inner bag that works as a one way valve.  There was no way I could squirt the ink back in to the bag with the disk still in there.  Removing the disk was easy (just remove the seal, ball and spring and push out the valve assembly with a needle.  I could then fill the cart.

My question is...  What's the reason for the one way valve?  Is it because Epson figures someone like me would try this and cut into their ink sales?  Or is it there to keep the ink from gravity flowing out of the system back into the carts?  I assume that would be easy to get around by just lifting the ink levers when your done printing.

Anybody here know the answer?   If it is to stop the ink from flowing back into the carts, has anyone tried any aftermarket carts that have the valve included?  I've called a couple of outfits that sell empty refillable carts and they don't have a clue about the valve.  Anyone here using refillable carts?  I've only found one aftermarket cart that has a bag in it.

Also, would anyone know if the carts from Epson are absolutely air free?  What happens if there is air in the lines?  I've actually seen air in my yellow line but don't know if it affected the print or not.  I have not tried the refilled carts yet.

Thanks for reading.

Oh yeah... I filled 20 carts!

[Ernst Dinkla]

How's this for anal?

Being a tightwad, I'm overly concerned about the cost of ink for my Epson 9800 printer.  After the first time I changed out a cartridge, I was surprised how much ink was actually left in it.  I mentioned this to the guy who sold the printer to me, and he was kind enough to save me his empty carts.  They upgraded to 9880's and go through a lot of ink.  Last week I came home with 88 "empty" carts and got down to getting my hands dirty (or colored I should say).  I'm not sure if they swap out the carts as soon as the printer says it's low or they wait 'til it stops printing, but each cart had on average 50ml in them!

Getting the ink out was easy.  I used a 60ml syringe with a "modified" 14ga needle.  Just suck it right out.  The tough part was refilling.  There is an extremely small (almost invisible) plastic disk in the back of the neck of the inner bag that works as a one way valve.  There was no way I could squirt the ink back in to the bag with the disk still in there.  Removing the disk was easy (just remove the seal, ball and spring and push out the valve assembly with a needle.  I could then fill the cart.

My question is...  What's the reason for the one way valve?  Is it because Epson figures someone like me would try this and cut into their ink sales?  Or is it there to keep the ink from gravity flowing out of the system back into the carts?  I assume that would be easy to get around by just lifting the ink levers when your done printing.

Anybody here know the answer?   If it is to stop the ink from flowing back into the carts, has anyone tried any aftermarket carts that have the valve included?  I've called a couple of outfits that sell empty refillable carts and they don't have a clue about the valve.  Anyone here using refillable carts?  I've only found one aftermarket cart that has a bag in it.

Also, would anyone know if the carts from Epson are absolutely air free?  What happens if there is air in the lines?  I've actually seen air in my yellow line but don't know if it affected the print or not.  I have not tried the refilled carts yet.

Thanks for reading.

Oh yeah... I filled 20 carts!

That small backflow valve was introduced on the Epson 10000 model about 7 years ago. The first model with a pressurised ink supply system. Since then it appeared in the 9800, 9880 and possibly the latest models. The 9600 didn't have a pressurised ink supply so it doesn't have it. The trick of removing the disk with a small screwdriver must be 5-6 years old (10000CF) and can be used for the other models too. I did refill 10000CF carts and still have some customised sets. A friend used my trick for a 9800.

On the 10000CF the ink supply worKs as follows: on every cart an extra inlet for pressurised air is connected to one air pump that keeps all the carts at a higher than atmospheric pressure, the ink bladders inside the cart undergo that pressure in the airtight cart . If a sensor in the yellow ink buffer at the head says the yellow ink volume is too low then the electric valve near the yellow cart slot opens and ink is flowing to the head till another sensor in the buffer says there's enough and the valve closes again. So the pressure is only used to bring the ink to the heads fast enough but doesn't play a role in the piëzohead pressure build up. The carts on the 10000CF are also beneath the head level which isn't the case on the gravity fed systems.

In the pressurised system of the 10000CF there are extra electric valves right behind the cart slots so for the ink supply in the printer itself the small backflow valves are not needed. For storing the carts I do not see a necessity either, the spring actuated valves at the front of the cart close well enough. That leaves just one function: make refilling harder.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

Try: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/

[tomb18]

Did you have to reset the chips?
Did this work out?

[Ernst Dinkla]

Did you have to reset the chips?
Did this work out?

Yes, the chips had to be reset. www.inksupply.com has the resetter.
It worked for both the 10000 and 9800, including the maintenance tank on the last, the first doesn't have a chipped maintenance tank, Epson marketing invented that with the 9600.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

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