Should I retire my Matte Black Ink?

[texshooter]

After testing 70+ papers, I decided I only want to print with photo black ink (on Ilford Smooth Pearl and Harman Gloss Baryta, btw). Should I remove the matte black ink cartridge from my Epson 3800 printer so that it doesn't coagulate? Or is it safe to leave it in and never use it?

I notice that when I print on MK rag paper only, I get white banding in the blue/green color spectrum. I suspect that I have a clogged nozzle, but the banding only shows up on rag paper. PK paper looks fine. So I was thinking I should keep the MK black cartridge to do periodic head alignment tests to prevent clogged nozzles. A part of me says who cares if you have a clogged nozzle if you can't see it on your choice papers, but then my OCD kicks in and I don't want clogs even if it doesn't matter. Any advice?

[TylerB]

pretty sure the printer is not going to let you do anything without all carts installed....
As a precaution, if you don't plan on printing matte ever, or at least for months, when you have to exchange other carts due to use, remove the MK cart and agitate it a bit and put it back in. Keeps the pigments in suspension.

[fdisilvestro]

As TylerB mentioned, the 3800 is not going to let you print if a cartridge is missing.

If you never change black inks, the Epson 3800 is supposed to automatically perform a black ink change after 6 months, according to this

The head channel used for matte black is the same used for photo black, so if you have a clogged nozzle your prints would be affected and you should be able to notice it. Have you performed an Auto test?

[Randy Carone]

tex,

Tyler nailed it. Your printer won't operate without the matte black. If you have banding, you probably have clogged nozzles. It's not about OCD. You shouldn't print with blocked nozzles. I have a 3800 and I run a manual nozzle check if I haven't printed for a couple of days. A nozzle clog is VERY rare on this printer platform but you should check them periodically, especially if you see ANY banding.

[texshooter]

But do you do two separate head alignment checks: one on MK paper and the other on PK paper? Just becaue your PK paper gives a good health checkup, doesn't mean your MK paper will, I suspect. I believe this is becasue the MK paper soaks up the ink more which has the effect of pulling the print lines apart which will reveal your white banding, while the PK paper will never reveal the problem.

[Farmer]

Typically, matte paper will show less banding due to greater dot gain (effectively).  That said, ink loads are different based on the driver settings for different media.

But, no, you don't need to test on different media, just do a nozzle check pattern.  Plain paper is fine (regardless of black ink setting).