what happens with a HP Z3100 when the ink runs out mid print?

[tektrader]

Does it screw up your print? or can you just swap the new cart in and it keeps printing without interruption?

My light grey is nearly empty and am not sure whether to start another panorama where it will likely run out mid print.

Thanks in advance

[jhein]

I have owned mine for six years.   Your odds if like mine are 50/50.  Half the time nothing noticeable, the other half I immediately noticed but most others would not notice if the change happens in a busy area.  I have found the sensors that tell the printer the cartridge is in fact empty to be accurate.  The web interface telling you have 10ml or more...not so much.  If you are getting close to 10ml, just go ahead and swap.

hope this helps
Jim

[kaelaria]

Same here...but it depends on the firmware.  The older versions stopped and your print was done.  Newer would allow mid-stop changes but you have to be REAL quick, like 10-15 seconds or you will see a line.  So have the cart ready and be watching if you want to draw it to zero.

[namartinnz]

With satin/gloss prints sometimes you'd  have a perfect swap and keep printing fine - this with the later firmware. I found printing on matt papers/canvas that there'd be no issues with ink swapping, even if left for a few minutes.

With my Z3200 I get a line when the ink is swapped with satin/gloss prints - More from a lack of GE than the ink colors. So I spray with a bit of Hahnemule protective spray to cover the void. Again, with matt printing I have no ink swapping issues at all.

Cheers
Neal

[tektrader]

So I have 1 bar left on the Light Grey. What would you do ??

[Ernst Dinkla]

So I have 1 bar left on the Light Grey. What would you do ??

1 ML ?

Put in another cart. Next time you have to make small prints/proofs put in the cart with 1 ML left so it can go really empty which may deliver more than the 1 ML assumed by Print Utility. Measure the weight of a near empty cart, 130 ML type is if I recall it correctly 47 grams. Anything above in grams translates to ML ink in the cart. The cart is declared really empty by the printer on a sensor or pump activity, not on counting droplets like on an Epson.

--
Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
July 2013, 500+ inkjet media white spectral plots.

[chichornio]

Next time you have to make small prints/proofs put in the cart with 1 ML left so it can go really empty which may deliver more than the 1 ML assumed by Print Utility.

Hi Ernst, I have many carts with some ink inside (some of them with 8ml, others with 10ml), but there´s been out from my z3200 more than 6 months. Can a re-use them? Will the ink still usable or it may be dry and cause clogging?

Thanks!

[Damir]

You can use it - as a matter of fact I pull out inks from such cartridges with syringe, you can get 5 - 10 ml of ink even from cartridges that printer declare empty.
Than I use ink for my HP Pro B 9100 or somtimes when my supplier do not have some ink on stock - I inject that ink in Z3100 cartridges that are not declared empty by printer, turn my carts with 5 - 8 ml ink in carts with 20 or 30 ml ink. Of course printer will state low ink, but will continue printing till the end, as Ernst stated printer stops printing when pump can not delever ink, not by counting drops.

[chichornio]

You can use it - as a matter of fact I pull out inks from such cartridges with syringe, you can get 5 - 10 ml of ink even from cartridges that printer declare empty.
Than I use ink for my HP Pro B 9100 or somtimes when my supplier do not have some ink on stock - I inject that ink in Z3100 cartridges that are not declared empty by printer, turn my carts with 5 - 8 ml ink in carts with 20 or 30 ml ink. Of course printer will state low ink, but will continue printing till the end, as Ernst stated printer stops printing when pump can not delever ink, not by counting drops.

Good news! Should I shake the carts very well before I use them? Are there any colours that have more ink density (that worries me... I don´t want to have a clogging. Neved had one before in 3 years of use).

[Damir]

Use the same procedure as with new carts - shake it!

[tektrader]

1 ML ?

No, one bar on the display on the front of the machine.  It had 3 bars the other day then I did a nice panorama and now its down to one bar.

Thanks for the replies guys.....  

Good thing my new carts arrived today. Are there instructions anywhere for syringing ink out of the old carts and putting in the newer ones?

[Justan]

My experience is similar to other contributors. If the new cart is swapped in within a few minutes I’ve never seen a problem. If ~ half hour or more goes by then a print can be ruined by the swap.

Due to the above, I would not swap out a cart before it’s empty, unless I wasn’t gonna be around when the swap was needed. IMO the carts cost too much to not use every drop, and there is little risk of problem as long as the old cart is replaced in a fairly short amount of time.

Always a good idea to gently agitate the replacement cart for a minute or so before installing.

I’ve swapped a few partially used carts from my now defunct z3100 to the z3200 and after doing this a few times during mid-print, no problems at all on glossy or canvas stock. This capability was the same on the z3100. It is a very nice feature of the Z’s technology package. IIRC it takes a firmware from about 2010 or > for this to work right.

[Justan]

I wanted to add another anecdotal comment and relay that my printer (the latest edition of the Z3200) ran out of light grey in the middle of a print about 4:40 PM yesterday evening and I didn’t get back to it until 8:30 AM today when I replaced the cart. There is no perceivable flaw in the print. Gave me a big

[tektrader]

I will try this next time I don't do a critical print. Will put the almost empty cart back in and run it dry