Thank you for your purchase of Piezography K6 inks for your Epson 10000 printer. The instructions below will explain how to install the K6 inks in your printer, after thoroughly flushing the original color ink set out of the printer, using PiezoFlush cartridges.
Additional help on a variety of topics is available at the Piezography Technical Support Web Page: www.piezography.com/support, and by email, to [email protected].
Contents of this document:
Background Information: information about the ink set, PiezoFlush cartridges and testing your printer before installing K6 inks.
Changing inks in your printer. Instructions on flushing the Epson inks out of your printer, using PiezoFlush cartridges first, to thoroughly remove any residual color ink in your printer.
Troubleshooting Guide, and additional information. Information on removing color tint after the ink change procedure, and on ink cartridge placement in the printer.
Background information:
Cartridges used for K6 inks and PiezoFlush: Epson 10000 printers are configured to either use a dye ink set, or an archival ink set. The microchips on a dye ink set of cartridges are different from those on an archival ink set, and type of ink in the first set you install into your printer determines whether your printer will accept only dye or archival ink cartridges in the future. It is not possible to change a printer from dye to archival ink, or vice versa. Piezography K6 ink 10000 cartridges contain “archival ink” microchips. We have chosen archival ink chips over dye ink chips because archival ink printers are more popular than dye ink printers.
If you have a dye ink printer, and wish to use Piezography cartridges, it is possible, but it will require you to disable the chip recognition feature in your printer. The main impact of disabling chip detection is that the printer will stop monitoring ink levels in your cartridges, and you will need to do that yourself, by weighing your cartridges periodically, and replacing them once they reach a certain weight. Contact tech support if you have a 10000 dye ink printer, and wish to use our cartridges.
Items needed before you begin:
· Set of PiezoFlush cartridges,
· Set of Piezography K6 ink cartridges,
· A 10000 archival ink printer, in good working order (if you have a dye ink printer, read the information in the above section).
Note about waste ink pads in your printer: The steps below require you to run several initial fill cycles, which will deposit a lot of fluid into your printer’s waste pad. Depending on how full the waste pads are when you begin, you may fill them up during this process. When the waste ink level counter reaches a “full” count, the printer will stop working until the pads can be replaced. This is generally a procedure performed by Epson-certified repair technicians. If your waste pads fill up during this process, you will need to address it before you can continue using your printer. The waste ink counter is a function of the printer design, and something that all Epson printer users may have to face at some point during their printer’s lifetime. Newer model printers (9600, 9800, for example), contain user-replaceable waste ink tanks (called maintenance tanks). The 10000 and other similar vintage large format printers use internal waste ink pads.
Ink change steps:
1. Verify that the printer is working properly with Epson ink before you attempt this ink change procedure. Fix any printer- or print quality-related problems before proceeding.
2. Remove the Epson ink cartridges and install the set of flush cartridges. Turn the printer off.
3. Run an initial fill cycle (see below). Print a test image and/or nozzle check pattern to verify that the printer is now printing with a definite pink tint. You may see other colors in the output at this point. Turn the printer off overnight or preferably longer, to allow the PiezoFlush fluid to help dissolve any residual color ink.
4. Run a second initial fill cycle with the PiezoFlush fluid. Turn the printer off again, for at least overnight.
5. Repeat the previous step, for a total of three initial fill cycles with PiezoFlush.
6. Turn on the printer, remove the flush cartridges, store them in plastic bags. Install the Piezography K6 cartridges. Once the printer has accepted the new cartridges, turn the printer off.
7. Run three initial fill cycles, one after the other. It is not necessary to let the printer sit between cycles when putting ink in the printer, and you may run the three initial fill cycles in rapid succession. After the third initial fill cycle, turn the printer off and back on, to exit the maintenance menu.
8. Print and evaluate a nozzle check pattern. If it is good, proceed to linearize your printer, using Studioprint RIP. Your linearization target should not show any residual color.
Running an Initial Fill Cycle:
The initial fill cycle is accessed in the “self diagnostic mode” menu. To get to the self diagnostic mode menu, turn off your printer, and turn it back on while holding down the following three buttons:
Paper Feed UP
Paper Feed DOWN
Cut/Eject
Navigate through the maintenance mode until you see “Cleaning: Init. Fill.” Press the Enter button to begin the Initial Fill Cycle.
Turn off the printer to exit the maintenance mode.
Troubleshooting guide:
If your prints continue to have a pink tint after installing K6 inks, try the following:
1. Clean the capping stations with Windex: move the print head off the caps, using a “Cutter Replace” function (see your printer manual for details). Once the print head is moved out of the way, remove the tube from the inside of a bottle of Windex, and use it to deposit several drops of Windex on each of the caps (which sit directly below the print head when it’s parked). Once the Windex drains out of the cap, put some more Windex on it. Repeat this several times.
Fold a paper towel, and blot the excess liquid out of the cap, by dabbing the capping stations very gently. Do not allow the cap to move pop out of its fixture.
Return the print head to the right side, run a “KK2” cleaning cycle (accessed from the same menu as the initial fill cycle). Print another image and verify that the color staining is gone.
2. If you continue to see a pink color tint to your output, turn off the printer overnight, and run one more initial fill cycle, the next day.
Additional information:
Automatic nozzle check pattern utility: Do not use the automatic nozzle check utility, when PiezoFlush fluid or with Piezography inks are installed in your printer. The optical sensor in your printer will not recognize the patterns printed with these liquids, and the printer will reject the pattern, even when it is perfect. Instead, use the manual nozzle check pattern utility.
Location of Piezography K6 ink shades in a 10000 printer, configured for archival ink.
The table below lists the correct location of Piezography K6 ink shades in your printer. Prefilled cartridges will only fit into the color cartridge slot listed on their labels.
|
Color slot listed on the printer |
Piezography K6 ink shade in this slot |
|
Black |
1 |
|
Cyan |
2 |
|
Light Cyan |
3 |
|
Yellow |
4 |
|
Magenta |
5 |
|
Light Magenta |
6 |
Contact Information:
Contact tech support at [email protected]
Visit the Piezography tech support page at www.piezography.com/support.
Contact Ergosoft directly for help setting up and using Studioprint RIP.