The Best CIS ?

[gokumura]

Hi all, just wanted to know if anyone here has done the waste ink drain mod on the Epson 875DC? If you can help, I'd greatly appreciate it! Thank You!
G

[gumby]

Hi Pool...

First I'd like to say thank you to you and Mac and the others who have built up this thread for our benefit's.

While it is easy to get caught up in all the hype with all a CIS System has to offer; because it looks so simple and as if it should operate just fine from a mechanical point of view, you can't blame us for trying to make one work on our printers too.

I appreciate how you who have gone through the early stages of CISS have become disillusioned by the difficulties experienced in trying to get it to work to your satisfaction and expectations.

My head spins too after reading as many threads as I could absorb on the topic. Being at the forgetful stage in life I find it real difficult to remember which thread I saw what tip. That is part of the reason for asking questions that have been answered elsewhere. I apologize for all of that to you and your peers.

However here we sit in spite of your earlier warnings, trying to get our systems to work. If only the pro CISS comments could be filed in one thread, with the negative comments in a separate thread it would make the studying of the topic much easier, don't you think?

Thank you again for all you have contributed for us, we appreciate it. Our thanks is about all we have to offer you to make up for your frustrations.

I do hope that someone can provide a little more info as to where to find the answers we seek other than "just don't do it I told you so."

Thanks again Gumby

[FreeDiver]

Alright, finally I have some advice to offer the readers of this forum and not a gripe!
For months now, I have been trying to figure out where to get the syringes to fill up or drain my Cis/Refill carts.
I was able to go to our local drug store (Longs Drugs) here in Hawaii and they sold the syringes themselves, but not the needles themselves. They only sold the small diabetes needles and that's a no-go!
My friend had just come back from Japan and bought these huge honker syringes without the needle, but he figured out that if you get some air line tubing from your local pet store, it fits just right onto the syringe "nipple" (correct word???) and you can cut the tubing into any length you want and voila! You have a custom "needle" to drain or refill your carts!
I went on Ebay and since I have absolutely no medical training at all, I had no idea what to buy, but since the local pet store sells the tubing for about $1.50 a yard or something, heck, it's cheaper than buying the needles, in case my needles break or something. Plus the ends are not sharp, so no need to worry about your kids poking themselves, in case they somehow find the needles.
Well, hope that helps someone. I can finally say that I contributed to this site!

[Woobie]

Gumby thanks for posting those pics.

It wasn't until I was in The Source today looking for dvds that I realized where I've seen nexxtech lol. Turns out they had 2 in stock and at a price while slightly higher to ebay was comparable (once you factor in shipping) . I didn't buy one (yet), but it's good to know there's a local source rather.

I'd be interested to know how is the documention and the quality of the unit itself?

As for your problems..... Oddly this is on the website
Specifications COMPATIBILITY: Epson R200/R300/R320/Rx500/Rx600/Rx620

It seems odd it only lists the R200, but the 300 and 600 also list the 320 and 620 models.

[gumby]

Hi Woobie;

Yes I was pleasantly surprised to discover them myself here in Victoria.
I checked at three stores to see if they had them after seeing the first one. Only one store here had them, two, and now they have one, ha ha.

I'll be sure to repost as things go along. I fear I may just have to sit and wait till a fix is figured out.

gokumura;

Meanwhile the waste ink container idea works very well by doing as instructed. Remove the small plate at the lower left rear of the printer. Check amongst the sponge in there on the left edge to locate the small clear tube with the green stripe. If you hook over it with a short piece of stiff wire(paper clip) you can fish it out to reach the outlet end that goes about two inches further to the right and loses itself amongst the Waste ink sponge. Don't forget, the right end is free to move......it is not connected to anything,....not so the left end that is attached to the bottom of the ink purging tray above.

Either make a hole large enough for the tubing in the cover previously removed, or in the case of the printer itself. Then fish the tube through and connect it to another longer tube that leads to your waste ink container. I used a cleaned out 1 liter plastic oil bottle with a clear stripe for viewing the contents.

freediver;
I picked up some clear tubing from a local Industrial Hose Sales and service place. I was thinking also of checking with our local underground lawn sprinkler place or the local hospital to see if I could scrounge some from an old IV bag. What I used to join the two tubes was a connector for a drip irrigation system. It goes without saying you don't want that connection to blow or you will have a mess on your walls and floor.

Check out this link for some good pictures for the older models. The part about the tubing is very similar for the 200/220 style.(I had a link to some real good pictures for the 220 but can't seem to come up with it just now, sorry)

http://www.allthefaqs.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3769

So I hope we all have good luck with it!

Gumby

[gokumura]

gumby, I think you are referring to the R200. My question was for the 875DC printer. Any ideas on this? Thanks for the help in advance!
G

[gumby]

Thanks gokumura;

I'm glad you caught that......Yes the instructions I found were indeed for the printers of the R200 and up, style.

I meant to place a caution note to that effect with my post but I blew it.....was getting late.

Without any notion of how your printer looks I can certainly offer no more help than what I stumbled on while doing my other searching. I would imagine that if it is at all like the 200 series you could do a similar mod.

I suggest just to prepare your self, Turn on your printer and do what it takes to get the carriage away from the right hand home position.
Over to the empty cart arrow or change spot will do. Then put on your glasses, get a good light and look down around the tray the head rests on when parked properly. It 's my guess that you should be able to see the hose we refer to looping slightly up, then turning down toward the rear of the printer on the right side as viewed from the front.

If you can locate the hose and figure out a way to get at it, (perhaps as the link shows by removing the side) I think you could figure out how it would best work for you.

Personally it makes me very nervous working with little plastic retaining devices the seem to break just by looking at them. Of course as soon as we start playing around with these things the warranty sails away in the distance....

Also keep in mind that all the time the heads are not resting on the pad or printing, the air can get at them with a drying and eventual clogging effect. So park them properly as soon as possible.

Good luck with your project and please leave us a post of your successful solution. Others can share and learn from it.

thanks, Gumby

[gokumura]

Thanks Gumby, I'll have to do more research. In case I do this successfully, I will post my results. Thank You!
G

[gumby]

gokumura;

If I bump into any help for you I'll post it here.

Gumby

[gokumura]

gokumura;

If I bump into any help for you I'll post it here.

Gumby

Thanks, my friend!
G

[gumby]

http://fileshare.eshop.bg/downloadsm/18700/Epson_Stylus%20Photo%20875DC.html

Gokumura.........I'm not sure if this will assist you or not. It has your numbers on it, perhaps you would like to download it for other reference.

Gumby

[Dex Sinister]

For months now, I have been trying to figure out where to get the syringes to fill up or drain my Cis/Refill carts.

Try asking for a "Marinade Injector", usually in the Grills/BBQ department. They're for injecting oil into turkeys and such. Walmart has them (in season).

Only problem is that the needle is sharp - but plenty big in diameter.

Dex }:>=-

[FreeDiver]

Hey Dex;
Never thought of that, but I'll keep that in mind. It's always good to have backups of stuff, especially with these cis kits.

[habs01]

My JLW Sales CIS bought in january is starting to act up (or is it the ink). Anyways my light cyan shows a messy/runny nozzle check and now my magenta is completly clogged.

True to my "leave it alone" theory I let the printer sleep 24 hours. Well that didn't help . So now I moved the heads away from their parking pads (unplugged printer while printing) then poured some Windex on the pads. Let it sit a few minutes, and now the magenta is 90% back. The light cyan is still messy though.

Is this the end of my CIS and printer? It seems from previous posts that when you start having trouble it piles up.

Will keep you posted.

[gokumura]

http://fileshare.eshop.bg/downloadsm/18700/Epson_Stylus%20Photo%20875DC.html

Gokumura.........I'm not sure if this will assist you or not. It has your numbers on it, perhaps you would like to download it for other reference.

Gumby

Gumby,
Thanks for the link. I'll look into it!
G

P.S> Gumby, I looked into the pdf files, but now it says to see the 870/1270 service manuals. Do have links to these or know where to find them? Thanks for your help.
G

[poolenglish]

hab;

you can remove each cart and use syringe (no needle)to flush print head; each individual spike hole which feeds the print head....just a very small amount with pressure. be careful not to break the spikes!

make sure you clean the printhead parking pad by removing it...and rinsing with water also.
I hope this helps; happy festivus(seinfield) and merry christmas everyone!

[habs01]

Thanks for the reply Pool, but the Windex on the parking pad unclogged the magenta. I hope the next clogged head is from too much partying

However the light cyan is still messy. Here's a scan close-up of my nozzle check:

Does anyone have a clue of what might be causing this?

[gumby]

gokumura;

Is this any help to you? I didn't open any to look in myself. Good luck

http://fileshare.eshop.bg/downloadsm/8871/epson_stylus%20photo%20870-1270.html

http://fileshare.eshop.bg/downloadsm/18517/Epson_SQ-870.html


poolenglish;

All the best wishes for a happy healthy Festive season too, Merry Christmas. (Thanks for all your shared knowledge)

Gumby...............Happy Holidays everyone!!!!

[habs01]

Thanks for the links Gumby but unfortunately the manuals there don't cover my problem with this specific printer (epson R200).

I will be giving this computer it's well deserved, holiday rest soon, Best wishes to everyone.

[gumby]

habs01;

Those links were specifically for gokumura but great if anyone else can use them.

It has been mentioned elsewhere that these printers have many similar features. Something you see for a certain model may easily pertain to others as well, so it is good to study any you get a chance to see.

poolenglish is sharing as much and more advice than most manuals that I have seen provide. He has been dealing with these things for quite awhile now and knows many tricks.

If you should like the manual for the R200 let me know, I'll see if it is listed and post the link for you.

Gumby

[Bodyslide]

I can't find the Manual. Sorry

[FreeDiver]

Habs, well, I had the same problem but only for one or two lines. After running a couple of cleaning cycles my problem went away. Maybe the ink is beginning to clog and it's beginning to collect on the bottom of the print heads. I've noticed that everytime I had a problem with a color, I would pull of the carts and there would be dried ink on the spikes, so I guess the vacuum eventually fails and some ink spills out onto the spike and dries. Maybe a little preventive maintenance once in a while (removing carts and repriming the carts to keep a good vacuum seal) would help. I had a MEAN clog last week and after doing all the windex treatments and even the Poolenglish direct injection treatment, my problem didn't go away. I finally decided to give it one last chance and pulled the carts off and reprimed the cart that was giving me problems, then I used a syringe and squirted enough windex (with ammonia) onto the pad to totally saturate it, in fact it was almost overflowing. I then pushed the print head back onto the pad and let it sit overnight. After turning on the printer, I ran one cleaning cycle (your going to have to, cuz once you turn on your printer, the pads will still be soaked, so the cleaning cycle sucks all that crud into your wastebottle), one full (8x10) color photo print on regular paper and now all my heads are clear and no more clog or smearing of any of the heads. Maybe you might want to try that. I read that most people reccomend just a few drops of windex, but heck, just saturate the pad and try and get the head to sit in the liquid overnight...hope that helps, it worked for me. The good thing about this was that I only had to run one cleaning cycle, and not the 4-6 that I used to run and watching all that ink go to waste pissed me off! From now on, I think I will do a bit of preventative maintenance and soak the pad with windex once in a while to prevent the clogs.

[habs01]

Thanks Freediver,

will try that as soon as I get back home. I'm cheating right now as I'm not supposed to be using any computer during the Xmas holidays.

[gokumura]

gokumura;

Is this any help to you? I didn't open any to look in myself. Good luck

http://fileshare.eshop.bg/downloadsm/8871/epson_stylus%20photo%20870-1270.html

http://fileshare.eshop.bg/downloadsm/18517/Epson_SQ-870.html


poolenglish;

All the best wishes for a happy healthy Festive season too, Merry Christmas. (Thanks for all your shared knowledge)

Gumby...............Happy Holidays everyone!!!!

Gumby, thanks so much for all your research and the links!! Hope your holidays were grand! Take care and thank you again!!
G

[Chester1971]

Great thread...lots of VERY useful information.

Just to keep things going, I have recently ordered a CIS kit from Everest-team from ebay. Their website is www.everest-team.com It looked a good deal but I haven't seen any reference to it on this forum. Could be because the seller is UK based.

As soon as I get the kit and install it (or fail to...) I'll let you know how it went (or didn't...)

I'm not sure if I like being a guinea pig, but I'm about to find out...

[gumby]

Hi Chester;

Welcome to the misery, LOL

Awesome link, you posted.I think many will learn from this excerpt courtesy the Everest Team

http://www.everest-team.com/troubleshooting.htm

(Keep in mind these instructions apply only to this style of system)

EDIT.........It has been pointed out to me at another forum this link is broken. They also tell me that the contents originated(and must have been copied from)another site which has been in business longer. I will leave a link to below. My apologies.

http://www.inksupply.com/cobratrouble.cfm



thanks, Gumby

[Chester1971]

Thanks Gumby,

Their forum has a LOT of info, albeit very system specific, it's one of the reasons I went with it.

...and for reasons I can't really explain, I like the look of their replacement ink It's sort of mid-priced and hails as being US made. (no disrespect to our Chinese friends)

Hopefully the kit will come today

[Chester1971]

Well, the kit came today, not sure if I'll have time to install it tonight but I'll give it a go.

The box itself was well packaged (plenty bubblewrap) but inside the box was a bit bashed where the cartridges are, I hope that won't cause problems with the chips.




EDIT: I see what Gumby means about the website not working anymore, that's a bit worrying. Kit still seems ok though.

[habs01]

Just thought I would share my impressions on the head clogging I had earlier. My R200 had a clogged MAGENTA and a messy light CYAN.

All I did to solve the problem was drop some Windex on the parking pads. That unclogged my Magenta but didn't resolve the light CYAN problem. Since I was going away this christmas I let the printer sit for a week. When I came back, no more problems.

I don't think a universal conclusion can be made of this as this is an isolated case, but maybe a word of patience and caution when we get frustrated and go for desperate solutions that could destroy the CIS/printer. I know it's happenned to me a few times to get really pissed off at a problem and start getting adventurous ultimately destroying what I was trying to fix.

Freediver,
I might eventually clean the heads as you kindly suggested as I think it's probably long overdue but I'm afraid that if I remove the carts and reinsert them, I might cripple somehow what seems to be the last surviving JLWSales CIS kit.

[Chester1971]

Well, finally got the thing installed, and the waste bottle mod.

...and I'm delighted, it was a bit of a challenge and the way it's now set up is NOTHING like it's meant to be but hey, that's half the fun. There was a slight kink in one of the hoses which seems innocuous enough but it prevented the ribbon bending correctly and was causing all manner of snags and horrible noises.

One head clean and the nozzle check was perfect, there was a small amount of ink blotching on the paper which disappeared after a couple of sheets.

...and the output is SUPERB. I've printed out a couple of photos onto quality paper and I can't tell the difference between this ink and the Epson, even with a magnifying glass.

It's late now so I'll post pics tomorrow if anyones interested.