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Short story of an unused 3880

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Gregg Helleren

Gregg Helleren

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For various reasons (that I won't go into here) my Epson 3880 sat unused and unpowered in a spare room of my home for 2 years.

This week I powered it up...

Based on some posts here, I expected to waste loads of ink unclogging nozzles or, worse, buy a new set of ink cartridges.

I am pleased to say that, after startup cleaning, the nozzle check pattern was perfect and the dozen-or-so prints I made were every bit as exceptional as they were 2 years ago.

The printer had been covered loosely with a plastic sheet, cartridges loaded, and the room was not heated or airconditioned. I live in a relatively temperate climate (Perth, Western Australia).

--
Warning: Do not stare into laser with remaining eye!
 
That is great to hear...it is always a worry of mine so I power up and let it run frequently...
--
AMFND
 
Pretty much the same with me-Had mine getting on for about 2 1/2 years and in that time due to various reasons have only had about ten printing sessions. The most recent one a week back was the first since January. Most of the time it is sitting idle, covered in its original plastic wrapper.

Have not had any problems either-every time I fire it up I expect clogs, colour shifts and so on but have always been pleasantly surprised. Always give everything a good shake prior to powering up.

Not looking forward to the day I finally have to fork out for new ink carts though-am down to around 25% with some.

--
Phil Bishop
http://philbishopsbirdingblog.blogspot.com/
 
John Little said:
Phil Bishop said:
Always give everything a good shake prior to powering up.
Click to expand...
What does this mean? Are you removing the carts and shaking them? Giving the printer a good kick?
Click to expand...
Is that what we should do if the ink heads do clog? Take the cartridges out & shake them?

I was thinking of doing that after 3 regular cleanings & 2 power cleanings failed to fix my print problems last night. Did several Auto nozzle cleanings and a bunch of test patterns until I ran out of ink in 3 and had to order some more b4 I can do any more cleanings, test prints or anything.
 
Marshal said:
John Little said:
Phil Bishop said:
Always give everything a good shake prior to powering up.
Click to expand...
What does this mean? Are you removing the carts and shaking them? Giving the printer a good kick?
Click to expand...
Is that what we should do if the ink heads do clog? Take the cartridges out & shake them?

I was thinking of doing that after 3 regular cleanings & 2 power cleanings failed to fix my print problems last night. Did several Auto nozzle cleanings and a bunch of test patterns until I ran out of ink in 3 and had to order some more b4 I can do any more cleanings, test prints or anything.
Click to expand...
I doubt it will help since print head is not on the cartridge. As time goes by ink "settles, leaving solvent on the top and pigment at the bottom. Shaking the cartridge mixes the two up returning ink into suspension.
 
fft81 said:
I doubt it will help since print head is not on the cartridge. As time goes by ink "settles, leaving solvent on the top and pigment at the bottom.
Click to expand...
Seems that most people who report clogging say it happened after a period of not using the printer. So I wonder if that settled pigment could be "choking" the printhead. (Kind of like trying to swallow a mouthful of pills with not enough water.) If that's the case, then shaking the carts first could possibly prevent clogging.
 
John Little said:
fft81 said:
I doubt it will help since print head is not on the cartridge. As time goes by ink "settles, leaving solvent on the top and pigment at the bottom.
Click to expand...
Seems that most people who report clogging say it happened after a period of not using the printer. So I wonder if that settled pigment could be "choking" the printhead. (Kind of like trying to swallow a mouthful of pills with not enough water.) If that's the case, then shaking the carts first could possibly prevent clogging.
Click to expand...
Yes and no.

Ink settling will cause solids to settle down and possibly stick to each other. If ink from the cartridge is fed to printhead from the bottom of the cartridge, then this thick and sticky cellection of solids will find its way to the printhead and may clog it. usually clogs happen due to ink drying up inside the printhead. If the ink from cartridges is drawn not from the bottom, then the ink that actually enters the print head may be the thinner ink that did not settle. In either case the ink inside the tubes leading to the print head will also have ink in them which may have settled... hence adding more cloggy sticky ink into the print head, but theoretically the solvents in the tubes should find their way to print head with settled ink as well. The most important shaking that you can do is the shaking of ink refill bottles. manufacturer suggensts very gentle shaking to avoid creation of air bubbles. If your ink was well sealed and remained unchouched for a long time, more than a year, i'd suggest a very aggressive shaking and leaving ink to sit still for couple days before actually refilling to agitate as much as possible and then let air bubbles leave ink before actual use.
 
Hmm, ink from the bottom of the cart, ink not from the bottom of the cart, ink drying in tubes... sounds like pigment printers are considerably more complicated than my Pro9000II.
 
I have had my fair share of clogs with the Epson R2880, and now I'm waiting to see what happens with my Epson R3000. At least the R2880 had the cartridges mounted on the print head so by default that ink in the carts is being agitated automatically with the back and forth motion of the print head. The R3000 has stationary cartridges with tube feed to the print head, so that system just seems more prone to ink settling and possibly more clogging. I only have my R3000 one month and no clogs, but I will be pulling the cartridges at least monthly and giving them a gentle shake.

My Canon PRO9000 has never has a clog or skip on the nozzle check in two years and sometimes that printer sits for weeks. Same with my Canon IP4300 and IP4700.

Bob P.
 
Petruska said:
My Canon PRO9000 has never has a clog or skip on the nozzle check in two years and sometimes that printer sits for weeks. Same with my Canon IP4300 and IP4700.
Click to expand...
Indeed the pro9000 uses dye inks, they do not settle and hardly clog, not same with pigment inks of course.
--
JJ.
 
my comments where presented to John Little's statement....

"Hmm, ink from the bottom of the cart, ink not from the bottom of the cart, ink drying in tubes... sounds like pigment printers are considerably more complicated than my Pro9000II. "

Bob P.
 
Hi Bob! Just my 2 cents on the 9000MKII ( Dye ) and the 9500 MKII ( Pigment ).

Don't know exaclty why the Canons are so much less prone to clogs but so far in about a years worth of use from both printer, using OEM carts refilled by me with IS inks, no clogs even after weeks of no use. When you don't use a PRO 9000 / 9500 MKII and then send a job to them it goes through a to and fro "Agitation" of the printhead. Every time I run a nozzle check on either one, it is always perfect

That is just not the case with the EPSONs.
 
jtoolman said:
Don't know exaclty why the Canons are so much less prone to clogs but so far in about a years worth of use from both printer, using OEM carts refilled by me with IS inks, no clogs even after weeks of no use. When you don't use a PRO 9000 / 9500 MKII and then send a job to them it goes through a to and fro "Agitation" of the printhead. Every time I run a nozzle check on either one, it is always perfect
Click to expand...
I just read a review of the 9500II where they mention that the printer agitates the carts; seems like a great idea. Not to mention that they sit on the print head, which also seems like a great idea for lots of reasons.
 
I figured not everyone reading this thread was imediately aware that dye inks do not settle.
Also reason I put an obvious post title ;)
--
JJ.
 
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