Swapping ET/L series inks to another inks - any special technique?

[AmaDeuSbg]

Hello guys,

It is me again. I just received the 106 CMYK and LC LM T54C inks and I plan to put them in my Epson L1800 which is currently using the 673 inks.

I was wondering what will be the most "professional" way to do it? I was thinking just to suck out the inks from the tanks and the inks from the tubes through the dampers and then pour some of the 106 and T54C inks (like 10ml each color), then suck that out too and pour again (hoping that this will mix the leftovers of the 673 inks) and then pour again fresh 106 and T54C inks. I was wondering if this is OK or if it will be recommended to use any cleaning or other solution prior swapping one ink to another?

I have some sublimation cleaning liquid but I am not sure if it is a good idea using it and decided to better ask.

Thank you and have a lovely day!

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I don't see the need to clean the ink paths - the inks are colorwise very similar if not identical. I did ink swapping several times - I pulled the 'old' inks out via the dampers, this lets you get hold of all the inks in the tubes etc except a few drops left. And you pull the new inks the same way - you fill up the tanks and pull the inks up to the dampers, that should get you rid of any air bubbles. the dampers have a little round reservoir which connects to the ink outlet - you just should have half of the reservoir filled with air. There is a reason that these cartridge like inserts are called dampers - it should balance - dampen - some pressure changes in the ink supply tubes - the printhead is moving against the ink flow on the way left - that increases slightly the pressure in the tube - and the pressure lowers a little bit when the printhead moves to the right - as if you would have to pull the ink - almost. The air bubble and the foil buffers some of the pressure changes. Users of the (very) old R2100 printer had that effect, that a converted printer with a CISS system was loosing the ink flow with some quality settings - the printhead was moving faster with some settings interrupting the ink flow, so you had to switch to mono-directional printing - which prints when the head moves to the left.
You may have a look to the dampers once in a while that the ink level in that little reservoir does not drop to zero, this can happen when the ink is outgassing - minute little air bubbles are created from pressure changes.

 

[AmaDeuSbg]

I don't see the need to clean the ink paths - the inks are colorwise very similar if not identical. I did ink swapping several times - I pulled the 'old' inks out via the dampers, this lets you get hold of all the inks in the tubes etc except a few drops left. And you pull the new inks the same way - you fill up the tanks and pull the inks up to the dampers, that should get you rid of any air bubbles. the dampers have a little round reservoir which connects to the ink outlet - you just should have half of the reservoir filled with air. There is a reason that these cartridge like inserts are called dampers - it should balance - dampen - some pressure changes in the ink supply tubes - the printhead is moving against the ink flow on the way left - that increases slightly the pressure in the tube - and the pressure lowers a little bit when the printhead moves to the right - as if you would have to pull the ink - almost. The air bubble and the foil buffers some of the pressure changes. Users of the (very) old R2100 printer had that effect, that a converted printer with a CISS system was loosing the ink flow with some quality settings - the printhead was moving faster with some settings interrupting the ink flow, so you had to switch to mono-directional printing - which prints when the head moves to the left.
You may have a look to the dampers once in a while that the ink level in that little reservoir does not drop to zero, this can happen when the ink is outgassing - minute little air bubbles are created from pressure changes.

Thank you for your reply, you are really helpful on all the questions I have and I am grateful for that. The air in the dampers is something I knew (for like 2-3 years, preivously I filled them lik 80% and wondered why I got issues ), but to be honest I never knew the reason why they should be filled only half way - thank you for explaining it, it is always useful to learn something new (and a day when you learn something new, is not a lost day)

I will get back with feedback on how well the combination of the 106 CMYK and T54C LM LC works on the L1800.

Have a lovely day

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Thanks for your feedback, it does not really matter if the air bubble takes 40% or 50% or 60% , it just should not be filled up.