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Ok tonight I was playing with my PRO3800 that has been happily running on the Modified OEM carts filled with K3 OEM bulk inks harvested from large format carts.
So I decided to take apart the maintenace cart / tank by unsnaping the top grille to replace the absorbent inner material ( now pretty much saturated ) with layers of Automotive Absorbent pads cut to size. They're are used under cars while working on them to collect spills and I believe they are made from recycled paper material. The really are very absorbent and I can repack one M. cart for around a buck.
Yes I know I could just use paper towels or anything that will readily soak ink and not splatter. But this material prodiuces a very neat look. At least initially
There are many types and here is one type:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/OIL-ABSORBE...431?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43bc8cc707
I cut them to size on a Gillotine Cutter and stack then on edge just like the original sponges.
Now comes the act of resetting the chip. The reseter I bought to originally reset the OEM carts ( http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/71395 Epson.html ), was also supposed to be able to reset the M Cart chips but I had not been able to do so no matter what I did.
Figuring I had to buy a specific resetter intended for the M. Cart I was about ready to purchase one when I read some instructions on a site and the "light came on".
Yes, I heard the angel choir!
Turns out the even though the chip is being apparently reset ( light turns green on resetter ) the printer still sees it at what ever the reading was prior to resetting.
It sees it as empty for a second and then it revert back. Apparently the printer remembers the actual wast ink count and indentifies that the chip was being used.
Now the weird part.
Here is the reset process I learned:
Remove the M. Cart and reset the chip with the resetter but do not put it back in the printer just yet.
Then you have to replace the freshly reset OEM chip with a Cyan OEM chip and attach it on to the M.Cart.
Right about this time I am going..... HUH????
You then insert the M. Cart with teh Cyan chip back into the printer and close the trap door.
You guess it, It throws an error!
You now remove the cart again and replace the MOCK Cyan chip with the actual OEM chip you previously reset.
Reinsert it into the printer, close the trap door.
BINGO! A fully reset M. Cart!
So aparently the memory of the last waste count is overwritten by the pressence of the MOCK Cyan chip ( Why Cyan? I have no clue )
And that ladies and gents is the little detail they do not tell you about when you buy one of these little special resetters.
I found out how to do it at the inkjetcarts.us site.
If you have two M. Carts then you don't need the Mock Chip swap routine. You simply swap the carts normally as the printer apparently recognizes each chip as a separate entity.
The IJC resetter sells for about $40 plus S/H
http://store.inkjetcarts.us/epson-pro-3800-3880-waste-tank-chip-resetter-p6446.aspx
I got mine from the same company that trying to bate us into thinking that they have PRO-100 chips for a total of $44 with shipping.
Just thought I would share this bit of info in case anyone was wondering about re using their 3800 / 3880 Maintenance carts.
Oh CONE ( Inkjetmall ) wants around $80 for the same thing. Why does everytthing CONE sells cost almost twice as much again?
Joe
So I decided to take apart the maintenace cart / tank by unsnaping the top grille to replace the absorbent inner material ( now pretty much saturated ) with layers of Automotive Absorbent pads cut to size. They're are used under cars while working on them to collect spills and I believe they are made from recycled paper material. The really are very absorbent and I can repack one M. cart for around a buck.
Yes I know I could just use paper towels or anything that will readily soak ink and not splatter. But this material prodiuces a very neat look. At least initially
There are many types and here is one type:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/OIL-ABSORBE...431?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43bc8cc707
I cut them to size on a Gillotine Cutter and stack then on edge just like the original sponges.
Now comes the act of resetting the chip. The reseter I bought to originally reset the OEM carts ( http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/71395 Epson.html ), was also supposed to be able to reset the M Cart chips but I had not been able to do so no matter what I did.
Figuring I had to buy a specific resetter intended for the M. Cart I was about ready to purchase one when I read some instructions on a site and the "light came on".
Yes, I heard the angel choir!
Turns out the even though the chip is being apparently reset ( light turns green on resetter ) the printer still sees it at what ever the reading was prior to resetting.
It sees it as empty for a second and then it revert back. Apparently the printer remembers the actual wast ink count and indentifies that the chip was being used.
Now the weird part.
Here is the reset process I learned:
Remove the M. Cart and reset the chip with the resetter but do not put it back in the printer just yet.
Then you have to replace the freshly reset OEM chip with a Cyan OEM chip and attach it on to the M.Cart.
Right about this time I am going..... HUH????
You then insert the M. Cart with teh Cyan chip back into the printer and close the trap door.
You guess it, It throws an error!
You now remove the cart again and replace the MOCK Cyan chip with the actual OEM chip you previously reset.
Reinsert it into the printer, close the trap door.
BINGO! A fully reset M. Cart!
So aparently the memory of the last waste count is overwritten by the pressence of the MOCK Cyan chip ( Why Cyan? I have no clue )
And that ladies and gents is the little detail they do not tell you about when you buy one of these little special resetters.
I found out how to do it at the inkjetcarts.us site.
If you have two M. Carts then you don't need the Mock Chip swap routine. You simply swap the carts normally as the printer apparently recognizes each chip as a separate entity.
The IJC resetter sells for about $40 plus S/H
http://store.inkjetcarts.us/epson-pro-3800-3880-waste-tank-chip-resetter-p6446.aspx
I got mine from the same company that trying to bate us into thinking that they have PRO-100 chips for a total of $44 with shipping.
Just thought I would share this bit of info in case anyone was wondering about re using their 3800 / 3880 Maintenance carts.
Oh CONE ( Inkjetmall ) wants around $80 for the same thing. Why does everytthing CONE sells cost almost twice as much again?
Joe
