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ContinuousInk.info -> CIS systems

#1: air in line Author: grant, Location: Barham, Australia

Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 7:53 am
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I have a Epson R230 and I have recently purchased a CIS.

I don't know the brand or name of the system but it is roughly J shaped, the big ink tank at the back and a small chamber in front that has a small amount of ink with a rubber plug on the top. all the ink lines come from underneath and bundled together at the end of the 6 tanks that are all attached together.

The system was pre primed and and the carts sealed, the seal was opened when the carts were placed in the printer.

The system worked very well until I was doing a big print job in black. I started the job when the Epson print manager indicated that the black cartridge was only about 25% full, it was just too much to reset to 100% by turning the printer off and then on, and as it's a CIS I didn't think I needed to worry about ink level indicators.

As the job progressed the black ink level on the print manager went down to a low ink warning and and then a warning that the cartridge was empty and the black stopped printing. I turned the printer off then on, and the black showed 100% full but there was air in the top of the ink line near the cartridge. I did a head check and there was a lot of lines missing from the black, I then did a head clean and this pulled the ink into the cart and got rid of the air block for a short time.

The black is still missing many lines and I have tried many cleaning cycles, the air in the end of the ink line above the cartridge reappears after a day or so. the length of air in the line is about an inch or 2.5 cm long.

I have tried turning the printer on and off and putting the rubber stoppers in to all colours except black then holding the CIS higher than the printer, but the air block soon returns. The cartridges in this CIS are not clear so i don't know how to tell if it is full anyway.

I would appreciate any assistance
Grant.

#2: Author: Martin, Location: South Yorkshire, UK

Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 5:15 pm
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Based on the symptoms you've given I'd suspect one of a couple of things:

1. a small leak in the top of the cartridge between the cartridge, connector and possibly the tube. If that's not it then I'd question whether the cartridge seal at the base of the printer is the problem.

2. a clog or blockage that's stopping ink from replacing the ink used in the cartridge.. This could be a crimped/pinched tube or something physically blocking the tubing or you may have a problem with the air filter or vent that should be allowing air into the reservoir as ink is used up. I'd recommend checking your instructions to make sure you haven't left a plug in or gotten an air filter inked up so that air can't flow.

Beyond that I could really be sure... The auto reset chips (ARC's) sound like they're working as expected and the levels indicated by the printer really don't make any difference in that model printer so that's not an issue.

Hope the above gives some ideas for diagnosing the problem.

#3: Author: grant, Location: Barham, Australia

Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 1:29 pm
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hi Martin.
thanks for the reply.

I have inspected the cartridges and there does not appear to be any leaks that I can see. there is no ink spills or splatter.

As for the instructions with the CIS, they only show how to do the basic installation, there is no troubleshooting, no re-priming methods, there is not even a brand name or web address to seek further help.

With previous cis systems that I have had it was relatively easy to reprime the cartridges; the cartridges were clear so I could see if they were full, the ink lines were separated and had individual clamps on each line so I could clamp all lines except the one I wanted to bleed the air out of.

This system I don't know how to bleed the air out and fill the cartridge with ink.

I rang the firm that I purchased the cis from and asked them how to bleed the ink lines, they said to return it and they will have a look. I was hoping to avoid having to dismantle, package and post the system to the supplier by finding a solution here.

I am sorry I cant give you a name for this CIS but there are so many names for so many different systems... maybe a photo gallery could be set up of the different systems and when people post a question about a CIS they could be referred to the gallery to look for the CIS that is the same or similar to theirs.

TIA,
Grant.

#4: Author: Martin, Location: South Yorkshire, UK

Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 10:52 am
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Hi Grant,

Ok... I think the best initial course of action is going to be to get you to take a bunch of photos of the kit from cartridges to reservoirs with as much detail as possible. That will then allow a bit more opportunity to see what you are and go from there.

If you can upload them somewhere and then provide links or you can email them to me at info@ (domain for this site) and I'll upload and add them to this thread.

We can then proceed from there.

#5: Author: grant, Location: Barham, Australia

Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 1:04 pm
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hi martin
that would be great, i will take some pics tomorrow

regards,
grant

#6: Author: Martin, Location: South Yorkshire, UK

Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 12:28 pm
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grant wrote:
that would be great, i will take some pics tomorrow

*gently prod* Wink

#7: Author: grant, Location: Barham, Australia

Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 12:38 pm
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hi Martin,
sorry for the delay, i have a million things to do with Christmas comming up.

thanks for the gentle prod, i will try tomorrow.

regards,
grant.

ContinuousInk.info -> CIS systems

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