Avoiding cloggs in Epson 3800

jtoolman

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Can't speak for the PRO 3880 but I have two 3800s.
I've been running one on refillable carts from Inkjetfly which only require the presence of MK and PK chips. The rest of the 7 carts run directly on the controller or tuner chips. This printer uses OCP k3 inks and only prints on Matte media. Every two months I do a Black ink Switch to insure that I do not end up with a solidified ML PK channel. I print a couple of Glossy prints and then it's back to matte.

The second 3800 runs on Modified OEM carts which I refill with OEM inks harvested from large carts.
I do the same Black ink switch every couple of months and then back to PK.
None have ever shown more than one or two random lines missing.

I clean the purge pads every two months as well as the wiper blades and other areas.
I have not had a single problem with either one.

By the way I bought both used for $200 a piece with nearly full OEM carts.
One had 550 prints on it and the second has well over 11k printed pages so that one supposedly is nearing its projected life span.

Joe
 

martin0reg

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@Harry Briels
Missing lines in nozzle checks or stripes in prints are indicating no ink. With epson printers this is very often NOT due to clogging - but due to bad ink flow or air bubbles in the ink line.
Sometimes you simply have to wait for letting the ink "settle". Like 3dogs reports:
... nozzle was firing but very weak in colour, so I turned the machine off again. Later on in the evening I went back to try again. This time it was 100% ok.
So now I print a nozzle check, regardless of result, leave it 8 hours and print again and it is ALWAYS clear. I figure it is the pressure getting fresh ink to the blockage, allowing a good soak and the next print clears.


I have my 3880 for two weeks now, bought it used and installed with carts. 4 years old and had printed only 300 (small) pages, and it was idle for months when I bought it. Printed flawless at first attempt.
One day I pulled out the mBK cart (which was not in use actually) just to have a look at it...put it back again. Days later I wanted to print matte paper with mBK - stripes! And almost no mBK in the nozzle check...
Opened the cover and pulled the cart, put it back. One head cleaning and all nozzles were back again.
So it was probably a bad contact of the mBK cart (ink outlet or pressurize inlet) due to my first pulling and pushing ..

Like you I would like to try defeating the valve of OEM carts for refilling (jtoolman's trick). After reading more about your refilling I am more aware of possible problems doing this trick.
..and I have ordered a set of "normal" refill carts too..
 

Harry Briels

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I continue to have in the nozzle check (see attachment) a slight break in the magenta pattern top line and now one in the 5th line.
This seems to be a well known problem with the Pro 3800?
As far as I can see there are no consequences visible in the color prints produced.
They look fine.
I don't think that it would be useful to continue trying to remove this clogg?
 

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The Hat

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Hi harry,

If this slight clog is not causing any concern in your prints then don’t bother to clear it, the magenta will probably clean up the next time you print something anyway, just make sure it doesn’t get any worse..
 

jtoolman

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All of them! LOL
I have two Magenta nozzles that have not fired in over a year. No negative problems on actual prints.
 
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