Mike Chaney's Tech Corner

I have been fiddling with three images on a page, each image subject to cutout - (Fade-oval.tif)

Is there a way of getting a different colour to black?  Black does not print satisfactorily on my R1900.

Or, do I have to create a custom cutout?

Image below.

Jeff



(http://jeffmilan.zenfolio.com/img/s11/v35/p380558230-3.jpg)

Jeff,
I would think you would have to create something in color, but just for fun, I opened a Fade Oval in QU, and went to the SEL CLR tab, changed (in the neutral category) red from 1.0 to 2.0
Took me a minute.
When I said done, instead of saving the filter, I ticked the dot that said Make a JPG

Then I opened an image in QU, and applied my experimental colored Fade Oval.

I bet if I spent more time, I could refine it more.
Fred

Hi Jeff,
Easy peasy  ;D
Go to the folder where the cutouts are kept: C:\ProgramData\ddisoftware\Qimage\Cutouts
Make a copy of the Fade Oval image and re-name the copy to something like fade-oval_dk grey[50,50,50].tiff
50,50,50 is the RGG for a dark grey but the values can be anything you like, a grey or a colour.
This information is in the Help.

Re. I'm surprised at that. My R800, Fred's R1800 and I believe, Mike's R1900 have no problem with blacks.
Is you profile not quite right or is it those "foreign" inks??
Terry

Thanks for that lot, I thought there would be an easy way.

Printer - yes it could be the inks.
But have had a lot of printer probs of late all to do with my carelessness and the cis system.

I suffered a Gerard Hoffnung period.

I got a lot of air in the system, dismantled everything and drew ink through until the air had gone.
did not top up the tanks until the drawn ink had time to settle out the air.
That was the intention, but I forgot to top up and next print drew some more air in.
Back to sq. one.
Remembered to top up after a couple of days.
All OK.
Then I dropped a keyboard onto the tanks, but could see no damage.
Next time print I noticed air going down the magenta pipe and found the spigot on top of tank broken letting in the air.

I have not yet got specific profiles to suit the graff card on the Win 7

That is the next problem, A colour Monky or Profile Prism

Jeff

 

Jeff, you have been having a bad time  :'(
Win 7 does not make any difference, if you used them on XP then you'll get the same results on W7. Have you got a profile for the card that you've used?
Both are good products but if you use a limited number of paper, it's easier to buy a "pro" custom profile. I used http://www.nativedigital.com/products/Custom-ICC-Printer-Profile.html for my 3 most used papers and for others the manufacturers profile. I've just made a couple of Christmas cards on Ilford smooth Fine Art card with the Ilford profile - nice!
Terry

Now there's a thing I did not know :)
I thought new computer with different graff card would require all new profiles.  The orig profiles are on the Vista computer, I will have to connect it up and get them off it.  I should have had a backup, I know :) I used a similar profile service by Permajet for their papers, they seemed to work ok. I will have a look at the site you mention, Fred recommended Ilford papers and I still have some from initial paper purchase, they gave good results.

The printer is just a small section of problems, installing various progs screwed up some - I presume system files - and it had to be set it back to a three week old restore point, I am still in the process of re-installing one at a time.   Also all photos are on an external HD with both usb and esata connections.  Esata never worked on the Vista machine, but did on the new win 7 for a couple of weeks but now only usb2 again which is much slower.
 
Oh. must not forget I buggered up my Blog site 'lost it in cyber space' and have had to rewrite the lot :( :(
 
Had to go to hospital yesterday to have finger up back side :) :) :) :)

Life get kinda tedious don't it :) :)

Back to Grumpy Jeff

   

Jeff, I think Terry et al were under the impression that you installed W7 on the same computer that had the monitor profile.
So same card, same monitor, no need for a new profile for the monitor.
I think you have a new computer with a new/different card, and that should require a new monitor profile.
Printer profiles will need to be replaced when you change back to Epson inks. :'( :-\

Fred

Fred & Terry

I got the orig. profiles off the Vista and reprinted, there is an improvement, awaiting daylight to fully inspect.

The speed my ink goes down I doubt I could afford Epson ink at about £12 for 11.5ml, which is why I went cis.  Until I get system sorted I am using proofing paper which gives quite good rendition, will be going to 'proper' paper shortly.

Jeff     

Jeff,
The speed that your ink goes down is due to leakage and spillage.  ???
Seriously, you do whatever you like best. No challenge to that, but I went to the internet for 2 minutes to see what 12 UK pounds comes out to be in US dollars so I get an idea.
I didn't shop around for best UK prices, I just took the first one that came.
It looked like an expensive place because FREE OVERNIGHT SHIPPING was included in the price.
A 4 pack (Genuine Epson) of most popular colors was 9.2 pounds per cartridge.
Individual colors were 10.85 to a high of 11.58 pounds per.   (9.2 = $14.22)

$14.22 including overnight shipping is not bad, and I'll bet shopping around would yield better prices.
Find a place that ships more cheaply, and the price per cartridge will reflect the lower cost of shipping.

Certainly, the price will never match the 3rd party inks, and certainly many of them are ink companies that try to make every shipment of a replacement color as close to spot on as the last time you ordered.
But, in light of the fact that you are experiencing loads of feeding problems, and that you want to be critical of the prints, it might be wise to at least try 3 months of printing with Epson inks (after you flush out the other 3rd party inks.)

Not happy? No difference? Too much money for the exact same result? By all means, switch back!

Fred

Thanks Fred.

Looked on net and Epson seems to be best price at £11.12 and £8.57 for the Gloss Op. The cyan seems to go down fastest.

I decided before printer purchase that I would have to have cis to keep costs within bounds.

Reading reviews seemed to indicate that ink consumption was high and that when one cart was renewed the printer did a head clean or something consuming ink in the remaining cartridges lowering them to the point of imminent renewal.

The original Epson cartridges did in fact go down at a rapid rate - just one month of fiddling about with the new toy.

So I went to Permajet the paper people and got their cis system, my thinking being that they had a interest in the system giving good prints.

Yes it worked fine and I did get good prints.  Though resetting the chip replacement system is a bit hit and miss.

Most of the problems I think are of my own making :)  If you are not going to make a print for 3 days they recommend clamping the supply pipes to stop back siphoning.
The clamps simply crush the pipe quite firmly, although that's what they seem to do in medical circles it seemed a bit brutal to me, so if I thought I would be printing again in a couple of days I did not clamp off.   Then something turns up and It's a week or ten days to next print.

After about 5 months I noticed some air in a couple of pipes so thought, right I will cure that.

When I withdrew the cartridges I found a hell of a lot of air in them.  NOTE prints were still ok.

Then the fun started, all air cleared and printing ok, then next print if forgot to release the clamps, it did not like that, then I let a couple of tanks run out, and it really got annoyed.
Then I threw a keyboard at it and broke one of the tank connections - letting in the air again, pure Gerard Hoffnung.

I now have - like a shuttle pilot, a check list on top of printer and hope following a set procedure of un clamping and re clamping will keep things running smoothly.

Now have to get the profiles sorted.  Terry, Permajet do a free profiling service for their papers and have a £35 for 7 profiling service for papers of other manufacture.

The above epistle could be a lesson for others, to follow the manual, take care and think first :) :)

Jeff


       

This I understand!

Here's an alternative method to use when it appears that you might not be printing for a couple of days or a week.

Turn on the printer and MAKE A PRINT, any print, just to make the printer work!

We used to do that years ago when you were concerned that your car battery was not going to  crank the engine when you needed to get going in a few days and it was getting very cold outside.
We started the car and let her warm up, heat the oil and charge the battery, just by idling  outside for 30 minutes.

Might be an idea for the printing too.

Fred

Hi Jeff,

Correctly designed CIS systems and quality ink work fine. If you have 'air problems' - apart from the obvious pipe seals, etc., have you got the tanks at the correct level? The supplier should have explained, but for most systems, if the bottom of your tanks are on the desk, they are too low. They need to be at about the same level as the print head (too high, and you'll flood the head). Also, if you are not printing frequently, use dye instead of pigment inks - it clogs less and doesn't settle in the tanks. Humidity is a very important factor, something that many folk do not realise, when 'x' says "printer type abc always gets nozzle clogs"  and 'y' says "it never does". And then, there is the argument about switching the printer off between printing sessions, or leaving it on  ;)

Best wishes,

Ray

Thanks Ray & Fred

Yes trying to do a print every few days, tanks on desk level with printer as recommended, printer always on otherwise it messes up the chip setting.

We will see.

Jeff 

I can't swear for anything, but I read lots of stuff like this. Makes me think!

"Most ink cartridges have some sort of a capping mechanism that saves the head from any outside air that may come through when the printer is turned off. But, if you leave the printer turned on all the time when not using it, you’re just asking for your cartridges to dry out, and will have to buy another cartridge that much sooner than normally would be the case. If your print heads dry up or clog, your printing quality will suffer also.

Therefore, always make sure you turn your printer off when not using it. But remember to turn off your printer by the On/Off button, and not by flipping your power strip or UPS. When you use the printer’s own On/Off switch, the printer will engage its capping mechanism to prevent cartridge dry-out. Otherwise, it will freeze in whatever state it was in, and your cartridge will still be at risk for drying out."

Fred

I note what you say.

The cis manual says

"Where possible, leave your printer turned on at all times.  If you do happen to turn off the printer, you will need to reset the chips as the printer will think that you have installed the chip blocks for the first time."

I wonder if this is cobblers :)

Now testing.  I have switched off the printer at the on/off button and noted that the head moved to a parked position. I will see what happens tomorrow afternoon when switched on again.

Jeff

 

 

Those instructions sound creepy to me.
Are they saying, if you power down with the off switch, there's strong possibility that bad things will happen, or any loss of power to the printer will cause bad things?

I am certainly no printer engineer, but it seems as though Epson has a design that takes "parking the heads" as part of the normal control of usage and keeping heads operational as best as they can.
That phrase, using the ON/OFF button will cap off the heads, seems to sound significant. Somewhat preventing air from entering the system?
Interesting discussion, though!

I also want to add that I was getting a lot of banding/clogged nozzle all of a sudden. Cleaning made it worse to where I actually lost color grid patterns on the test print.
The only cure was to replace cartridges from the 1/8 full colors.
All fixed!!   I checked with someone who knows a lot more than I do, and was apprised of  a situation where Epson was sued for having the cartridges show very low, or out of ink, when there was still ink to be used.
In response to this allegation or suit, whatever it turned on, Epson reconfigured the chips in teh cartridges and now you can print until you suck silt out of them.
The result is you really clog up the heads and nozzles. So I now replace the inks when the Ink Monitor says "LOW" and no longer wait for the RED X

So far, my problems seem to be history. I guess my last shipment of ink from Atlex was comprised of a fresh batch with the newer chips.

Fred

If I cut power to my HP Photosmart rather than using the printer's ON/OFF button to shut down, I get a "don't do that" warning message the next time I turn on the printer.  No reason given, just a message about always using the button on the printer to shut down.

Hi Jeff,
Best prices is at 7dayshop.com: £9.49 for colours etc. £8.49 for twin pack gloss optimiser; all prices include delivery.
http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_2&products_id=106136
http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_2&products_id=106134

Do you mean that when not switched off, the carriage did not park with the CIS system? If that's the case, that's a problem.
With normal cartridges, the carriage does park although probably not "capped" as Fred described.
Terry

I think it is to do with the replacement chip electronics, if the power is left on the chips keep their setting/memory.  If the power is off next time they show empty and need resetting.

We will see, powered off yesterday pm - I will switch on again this afternoon and after the 24hrs off see what happens.

Watch this space.

Also I had a quick look at the cut out question, thanks for leading me along the correct route, I had read the manual some time ago but must say I did not get it :) a couple
of helpful pointers here and all becomes much clearer.

Jeff
     

Jeff
It seems you have trouble with your ink system a lot. :(
This is the price for your ink at Amazon (UK)
I believe this is your printer.
At times Amazon will have specials on ink .. you will find it even cheaper. :)

Good Luck
Ya Me

FULL SET Epson inkjet: Price: £60.49
http://www.amazon.co.uk/FULL-SET-Epson-inkjet-Comprising/dp/B001OJ0SPS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1322313010&sr=8-2

Printer 24hrs off and the chips did not loose their setting.

Jeff

Returning to this topic - I have great news.

The printer setup has run ok with no problems for the last two months.

The confusion was me reading the manual to literally.

The R1900 does not have a mains switch at the back like a computer tower.  So when the manual said leave the printer power on I took it to mean the start button.

Leaving  the power on at the 13amp power socket retains the chip replacement powered and retains the chip ink usage record.

I am a bit old fashioned and do not like leaving equipment powered up when not in use, so all my computer equipment is connect via one master switch, so one switch flick cuts everything.

Jeff 

Hi Jeff,
That is bad news for your ADSL connection. The usual system in the UK requires the router to be on for a few days for the exchange equipment to "learn" the line condition and make the optimal settings for sync speed and noise margin. Regular powering off will make the exchange kit "think" the line is unstable and will reduce sync speeds to compensate.
Terry

I agree it is recommended that router is left connected and PlusNet said speeds would be reduced, but that is not what I find in practice.  We have 4miles of wire going through a many junction boxes and get acceptable connection speed.  A a couple of years ago PlusNet did something fancy to increase connection speed and our line could not stand it and just continually dropped connection, I had to get them to undo the the upgrade.

  The switch off is only when going to be off line for any length of time.

Jeff