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We have shipped thousands of Continuous Flow Systems in the last 3 years. It is our policy to help solve any problems that develop with our CFS units. We have a large base of knowledge on Continuous Flow for Epson printers because we invented it and continue to support it. Here are the 10 most common problems we encounter and the solutions that go with them. | ||||||||||
INK FOAM BUILD UP
Symptoms:
Solution: Foamy ink inside the cartridge is the cause of all of the above symptoms. It gradually builds up and needs to be flushed out about every 6 months. The flushing procedure is not difficult. After the ink foam is flushed out the system returns to normal. Lifting the cartridges will also create ink foam inside the cartridge. Even on systems built with original Epson cartridges, it still happens. To bring your printer back to normal, follow these steps...
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BLOCKED LINE
Symptoms:
Solution: Go back to the INK FOAM BUILD UP solution and follow it down to the point where you try to pull ink out of the bottom of the cartridge using a syringe with a bottom fill adapter. If you meet a lot of resistance when pulling back on the syringe plunger and no ink is flowing into your syringe, then, you most likely have a blocked line. We have seen this happen mainly with the black inks. There is no good way to flush out the line or unblock it. The blockage is usually algae or long chains of ink that are changing to a solid. A new tube is the best way to remedy this problem. Call (248-690-7612) or email us, and we will send you a new tube. While you are waiting for the new tube to arrive do this. Remove the tube from the barbed fitting on the cartridge. This can be difficult, use a little heat if needed. When it snaps off, it may fling ink onto you and your surroundings. Cover your hand and the fitting with a cloth or rag to capture the ink that may fly. If you pull straight, the tube will come off without damaging the fitting. If the fitting gets damaged, let us know and we will replace the cartridge and the tubes. Un-web the blocked line from the other tubes. You will have to re-web this tube back in using tape when you get the new line. If you have more than one blocked line, then request a complete ribbon tube. While you are waiting for the new tube, Install a new cartridge (without tubes) in the printer. This will require that you re-install the original cartridge hold down clamps. Run some cleaning cycles and get the printer back to normal.
DO NOT LEAVE YOUR PRINTER WITH MISSING NOZZLES FOR MORE THAN A DAY
When the new tube or cartridge with tube arrives, make sure all nozzles are perfect, then install it in the printer. Use some black electrical tape to re-web the new tube to the old ones. If you got a new cartridge from us, and it is empty, you will have to recharge it with ink, like you did during the initial installation. Use either bottom fill or vacuum fill technique. Run some cleaning cycles and make some prints. If there is air in the new line, don't worry about it. The ink will climb up the line and reach the cartridge. The air that is ingested into the cartridge is not a problem. It will add to the siphon break (read about this below). For installations in hot dry climates, or for those who do not print frequently (less the once per day) we recommend installing a program on your computer that will make a print of our test image, PURGE6.JPG, once per day, at the time you designate. If you are using a PC with Windows, there is Task Scheduler built in to Windows. Use the Task Scheduler to execute AUTOPRINT. Autoprint is a program written by one of our customers to do the printing. Autoprint can be downloaded from our website. It is free. If you have a Mac or early Windows machine, then there is software available that will achieve the same results. One of these companies is Peerless.
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DAMAGED CARTRIDGE CHIP
Symptoms:
Solution: If you have an older printer, without chipped cartridges, this means that you have to reset your CFS so the printer will think is has new cartridges. The instructions for doing this are in the installation document that came with your CFS. If you can't find the document, go to our instructions page, where you can read the PDF document for your printer. If you have a C60, C62, C80, C82, C84, 820, 870, 890, 1270, 1280 or 1290 printer and the printer red light is on, this is a chip related problem. If you have printed enough so the printer believes it is out of ink, then you should be able to reset the chips to full by turning the printer power off for 10 seconds and then back on again, or by using your F-16 (if you have one). If this does not work then, it is either a chip alignment problem or the chip on the cartridge is damaged electrically. A mis-aligned cartridge or damaged chip will cause the printer red light to stay on, no matter what you do. There are a couple of ways to correct this...
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LOSS OF SIPHON BREAK
Symptoms:
Solution: We have designed a siphon break into the Continuous Flow System. Without a siphon break, the ink can start to flow from the bottles into the printer on its own, making a huge mess. Our filling technique leaves about 5% of the cartridge volume empty. This empty space is an air pocket at the top of the cartridge. When ink comes in from the supply tubes, it drips on the sponge and becomes available to the print head. Without the siphon break, the cartridge would be 100% filled and a solid column of ink would exist between the bottles and the print head. When the printer starts to print, it is like sucking on a tube to start a siphon. Once the siphon starts, the ink will flow on its own, by gravity. Our filling method prevents this. If my printer is spitting, how do I stop it ? If your printer, with CFS installed, spits out small blobs of ink onto the paper, this is caused by not having a siphon break at the top of the cartridge. The siphon break can be re-established and the spitting will stop.
This procedure puts one tube full of air into each chamber of the cartridge and reestablishes the siphon break. Clean up your printer so there is no loose ink on the rollers or elsewhere. The spitting problem should be solved. If you have a lot of loose ink in your printer and on the rollers, try this. Get a clean sheet of paper and soak it with rubbing alcohol. Manually feed it into the printer by pushing the paper feed button. Do this several times (10 or more). The alcohol will mix with the ink and dry it, and it will also clean up the rubber grippers and rollers.
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AIR LEAK AT CARTRIDGE
Symptoms:
Solution: The MIS CFS is designed to have some air space on the top of the cartridge. This air space acts as a siphon break. If it were not present, there is a chance that ink could siphon directly from the bottles into the printer making a huge mess. If you see any small bubbles in the ink lines, these will be absorbed by the air space in the cartridge. It is not something to be concerned about. The air space on the top of the cartridge will expand and contract with changing weather conditions. It is not unusual for the ink to retract as much as 6 inches from the cartridge when the printer is not being used. This is just the effect of the air space on the top of the cartridge expanding. It does not mean there is something wrong. However, if the ink in the lines totally disappears and drains back to the bottle, this indicates that there is a leak in the line. This is a serious problem and the CFS cartridge should be replaced.
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PRINTER IDLE TOO LONG
Symptoms:
Solution: While you are gone, if the printer is not in use, air can come in backwards through the print head and get into the cartridges. When this happens the ink inside the cartridges can get foamy, and foamy ink is what causes the nozzles not to fire. With the inks below the print head, as they must be to operate properly, there is suction on the print head caused by the inks trying to get back into the bottles. Raising up the bottles 1 inch above the desktop (do not exceed the 1 inch) will help reduce this suction. Air can only get in, if the seal surrounding the nozzles is leaking. Cleaning the rubber gasket that is on the outside perimeter of the dump sponge will help prevent air from getting at the nozzles. Make sure your printer is in a cool place and not exposed to sunlight. This helps keep the inks from drying. Here is what you should do to prevent this in the future -
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TUBING OR BRACKET NOT INSTALLED PROPERLY Symptoms:
Solution: If your tubes are separated too far back, they may be getting caught and causing your printer to lock up. Click here for a solution. If you don't have enough slack in the tubing, they will pull on the cartridges and cause them to lift up. If they lift up, even slightly, you will lose contact with the chip. If this happens, you will get a premature red light. You need to re-adjust the amount of slack in the tubing. The ribbon tubing material has a very high friction coefficient. It tends to stick to the material the bracket is made from. Some rubbing alcohol will solve this problem. Use a paper towel and put some alcohol on the tubing. This will make it easy to assemble. If the tubing becomes too loose in the bracket, warp some black electrical tape around the tubing to make the bracket grip the tubing tighter. While the alcohol is wet, move the tubing in the bracket to add more slack. If your bracket came loose, then you need to get some double sided foam tape from your local hardware store. Clean off the tape residue using mineral spirits and alcohol. Make sure the surfaces are dry and clean. Re-apply the foam tape to the bracket and attach to printer. If the surfaces of the printer and bracket were cleaned with alcohol first, you will get a good bond, and they should never come lose, unless you don't have enough slack in your tubing, as described above.
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INSUFFICIENT LUBRICATION ON MAIN SHAFT
Symptoms:
Solution: These symptoms are primarily associated with the 1200 printer. The problems are caused because the belt jumped. The belt can jump if the main shaft needs lubrication or if the ink tubes get in the way of the moving cartridges. We have re-designed the 1200 tubing bracket to eliminate this problem. It now has a 45 degree bend in it. Call us if you need one, there is no charge. To stop the banging, first remove the cause of the problem.
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COLOR PROBLEMS
Symptoms:
Solutions: If your prints are all black, you either have B&W inks or you have your printer set to print black only. Double check the cartridge numbers you ordered and received. If there are any Q's in the part number, these are B&W inks. Check your printer settings, to make sure you have the color button checked and not the black or grayscale button. If you prints have a color cast to them, then check your inks using the swab method and compare the colors to the ones shown on our swab page. You do this by using a q-tip and dip into each ink bottle and paint a 1 to 2 inch spot on a piece of Epson Archival Matte paper. The colors may not be exactly the same as we show, but the sequence should be accurate. If your color sequence is wrong, then this is the problem. You will need a new CFS cart and correct inks to remedy this. If you have not connected the right tube to the right color bottle, this will cause major color problems. On the top of the cartridge, as installed in the printer, looking down on the carts, from left to right the colors are K,C,M,Y (4 color printer) and K,C,Pc,M,Pm,Y on a six color printer. Trace your lines back to the bottles to double check your installation. If there is a problem, you will need a new CFS cart to remedy it.
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PROBLEM OR SYMPTOM NOT LISTED
You can submit a support request us for technical support. Please do not go into a long detailed explanation of the problem. Keep it to one short paragraph. We will start a dialog with you to help you solve the problem, by asking you questions. Our first question will be "HAVE YOU READ THE TROUBLESHOOTING SECTION AND THE FREQUENT QUESTIONS ON THE WEBSITE?" While you are waiting for assistance, remove your CFS and install Epson cartridges. If the printer works well with cartridges, then most likely it is a CFS problem and we can solve it for you. If it is a printer issue, you will have to call Epson for assistance.
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