Adjustment Program "Ink Charge" causes R3000 to display "incompatible carts" message

InkjetMall Customer Support Printer Maintenance & Cartridges
1

Hello,
I’m having a problem with the PK not printing though the cart has been refilled and the R3000 recognizes it as having ink. I originally filled all the cartridges using the new fill procedure and had no problem at all. Yesterday, I was prompted by the R3000 that the PK cartridge was very low. I refilled the cartridge per instructions for refilling, but it will not print. I suspect that air in the line might be the cause though I don’t know how it would have gotten there. I use my printer everyday, agitate and tap the carts before installing and every once in a while, I gently rock the printer (as demonstrated by Dana on a video).

I read Jon’s recent maintenance newsletter for the R3000 and purchased the suggested Adjustment Program {ECC ver. 1.0.1) so I could use “ink charge” on the printer to get the air out of the line.

When I tried to do an “Ink Charge”, I got an “out of ink” error message. The printer status screen showed four cartridges as being incompatible and was I prompted to reinstall them. I did so but got the error message each time. Turning the R3000 off and on cleared the “incompatible carts” error.
I was able to do a test print and head cleaning with the program, but “Ink Charge” produced the same error every time and I was not able to do an ink charge.

What can I do to get the PK cart to work? Am I correct in deducing that the problem is air in the line?

The printer worked fine up to now with the original Epson carts and had no problems after I replaced them one by one with the newly filled carts. A print test show all other cartridges working fine, including the Matt Black.

Any idea as to why I’m getting “incompatible carts” error when I have no such error messages under normal use. The print test with the utility shows all squares printing correctly and the PK either blank or sometimes just a thin one pixel line.

I am dependent on my R3000 to print pieces for an art show I’m in on June 8, so I hope you can help me by then.

Thanks,

Bari Tarmon
Sabra Graphics Design

2

Hi Bari~

I’m sorry to hear you’re having ink flow trouble with your R3000 refill cartridge setup after refilling the PK cart.

Please clarify some details you wrote so I can better understand your situation to help determine the cause and solution to your problem.

  1. You said the carts were originally filled “using the new fill procedure”. Did you vacuum fill the new cartridges as per our written and video instructions, in order to get ink in the exit chamber for proper flow?
  2. You were prompted by the printer that the PK cartridge was low and needed to be replaced. When you removed the PK cartridge to refill, was it totally empty or was there any ink remaining in the cartridge body? How about the exit chamber in the cartridge- was it totally empty, or still 1/2 or more filled with ink? As per the instructions, the exit chamber must be at least 1/2 filled with ink for proper flow, and if it’s less than 1/2 full, the cartridge should be refilled using the vacuum method.
  3. Did you reset the chip of the PK cart after refilling with ink? If not, the printer will still read it as nearly empty until the chip is reset.
  4. Please make sure the air vent hole of the refill carts (specifically the PK that you are having flow issues with) are all open for proper ink flow.

Please let me know the answers to my above four questions in order to help me determine how to resolve your issues and get you back to happily printing.
Best regards~ Dana :slight_smile:

3

Hi Dana,
Thanks for your reply. I will try to be as specific as I can and hope that the details will assist you in helping me resolve the issue at hand.

The carts were filled for the first time via the vacuum procedure, per instructions and video. That is what I meant by “fill new”, as in for the first time. I replaced the Epson carts that came with the R300o one at a time, as they emptied out. The only Epson cart I still have in the R3000 is the Matte Black, since the seller sent me an extra one.

When I initially filled the carts with the vacuum procedure, I tried to make sure they were filled as much as possible and the exit chamber had ink in it. I had no problems with any of the carts and the printer was working fine.

I got a prompt that the Photo Black cart was too low to print a 13x19 print. As far as I could tell, there was still some ink in the cart and chamber, but it was hard for me to tell exactly how much there was. I refilled it, following the written instructions for refilling a cart. I tapped the cart on a paper towel, reset the chip and when I replaced the cart in the printer, the printer indicated that it was indeed full.

The air vent hole is open and has been ever since I first filled the carts. I kept all the air vent plugs in case I needed to refill using the vacuum process.

I got the Adjustment Program and was able to do a cleaning procedure and print out a test print. However, when I tried to run an Ink Charge, I got a “Out of ink” error from the app, and the printer screen indicated that the Yellow, Light Magenta, Magenta and Cyan carts were incompatible and the was a red “X” over each of the icons. When I turned the printer off then turned it back on, all carts showed up normally with the various amounts of ink in the indicated. The printer recognizes the carts and print fine other than the Photo Ink.

Ar you suggesting that I first try to refill the Photo Ink cart by the vacuum method? In that case, should I remove the ink with the syringe, plug the air vent and fill it as if it were to be filled for the first time? What if there is air in the line? As I understand it, the only way to eliminate the air from the line is to run the “Ink Charge” procedure with the Adjustment Program, but that won’t work if the program doesn’t recognize some of the carts and considers them emtpy.

I hope the info was detailed enough so that you can evaluate and suggest my next move.

Thanks,

Bari
I waited about 15 minutes and ran a print test. There was

4

[QUOTE=Tsabra;1266]Hi Dana,
Thanks for your reply. I will try to be as specific as I can and hope that the details will assist you in helping me resolve the issue at hand.

The carts were filled for the first time via the vacuum procedure, per instructions and video. That is what I meant by “fill new”, as in for the first time. I replaced the Epson carts that came with the R300o one at a time, as they emptied out. The only Epson cart I still have in the R3000 is the Matte Black, since the seller sent me an extra one.

When I initially filled the carts with the vacuum procedure, I tried to make sure they were filled as much as possible and the exit chamber had ink in it. I had no problems with any of the carts and the printer was working fine.

I got a prompt that the Photo Black cart was too low to print a 13x19 print. As far as I could tell, there was still some ink in the cart and chamber, but it was hard for me to tell exactly how much there was. I refilled it, following the written instructions for refilling a cart. I tapped the cart on a paper towel, reset the chip and when I replaced the cart in the printer, the printer indicated that it was indeed full. I waited about 15 minutes and ran a print test. There was no Photo Black in the test print.

The air vent hole is open and has been ever since I first filled the carts. I kept all the air vent plugs in case I needed to refill using the vacuum process.

I got the Adjustment Program and was able to do a cleaning procedure and print out a test print. However, when I tried to run an Ink Charge, I got a “Out of ink” error from the app, and the printer screen indicated that the Yellow, Light Magenta, Magenta and Cyan carts were incompatible and the was a red “X” over each of the icons. When I turned the printer off then turned it back on, all carts showed up normally with the various amounts of ink in the indicated. The printer recognizes the carts and print fine other than the Photo Ink.

Do you suggest that I first try to refill the Photo Ink cart by the vacuum method? In that case, should I remove the ink with the syringe, plug the air vent and fill it as if it were to be filled for the first time? What if there is air in the line? As I understand it, the only way to eliminate the air from the line is to run the “Ink Charge” procedure with the Adjustment Program, but that won’t work if the program doesn’t recognize some of the carts and considers them emtpy.

I hope the info was detailed enough so that you can evaluate and suggest my next move.

Thanks,

Bari
Sabra Graphics Design

5

Thanks for the additional information Bari,

After reinstalling the refilled PK cart, and noticing no PK was printing in the following test print, did you preform any regular cleaning cycles and additional nozzle checks thru the Epson utility? This should always be done before the ink fill thru the Adjustment Program (the ink fill uses much more ink, and is best used for purging air or settled ink from the internal ink lines, or when changing inks or flushing a printer for safe storage).

I recommend doing up to 3 regular cleaning cycles, each followed by a manual (not auto) nozzle check to see if PK is returning.
If you don’t have improvement in the PK nozzle check position after 1-2 cleaning cycles, then remove the cart and tap it on a folded paper towel a few times, then reinstall into the printer- making sure it snaps snugly in place for a good connection. Do 1-2 more cleaning cycles, reviewing the nozzle check after each.
If there was still ink in the PK cartridge and exit chamber when you removed it to refill, then you aren’t likely dealing with air (or at least any significant amount) in the lines, and I expect a few cleaning cycles, and maybe a removal/tap/reinstall of the cart will get you back to printing.

I think the printer gave you an error with the other carts, because it estimated they didn’t have enough ink remaining to preform the ink fill cycle, but the error doesn’t indicate a problem with the printer or carts/chips.

Please let me know if you have questions, how things go after trying my suggestions, or if there’s anything else I can help you with.
Best regards~ Dana :slight_smile:

6

Hi Dana,
Thanks so much for taking the time to address my printer problem.

I performed the steps you suggested. I performed the cleaning process 3 times, checking the pattern by printing a 100% black square from Illustrator rather than just rely on the test print from within the program. After three cleanings, the PK still didn’t show up. I took out the PK cart and tapped it on the folded paper towel, I also tilted it slowly back and forth to make sure ink is flowing to the chamber. I installed it and ran two more cleanings. After the second cleaning (fifth overall) I finally got a solid black printout! The test (auto) printout still doesn’t come out a full square, but I think that a few more cleanings will clear it. The last print suddenly revealed less than solid squares with the M, C and Y carts but I think that if I just let them sit for a while then run another clening, they may get back to printing at 100%.

I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

The only hassle is using the Adjustment Program on a PC OS. Why has the program not been converted to a Mac app as well? I would not be mistaken if I guess that a large percentage of printers are connected to Macs. One shouldn’t have to but Parallels/Windows XP just to run this program.

Anyway, thanks so much for your assistance. I suppose the more I refill and run tests, the less intimidating the process will be.

Thanks

7

Hi Dana,
As promised: a progress report. After a few more cleanings, the PK cart is printing at 100%. I believe that in addition to the repeated cleanings and tapping the cart on a paper towel, it was perhaps important to tilt and rock it back and and forth to insure the ink filled the chamber.

Te downside is the large amount of ink that is dumped with all the cleaning cycles. I’m glad I installed your waste bottle kit, otherwise I’d be swimming in ink at the bottom of the printer!

Thanks again.

Bari

8

Hi Bari~

Thanks for the update, I am glad to hear your PK is printing again after my suggestions.

Please let me know if there’s anything else I can help you with.
Best regards and happy printing~ Dana :slight_smile: