Could switching to CC inks cause loss of Epson printer driver settings?

InkjetMall Customer Support ConeColor Inks & Printing
1

Here’s some weirdness: After swapping out an Epson OEM cart for a new CC refillable, I lost all my printer driver presets. Could the two be related, or is this just a massive coincidence?

The full story:

Epson 7880C, driver v6.12, four out of eight OEM carts already replaced with CC carts. OS X 10.6.8, Photoshop CS6.

I’ve been replacing Epson OEM carts as they’ve run out. The MK cart ran out mid-print, but as it was a 40 inch print, I figured I had nothing to lose by leaving it in place while I swapped out the carts. I did so, by the book and with no incident. Chose ‘yes’ for the two Epson warning messages about non-genuine cart and voiding of warranty. The cart charged, printing resumed, and the result was fine; no visible line from the stop-start.

I was in the middle of an extended printing session. I opened the next file to print, double checked all the settings in the PS print and Epson driver dialogues, and hit Print. The printer returned an error message: “MISMATCH ERROR. MAKE SURE THAT THE INK CARTRIDGE AND DRIVER SETTINGS MATCH.” I pressed Pause for 3 seconds to cancel the job, rebooted both Mac and printer - sometimes I get glitches due to overstretching the RAM - and tried the same job again, with the same result.

So I started looking for the cause. Checked all the settings in the PS dialogue for correct profile, etc; all OK. Checked the actual settings for the preset in the Epson driver dialogue, and discovered they’d all reverted to default - that is, under Printer Settings, Page Setup was showing as “Roll Paper - Borderless (Auto Expand)”, which is the first choice in that dropdown list, and paper type was showing as “Premium Luster Photo (260)”, which is the first paper on the first list under the Media Type dropdown, regardless of which paper type I had saved. I should add that neither of these settings is one that I ever use.

Now, this in itself was a little surprising, but not much more than an inconvenience; it only took me five minutes to recreate most of the presets as I wanted them. However, there is one change which I don’t understand, and this is the main reason I’m posting this, to see if anyone else has ever experienced anything like this.

Among my presets, I had one for the Epson Advanced B&W Photo option, for each of my paper types, in both roll and sheet form. They worked fine, on all paper types. (I primarily only use two for commercial production: Epson Enhanced Matt and Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308.) I printed from one just three days ago. Now, that option is dimmed out and unavailable on all paper types except the Photo Paper set - none of which I ever use.

I’m stumped. How can I have been able to select and print using ABW before, to my matte papers, and now can’t?

OK, so here’s my questions:

  • Is it even possible that swapping an OEM cart for a CC cart, with a new chip, could affect the driver settings?

  • Where are these driver settings stored on my HD? I’ve looked in all the obvious places - Libraries, Prefs, etc, but can’t find them. Does anyone know?

I’m thinking that, as I have a full backup of the HD that contains my OS and Apps, I may be able to retrieve a copy of the settings - hopefully not corrupted - from the backup.

I realise that if the answer to Q1 is no, then this is a Mac OS/Epson issue, rather than a CC issue - but if there’s a community of experienced Epson printer users, it’s this one. Dana, I suspect I’m most likely to hear from you, but I appreciate any feedback or advice that anyone else can give me.

Thanks!
Nick G

PS Apologies for my strange spelling. I’m an Aussie.

2

Hi Nick~

I think I know what’s going on here. The cartridge manufacturer programs the 7880/9880 refill cartridge chips with information for all color positions (so, if you don’t pay attention, the printer will allow you to put a refill Y cart into the C position for example). This isn’t any problem for the colors (provided you make sure to install the correct cartridge in the correct position), nor is it an issue if your printer is in Photo Black mode- BUT, occasionally with printers that are in Matte Black mode (primarily with printers made after June 2009), the printer can sometimes get confused when it reads the chip and can display an error similar to what you’re experiencing, or do an auto black ink change to switch to PK mode. You can certainly get around this by transferring the chip from your Epson MK chip to the refill MK cart, and reset the Epson chip to read full again- this will only read as MK and not give the printer any mixed signals of the other color positions the refill carts are programmed with. I have included info below for transferring an Epson chip to a refill cart.

Attach Epson chips to refill cartridges:
Looking at the chip on the Epson cartridge, you will notice there are two small plastic points that hold the chip in place. Make a note as to which way the chip fits onto the cartridge so you can attach it to the refill cartridge in the same direction. Using a straight razor blade at an angle carefully cut the top of these two points off, which will release the chip so you can carefully pry it off the cartridge using the edge of the blade. You can also use a sharp knife or something similar to pry the chip off the refill cartridge. You will notice the same two points on the refill cartridge where the chip goes (pry the chip off the refill cartridge before attaching the Epson chip in it’s place)- gently line up the Epson chip with these points and attach it to the refill cartridge by using an adhesive such as double sided tape. Making sure your hands are nice and clean, press the chip to make sure it is tightly seated and flat on the cartridge. Now, using the chip resetter- reset the chip and insert the cartridge into your printer.

Please let me know if you have any questions, your results after transferring the chip, or if there’s anything else I can help you with.
Best regards~ Dana :slight_smile:

3

Hey Nick~ I’m just checking in to see how everything is going.
I hope you’re happily printing, but please let me know if there’s anything else I can help you with.

Best regards~ Dana :slight_smile:

4

Thanks, Dana.

I was never not able to print; well, only for about five minutes, until I reset the settings in my presets to their previous configs. I’ve been happily printing ever since then - except that I don’t have the Advanced B&W option for matte papers any more.

I’ve been away my studio, so I haven’t had a chance to try the chip replacement you advised yet. Before I do, I’m curious - do you think that will give me the Adv B&W option back? Is that choice in the settings dimmed because the printer is ‘confused’ about my MK cart?

Cheers
Nick

5

Thanks for the update Nick. I am not exactly sure why the print driver is only giving the ABW option for glossy media settings, and not matte, though suspect it is related to the chip confusion, and believe attaching the Epson MK chip to the MK refill cart will clear up this confusion and give you the matte ABW mode again.

Are you aware of our Piezography inks for printing high quality B&W?

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

6

Hi Dana

You’re right; changing back to the Epson MK chip has restored the ABW option. It also scrambled all my presets settings again, but I can deal with that. Thanks again for your help!

Yes, I’m certainly aware of the Piezography system, and I’ve been hanging out to implement in my workflow ever since I learned about it; in fact, it was discovering Piezo that led me to the CC inks.

Unfortunately, for the moment, I only have one printer, and as my business is based on producing colour prints for sale, it’s not feasible for me to use Piezo inks until I can upgrade to a new printer and repurpose the old one - and second hand large format Epson printers in Hong Kong are few and far between!

Trust me, once I have a printer I can dedicate to Piezo, I’ll be attending one of your workshops!

Thanks again, and cheers
Nick

7

Hi Nick~

Excellent, thanks for the update, and I’m glad to hear the Epson MK chip has cleared up the matte ABW mode setting.
I certainly understand limitations of having one printer, and needing to print both color and BW.

We’d be glad to show you all about Piezography when the time comes :slight_smile:
Please let me know if you have questions or there’s anything else I can help you with.

Best regards and happy printing~ Dana :slight_smile: