New P600, new customer, intro and comments

[george_the_mule]

Hi All!
I’m a retired geek, and have been interested in digital color since before there even was such a thing.
I had one of the very first digital cameras (~3 Megapixel IIRC), and a Fargo dye sub printer to generate digital photos. Still have (and still use occasionally), the Fargo, but I’m nearly out of supplies, and they are virtually unobtainable these days; sometimes you get lucky on eBay.
I now have a Nikon D90 that has been almost unused since I got my first smart phone with a decent camera; a Samsung GS4. I also have an iPhone 6S plus. I can’t honestly say that the Apple camera is any better, but the iOS is certainly a step backwards
Anyway, I decided to get back into creative photography and color printing, and rather than struggling along with the Fargo (and Windows '98), I decided to get a new printer; the Epson SC-P600. So far, I like it a lot; it took me a couple of weeks to burn thru the “starter” inks. Since I do not feel compelled to contribute to Epsons financial well being, and after a fair bit of on-line research, I decided to go with the ConeColor ink set and refillable cartridges.
Which brings me to:
I filled and installed the oversized cartridges yesterday, ran a couple clean cycles as per the instructions, and did one print duplicating something I had printed previously with the OEM inks. Came out great, and no visual differences as far as these aging eyes can see. Oh Yay!
I do have two small gripes, and one or two peripheral inquiries.
Gripe one, you guys only sent 8 syringes/needles/adaptors to fill 9 cartridges. And no gloves. I had some Nitrile gloves, and I saved a black cart for last, and washed/dried/reused a syringe that had been previously used for a different black to finish the job, but this was an unnecessary speed-bump in the road to success.
Gripe two; the little plastic insert which defeats the cover interlocks fit fine in the cartridge cover slot, but it took a bit of experimentation to get it to work for the main cover, and I’m not convinced it is installed correctly.
Questions:
One, I noticed that the fill process left a lot of small bubbles in the labyrinth inside the cartridge. I really noticed this on the yellow, as it is more visible, but assume they all have this issue. Tapping, tilting, and light agitation failed to remove them, but allowing the cartridges to sit for a couple of hours before installing them got rid of the majority. I’m guessing this isn’t a problem?
Two, having the printer cover propped open by the cartridges kinda ruins its svelte lines. Has anyone successfully notched the cover such that it will close around the cartridges. A few minutes careful work with a scroll-saw would do it, but it would be better to remove the cover rather than having to mask the internals, and still risk getting plastic bits into the works. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Oh, yea; Three: When I U/L’d an avatar, I noticed that the forum software had me/my MBP in Montreal. It got the Mac part right, but I’m in Palmer Lake, CO, USA, just FWIW.
I’m sure more questions will occur as I move forward, but for now, it’s time to get offa my butt and attend to Georgie T. and his friends. Talk later.
TIA! Steve

[IJM_TechSupport]

@george_the_mule

Gripe one, you guys only sent 8 syringes/needles/adaptors to fill 9 cartridges. And no gloves. I had some Nitrile gloves, and I saved a black cart for last, and washed/dried/reused a syringe that had been previously used for a different black to finish the job, but this was an unnecessary speed-bump in the road to success.

The gloves should have been included. I’ll let our packing team know.
In all reality you only need 4 syringes actually (for priming). CMYK. LC first then C, etc.

@george_the_mule

Gripe two; the little plastic insert which defeats the cover interlocks fit fine in the cartridge cover slot, but it took a bit of experimentation to get it to work for the main cover, and I’m not convinced it is installed correctly.

Yes. It’s finicky and requires to be all the way forward.

@george_the_mule

One, I noticed that the fill process left a lot of small bubbles in the labyrinth inside the cartridge. I really noticed this on the yellow, as it is more visible, but assume they all have this issue. Tapping, tilting, and light agitation failed to remove them, but allowing the cartridges to sit for a couple of hours before installing them got rid of the majority. I’m guessing this isn’t a problem?

This is not a problem as the air does not reach the outlet. Make sure you primed the carts though!

@george_the_mule

Two, having the printer cover propped open by the cartridges kinda ruins its svelte lines. Has anyone successfully notched the cover such that it will close around the cartridges. A few minutes careful work with a scroll-saw would do it, but it would be better to remove the cover rather than having to mask the internals, and still risk getting plastic bits into the works. Any thoughts or suggestions?

When we first started testing the 30mL carts for this printer we realized that the OEM locking software in the printer made the cart chips not reset at the proper level (27mL of use). This ran the risk of running a cart dry and this is no-bueno for the printer. We are the only ones selling 60mL carts for this printer because we actually care about long-term sustainable use of the product and making sure that people’s printers aren’t damaged. The sacrifice is the aesthetic but over time I’ve actually come to like it.

@george_the_mule

Oh, yea; Three: When I U/L’d an avatar, I noticed that the forum software had me/my MBP in Montreal. It got the Mac part right, but I’m in Palmer Lake, CO, USA, just FWIW.

It’s a server thing. Our server is in Montreal and there is some tech stuff to do to forward IPs from actually geo-local. The benefit is that it hides people’s real location.

best,
Walker