P800 Star-wheels

InkjetMall Customer Support General Discussion & Misc Support Questions
1

As some of you know, I’m the author of the article describing Walker’s method of non-destructively disabling the star-wheels via the front-feed path on the Epson 3880 printer. There has been some interest in applying the procedure to the P800, and it seems to be doable hypothetically, but I don’t have a P800 and can’t find confirmation that it works on the P800 from anyone having actually done it.

The question just came up again in the comments section of the article, not in context of making negatives, but rather prints on non-matte papers, and the commenter noted that on the P800 the front-feed tray is supposed to be pushed back in after loading which reengages the star-wheels and leaves marks on papers such as Moab Juniper Baryta.

My question now, since I don’t have a P800 to check it on myself, is does the procedure described in the article linked to above work on the P800 and is there any difference in implementation other than the method of removing the left front cover? (And while we’re here, how do you remove the left front cover?)

Additionally, since we are talking about the P800, how do you load cut sheets via the rear paper support without using the front-feed as shown in the manual? Trick it into thinking it’s roll paper? If so, is there anything special for dealing with margins and placement?

2

It works.

The left-hand cover snaps right off (no screws, just plastic inserts) and the sensor switch is in the same location.

Put a 4" paper leader at the top of the film and a 4" paper leader at the back of the film to print full-sheet.

best regards,
Walker

3

Thanks Walker.

So are there any fragile hidden tabs on the cover that must be gently released? Does it just pull straight out?

I’m not really concerned (at this point) about printing end to end, but that is a good tip. What I was getting at is the difference, as per the Epson P800 User Guide, regarding whether the front-feed tray stays out (as with the 3880) or must be pushed back in after loading the paper as instructed in the user guide. This is a notable change in procedure from the 3880 to the P800, at least if following the Epson instructions for using it in the normal way. My guess is that for our purposes it stays out, but I would like confirmation since I can’t test it myself.

Of course, we are not actually feeding the Pictorico film via the front-feed, we are using the sheet feeder and simply tricking the printer into not sensing that the front-feed is open and thereby the star-wheels disengaged. But what about using the roll-feed via the rear paper support slot for sheets? A while back when I mentioned that the lack of manual rear-feed was a key reason that I got another 3880 rather than a P800 you told me that you actually can use the rear paper support path to feed cut sheets. My guess is that you simply set the printer to roll-feed. Is that correct?

Does disabling the star-wheels work in a similar way for the P600?

4

These are fragile and hidden. If you want to be careful you’ll need to unscrew top and left side.

Front feed tray stays out because the star wheels need to stay up. This is the whole reason for doing the sensor trick. Interestingly, the little paper alignment tab is properly placed on the P800 so it doesn’t catch the film.

On 1 P800 I have manual rear feed works. On another it doesn’t. This may be a firmware issue. But I just use top feed with the front/back paper leaders.

Yes. Exactly the same way however getting at the sensor is a bit harder. You have to unscrew the side panel.

best,
Walker

5

Any chance you could share a picture of it so that we might know where to find them? Maybe something for the P800 similar to what we see on p.72 of the 3800 (3880) Field Repair Guide? It would be very helpful. :wink:

Nevermind - I just found a source for the Service Manual - free (with a trial membership) at scribd.com.