Problems when converting 7880 from colour to Piezo - Init fill and other questions

Hi there,

I am in the process of converting a new 7880 to piezo inks.
Right now I have made an init fill with Piezoflush carts. At 99% it got stuck for more than an hour. When pressing a button, it started the cycle all over again. I plugged it off the grid.
I have followed the instructions you provide to interrupt the init fill, and it worked.

The reason I am writing here is that I plan to refill the printer with Piezo Inks, and I would like to avoid the same problem of never-ending Init Fill takes place, wasting all my inks. So, I have a number of questions:

  • Is there any reason why the Init Fill would stop at 99% and never end it?

  • If I reached 99% of the Init Fill, can I assume the flushing process was successfully and thoroughly completed? Or should I perform a Power Cleaning to “complete” the process?

  • How long is it recommended to leave the printer with Piezo Flush inside in order to take advantage of its cleaning capacities? It is a nice thing to clean all the dampers, head, etc, since the machine has not worked for quite some time (it is virtually as new, since very little use, but old)

  • When inserting the piezo carts, I am wondering whether there are alternatives to the Init Fill, through Power Cleans, and also through printing Flush images…so:

  • With Power Cleans on the 7880, how many are needed to refill a printer with Piezo Inks after Piezo Flush? In other words, how many Power Cleans are equivalent to one Init Fill?
    Do Power Cleans consume less ink than Init Fill and are more ink-efficient? Are they more aggressive on the head and less recommendable than Init Fills? I am just trying to understand whether the idea of using Init Fills instead of Power Cleans is based on something I should know.

  • With printing Flush images, how much surface of the paper is normally needed to print per channel to flush it all? Is the process of printing some square meters of Flush Images more “ink savvy”? I am ready to go through the hassle of printing on a roll of tracing paper if this process will make me save some ink, and is not detrimental to something I cannot think of.

Thanks in advance for your input Walker,

Rafael

Hi there!
Walker, I do not know whether it might be possible to answer this as soon as you can, if you are around in the office? I would love to work on the printer this weekend to start moving forward. Thanks in advance!
Warm regards,
Rafael

Hi there,

I am still waiting for an answer, with the piezo inks waiting on the table…

Walker, I need your help.

Thanks

Rafael

Not sure why . . . possibly something to do with the firmware version . . .

Yes. It has completed at 99%.

Minimum 48hrs.

Flush printing. 2x 24x90" per ink line (channel). On Canon bond or something cheap.