R3000, MK black not working, air lock, quadtone rip, PZ flush, oh my - questions

InkjetMall Customer Support Printer Maintenance & Cartridges
1

So sorry for the post, but I have read all the posts on similar topics and I am just trying to get clarification on whether my attempts are expected or there is something else going on. I am new to the forum, but have quite a bit of R3000 printing and clog clearing experience… but this issue has me baffled for a year now.

I have 2 R3000 printers and my plan was to use one for PK and one for MK so switching black channels is not needed. I have loaded PZ flush in the alternate black channel in each printer just to have something loaded.

The PK ink printer was a throw away from a colleague in my photo club. I disassembled the ink system and replaced the bad black damper with ebay parts and got that printer working 100%… now MY original R3000 (that I started to have set up for MK ink) started to have this issue. I have waste ink bottles installed on both printers.

After all the research on this forum, I believe I have an air lock issue in my MK ink printer. All my channels look good except for MK Black which prints NOTHING in a nozzle check… all other channels look OK (LLK is missing a few, but I can deal with that with time). I also am NOT getting black blobs of ink on the paper on or around a PK - MK or MK - PK switch, so I THINK my damper is ok.

I have installed a purge cartridge (normal size ? 24 ? ml) full of PZ flush in the MK channel.

I have downloaded the QTR and and the calibration TIFF file for K and I send the print thru and I get NOTHING printed. What disturbs me the most is that the MK purge cartridge seems to empty out after a single attempt. I have no idea where all of this liquid is going so I thought I would ask here if anyone might know what is going on. I have looked for leaks and see none.

IF I were continue with this one channel purge, and the cartridge keeps draining out, then the air in the system will continue to be an issue. Do I dare refill this purge cartridge for each attempt? How much PZ flush can a printer take without printing anything and where is this liquid going?

At this point, it is becoming an expensive prospect to keep trying anything without having an understanding of whether I am making progress or not. I appreciate any insights.

2

IF the MK cart is emptying you have a leak in the damper causing full ink-to-waste-pad flow. It’s the ink supply (damper leak) not a damper lock sadly. Damper leaks don’t always spill outside of the intended flow path.

regards
Walker

3

Hello Walker,
Thanks so much for your reply… while waiting for the post to be approved, I definitely spotted a leak in the system. I plan to disassemble to replace the MK/PK damper when I get the chance.