I recently replaced the OEM inks on my Epson 3880 with PiezoFlush in preparation for switching to K7 inks (Selenium) for the very first time. I downloaded the Adjustment Program, but can’t get it to run on Parallels. Therefore, when doing the 3-4 Power Cleaning cycles, only one of the two black cart lines (MK/PK) gets flushed, while the other one is still filled with black ink.
I couldn’t think of anything else other than manually switching to the other black cart and doing another 3-4 Power Cleans, which significantly depleted the PiezoFlush from the carts and also ended up filling up the waste tank.
Is there another way to empty the line on the second black cart since the PowerClean procedure will only replace the fluid in the line of the active black ink cart? Am I missing something else?
Yes, Power Clean cycles will only flush the black channel that the printer is currently in the mode of. To flush the other black channel, you will need to do a black ink change, then instead of doing 3-4 more Power Clean Cycles (since all the other 8 channels are already flushed), you can use QTR Calibration Mode to print purge sheets from the black channel until they print pure pink PiezoFlush. You can find instructions for printing with QTR Calibration Mode here: http://www.inkjetmall.com/tech/content.php?144-Print-Ink-Separation-Image-thru-QTR-Calibration-Mode
Please let me know if you have further questions, or there’s anything else I can help you with.
Best regards~ Dana
I had found that article already, which is how I found out about the Adjustment Program that unfortunately I can’t use nor is the support from 2Manuals helpful/useful at all. What I meant is that the QTR Calibration Mode workaround wasn’t mentioned in that article. Thanks for providing it, though, with this, I won’t have to use the Adjustment Program.
You’re welcome. We recommend using the Initial Fill Cycle when flush printers or installing Piezography inks, because the Initial Fill charges all channels at the same time (including both blacks).
After doing a very successful print run on K7 Matte on JC type 2 paper, I ran the QTR Calibration you recommended AFTER switching the black ink on the printer from Matte Black to Photo Black (is this the correct step?)
I then proceeded to follow the instructions and printed the QTR-K flush.tif on glossy paper which printed all black.
Can you clarify the following doubts I still have?
Will the QTR-K flush.tif print using only the active (PK or MK) ink channel that is currently active on the printer?
I printed two letter pages, both of which look identical. Since I had PiezoFlush on the PK channel but had the MK ink as the active ink when I did the Power Cleans after switching the cartridges from Piezo-Flush to Piezography Selenium (all 9 carts, including the GO), I thought that when doing the QTR-K flush after switching the ink from MK to PK, I’d first see Piezo-Flush fluid printing and then PK ink. Was the remaining Piezo-Flush fluid from the PK line flushed out when I switched the Black inks via the Control Panel?
Forgive me for asking these questions, it’s just that I want to make sure I’m doing everything correctly when I switch back and forth between Piezo-Flush and the Piezography inks; my current understanding is that I would:
Replace all the carts
Run 2-3 Power Cleans until I get a clean nozzle check (whether printing PiezoFlush or Inks.
Switch to the “other” Black from the one that was active when doing the Power Cleans.
Print the QTR-K flush.tif (once or twice?)
Thanks for confirming or correcting the above sequence.
My name is Kelly, I will be filling in for Dana while she is away on maternity leave. To answer your ?'s
“Will the QTR-K flush.tif print using only the active (PK or MK) ink channel that is currently active on the printer?”
-YES, this is correct
“I printed two letter pages, both of which look identical. Since I had PiezoFlush on the PK channel but had the MK ink as the active ink when I did the Power Cleans after switching the cartridges from Piezo-Flush to Piezography Selenium (all 9 carts, including the GO), I thought that when doing the QTR-K flush after switching the ink from MK to PK, I’d first see Piezo-Flush fluid printing and then PK ink. Was the remaining Piezo-Flush fluid from the PK line flushed out when I switched the Black inks via the Control Panel?” -The 3880 has internal lines and it takes some time for the ink to travel from the cartridge to the print head, that is why Dana recommended performing the Initial Fill or Ink Charge, which is an adjustment program you purchase from 2manuals.com (this will move all the inks from the lines to the head at once). Otherwise you will need to print several (probably more then 10) flush images to get the ink to the head. If you are going to continue using this workflow, it will go faster if you use the largest size paper your printer will take (17x22). Also, black is the strongest of pigments and will take longer to flush from the printer then other colors.
"Forgive me for asking these questions, it’s just that I want to make sure I’m doing everything correctly when I switch back and forth between Piezo-Flush and the Piezography inks; my current understanding is that I would:
Replace all the carts-Correct
Run 2-3 Power Cleans until I get a clean nozzle check (whether printing PiezoFlush or Inks.-Verifying a good nozzle check is always good policy
Switch to the “other” Black from the one that was active when doing the Power Cleans.
Print the QTR-K flush.tif (once or twice?)" As mentioned above, several flush images to move the ink to the head using this workflow
Please tell me what you are getting for an error when trying to run the Adjustment program through Windows? Did you already purchase the adjustment program or is it not compatible with your system?
Regarding the 2 letter pages I printed with the QTR-K flush.tif, does that mean that the black is from remaining matte ink? I’m still a bit confused on what happens when I switch the black ink (in my case) from MK to PK and then use the QTR-K flush printout procedure. Doesn’t the ink change flush out the MK ink from the line/head so once it’s done I have PK ink now printing?
I purchased the Adjustment Program from 2manuals.com and installed it on Parallels. When I try running it, I get the following:
A warning dialog stating that the NVRAM Backup Program cannot be run, so I click OK.
A window asking me to select an executable program to run, which is where I get stuck. I don’t know which executable file I’m supposed to point it to open. I’ve followed the instructions I got, and an e-mail to their customer support provided no help at all. I’m running the latest version of Parallels with Windows 7 64bit and I’ve set the compatibility as instructed to Windows XP pack 3.
So, until I can figure out (hopefully with your help) how to get the Adjustment Program to work, how will I know that I’m printing with PK ink after installing all 9 inks when I have the printer stored with Piezo-Flush? Or put in another way, when I remove the ink and store the printer with Piezo Flush, how will I know that PiezoFlush is on the PK line/head if I’ve done the PowerCleans with the MK black ink active?
There are 9 lines, one for each Cartridge, which means when you switch from MK to PK it simply draws ink through it’s own separate line from the PK cartridge. Same for the MK, it has it’s own individual line.
So, when you are flushing the printer with Piezoflush you need to get the Flush from the Cart to the head, when in either MK OR PK mode, it will be flushing which ever line you have selected, does this make sense?
As for the adjustment program, I haven’t run into this particular problem, but I googled “Executable File for Adjustment Program” and found this linkhttp://tricks-collections.com/how-to-run-epson-adjustment-program-on-windows-7/
I’m getting a second 3880 printer to print in color, which will be in my office where I also have a PC. I’ll have it physically connected via the USB cable and try to run the Adjustment Program there to see what happens. Once I do that, by the end of the week, I’ll have more insight before contacting 2manuals again. I’ll keep you posted.
I also don’t know if when trying to run the Adjustment Program from Parallels, it should recognize the Epson printer connected via USB, which in the Printer & Devices Control Panel in Parallels is identified as an HP Laser Printer, and not an Epson 3880 printer. I did try installing the Epson drivers on the PC (Windows in Parallels) but it doesn’t seem to make a difference in the issue I’m getting.
As for the printer connected to my Mac, where I’m still unable to run the Adjustment Program in Parallels, your response provides a bit more insight, but still leaves a few questions lingering; let me describe and clarify:
1- I started with the printer filled with the OEM inks and printed on glossy paper using the PK OEM ink.
2- I removed the OEM ink set and installed all new 9 PiezoFlush carts. I was still on the active PK channel and did the instructed 2-3 Power Cleans which printed a clean PF nozzle check. Since I was going to print using the Selenium ink set on Matte paper, I switched from PK Black to MK Black and did another 2-3 Power Cleans until I got a clean PF nozzle check printout using the MK channel, which of course, wasted a lot of PF fluid from the 8 carts/lines that had already been completely flushed.
3- I removed all 9 PF carts and installed the new 9 Selenium + GO carts and with the MK channel still active, did the 2-3 Power Cleans and proceeded to print amazingly beautiful matte prints.
4- Here’s where my current state of confusion begins:
4.1- In my mind, the PK line still has PiezoFlush fluid since it didn’t get the Power Cleaning - is this correct?
4.2- When I do the black channel change in the printer, from MK to PK, the PK line and head which had PiezoFlush fluid gets flushed to ensure that PK channel nk is now being printed instead of MK channel ink - is this correct?
4.3- If so, why would I need to flush the PK line with the QTR-K flush printout?
4.3.1- Since those printouts came out totally black on glossy paper, is that the PK channel ink being used? There was no hint of pink PiezoFlush fluid printing at all.
Until I am able to figure out how to run the Adjustment Program, I need to know how to ensure the non-active black channel is completely flushed out of the previous ink and is either filled with PiezoFlush or with the Piezography ink. Can you please be very detailed in your response?
I believe you computer is confused about where to find the printer though Parallels, this is what I do when switching between the 2 OS:
1.Unistall Printer Driver from Parallels
2.Turn off Printer, unplug from Computer
3.Shut down Parallels
4.Uninstall Printer Driver from MAC
5.Start up Parallels
6.Plug printer into computer
7.Turn printer ON
8.When prompted by your computer, select USB into Parallels
9.Install Printer Driver on Parallels
Now Parallels will be the only place the printer is recognized, there will be no more confusion for your computer. From my experience
with Parallels, the MAC OS overrides the WINS OS when it comes to recognition of printers. So making it straight forward as possible
will eliminate this confusion.
As for your other ?'s
4.1- In my mind, the PK line still has PiezoFlush fluid since it didn’t get the Power Cleaning - is this correct? YES, this is correct
4.2- When I do the black channel change in the printer, from MK to PK, the PK line and head which had PiezoFlush fluid gets flushed to ensure that PK channel nk is now being printed instead of MK channel ink - is this correct? No, the line is NOT flushed of it’s ink, the printer simple changes with cart/line it pulls from (the printer doesn’t know you are flushing it, it thinks you are just changing blacks)
4.3- If so, why would I need to flush the PK line with the QTR-K flush printout? There is still Flush in this line and you need to get the SEL ink to the head
4.3.1- Since those printouts came out totally black on glossy paper, is that the PK channel ink being used? There was no hint of pink PiezoFlush fluid printing at all. This process takes some time, BUT we recommend it over Power Cleans because Power Cleans are not good for the head
Continue printing the QTR-K flush image on the largest paper your printer will take, through QTR Calibration mode at 2880 DPI
If you can’t figure out the Adjustment program, which for your sake I hope you can, because it will save you a ton of time and hassle.
Your PK channel still has Flush in it and you need to get the SEL ink to the head.
I’m going to test your proposed approach on Parallels to see if that works. After reading it, another thought that occurred to me is that if it somehow doesn’t work, I can use the Boot Camp route to ensure the system behaves like a native PC and there is nothing from the MacOS potentially interfering. I’ll try the Adjustment Program natively on a PC on Friday when my new printer arrives.
As for the QTR Flush process, if you believe my PK channel still has Flush in it, but the printouts look totally black to me, how can I tell when there is no more Flush in the channel?
You’ve been super helpful, hopefully my next e-mail to you will be to report success with the Adjustment Program.
I just wanted to give you an update. I successfully managed to get the Adjustment Program to run in both Parallels 9 and the newly released Parallels 10. Your suggestions helped, but here is what actually allowed me to make it work:
Your suggestion that the MacOS was taking over the printing in Windows and this prevented Windows to recognize the printer connected to the USB port was correct. Luckily, Parallels 9 & 10 have a setting in the Hardware Settings for Print that can be unchecked, so Windows doesn’t add the Mac printers. Once I did this and without needing to uninstall the Epson printer on the MacOS, installing the Epson drivers for Windows and turning on the printer when the dialog windows that the printer cannot be found pops up, allows the printer to be recognized in Windows independently so it can be properly installed.
When running the Adjustment Program, I still get the dialog stating that the VRAM couldn’t be accessed, which I acknowledge, get the dialog asking for an executable program to run with I cancel, and then get the dialog asking if I want to run the Adjustment Program in sequential or individual mode. I choose individual mode and it works.
BTW, I printed 10 letter pages with the K-flush and all came black. There is definitely not any PiezoFlush there, so something in your explanation isn’t correct, or something in my understanding. Nevertheless, now that I was able to get the Adjustment Program to run successfully in Parallels, I can use that to clear all lines when switching to PiezoFlush and back to Piezography.
No. I didn’t. I didn’t want to waste any more ink, since I’m printing on matte paper now.
Do you recommend I do? I just thought I’d run the adjustment program next time I switch the carts to PiezoFlush for storage, but if you think this will help, I’ll do it.
If you are printing from your MK channel and you know for certain you have gotten all the Flush out of that channel then I wouldn’t bother running the adjustment program. When/if you switch to PK then you will need to get the PK ink to the head and the Flush out of the line, you can do that by printing the K-Flush image on large paper (I recommend the biggest the printer will take 13x19), printing until you are getting a solid black image on the paper with no trace of flush present.
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