Epson Stylus Photo EX on behavior, ink out or... what?

I have an Epson Stylus Photo EX printer which I use only (and only
occasionally) for printing photographs. Today I tried to print a
black-and-white photograph for the first time, and got very puzzling
results.

I was printing on photo quality inkjet paper. I selected the
appropriate paper type, "best" quality, and "black-and-white." I got
an image that was mottled and extremely light. When the printer was
done, the black ink-out light was blinking.

It seemed like an odd coincidence that the black ink cartridge chose
that precise moment to run dry: apparently at the very start of my
first-ever attempt to print a monochrome picture. Nevertheless, I
thought the logical next step was to put in a fresh ink cartridge to
see if it helped -- until I found that I had no spare.

As an experiment I put the "exhausted" cartridge back in and tried to
print a page of text. Nothing happened. When I looked at the control
panel, the black ink-out light, color ink-out light, and paper-out
lights were ALL on. (The paper-out light, at least, was demonstrably
wrong.)

I'm going to get another black ink cartridge in a day or two and try
again, but in the meantime, the whole episode strikes me as very
peculiar. I wonder if someone who is more familiar with the printer
can interpret it for me.

My email address is LLM041103 at earthlink dot net.

"Jonathan Sachs" wrote in message
...
I have an Epson Stylus Photo EX printer which I use only (and only
occasionally) for printing photographs. Today I tried to print a
black-and-white photograph for the first time, and got very puzzling
results.

I was printing on photo quality inkjet paper. I selected the
appropriate paper type, "best" quality, and "black-and-white." I got
an image that was mottled and extremely light. When the printer was
done, the black ink-out light was blinking.

It seemed like an odd coincidence that the black ink cartridge chose
that precise moment to run dry: apparently at the very start of my
first-ever attempt to print a monochrome picture. Nevertheless, I
thought the logical next step was to put in a fresh ink cartridge to
see if it helped -- until I found that I had no spare.

As an experiment I put the "exhausted" cartridge back in and tried to
print a page of text. Nothing happened. When I looked at the control
panel, the black ink-out light, color ink-out light, and paper-out
lights were ALL on. (The paper-out light, at least, was demonstrably
wrong.)

I'm going to get another black ink cartridge in a day or two and try
again, but in the meantime, the whole episode strikes me as very
peculiar. I wonder if someone who is more familiar with the printer
can interpret it for me.

I have several Epson printers and have found that they need to be used often
or they clog. I also suspect that they do not actually measure the ink in
the cartridge but keep track of usage and make estimates on the remaining
supplies. I, as you, have been perplexed by my Epson printers. I also hate
that they can use more ink in cleaning cycles than for printing.

"Jonathan Sachs" wrote in message
...
I have an Epson Stylus Photo EX printer which I use only (and only
occasionally) for printing photographs. Today I tried to print a
black-and-white photograph for the first time, and got very puzzling
results.

I was printing on photo quality inkjet paper. I selected the
appropriate paper type, "best" quality, and "black-and-white." I got
an image that was mottled and extremely light. When the printer was
done, the black ink-out light was blinking.


Have you run the nozzle check?

How long has it been since you've seen good
text output on this printer?

The Photo EX printer was current about six
or seven years ago. In other words: it's ancient.

Generally speaking it's hard to get photo-quality
BW prints using *just* the black ink. If it were
easy, we wouldn't need the Quadtone RIP and
quad-tone inksets.


rafe b
www.terrapinphoto.com

On Thu, 16 Mar 2006 17:32:09 -0500, "rafe b" wrote:

Have you run the nozzle check?

I can't say exactly. Probably sometime in January or early February.

I tried running one now, but the printer refused to respond,
presumably because the cartridge is empty (or because it thinks the
cartridge is empty). Which really tells me nothing I didn't already
know. I asked about the matter of all three indicator lights going on
because it is so unusual that it seems like a promising point of entry
to the real problem, if the cartridge is not the real problem.

How long has it been since you've seen good
text output on this printer?

As I said, I customarily use this printer only for photographs. I
probably have printed text on it at some point, but I can't remember
having done so, much less when I last did so.

The Photo EX printer was current about six
or seven years ago. In other words: it's ancient.

True. Is this relevant to the problem? Apart from the fact that a
newer printer would probably have better performance and fewer quirks,
it's not clear to me how.

(Note for context: I am doing this project as a favor for a relative,
and once it is done I don't know if I will ever make a monochrome
print again. For the type of color printing I do the printer is
pretty satisfactory despite its age, and at this point I can't justify
replacing it with a new one.)

Generally speaking it's hard to get photo-quality
BW prints using *just* the black ink. If it were
easy, we wouldn't need the Quadtone RIP and
quad-tone inksets.

You know a lot more about this topic that I do. I've never heard of
Quadtone RIP and Quadtone inksets.

Assuming I can solve the immediate problem, could you give me any
advice on how to print a decent monochrome image on this printer?
Would simply selecting "color" instead of "black-and-white" help, or
is there something else I can do?

My email address is LLM041103 at earthlink dot net.

On Fri, 17 Mar 2006 01:52:12 GMT, Jonathan Sachs
wrote:


Assuming I can solve the immediate problem, could you give me any
advice on how to print a decent monochrome image on this printer?
Would simply selecting "color" instead of "black-and-white" help, or
is there something else I can do?


The trouble with printing with just K ink is
that only one of the six sets of nozzles is
used. This means that the printer can't
possibly deliver the smooth texture and
banding-free output that you see when
all six sets of nozzles are in on the game.

The problem with printing with all six sets
of nozzles to produce an intended monochrome
output should be obvious. The print will
likely not be perfectly neutral throughout
the tonal range -- but a good ICC profile
will help.

So it is a compromise.

The idea behind QuadTones is to substitute
various "shades" (intensities) of black
inks for the color inks. This really
requires a dedicated printer, and a
special driver. Hence the QuadTone RIP --
the only "no compromise" solution.


rafe b
www.terrapinphoto.com

"rafe b" rafebATspeakeasy.net wrote in message
...
On Fri, 17 Mar 2006 01:52:12 GMT, Jonathan Sachs
wrote:


Assuming I can solve the immediate problem, could you give me any
advice on how to print a decent monochrome image on this printer?
Would simply selecting "color" instead of "black-and-white" help, or
is there something else I can do?


The trouble with printing with just K ink is
that only one of the six sets of nozzles is
used. This means that the printer can't
possibly deliver the smooth texture and
banding-free output that you see when
all six sets of nozzles are in on the game.

The problem with printing with all six sets
of nozzles to produce an intended monochrome
output should be obvious. The print will
likely not be perfectly neutral throughout
the tonal range -- but a good ICC profile
will help.

So it is a compromise.

The idea behind QuadTones is to substitute
various "shades" (intensities) of black
inks for the color inks. This really
requires a dedicated printer, and a
special driver. Hence the QuadTone RIP --
the only "no compromise" solution.


rafe b
www.terrapinphoto.com

Hi all.

To rafe B,

Remember this is an Ex, very similar to the 1200 and 700 printers. You could
not get "Canned" profiles for any of them.

I used to use one, way back at the turn of the century, and the main reason
it went was the lack of profiles for it. Nowadays with the ready
availability of good quality Profiling hardware, I might just have kept it,
but it was also a bit prone to "Pizza Cutter" marks.

The only way these printers can ever produce good quality Black and White is
when the Cartridges are replaced with the multple blacks produced by Lyson,
or similar. And that is what happened to mine, a friend bought it,
specifically to convert it for Black and White Printing, and he took great
delight in showing me his results from my ex EX

Roy G.

Hi all.

To rafe B,

Remember this is an Ex, very similar to the 1200 and 700 printers. You could
not get "Canned" profiles for any of them.

I used to use one, way back at the turn of the century, and the main reason
it went was the lack of profiles for it. Nowadays with the ready
availability of good quality Profiling hardware, I might just have kept it,
but it was also a bit prone to "Pizza Cutter" marks.

The only way these printers can ever produce good quality Black and White is
when the Cartridges are replaced with the multple blacks produced by Lyson,
or similar. And that is what happened to mine, a friend bought it,
specifically to convert it for Black and White Printing, and he took great
delight in showing me his results from my ex EX

Roy G.

The 1200 was the replacement for the EX, the EX was a known clogger,
even with dye inks. The 1200 was better, the 1270 much better. Anyway
www.inksupply.com get you to the MIS associates web site. They have
quadtone sets for almost any printer. Good support too.

Tom

On Fri, 17 Mar 2006 10:12:49 GMT, "Roy G"
wrote:


Hi all.

To rafe B,

Remember this is an Ex, very similar to the 1200 and 700 printers. You could
not get "Canned" profiles for any of them.

Probably so. You'd have to make your own,
or have one made for you (eg., Cathy's
Profiles or Dry Creek Photo or...)


I used to use one, way back at the turn of the century, and the main reason
it went was the lack of profiles for it. Nowadays with the ready
availability of good quality Profiling hardware, I might just have kept it,
but it was also a bit prone to "Pizza Cutter" marks.

There were well-known methods for removing
the star wheels that caused those marks.

The only way these printers can ever produce good quality Black and White is
when the Cartridges are replaced with the multple blacks produced by Lyson,
or similar. And that is what happened to mine, a friend bought it,
specifically to convert it for Black and White Printing, and he took great
delight in showing me his results from my ex EX


That's pretty much what I was talking about
when I said that QuadTones required a
"dedicated" printer.

Changing inksets isn't a trivial matter and
in fact always involves a lot of wasted ink.


rafe b
www.terrapinphoto.com