Expired ink in EPSON 3800 ??

[j13ag]

Hi all:

 

Has anyone ever run ink well beyond its expiry date in an EPSON 3800 and are you

able to describe the consequences for color printing results ?

 

Here's what I'm seeing:

- ink is approximately 9-10 months past expiry date.

- my workflow is carefully color managed from the front to the back [printer].

I'm printing from CS PS3 WinXP Pro SP.2.

- I see a mismatch in some colors between my [calibrated and profiled] monitor

and my prints. Not all colors vary much, but I can detect fairly significant

variances in muted reds / oranges / yellows [think rust and you're close].

 

Please don't beat me up about just replacing the carts. That's obvious.

Finding the $s is the less obvious part. 8-)

 

 

Thanks for your time.

 

regards

-j-

[ronald_moravec1]

One of the reason I don`t have a fancy printer is as you describe, expired inks not used.

 

The expired inks can clog the jets and you are really screwed. Re ink and run a small print each week.

 

Who knows how old the ink is when you buy it?

[clgriffin]

This site gives more information that you might need, however one of the things it talks about is the ink lifespan. Apparently it's supposed to be used up within 6 months of opening and installing. If you have a sealed package, you should be ok. Link below:

 

http://people.csail.mit.edu/ericchan/dp/Epson3800/faq.html#clogs

[colin_mattson1]

Just replace the ink. ;)

 

Once you install the cartridges, they're no longer sealed, and components of the ink

begin to both oxidize and evaporate.

 

There's no real metric as to how long past you can run, as it's going to depend on

environmental conditions and what you're printing -- if you're not going heavy on the

colors that show it most obviously, you can obviously go (a little) farther. Color

accuracy aside, though, the inks also become more viscous, leading to greater

frequency of clogs, and just generally "off" results since the printer and your profiles

are expecting the inks to be a particular viscosity and hue.

[roger_smith4]

Shake the carts a bit and compare known good printouts to a recent print. If they're significantly different that's an issue. I don't think inks really go bad as quickly as Epson would like you to believe.

[brian_ellis19]

I have a 3800. The ink cartridges that came with the printer are still in it and still in use 13 months after they were first installed. I see no deterioration or any other differences between the colors then and the colors now.

[kuryan_thomas]

I used my original carts for 16 months with no problems; they eventually just emptied

out and were replaced. But I did notice that I had to run a "nozzle check" each week

just to print something. If I didn't run a nozzle check for a month or so, I'd see clogs

and would have to use the cleaning cycle.

[j13ag]

Hi all:

 

Thanks for your excellent suggestions.

Although the carts in the printer are not exhausted, it looks like the right thing to do is replace them.

 

regards,

-jg-