Converting a printer to Piezography printer

[Gary Tarbert]

Hi , I am considering converting a epson 7880 to a cone K7 inkset . One question how hard is this to do ?particuly as there is still a bit of colour ink in this baby do you just throw it all out and start afresh with refillables from cone?Any tips apreciated . Cheers Gary

[onnect17]

Hi , I am considering converting a epson 7880 to a cone K7 inkset . One question how hard is this to do ?particuly as there is still a bit of colour ink in this baby do you just throw it all out and start afresh with refillables from cone?Any tips apreciated . Cheers Gary

Not too hard. I would recommend to gather a full set of old empty cartridges first and break the one-way valve. Then prepare a solution of Base* and fill the cartridges with it. Run an "Initial Fill" cycle and repeat it the next day. That should clear most of the color.

For the inks, I use the "split" method instead of Cone K7. I dilute an original epson Matte in half to end with 7 shades of gray. Then follow all the process to create a profile in QTR.

*Base --> 35% glycerine, 10% PhotoFlo 200 and 55% distilled water. (search for Paul Roark for more details)

[Gary Tarbert]

Thanks , The more i look into it the keener i get . Cheers Gary

[Lenny Eiger]

Cone's ink is really good....

Lenny

[onnect17]

I wish you were living nearby.
In reality all the ink you need is two matte pigment cartridges, for any epson printer model. Expired if fine, inject a cc of photoflo 200. Dont pay more than $20 for a 220ml cartridge, easily found in eBay. Also make sure the printer head is aligned properly and to use a little more overlapping than the default value. Linearization can be done in many ways. I use a 100 steps and multiple readings with a xrite 890 but it can be done also with a simple flatbed scanner.

Here is one closeup printed in the 9600 using the split K7.

[Gary Tarbert]

Thanks all , Lucky bloke yeah i feel like we live nearby already ,With a phrase like Bloke!You know i consider myself reasonably removed from Aussie slang .But if i like someone they're allways a nice bloke looks a kick arse print and what does this phrase i hear repeated split K7 mean , Cheers Gary

[onnect17]

I call it split K7 because each shade of gray is half the previous one, like splitting in half. In this case is 100, 50, 25, 12, 6, 3, 1.5%
You could also use only 5 shades and keep the LC and LM to control how warm or cool the image looks. In that case perhaps a 1/3 is better, like 100, 33, 11, 3, 1%.
Actually, I just realized you have an extra channel in the 78xx so it would be a K8 system.
Keeping a label on the cartridge helps with the refilling. Also avoid keeping base or inks in bottles with any air in it. You can mix the base any time you want.

Here is a shot of the cartridges in the printer.

[Gary Tarbert]

I call it split K7 because each shade of gray is half the previous one, like splitting in half. In this case is 100, 50, 25, 12, 6, 3, 1.5%
You could also use only 5 shades and keep the LC and LM to control how warm or cool the image looks. In that case perhaps a 1/3 is better, like 100, 33, 11, 3, 1%.
Actually, I just realized you have an extra channel in the 78xx so it would be a K8 system.
Keeping a label on the cartridge helps with the refilling. Also avoid keeping base or inks in bottles with any air in it. You can mix the base any time you want.
c

Thanks , On Cones website they sell the product as K7 selenium K7 neuatrel etc .....and my question is which set do i start with ? And what set may or may not be interchangeable. Cheers Gary

[onnect17]

Many forum members use Cone inks. I am sure they can help you with the selection.
In my case I prefer to do the mixing myself because of costs.

[polyglot]

Selenium will probably have a slightly colder look to it, being a reference to Selenium toning of a silver image.