L26500 or Latex 260 system error 24:10 broken bag error

[Kiran Otter]

I can't really say. I've used 10 year old 'new' inks and printheads in a 5500 without a problem, but I can't speak for the latex. I would think the inks are OK since they're sealed. The colors might change a bit.

Kiran

[Kiran Otter]

I asked about the latex inks; there could be issues with the ink separating into its components which could potentially damage the printheads. The shelf life is maybe 2 years. You could replace the inks, but there's still the ink in the tubes. With the proper tools you could flush them. Or, you could send the tube assembly to LPS Computer and let them do it. OR, just take a chance with what you've got. I would at a minimum sit with each ink cartridge and invert it back and forth for at least a few minutes to make sure they're mixed.

Kiran

[pbrooks259]

Kiran, thanks very much for the followup!

I will try to mix the ink in the tanks very well, and flush with syringe the ink through the lines after mixed.

I get the 2 - ISS pca's today.

I'm sure as you say that those new ISS pca's will cause it to prime the tubes as though they are new. I am going to need fuller yellow and magenta ink cartridges. ....I know of no way to bypass this as probably you.

Maybe I should go with the cheap refurbished printheads from China in case the older ink causes printhead problems.

Does anyone have an opinion about STS latex ink? Except for maybe "Don't use 3rd party ink."

Thanks very much!

[Kiran Otter]

I had a customer who got refubrished printheads; they were all defective. If anything you could try flushing the ones you have and refilling them. I've seen kits on ebay for doing such. Never tried it though.

STS is OK. I've seen a few times where they put the wrong color ink in a cartridge. And quite a few cartridges that the printer can't read the chip on. But their return policy is good.

Kiran

[Kiran Otter]

By the way, you can't purge the tubes with full ink cartridges, as stupid as that is. They have to be 88% full or less. I know no way around that. I've had to borrow ink cartridges from other customers to get by it.

Kiran

[pbrooks259]

Thanks, Kiran.

The manual states: "NOTE: Make sure that NEW Ink Cartridges are installed or that the ink volume remaining in
the Ink cartridges is below 88% before starting to prime the tubes. If you do not comply, you
will get a warning message."

Have you found that new cartridges don't work? Seems that you have.

I was thinking about trying full STS magenta and yellow cartridges. Not sure about the others; they seem rather full, hopefully less than 88%.

Thanks.

[Kiran Otter]

That's funny, I had just read that too in the manual and didn't note the 'new' part. So maybe new-new carts will work!

Kiran

[pbrooks259]

I hope new cartridges can be used. I found myself thinking: Insert needle into tank and drain to less than 88%.

I'll see. One step at a time.

I'm just going to install the 2 - ISS pca's (just got them) and I'm sure again it will go into the tubes priming process.

Then I will have to get a new magenta and yellow ink tank, about $270 total from my sources, not too bad. Or maybe I will spring for STS third party ink, about $160 total from what I see. Obviously I can see why 3rd party ink is attractive at least at first, but then later you might experience drawbacks. There is also "LD" brand. And I'm sure many others.

I would guess magenta and yellow are presently about 5-10% full.

Thanks.

[Kiran Otter]

You can't alter the amount of ink the chip says is in the cartridge by adding or removing the ink. The printer knows how much ink it uses and updates the chip with the amount. You could puncture a full cartridge, pour all the ink out, and the printer will still show it as being full.

I'd go with STS given what you're going through.

Kiran

[pbrooks259]

OK, I didn't think about the updating of the chip on the ink cartridge.

Thanks.

FWIW, I got a response from Tim Wert of LPS Computer about the approx. 4 year old ink sitting in the printer; he said:

"The ink cartridges are probably fine. The printheads may or may not come back to life, due to ink clogging the nozzles. We can flush the tubes if you need it, but we can't rebuild latex tube systems. The ink is corrosive to the components we normally use to rebuild tube systems. We have yet to find a workaround."