R1800 Bulk Ink part needed

[Uma Duffy]

I am hoping you can help me...I am currently running an Epson R1800 with a bulk ink system.
We've had lots of problems with the bulk ink system and now find that the R1800 is a discontinued printer making it very difficult, if not impossible, to find any kind of good tech support for it. Our latest problem involves a 'twisted nipple" ...a small white plastic piece used to connect the tubing to the bag of ink. I've attached a photo showing exactly where the breakdown in the system occurred and at the bottom of the photo you can see the part that is causing all the problems.

I'm hoping that someone may have some other faulty ink system laying about the shop that could be cannibalized for this part. The company from whom we purchased this is no longer in business and all the major distributors would much prefer to sell us a new bulk ink system Honestly, I'm reluctant to invest any more money in this system. We've endured clogs, leaky ink bags, obscene amounts of waste ink and really cheap valves and assembly parts in the bulk ink setup. I would be forever grateful if anyone would like to part with a faulty system that we could use just to cannibalize. Once we use up the remaining (expensive) ink in this system we may discontinue dye sub or try the much cheaper Ricoh 3300 gel sprinter or CLTT.

We're open to any suggestions for repair that you may have- short of purchasing a brand new bulk ink system. I just can't throw good money after bad. We're looking for the cheapest possible fix for this printer so that we can, at the very least, use up the remaining pricey ink.

[Gary Hair]

Uma,
I am using a bulk ink system that I bought from Johnson Plastics. I have had it for over three years and have had none of the problems you mention. The design is very different from yours and that may be why it works better. I think it only sells for $129 or so, you may want to look into that instead of trying to band-aid your current one.

Gary

[AL Ursich]

I too have the one from Johnson Plastics and it has been trouble free. Have had issues with plugging but the clear refillable cartridges filled with Epson head cleaning agent has made short work of any plugged heads.

I did buy a R1800 with the same Johnson Plastic setup just to have a backup. I have 4 R1800 now just because I see the poor future of the newer Epson printers without the software utilities to reset the clean heads ink tank. Without the reset utility, the printer becomes a boat anchor. I store the printers with Epson head cleaning solution in the refillable carts.

I might be interested in your printer when you give up on it.

I just talked to Johnson Plastic and the box, hoses, chips and plug in cart's sold for $228.00 but is no longer in stock. It could be special ordered but that was not a guarantee either.

That is why I jumped on the one I found for sale. The girl shipped it without clipping the bags shut.... Even though I mentioned it in my packing instructions... Some of the ink leaked.

One thing I do to all my Printers is use a hot soldering iron to cut the plastic from the left side of the machine to prevent the hose slapping you get when the hoses duck under the left side plastic.

Good Luck,

AL

[Uma Duffy]

Thanks, guys- I bet your ink system looks like Al's , Gary.

I like how securely the tubing passes through the wall of the ink box. Is that some type of kwik connect? And does your system use optimizer?

I've visited loads of scientific glassware sites in the hope of rigging up some mad scientist array of inverted glass bottles in a rack that I could easily top off with ink as needed...but honestly, as fun as that sounds, I haven't had the time to execute that idea.

I also emailed/called a lot of dye sub distributors for help with this and only one, NovaChrome, in California got right back to me with an offer to send a part from one of their showroom models. The customer service rep was extremely helpful and is sending out the part along with their catalog. When I find someone as helpful as this person I really want to throw all our business their way...but it's hard to justify California to Maine shipping on a regular basis. Based on that quick and helpful response, though I'd definitely recommend them to western state buyers.

Good point about the reset utilities! Took us quite a while to find out about those. I think we're going to give the Ricoh GX 5050N a try and continue to fuss around with this R1800 for a while longer and see if we can improve this ink delivery system. But if it finally gets the boot from our shop, I'll give you a call, Al!

[AL Ursich]

Thank You for the option on a future R1800. I am in this for the long haul with the R 1800. I did some Lanyards the other day with the large paper and I would hate to think of how I would do it with just legal....

Just thought that using roll paper could make printing even easier.... A 36 inch print from the roll.... Anyone have a part roll of paper kicking around that they are not using?....

Yes, my setup uses the optimizer slot for LM. This I believe gives you a better setup than a 4 color system, but what do I know about a 4 color system... That is another reason why you must use the IQ Drivers with the LM in the optimizer spot.

Glad you have the parts on the way.

Good Luck,

AL

[Uma Duffy]

I haven't tried a roll of paper...but it sure sounds like a good idea.

After telling you all about my mad scientist idea i found this photo on ink republic's site that looks like the bulk ink delivery system of the future. I'm off to the dollar store for some baby bottles....way cheaper and easier than scientific glassware and just about the amount of investment I'd ever want to make in this system.

You gotta admire the ingenuity!

[Gary Hair]

Thanks, guys- I bet your ink system looks like Al's , Gary.

I like how securely the tubing passes through the wall of the ink box. Is that some type of kwik connect?

Yep, that's exactly like mine. They are a kwik connect, push on a little metal tab to release and they click in place when you push them in.

I also cut away the housing although I cut mine with a utility knife, it looks a little cleaner but still does the exact thing.

Gary

[Gary Hair]

I'm off to the dollar store for some baby bottles....way cheaper and easier than scientific glassware and just about the amount of investment I'd ever want to make in this system.

You gotta admire the ingenuity!

I admire ingenuity as much, or more, than most. But I have to wonder if there is enough suction to draw the ink up that far? My ink bags are about the same level of the printhead although it does travel up a bit to get there. I would be wary of the "baby bottle bulk ink" system (say that 10 times fast...), I'd be afraid of it sucking air or simply not getting enough ink to flow. I could be wrong but I'd still worry about it.

Gary

[AL Ursich]

Yes, She ain't pretty... But She Prints.... and that is all that counts.... She made me $5K last month.....

AL