Epson R300 CISS installation.
After just purchasing a CISS (Continuous Ink Supply System) I was a little dismayed in not being able to find a really good tutorial on how to "properly" install it.
We know instructions come with them, but as everyone says "they are a load of rubbish" so I decided to create this one.
Although it's not just the run-of-the-mill installation, but even for a quick standard installation I hope it will help.
The measurement given below is accurate.
This was not the first attempt to get it right.
(I have painted over the holes that were originally put in the wrong place so you can't see them)
The finished item.
Although it's not actually necessary to remove the top housing unit to install a CISS unit, but I did not want the ink ribbon hanging out through the front or top of the lid and also covering any of the switches as it also stops the lid from closing properly even when not being used.
But I removed mine and cut a small slot in the left-hand side of the unit to feed the ink ribbon into the printer, which makes the completed job look much neater and allows the lid to be closed at all times. Even when being used.
The picture also shows the "Breath Plugs removed on the CISS unit and roughly shows where No1 & No2 fixing "Hooks" are located.
The most CRUCIAL PART is fixing the support bracket for the ink ribbon tubes, this must be fixed 13cm from the left-hand side edge of the printer lid to the centre of the bracket to allow the tubes to flow feely, otherwise they may tangle when the carriage moves to the left of the printer.
You will find that if you use the sticky-back fixing and the extra bridge type fixing for extra security onto the top of the unit, the lid will not close properly.
(So I decided to drill and tap the fixing which is how I fixed mine on the under-side part of the unit after also cutting away part of the small overhang.) (Small self tapers will also do)
The red number 3 shows roughly where the third fixing hook is located.
NOTE:
1. Do not remove any of the refill plugs or breath plugs until the cartridges are fixed into place, or ink will run out or air may get sucked in.
2. Whichever way you decide to secure your unit (Sticky Pad or Drill & Tap), please take note of the position and how the shape of the ink ribbon is formed in the picture above.
3. You will also see it's not necessary to remove the cartridge retaining clip (as advised by some people/suppliers), you can gently feed the cartridges through the hole 2 at a time.
So, should you want to, this is how to remove the upper housing cover.
Overview of parts:
1. To access two of the four housing cover fixing screws you first need to remove the printer cover by pushing a small object into the spring loaded damper shaft on the left-hand side of the cover and gently lift of. (don't worry, no springs will jump out) (Picture A)
2. Remove the small removable panel at the rear of the LCD screen to get to the fourth fixing screw. (Picture B)
3. Gently push the Carriage lock mechanism to the unlock position (small white piece of plastic) (Picture C)
4. Now for the fun bit. You need to locate the four additional fixing "Hooks" with your fingers and press them in to unlatch the fixing, numbers 1,2 and 3 are fairly easy, but number four is very fiddly, so with the first three free, try gently moving the lid to free it, at least it worked for me.
(Note the picture of the lid is upside down on the picture above)
5. Once the lid is free you may also want to remove the ribbon cable from the LCD unit to make life easier to work on the lid.
(To re-assemble, I later removed the four fixing screws as it was the easiest way of re-connecting the LCD ribbon cable, but take care as some of the push buttons will be loose but only go back one way)
Whether or not you have installed a CISS kit,
An excellent waste ink modification tutorial can be found here which is also recommended and should take no longer than about 15 minutes:
http://forums.cdcovers.cc/showthread.php?t=189379I would also reccommend installing and running this little program after doing either CISS or Ink Waste mod (especialy the Ink waste mod)
It's a program for various makes of printers called "SSC Service utility"
Which enables you to re-set or freeze the printer counter and/or clean black or colour cartridges separately.
from:-
http://www.ssclg.com/epsone.shtml