CISS

µ       Filling your Reservoir

Note: You might want to protect your workspace using paper towels or newspaper. Also, it is recommended to use gloves when working with ink, make sure you protect your clothes as well.

1. Take your CISS out of its box and remove the bubble wrap. Set your tank and cartridges in a clean space where you will be filling it with ink.
2. Remove all the color plugs from the reservoir and set them aside in a safe place (you will need them).
3. Begin with opening your bottles of ink and removing the silver seal from them; place the long tip cap back on making sure it is well closed.
4. Slowly pour in the ink through the bigger hole of your reservoir. Make sure you DO NOT insert the whole tip in the hole while filling the reservoir ¼ of the tip should be fine. This will allow the air to circulate. Otherwise if you do insert the whole tip, it will cause the ink to flow out of the smaller hole and that is something we want to avoid!
5. Once all the ink colors in your reservoir are filled, it is time to feed the ink into your cartridges. Make sure that the color plugs on your reservoir are still off! Each cartridge has a small round clear circle (or in some systems, they have a small colored rubber plug). Remove the plug from your cartridge and insert the syringe that comes with your kit into the little hole. Slowly pull the air out of the cartridge. You should start to see the ink flow from the reservoir into the cartridge hold it for about 10-15 seconds. Remove the syringe and close your cartridge. Make sure you do this one cartridge at a time to avoid making a mess. Close each cartridge right after pulling the air out of it.
   1. Once all your cartridges are filled with ink, close your reservoir by putting the colored plugs back into place. Starting with the smaller holes first and then the bigger ones.

Note: If air bubbles ever build up in your lines, take the cartridges out of the printer and repeat step 5. Sometimes ink will go into your syringe in form of air bubbles. If this happens, continue pulling the air/ink out until you get solid ink without the bubbles. Do not throw your ink away. You can put it back into your reservoir.

µ       Inserting your Cartridges

Please note that in order to properly fit your CISS cartridges and hoses in the printer some modifications may be required. This might include, taking off the small door on the cartridge carriage for some printers.

µ       Installing your Cartridges

Before you begin, please make sure your printer does not have cartridges installed. If it does, please remove them and turn your printer off. Also, make sure your driver is up-to-date and your printer is ready to go!

Windows Users

1. Plug in your printer and turn it on.
2. Click the start icon on the bottom left hand side of your screen. A new window will appear.
3. On the right hand side of this window, click on Devices and Printers. A new window will open up.
4. Look for your printer, once you have located it right click on it and scroll down. Look for Printing Preferences and click on it. A new Window should pop up
5. Look for a tab that says Maintenance and click on it.
6. Under the maintenance tab there should be an icon named Status Monitor. Click on it and a new window will come up.
7. Under the status monitor window, empty tanks will appear with an “x” on them. Half way through the window on the right hand side look for ‘How To’ and click on it.
8. This window will give you steps on how to install OEM cartridges. Of course, we are aware you know how to install cartridges. NO, do not shake your CISS or refillable cartridges when it prompts you to. Remember yours are not OEM cartridges! What we really want when doing this is to prompt the printer to move the print head into position for you to install your CISS or refillable cartridges into the printer.
9. When the printer is ready, install the cartridges. They should fit in snuggly and “click” when you press them down firmly. Press next on the screen and the printer will do the rest for you.

Your cartridges will charge with no problem. Now all you have to do is a head cleaning and a nozzle check. You will find these two options under the maintenance tab and it will prompt you on what to do. Head cleaning first and then a nozzle check.

Mac Users

1. Go to “System Preferences” (gray icon with gears)
2. Click on “Print and Scan”
3. Select “Options and Supplies”
4. Select “Utility”
5. Select “Open Printer Utility”
6. Click on “Epson Status Monitor” (lower left side of window)
7. Click on “How To” and follow the steps to guide you through removing and reinserting the ink cartridges. When process is completed, the ink error should go out.

µ       Start Printing

1. Set the reservoir next to your printer. The printer and reservoir must always be at the same level. The reservoir must never be above the printer or it will cause the ink to overflow, making it leak inside the printer. It must never be below the printer or it will prevent the ink to flow from the reservoir into the cartridges and your cartridges will become empty.

Note: Only when your reservoir is completely closed, will you be able to move it around freely without causing it to leak inside the printer.

1. Whenever you are printing, the smaller holes on the reservoir must remain open in order for the air to circulate allowing the ink to flow correctly into the cartridges.

µ       Quick Tips

If your system has been filled with sublimation ink, it is important for you to print AT LEAST 1-2 times a week in order to prevent your print heads from clogging. You can print anything small or simply do 1-2 head cleanings.

Do not let the ink level of your reservoir fall bellow ¼ of the tank.

Trouble Shooting CISS Systems

1. "Printer cannot recognize cartridges"

This message occurs when the chips on the CISS are not seated properly. Take out the cartridges, turn off your printer and unplug it. Wait 30 seconds. Then plug back your printer, turn it on and install the cartridges again, being sure to seat them firmly to hear a good "click". Press down a couple more times with your thumbs on top of the cartridges before completing your cartridge installation.

2. "Nothing is printing on my pages"

Make sure the air filters are not installed (plugged in) on top of the ink tanks, if so the ink cannot flow through the system and into the cartridges. New printers require time for ink to fully pass through the printer heads before getting clean prints.

3. "The ink tubes are getting stuck inside of the printer."

You have to adjust your ink lines and test if it has clearance as the printer carriage moves back and forth during printing. You can do this by setting your printer to allow you to manually push the printer carriage back and forth, while you see where to run your lines and adjust them. Adjust them so they won't get caught and not 'slap around' inside your printer.

4. "Printer shows that ink levels are low, how do I reset them?"

If this does affect your print out, don't be concerned. Printers have an internal page counter that count how many pages are printed and forces you to replace them after you reach a certain limit. Once that time comes, remove all your cartridges and install them back in, or use your reset button if your CISS came with one. Then you can resume printing.

5. "There is air in the tubes, is this normal?"

Yes, it is normal because so many people handle it through shipping. If it does not affect your printing, don't be concerned. If it does, then you can run a 1-2 head cleanings to get the air out. If that does not help, remove the clear rubber plug from the cartridge and insert a syringe in to pull the air out. If you get some ink in the syringe, you can simply put it back in the tank.