3880 - you can change ink tanks mid-print

I have never heard anyone mention this, and I don't know if it applies to other printers. But I ran out of ink on my 3880 mid-print while printing a 16x24 photo. I figured I'd change the ink tank and let it finish just to see what happened.

anyway the photo was this one:

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/wLwm​xa

My R1900 does the same and I think my old 1200 did it also.

Thanks for sharing! I often wonder if changing a cartridge mid print cycle was possible and still achieve a quality print. That's how to squeeze every ml from a cartridge, especially with the current price increase on cartridges!

My venerable Canon i9900 was able to have tanks changed mid print as well, though it seem sit would mostly wait until after the print to signal empty most of the time.

I have the 3880 and I never change out cartridges until it tells me I have to. It is always in the middle of a print. I always order new cartridges when I get the low ink warning so I'll have them ready. Never had a problem yet. Same with the two Canon printers I've had.

Good info. I usually wait until 1% but a larger print may not give the opportunity. I'm about ready to change two cartridges out too.

I guess this was more well-known than I thought.

I don't tend to read instruction manuals, but as a thought, does it say in the manual you can change them out mid-print? Of course I could try to look myself, but not going to do that right now.

ejenner wrote in post #17689423
I guess this was more well-known than I thought.

I don't tend to read instruction manuals, but as a thought, does it say in the manual you can change them out mid-print? Of course I could try to look myself, but not going to do that right now.

It does. Under the section about replacing ink cartridges it says the following... "Before you begin a large print job, you should check your ink levels. If one of your cartridges is low, you can replace it before you start. Or you can wait until the ink cartridge needs to be replaced, and then continue the job without any loss of print quality. However, it is best to replace a low ink cartridge before starting a large print job."

No explanation given as to why it is best. The fact is that though the cartridge itself is nearly empty the ink lines going to the print head remain full at all times.

As far as I know, all Epson printers I've ever used work like this, and in fact it would be strange if it didn't. I did on rare occasion have colors clog up on ink change, but usually there's enough ink in the tubes to finish a print even if the cartridge stops providing ink for some reason. With printers where the cartridges ride on the print head you're more likely to get immediate ink flow interruption if there's a clog.

The first wide format printer I bought, an Epson Stylus Pro 9000, would leave a mark because printing would actually stop and wait for the cartridge change. Each printer I've bought since then continues printing while the cartride(s) get replaced. Probably due to the use of secondary ink tanks and dampers on the heads.