Epson XP-15000 Setup

[alex24bog]

ACRORIP 10.2 WORK??????

[johnson4]

24 minutes ago, alex24bog said:

ACRORIP 10.2 WORK??????

Many reports says it doesn’t, I personally have no idea.

[johnson4]

2 hours ago, Mdrake2016 said:

 

[johnson4]

2 hours ago, Mdrake2016 said:

Do you happen to still have it for sale?

He has already purchased it, sorry.

[johnson4]

3 hours ago, johnson4 said:

He has already purchased it, sorry.

I did see some on amazon though, for $399 new. 

[johnson4]

Also a used unit available for $199

[Mdrake2016]

On 5/9/2021 at 10:26 PM, johnson4 said:

I did see some on amazon though, for $399 new. 

Hey johnson4,

I have a few questions I hope you can answer since you have the XP-15000 and DTF in general.

 

1. XP-15000 uses different cartridges than most other Epsons. I believe you can't simply just lift them up because the ink would spill out correct? How do you mix your inks when this is an issue?

2. I've seen recommendations from people to run a head clean every morning on DTF printers. Is that really necessary? I print every weekday, averaging 10 pages (11x17) per day on slow days. Wondering if that's enough to prevent clogs or other issues. I keep my room at 45% humidity which helped tremendously with my sublimation printing from clogging.

3. Any idea if 13" rolls would be an issue versus than the 11.75" roll that you've been testing with? 

4. Opinions on CADlink vs EKprint? Do you see any quality differences? I see you mention EKprint a lot but the fact that it's a hassle to gang up images to fit different ones on one page is a major turn off for me. I automate my image loading so I'd hate to go into Photoshop just to gang up images every day. 

 

About to pull the trigger on this printer and want to be sure I'm prepared. I did plan to print sheets only at first until I get a shaker system going, and I will start off with that to begin with, but your roll testing in the other thread is a game changer if I can get that working, even without the auto shaker.

[reptilesink]

With the cartridges before you remove them put the bung in the air vent.

[johnson4]

7 hours ago, Mdrake2016 said:

Hey johnson4,

I have a few questions I hope you can answer since you have the XP-15000 and DTF in general.

 

1. XP-15000 uses different cartridges than most other Epsons. I believe you can't simply just lift them up because the ink would spill out correct? How do you mix your inks when this is an issue?

2. I've seen recommendations from people to run a head clean every morning on DTF printers. Is that really necessary? I print every weekday, averaging 10 pages (11x17) per day on slow days. Wondering if that's enough to prevent clogs or other issues. I keep my room at 45% humidity which helped tremendously with my sublimation printing from clogging.

3. Any idea if 13" rolls would be an issue versus than the 11.75" roll that you've been testing with? 

4. Opinions on CADlink vs EKprint? Do you see any quality differences? I see you mention EKprint a lot but the fact that it's a hassle to gang up images to fit different ones on one page is a major turn off for me. I automate my image loading so I'd hate to go into Photoshop just to gang up images every day. 

 

About to pull the trigger on this printer and want to be sure I'm prepared. I did plan to print sheets only at first until I get a shaker system going, and I will start off with that to begin with, but your roll testing in the other thread is a game changer if I can get that working, even without the auto shak

•  

Posted 7 hours ago

  On 5/9/2021 at 11:26 PM, johnson4 said:

I did see some on amazon though, for $399 new. 

Hey johnson4,

I have a few questions I hope you can answer since you have the XP-15000 and DTF in general.

 

1. XP-15000 uses different cartridges than most other Epsons. I believe you can't simply just lift them up because the ink would spill out correct? How do you mix your inks when this is an issue?

 I fill the cart 3/4 and wait for it to " equalize" and just add more until it's about 3/4 full on both sides, maybe a bit more. I remove BOTH plugs to fill the cartridges, You always leave the orange cover on while filling if it's out of the printer. Once it's filled the first time, I put BOTH plugs back in the carts, get a a few paper towels and "ball" it up a bit. take the orange cover off over it, and if you overfilled it, it will leak a bit. just dab the paper towel a few times with it. that's it. When you want to print with it, remove the orange thing, install it, remove ONLY the colored plug, leave the little circle one installed. that's it. I even just refill them leaving them in the printer, but DON"T be silly with it, slowly fill the cartridges so you don't squirt ink down on the head. 

I do it this way, so instead of the ink being drawn from the sponge, it's drawn from the " reservoir" side of the cartridge. When it comes time to refill it, it literally takes 5-10 seconds a cartridge to refill the reservoir side while the sponge always remains full. these carts hold ( when full) almost twice as much as stock carts, so if filled correctly, when the ink runs out on the printer counter, you'll have just a tiny amount left in the reservoir side. Keeps the sponge wet, no worries on it drying out or running out, and you don't have to wait for the sponge to soak up the ink . IF you ever run it lower than that, and see the reservoir side is empty and it's drawing from the sponge side, I make sure both plugs are in place, remove it, put it on the orange cap, remove both plugs, and refill like the first time, so the sponge can remain fully saturated with ink. Works like a charm. 

2. I've seen recommendations from people to run a head clean every morning on DTF printers. Is that really necessary? I print every weekday, averaging 10 pages (11x17) per day on slow days. Wondering if that's enough to prevent clogs or other issues. I keep my room at 45% humidity which helped tremendously with my sublimation printing from clogging.

Not really, IT depends on your situation. My humidity runs anywhere from 30-65 percent, with an average temperature of 70. I mainly use My epson P400. With DTF inks, I notice the clogs never really happen, unless you don't clean your printer. For example, with my P400 this is my process:

I cycle 3 sets of cartridges, since they are 18ML each, I just swap them and refill them in a " caddy" I made so I can print without any delay. Starting the day out, I will swap the carts with a fresh set, clean the wiper and the cap, do 1-2 head cleans ( usually 1) and print away. When I'm done, I do nothing. It just sits there. sometimes days, when I come back, I repeat the steps above. ALWAYS cleaning the printer before doing anything. You could easily clean it after your done, instead of before you start. Overall, DTF ink hasn't clogged on me once in over 2,000 prints. It's not like DTG ink, It contains an oil, probably similar to latex. People will argue with me, but this ink is water soluble, not water based. I've printed with it, made enough messes and tried to clean it many times. it's not water-based. If you have issue with clogging, just simply CLEAN everything after you are done, and add a few drops of cleaning solution in the capping station ( not a pool, or puddle, just a few drops to see the sponge holding a liquid, if you see the liquid, it's too much) and you'll be fine. most important part, DONT clean the printhead with a dirty wiper, and don't let it sit with a dirty capping station seal.

3. Any idea if 13" rolls would be an issue versus than the 11.75" roll that you've been testing with? 

I actually used both. I completely switched to 13" rolls, when I used the smaller rolls, it was because I no longer needed it and was okay with wasting it on testing this printer with it. 

4. Opinions on CADlink vs EKprint? Do you see any quality differences? I see you mention EKprint a lot but the fact that it's a hassle to gang up images to fit different ones on one page is a major turn off for me. I automate my image loading so I'd hate to go into Photoshop just to gang up images every day. 

ekprint is old school, and simple to me. cadlink is more updated and complicated. If gang printing is a must, cadlink is the only way. Personally, I use EKprint and own cadlink. Once I have my " off season" I will probably switch to cadlink. At current, I don't have the time to fine tune things with cadlink. I don't need to gang print, and with EKprint I can print multiple times without wasting any film length wise, width wise, you do waste it since you can't gang print with it. IN SHORT. Ekprint is VERY basic and simple, Cadlink is more complicated. Cadlink and EKprint aren't even comparable, one was made over 10 years ago for the basic function of printing, one was made to edit your designs with a ton of tools. Personally, I feel Cadlink is mainly focused on editing and modifying your images and for streamlining the printing process. Ekprint is just there to load and print. I like both, I usually recommend EKprint because it's SO simple, mainly to new users. If your inclined, or motivated to learn, CAD link is the better deal and the way to go, if you are fully supported. 

 

About to pull the trigger on this printer and want to be sure I'm prepared. I did plan to print sheets only at first until I get a shaker system going, and I will start off with that to begin with, but your roll testing in the other thread is a game changer if I can get that working, even without the auto shaker.

Sheet printing turned me off of DTF big time, I almost just tossed the idea in the trash because of it over 7 months ago because it was so time consuming and problem prone.  With roll printing, you literally just click print and wait, cut the film and press. I can print roughly 35 tranfers an hour on a 13" wide printer. If your doing CMYK+W, ( I print at 1440x1440) it's about 18 an hour. I now have TWO units, one I bought from Andy, and the one I built. this will double up everything, and make me come out the other side with 70 prints an hour for under $3,000. 

 

These things are ALL my opinion, I'm sure you, or someone else will disagree with them. It's what I do, and I'm not known to do what everyone else does, I do what works for me, after I figure out what that is. Overall, DTF is a fantastic solution. If you don't create problems yourself, listen to the experienced, and are motivated and willing to get frustrated, it'll work out for you. IF you expect a simple, print, powder, making $$$ person, who blames your supplier, or peers for issues and just get frustrated and give up, it will not work out for you. I've seen both. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING is asking questions and researching before you pull the trigger. so many times I've seen people pass, or even purchase then want FULL refunds/bash someone due to their own misunderstandings. you WILL run into something that will make you want to pull your hair out, it means your learning. you WILL be at one point, feeling hopeless with an issue, It'll blow over. Patience, and persistence is the key, in ANY thing you want to DIY. 

I wish you luck!

 

[gforeman44]

Johnson did you get the xp15000 to work with cadlink

[johnson4]

10 minutes ago, gforeman44 said:

Johnson did you get the xp15000 to work with cadlink

Never tried, from my understanding only EKprint supports it at this moment. It’s what I use anyway. 

Edited May 12, 2021 by johnson4

[Mdrake2016]

On 5/12/2021 at 8:21 AM, johnson4 said:

 

Wow I appreciate your patience with us. Looking forward to getting this all started and hopefully I can get rid of this iColor printer when I do.

About the head cleaning question I asked. The reason I asked about that is because I noticed with sublimation printing on my Epson 7210 (and all the others that use the same printhead), after 6ish months of 3-5 full 13x19 page prints (daily), the quality of the prints began to suffer. Images just stopped looking sharp. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure if maybe there was just build up on the printhead or if it was actually the printhead starting to go bad

I was wondering...did you build some rig to have this printer support roll printing? Do you have any pictures or any type of guide that can show us how to set that up?

[gforeman44]

so im having a little problem if print usig ekprint from my desktop i will not print a white underbase and if i print from laptop it print 1 image with white underbase and then only prints underbase and no color unless i reinstall ekprint has anyone dealt with this issue

[johnson4]

58 minutes ago, Mdrake2016 said:

Wow I appreciate your patience with us. Looking forward to getting this all started and hopefully I can get rid of this iColor printer when I do.

About the head cleaning question I asked. The reason I asked about that is because I noticed with sublimation printing on my Epson 7210 (and all the others that use the same printhead), after 6ish months of 3-5 full 13x19 page prints (daily), the quality of the prints began to suffer. Images just stopped looking sharp. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure if maybe there was just build up on the printhead or if it was actually the printhead starting to go bad

I was wondering...did you build some rig to have this printer support roll printing? Do you have any pictures or any type of guide that can show us how to set that up?

back in december I started building a "machine" that would auto shake, powder, and take-up the roll. You could buy one from Andy, or wherever. 

as for roll printing with the XP-15000, its not hard, but it has it's downfalls. 

1. You cannot do a head clean while it has the roll film installed

2. the ink still counts down while printing, personally, I left the "ink remaining" page on the printer up, and checked it every 10-15 prints. If the ink runs out while roll printing, it spits the film out. To reset the ink while roll printing, simply remove and re-insert the waste tank. it resets the ink. 

3. the cartridges are 17ML, however the printer only see's about 9ML for the capacity. So for roll printing, I recommend a ciss with dampers, but, I did it without that and it worked just fine. it depends on the designs you print and how many you can print per cart set. Mine were around 30 per set before needing to refill/reset them, which I did while it was still in the printer, with pre-loaded syringes it only takes about 30 seconds to refill them. 

4. I use the windows print manager to pause the printing, so I can check the ink levels, and refill them If i need. 

 

As for the 7210, It's probably just the ink you are using. I have that exact model with over 20,000 prints on it ( Pigment ink) before it failed. It failed because the encoder wheel slipped off the shaft a bit and the encoder sensor couldn't read it anymore. I fixed it, and it's still working fine adding prints to it even today.These printers were not intended to be used with other inks, so the wiping system, capping system, overall the entire cleaning system will get build-up. You must clean that off, or else, yes it will deteriorate slowly until you end up with clogs that won't go away. 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 13, 2021 by johnson4

[johnson4]

21 minutes ago, gforeman44 said:

so im having a little problem if print usig ekprint from my desktop i will not print a white underbase and if i print from laptop it print 1 image with white underbase and then only prints underbase and no color unless i reinstall ekprint has anyone dealt with this issue

I have not heard of or had this issue across 5 different machines. You could always email them, I'm sure they'll help.

[gforeman44]

ok thanks I found an old ekprint trouble shooting guide and it help with laptop but desktop still acting crazy. johnson4 on you ekprint white underbase settings does it give you the option to select enhanced one pass print I can donit on my laptop but not the desktop

[Mdrake2016]

48 minutes ago, johnson4 said:

back in december I started building a "machine" that would auto shake, powder, and take-up the roll. You could buy one from Andy, or wherever. 

as for roll printing with the XP-15000, its not hard, but it has it's downfalls. 

1. You cannot do a head clean while it has the roll film installed

2. the ink still counts down while printing, personally, I left the "ink remaining" page on the printer up, and checked it every 10-15 prints. If the ink runs out while roll printing, it spits the film out. To reset the ink while roll printing, simply remove and re-insert the waste tank. it resets the ink. 

3. the cartridges are 17ML, however the printer only see's about 9ML for the capacity. So for roll printing, I recommend a ciss with dampers, but, I did it without that and it worked just fine. it depends on the designs you print and how many you can print per cart set. Mine were around 30 per set before needing to refill/reset them, which I did while it was still in the printer, with pre-loaded syringes it only takes about 30 seconds to refill them. 

4. I use the windows print manager to pause the printing, so I can check the ink levels, and refill them If i need. 

I was the one that asked if you can put up the build plan for the machine in your build thread, but I had no idea Andy sold it himself too. I will probably go that route to make life easier. I will be getting all of my suppliers from him once I'm ready in a few weeks.

I plan to use refillable cartridges because I've had nightmares with CISS systems in the past. But I want to ask...why is it a problem that you can't do a head clean with the roll film installed? Is it a hassle to get the film in and out? 

I might be having a hard time picturing the process of printing on the roll in general with this printer. When a print is complete, does the printer think the "sheet" is done and just move it out as it usually does with regular sheets? When starting a new print, do you have to remove the film and put it back in?

[johnson4]

43 minutes ago, Mdrake2016 said:

I was the one that asked if you can put up the build plan for the machine in your build thread, but I had no idea Andy sold it himself too. I will probably go that route to make life easier. I will be getting all of my suppliers from him once I'm ready in a few weeks.

I plan to use refillable cartridges because I've had nightmares with CISS systems in the past. But I want to ask...why is it a problem that you can't do a head clean with the roll film installed? Is it a hassle to get the film in and out? 

I might be having a hard time picturing the process of printing on the roll in general with this printer. When a print is complete, does the printer think the "sheet" is done and just move it out as it usually does with regular sheets? When starting a new print, do you have to remove the film and put it back in?

I use a special file in EKprint, that doesn't advance the film as it's done printing. When I say roll printing, I mean, I've already printed 30 designs, went through the auto machine. So I'm stuck, I have a roll on one side, and a bunch of printed material on the other. If any of the 3 things happen above, it will spit that film out continuously. In that event, I just grab the roll ( so it doesn't spit it out) and wait for it to finish, Cut the roll, start over, and reattach the new printed roll to the already printed roll. It's not impossible, but sucks if you let it run out of ink mid print. t's easiest to just avoid doing that altogether. If you want to do a head clean, you'll need to unload the film first, or else, it spits it out as soon as you hit head clean. 

 

If you are roll printing, but cutting off the sheets, It'll work great for that too. I start with a sheet to make sure the head is clear, i've never had a clog mid-print with DTF, even after 100+ designs are printed, so I assume its rare. So if it starts good, It'll probably finish good. I don't remember now but I printed ALOT with it, I printed 20-30 designs, paused the queue in windows, slide out/in the maintenance box to reset the ink level, removed the colored plug and put in the ink, put the plug back and was on my way in less than 2 minutes. But, For some people that's just too big of a hassle. 

 

For me, It's a great back-up unit so I don't have to spend thousands on one that only prints 13" wide. I already use the P400, So the process is similar for me already.  If I'm spending thousands, it's going to be on a 24" printer with a clean, clear automatic work flow. 

Edited May 13, 2021 by johnson4

[johnson4]

as for the output tray, I used a laser cutter on the first P400 and just laser cut the tray to fit in there with stands. I used wood, acrylic is too expensive to do the same thing. I bought Andy's tray for the 2nd p400.  I didn't make a paper tray for the xp-15000, I used the stock tray and just " slide it" into a position that held the film just right, since I was roll printing with it. 

Andy doesn't make an output tray for the Xp-15000 that I am aware of. 

All you need is a piece of 13" x 12" 8MM thick material. Pull the stock paper tray all the way out, slide it in and the stock paper tray holds it in place perfectly, 8MM is right under the top of the output roller, 13" wide to cover the entire width of the printer, and 12" long to fit the stock paper tray snug without modifying the exit portion of the printer at all. 

Edited May 13, 2021 by johnson4

[johnson4]

1 hour ago, gforeman44 said:

ok thanks I found an old ekprint trouble shooting guide and it help with laptop but desktop still acting crazy. johnson4 on you ekprint white underbase settings does it give you the option to select enhanced one pass print I can donit on my laptop but not the desktop

sounds like you have different versions of EKprint.  go to help and about and see it ifs the same version. Also, Did you buy two different licenses? If it's the DIY license, It'll only work on one computer. Maybe one is a trial version.

Edited May 13, 2021 by johnson4

[gforeman44]

johnson4 they are both trials didnt want to pay the money unless i could get them to work they are ekprint v7.8.2 and a beta v8.0.2. i already emailed them hoping to get this thing up and running soon. thanks for your help johnson4

[Mdrake2016]

3 hours ago, johnson4 said:

I use a special file in EKprint, that doesn't advance the film as it's done printing. When I say roll printing, I mean, I've already printed 30 designs, went through the auto machine. So I'm stuck, I have a roll on one side, and a bunch of printed material on the other. If any of the 3 things happen above, it will spit that film out continuously. In that event, I just grab the roll ( so it doesn't spit it out) and wait for it to finish, Cut the roll, start over, and reattach the new printed roll to the already printed roll. It's not impossible, but sucks if you let it run out of ink mid print. t's easiest to just avoid doing that altogether. If you want to do a head clean, you'll need to unload the film first, or else, it spits it out as soon as you hit head clean. 

I don't think I'll have problems letting ink run out mid print but I worry about your first sentence right there. If I were to use CADlink....or if I use EKprint but not use a special file like you do, would the printer sense that there is more film once I'm done printing and just spit it out (essentially unrolling the whole roll)?

Once I get that figured out, there's one other thing that I need to make sure of. Once I cut the last prints of the day, there would be some more film left inside the printer. The next day when I come in, I would want to run a head clean but I'd have to remove the film. Don't these desktop Epsons hold onto the film firmly and make it impossible to remove without damaging the film?

[johnson4]

1 hour ago, gforeman44 said:

johnson4 they are both trials didnt want to pay the money unless i could get them to work they are ekprint v7.8.2 and a beta v8.0.2. i already emailed them hoping to get this thing up and running soon. thanks for your help johnson4

No worries

 

The trial versions are limited, so those features are usually grayed out, along with a few other things. I'd uninstall and reinstall the latest version they have, it should print just fine with that. Be sure to disable the Epson status monitor, and don't connect the printer to WiFi. 

[johnson4]

33 minutes ago, Mdrake2016 said:

I don't think I'll have problems letting ink run out mid print but I worry about your first sentence right there. If I were to use CADlink....or if I use EKprint but not use a special file like you do, would the printer sense that there is more film once I'm done printing and just spit it out (essentially unrolling the whole roll)?

Once I get that figured out, there's one other thing that I need to make sure of. Once I cut the last prints of the day, there would be some more film left inside the printer. The next day when I come in, I would want to run a head clean but I'd have to remove the film. Don't these desktop Epsons hold onto the film firmly and make it impossible to remove without damaging the film?

AS far as I know, cadlink doesn't support the 15000. The printer doesn't support roll printing stock, using the special file with EKprint stops it from advancing and allows you to roll print. So, I'd assume thats only with ekprint. 

The film is held on the backside, not the print side of the film, I do it all the time instead of waiting for the rolls to unload and all that crap. 

[johnson4]

55 minutes ago, johnson4 said:

AS far as I know, cadlink doesn't support the 15000. The printer doesn't support roll printing stock, using the special file with EKprint stops it from advancing and allows you to roll print. So, I'd assume thats only with ekprint. 

The film is held on the backside, not the print side of the film, I do it all the time instead of waiting for the rolls to unload and all that crap. 

BUT if you do it right, without the head clean, and reset the ink before it shows empty on the printer, you don't need to worry about it. Holding the film so it doesn't spit it out doesn't damage the film or the printer, it does leave a mark on the backside of the film where the gripper roller is, but it doesn't affect anything. I will say, if you manage to do one of those things it sucks, having to cut/remove, restart and resume the printing process, so I'd avoid those if possible.