Epson SC-P700 platen gap and ink drying time (solution)

[scopa]

TL;DR To adjust the platen gap or ink drying time on an Epson SC-P700 install the Epson Media Installer and follow the instructions at

Longer version: Forums like these survive by its users sharing their findings, so I thought I would do just that.

I've owned an SC-P700 for just over a year and use it mainly to print digital negatives. It worked flawlessly for 9 months then the dreaded pizza/star wheels started to appear and the advice

was to either extend the drying time between passes, use a sled and the front feed or go for the nuclear option and find a way to retract the star wheels but still print from the rear feed.

The first option was a non-starter with the supplied driver where the option is not available.

I tried the sled option but got banding in the darker parts of the negative which become the highlights on a print. In fact, form that point onwards I always got banding and solution was to increase the platen gap - once more, not available on the Epson driver for the P700

The third option seemed to be the way to go but was not documented, for the P700, anywhere. I found a way to do it and will provide instructions if anyone wants them.

Then I stumbled across a mention of the Epson Media Installer in an unrelated post. If you don't have this then it can be downloaded free of charge from your local Epson site. It's simple to use, if a little awkward, but gives you access to the two options you need.

Apologies if this is common knowledge

 

[nmp]

Thanks for sharing. I take it is only applicable to the new printers like P700 and P900. Not earlier models.

If you see (or not see) a difference in pizza wheel problem by turning one of these knobs, please do share that with us. I dread buying a new Epson precisely for this reason. From the early indications, I heard this was not a big problem for P700/900 as it was on P600/800. Obviously that is not universally true based on your experience.

:Niranjan.

 

[scopa]

I take it is only applicable to the new printers like P700 and P900. Not earlier models.

Sadly I can't speak with regards the P900. With it being a more expensive model the chances are that the settings are visible in the print dialog? Maybe someone who owns one would care to comment?

As to the 3880 I'm fairly sure that these settings are visible in the print dialog

If you see (or not see) a difference in pizza wheel problem by turning one of these knobs, please do share that with us.

I had aleady committed to the 'nuclear option' for my P700 pizza wheel issue and used a similar approach to the one mentioned for the P800 at https://medium.com/@joswr1ght/epson-p800-pizza-wheel-hack-981275867af0
Fortunately for the P700 it is much simpler and only needs the removal of one (maybe two) screws to reveal the microswitch. Having said that I did have to kiss my warranty goodbye!

 

[nmp]

Sadly I can't speak with regards the P900. With it being a more expensive model the chances are that the settings are visible in the print dialog? Maybe someone who owns one would care to comment?

As to the 3880 I'm fairly sure that these settings are visible in the print dialog



I had aleady committed to the 'nuclear option' for my P700 pizza wheel issue and used a similar approach to the one mentioned for the P800 at https://medium.com/@joswr1ght/epson-p800-pizza-wheel-hack-981275867af0
Fortunately for the P700 it is much simpler and only needs the removal of one (maybe two) screws to reveal the microswitch. Having said that I did have to kiss my warranty goodbye!

I have a P400 and it does not have the option to change any of those parameters. P900 was one of the printers supported in the video you linked on EMI.

Nice racket by Epson - they give you a defect that they can't/wouldn't fix and if you try to fix it yourself, they void the warranty...

:Niranjan.

 

[scopa]

I have a P400 and it does not have the option to change any of those parameters.

Have you looked to see if it's possible with the media installer? I would be interested to know.

 

[nmp]

Have you looked to see if it's possible with the media installer? I would be interested to know.

So it looks like, contrary to the misunderstanding on my part at first, this utility comes with the driver of the particular printer and not a stand alone separate entity (correct me if I am wrong.). Since it is not a part of the driver for P400 that I can see, this is not applicable to it. Drying time in P400, something I already do for all my prints, is by unchecking High Speed which makes it to print in one direction only, so each line gets twice the amount of time it take to advance - effectively doubling the drying time. If you want longer drying time than that, you are out of luck.

Regarding star wheels, now that you have removed them, does the print deteriorate in any way in the last part of the paper where they are most required for flatness - or may be you just don't use last couple of inches. Also, how easy is to put them back if you need to do so.

:Niranjan.

 

[scopa]

I probably didn't explain it clearly enough. The media installer is a stand alone utility which allows you to define new media types and add them to your printer. For the p700 this is the only way to set the platen gap and drying time. For example, I defined a media type of 'transparency' where I took the existing definition for 'Epson Premium Glossy' but then increased the gap to stop horizontal banding. Now, when I print, I simply select my media as Transparency and all is good.

I would advise you to see if it is already installed on your pc/mac. If it is then take a look at it.

As to the star wheels, you are correct that I don't use the last part of the page. I am printing 8×10 on A4 media but have noticed that the ink density does tend to build up if I don't cancel the print as it reaches the end of the page.

 

[nmp]

I probably didn't explain it clearly enough. The media installer is a stand alone utility which allows you to define new media types and add them to your printer. For the p700 this is the only way to set the platen gap and drying time. For example, I defined a media type of 'transparency' where I took the existing definition for 'Epson Premium Glossy' but then increased the gap to stop horizontal banding. Now, when I print, I simply select my media as Transparency and all is good.

I would advise you to see if it is already installed on your pc/mac. If it is then take a look at it.

As to the star wheels, you are correct that I don't use the last part of the page. I am printing 8×10 on A4 media but have noticed that the ink density does tend to build up if I don't cancel the print as it reaches the end of the page.

Thanks, skopa for the response.

Well, if it was a stand alone software, why am I not able to find any place where I can download the darn thing - google takes me to all these places that says how to use it but not to a place to get it. Even when I specify "download." Did you go to Epson to download separately or did it get added automatically when you installed the printer driver? I even installed an update for the P400 driver (and in the process lost all my settings, but that's another story) and didn't see anything new.

:Niranjan.

 

[scopa]

From searching forums on other sites it looks like it should be included with the driver bundle.

I can take a look, later, and see if I can create a zip file with it in and send it to you if you pm me your email address but this assumes that you are using Windows and the software is compatible with the P400

 

[nmp]

From searching forums on other sites it looks like it should be included with the driver bundle.

I can take a look, later, and see if I can create a zip file with it in and send it to you if you pm me your email address but this assumes that you are using Windows and the software is compatible with the P400

I could just download the P700 driver and see if I can use the EMI from there and if it can recognize P400. Might be easier that way. I will let you know if I want a copy from you, although at this point I doubt I want to get into another printer detour. Thanks, though. Much appreciated.

:Niranjan.

 

[scopa]

You are very welcome. It’s a small zip file (~5mb) so just let me know if want it sending.

From my experience with it it's a very useful tool to have in your kit.