At what point do the LX800 / LX810 / LX400 printers warn for low ink? Can warning points be adjusted?
The printer warns at the following points:
|
10%
|
early warning - still printing well |
|
0%
|
faded, noticeable quality degradation |
|
-10%
|
one color completely missing |
|
-20%
|
2 colors missing or completely empty |
There are several reasons for ink running out at earlier or later than 0%. While each cartridge is guaranteed to have at least the correct amount (24ml - color, 19 ml - black) some cartridges can have up to a + 10% difference in the amount of fill from another cartridge. Second, very dark prints tend to drain the cartridge faster than lighter prints. So, it is very difficult to pinpoint exactly when the ink will run out. The 10% warning assumes a cartridge with the correct amount of ink printing a moderately dark print. It was determined that it is better to be warned early and require user interaction to continue a job than to be warned late and ruin labels.
If necessary you can change the ink low warning points:
You will need to edit the following file in (location depends on driver version)
(older versions)
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86\3\PT_Label.ini
-or-
(latest version)
LX 800
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\PTI\Drivers\Color Label Printer\pt_label.ini (XP/2000)
C:\ProgramData\PTI\Drivers\Color Label Printer\pt_label.ini (Vista/ 7)
LX 810
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\PTI\Drivers\Color Label 810\pt_label.ini (XP/2000)
C:\ProgramData\PTI\Drivers\Color Label 810\pt_label.ini (Vista/7)
LX400
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\PTI\Drivers\Color Label 400\pt_lp400.ini (XP/2000)
C:\ProgramData\PTI\Drivers\Color Label 400\ pt_lp400.ini (Vista/7)
Note: Folder or file name will change in accordance with the LX series printer you are using.
Open the file and modify the following entries.
ColorSpits = 515
BlackSpits = 400
PigBlackSpits = 600
These numbers represent a starting point for the amount of ink in the cartridge. Increasing the numbers will cause the warnings to start later. Decreasing the numbers will cause the warnings to start earlier. For example, to have the color warning given 10% LATER than the default they would modify 515 to be 10% higher, which would be 567.
Note: (1) Use whole numbers only - no decimal points. (2) PigBlackSpits is for the pigment black cartridge only.
Adjusting these values will NOT affect the final warning point on the cartridge which occurs at approximately -20%. This is the point at which there can be no more ink left in the cartridge. The final warning point is hard-coded on the cartridge and cannot be changed using the procedure above.