9 - Finishing


Mount the paper sensor. You want the top of the bottom sensor to be aligned with the line between the top of the feed tray and the feed roller.
The sensor at this position means that the end of the "header" section of the carrier is directly followed by the printable area. This is good, since it means you can see the printed nozzle check.


Loosen off the screws holding the final feed so your carrier can fit through.






Now is about the time you should be thinking of testing your work. Bear in mind that since the print head may have been uncapped for some time, it may take a few cleaning cycles (with manual pumping) to clear any blockages.

To finish this project off, cut a hole similar to the following in the back of the printer. The size and location will depend on your earlier cutting.


Personally, I haven't bothered covering the hole where the old paper path was.
In addition to the previous bits, I have removed the cover to the cartridge area - I am not convinced that there is enough room without doing this. The easiest way to accomplish this is just to snip it off. It serves no useful function.

Well, if you're still here, you should now be able to snap the printer back together. If you've removed enough of both pillars, the case should (with some wiggling and persuasion) go back together quite easily.

I would suggest for your first assembly that you do NOT put the buttons back in. Instead, assemble the printer and measure to check that they will fit and actuate the switches. If not, add some shim material to ensure the new button position is functional.

All done! Give yourself a round of applause. You now have an Epson D78 which can print PCBs, CDs, EPP foam or whatever you can fit through the feed path!
Well, if it works, anyway.

Other improvements

With the Epson D78 modified, there are some further improvements you will probably want to do:
Fit a CISS. These are "continuous ink supply systems". Instead of you being limited to the contents of the existing ink cartridge, the CISS has a pipe attached to a much larger ink tank. Also, the CISS cartridges are generally auto-resetting, which means that they will decrease available ink as it passes through the printer. However, they also will reset this counter on a power off / on cycle.

Modify the final rollers so they press down more on the carrier as it passes through the printer. This needs hardware that isn't included with the printer, so I've left it out of this walkthrough.

Replace the default ink. If you use the black ink supplied, your printouts WILL pool and smudge. Many people recommend using yellow only, with a small amount of black to aid visibility. Heating the PCB before printing also helps.

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