Digital BW, The Print

At 06:50 PM 3/29/2002 -0000, you wrote:
>Hi,
> I also changed from the Piezo inks to the MIS FS neutral inks for 
>the same reasons, the support that i got from InjetMall was 
>disgusting. I have stayed with their software because it works.
>I have a 3000 and a 1160. It was the 3000 that I recently put the 
>MiS inks in. They  (InjetMall) claimed that the green shift was 
>caused be the ink base seperating from  the pigment, thus causing a 
>sludge to build up in the cartridge. If this is so, then it is 
>possible that the same sludge could cause a big blockage in the 
>printhead. It seems to me that if one nozzle is blocked, ink is 
>forced backwards from another nozzle giving the wrong color.(grey) 
>Whatever the reason, I found that cleaning the head in one of the 
>many methods cured the problem with the new inkset. 
>The way I cleared my 1160, from a big clog was to load up a syringe 
>with Windex and force it directly into the head with the cart 
>removed with both a pumping and sucking action. It worked for me.
>Keep going, I am sure that you will fix the problem. 
>By the way, the FS neutral ink produced quite a different step wedge 
>than the cone (Sundance)inks. 
>
>Barry
>--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Jim HARRIS" 
><harrisji@u...> wrote:
>> I seem to have no luck with digital black & white.
>> 
>> I started with the Piezography system on an 1160 printer.  Got 
>beautiful, stunning results.  But after a few months the 
>dreaded "Density Shift Syndrome" (DSS) set in with severely washed 
>out midtones and a greenish cast.  Inkjet mall was very good about 
>sending me replacement cartridges for my CIS system.  I reinstalled 
>Piezo inks in a new 1160 and got beautiful results again....for 
>about 4-6 weeks.  Then signs of DSS appeared in the new printer.  I 
>reluctantly decided to throw in the towel with Piezo inks and give 
>MIS FS inks a try after reading so many good things about them in 
>this group.
>> 
>> Today I hooked up new cartridges on my CIS system,filled them with 
>new MIS FS ink, and got perfect nozzle checks the first time.  Then 
>I tried printing only to discover that I still have absolutely no 
>density in the mid-tones.  The prints are actually worse than my 
>worst Piezo DSS prints - almost solarized.
>> 
>> I just printed a gray-scale step-wedge and found that things 
>appear normal from about 0% to around 30% and from about 85-90% to 
>100%.  But from about 35% to 80% things are a real mess.  There's a 
>catastrophic drop in density from 85% to 80%, no discernable 
>difference in density from about 60% to 80%, and the density at 50-
>55% is actually greater than from 60% to 80%.
>> 
>> What is going on?  If any of you can give me some guidance, I'd 
>appreciate it very much.  To help eliminate some variables:
>> 

Jim,

I had a similar problem with a new 980 printer that suddenly quit printing
the step wedge correctly. As you say, middle tones all jammed together. I
re-installed the piezo plug-in, re-read the piezo manual, checked all the
prescribed settings, did a bunch of new step wedges, and kicked everything
back in place again.  So far all is well with the new gama, dot-gain and
brightness/contrast tweak. Can't understand why the sudden change occurred.
The only variable was that I'd refilled the carts. I have since refilled
them again and got no change.  

Could there be a break-in time for print heads? I did a bunch of clearings
at the time of the problem but have not had to clean at all now for weeks.
Could excessive cleaning cause a physical change to the heads? I think most
cleaning with MIS and Epson inks (not Cone) is unnecessary - it's just air
bells. All the fussing with the carts and CIS just increases problems. 

AZ

Maker of Lookaround panoramic camera.

http://lookaroundcam.com/
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