Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "kd7mw" <pklein@2...> wrote:
> A couple of very un-artistic questions.
> 
> - About how many prints (8x10 or 8.5x11) do you get from one set of 
> cartridges of MIS VM inks for the Epson 1280?

I'll pass on that one.

> 
> - How many ounces of ink are there in a cartridge (of black, and of 
> the gray/color chambers)?

Each chamber is 18ml (0.61 oz), including K...but chip is designed to 
not empty cart fully so you don't use it all up- unless it's a 
CIS/CFS..

> 
> - Anybody want to share experiences/horror stories from when you 
> decided on either refilling cartrigdes or getting a CIS system?

I just updated my vacuum fill instructions for carts yesterday and 
Martin was kind enough to convert it to pdf format. I'm finding that 
the chips and connector in printhead are very delicate and caution in 
handling/ installing chip is mandatory. See the files section for cart 
fill file.

> 
> - I also have an old HP Deskjet 500 that works well.  Is it worth 
the 
> bother hooking the Deskjet and the 1280 up to an A/B box so I can 
use 
> the Deskjet for ordinary text printing and the occasional music 
> manuscript?  This is a cost of ink vs. convenience thing.

I don't use an a/b switch because Epson doesn't recommend it and I'm 
conservative. But, MANY many people have had luck with it, this 
question has been asked before in the archives.
 
> 
> Why I'm asking all this:  I just ordered a set of prefilled VM 
> cartridges for the 1280 from MIS to try out Hextone printing.

I ordered only one "prefilled" set once. What was strange was one of 
the color positions ran out of ink way before it was supposed to, as 
if it had not been completely filled. I have not heard of others 
having this problem, it was a freak. Still I fill my own. I will go to 
CFS after my vacation.
  
> Eventually I may get the virgin cartridges and refill myself, or get 
> a CIS.  I don't print every day, and I might not print every week 
> except for a quick throwaway to keep the ink from drying out.

You sound like me. My color carts last three weeks unless I've been 
printing a lot for a show, the K cart maybe 3-4 weeks.

I've been finding that one of the most important things is to run a 
quick draft purge print that doesn't use much ink often, maybe once a 
day more or less.

I found that humidity below 35% seems to encourage clogs, 40%RH is 
better. Recently I find a possible correlation between temperature as 
well- it "seems" as if I get more clogs if temperature is above about 
76-77 degrees F. 68-70 is ideal it tentatively looks like. Not proved.

  I 
need 
> this information to get an idea of how much ink I'll consume, etc.

I calculated that if you fill a set of carts with hex VM it will cost 
you about $26 (half of a prefilled set bought from MIS)for the set not 
including initial investment like fill kits and chip resetters. It 
takes me a leisurely 3 hours to do a set but you can trim that to 
about 2 1/4 hours maybe. And some of that 18ml of ink gets thrown away 
with the spent cart. A CIS/CFS is much more economical, but there are 
some good reasons to fill virgin carts instead.
Jim H.

> 
> Thanks,
> --Peter Klein
> Seattle, WA