Digital BW, The Print

I am new to this group, and new to digital printing.  I haven't had much
luck printing B&W on my Epson 1280 with the regular black cartridge and I
want to try the quadtone inks.

I am thinking of buying the VM Quadtone cartridges and I would like to
know what else I need to get set up to use them - for instance, what's
this business about chip resetters?  What are they for and do I need to
buy one?  Also, can I take out cartridges and reuse them if I want to
switch between B&W and color printing?

Can someone give me some not-too-technical advice on how to get started?

Thanks.

Mary