Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "azshtr" <dave@t...> wrote:
> Hi all,
> 

> lines and the BLACK line was clogged again! This time it sat 
> unused for only 2 weeks. After I removed the system and flushed 
> the line with a syring, sucked ink back into the line and 
> reinstalled it, I got a perfect head pattern.
> 
> Is this normal? A clogged line after 2 weeks seems excessive to 
> me. Anyone else have this problem and what are you doing to 
> avoid it? (the obvious solution is to not let it sit unused for very 
> long) Thanks for any insight.
> 
> Dave Tevis

After two 1160s an an 1280, both CIS and CFS, and vacuum filled carts, 
old piezo and MIS VM and FS ink, and two years, my conclusion is that 
two weeks is WAYYY too long! It depends on your climate and the 
specific printer, some are better than others- but the ink has to 
negotiate a 90 degree turn and the head was not made for pigment inks.

I have a hot and dry climate here and have to control it so humidity 
is above 40%RH and temp is below 77 degrees F. Even so, through 
experience I now run a fast draft purge pattern every 12 hours 
followed by a nozzle check. If I don't I waste more ink in clearing 
clogs than printing the purge pattern. I suspect that is extreme for 
most people, maybe once a day to once every three days is okay. BUT 
NOT two weeks! You have to determine what interval works for you- 
start out frequent and then less frequent- until you discover the 
point where you clog up.

I've come to expect that wasting some ink in printing purge patterns 
vs cleaning cycles is just the price we pay for running these nice 
inks through the printer. I heard that the 2000P had more gentle ink 
path through the head- if so I would expect the 2200 to be the same as 
it uses pigs as well.
Jim H.