Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Martin Wesley" 
<mwesley250@e...> wrote:
> Glenn,
> 
> I never used the MIS preloaded cartridges but when I do ink testing 
with
> hand loaded cartridges the 1280 seems to have more problems with 
clogs than
> with the CIS installed. MIS does seem to be having a problem at the 
moment
> with their 1280 cartridges.
> 
> Martin Wesley
> 

Way back in January I used a set of MIS-filled carts in a new 1280. 
The Y  ran dry prematurely. I tried bringing it to MIS attention then, 
but never got a response from them.

However, I got some free cart vacuum filling stuff from them shortly 
thereafter- sort of a quasi-bata tester I guess. From then on until 
July I used my OWN vacuum filled carts by buying virgin empties and 
filling VM bulk ink into them. The price of a set of carts works out 
to be about $27 not counting the vacuum kit cost, roughly half price 
of a set of MIS filled carts. $$$, but I wanted to do an extended 
trial of VM ink without the variables of a CIS/CFS contributing to 
clogging. And I was waiting for the MIS F16 resetter to be released.

The only problem I ever had with using my own filled carts was 
occasionally when inserting a new cart I'd have to clear air out of 
the head (the symptoms were sputtering of ink blobs on page that 
cleared quickly..not due to dirt under head, and a brief period of 
nozzles not printing). It all cleared with  first doing two 
cleaning cycles then printing a purge page or two and then the carts 
worked flawlessly until they ran out. So my experience  
generally differs from Martin's. I have heard that Paul, filling carts 
for his 1160, does not even have the problems starting up a cart that 
I had.

For a month I've been running the CFS system, checking nozzles twice a 
day. So far, I really can't say that the CFS is anymore reliable or 
less so than using carts, they give about the same frequency of good 
nozzle checks, with the exception that I don't have the problem upon 
first insertion of cart that I mentioned above.

My own personal recommendation for someone who absolutely must 
experiment with different inks and so has a good reson to use carts, 
is not to buy them from MIS but fill them yourself. If you are 
careful they will be very reliable. I have a detailled pdf on vacuum 
filling instructions for the 1280 in the files sections of this group.
Jim H.