Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Vincent Orlando" 
<orlandovl@h...> wrote:
> 
> Need any info on parking my printer, 1200 epson, with cis and Mis VM 
> inks for app 3 months. What is the best way to shut it down for that 
> length of time and not have to throw it away when I return
> 
> Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
> 
> Vinny
> http://www.wulfsden.com

I disagree with Paul. Cleaning carts I have never had sucess with, 
they are misnamed- only for switching inks, not "cleaning". Except 
some that We-Ink sells and they will not work well for pigment inks. 
Maybe someone has found something out there that I haven't, but I 
remain cynical. Epson carts work like a charm.

You need to remove CIS and put in brand new Epson carts. Make sure you 
run purge patterns until the nozzles are clear of the MIS ink and the 
Epson is flowing freely. Epson ink has a solvent in it that keeps the 
nozzles more or less open. Yet you will still need to run a purge 
print, nozzle check, and maybe a cleaning cycle at LEAST every three 
weeks. If it were me, I'd run one every 4 days even at that, but the 
climate is dry here.

The next thing is make sure the humidity in the room NEVER, EVER drops 
below 40%RH. 50%RH would be good, more than this is not needed. Try to 
keep the temperature between 65 degrees f and about 72 degrees. The 
printer doesn't seem to like over about 77 degrees, esp.

You might get away with the CIS intact for about 3-4 weeks, but for 
three months-whew, you might want to plan on simply replacing the 
carts at the tubing fittings and cutting your losses. Paul is correct 
here, you will endanger your printer by trying to blow an old CIS into 
it, believe me it's not worth it. So getting bottle caps with no 
openings to seal the bottles is good, and wash out the tubing lines 
prior to leaving. I have never replaced CIS carts myself but I know 
what happens when you don't and try to install old ones.

I would also discard any ink that has been used in a CIS, operating or 
not, after about 8-12 months, but I'm probably in the minority 
opionion here. 


A good alternative is to keep the CIS/ink in place and run the MIS 
purge pattern on plain paper once or twice a day followed by a nozzle 
check and no more than two-three cleanings. Put 40%ethanol to 60% 
distilled water on the parking pad if this doesn't revive it.

 I have to run this nonsense every  12 hours just to keep my 
1280/CFS/MIS VM ink clear. When the humidity drops below 40%RH or the 
temp goes above about 74 the number of cleaning cycles with each 
interval print rises from 0-1 to 2-3. Very dramatic. I have problems 
with keeping temperature down in the studio when it is too cold 
outside for air conditioner to turn on, and currently am working on a 
ventilation system that will draw in cold air from outside in fall and 
winter.
Jim H.