Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Radimus" 
<radimus@p...> wrote:
> Greetings.  I am about to order an Epson printer for quadtone B&W
> printing.  I already have a decent enough inkjet for color, and an
> Epson 2200 with ImagePrint RIP is outside of my budget.  I'm stuck
> with Windows for the duration, so the free RIP's are not an option. 
> My plan as it stands is to order an Epson 1280 and a set of 
preloaded
> MIS UT2 cartridges.  If all goes well with those, then I was 
planning
> on getting a set of virgin empty carts, a set of inks in 4oz 
bottles,
> and the various accessories (syringes, chip resetter, etc) for
> refilling them.  I think I would like to avoid the extra complexity 
of
> a CFS system for the time being.
> 
> Anyhow, I am interested in hearing comments related your experiences
> with this combination, and with refilling cartridges, both good and
> bad.  Also, does anyone have any experiences, both good and bad, 
with
> refurbished printers direct from Epson?  They have a nice deal going
> on refurbished 1280's at the moment.
> 
> Rad

Hi Rad,

First off you'll love the UT2 inkset.  The choices from cool to sepia 
are great and the ability to tweak the red and green curve for the 
neutral is lots of fun.  Paul's instructions are very easy to follow. 
http://home1.gte.net/res09aij/  I've been refilling 1280 carts with 
VM, UT and UT2 for a while and, until recently, the process has gone 
smoothly.  Lately I've had problems with bad nozzle checks.  I 
wouldn't classify them as clogs as Epson Cartridges don't show that 
same problem.  I believe something has changed in my process which 
introduces air into the chambers.  A couple of messages prior I asked 
Paul Roark about refilling and he had some good advice.  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/message/411
56  Once you do it a few times it's not bad at all.  Just get 
organized, go slow and put the right ink in the right chamber.  I 
have the 30cc size bottom fill syringes from MIS and they work well.  
The chip resetter from MIS doesn't fit the color carts like it's 
supposed to using the notched guides but you can eyeball the position 
of the contacts and make it work.  Reset the carts before you refill 
as you have to turn the cart upside down to see the LED easily on the 
resetter.  I gave up using the carts more than a few times as the 
foam removal procedure is a real hassle in my opinion.  I believe 
I've finally settled on the UT2 inkset so I'll save up for a CFS.  
I've had one on an old 870 printer with color dye ink and it's been 
trouble free for over two years.  The "No More Carts' version is the 
one I'll probably go with.  I'm not an expert by any means but let me 
know if I can help.

Good luck!

Tom