Digital BW, The Print

Jim,

>I had problems with UT2 carts for my 1280 that are now resolved. 

[big clip]

Thanks for posting the experience.  

MIS has just started loading its own cartridges, and they may not have their
procedures to stop and catch mistakes sufficiently refined (to state the
obvious).

I have placed test files on my webpage at
http://home1.gte.net/res09aij/Test-files.htm that will also help people see
if they have the correct inks loaded.


>...swab patches that clearly indicated that the LM position was 
>filled with ink that was too dark. 

>MIS agreed when they got the scan of my patches. ...

I think people would be well advised to print purge patterns of their inks
and use these to quality control the inks.  This is easy to do and will help
protect your sanity.

>Now that I've got the right inks the prints are beautiful ...


>I've also heard that clear, refillable carts for the 1280 
>are forthcoming.


Yes, I have some.  They are WONDERFUL.  Of course, I loaded one incorrectly
yesterday, but it happens.

Of interest, I had an LC loaded that had the wrong blue mix in it.  Rather
than throw the cart away, I was able to pull the ink out of the cart loading
hole with a syringe, they use a bottom fill adapter (snout cut to a 7 mm) to
pull the bad ink out of the outlet.  I then put about 10 cc of good ink in
the reservoir, sloshed it around, and pulled it out through the outlet with
a bottom-fill adapter.  This rinsed out the bad ink.  I then filled the cart
with the correct ink, did 2 cleaning cycles to be sure the old ink was out
of the head, and the prints were perfect.

The point is, these new sponge-less carts are so good that even incorrect
mixing and filling (within limits, I'm sure) can be corrected.

Anyone who is handy enough to have ever worked in a darkroom or is otherwise
not afraid to get a little ink on the fingers should soon be filling their
own easy-refill 1280 carts.  The savings and flexibility of working from
bulk inks is well worth it.  

Once we're filling our own carts, we'll just need to know what the bulk ink
should look like.  Making Q-tip swabs from the bottles on EEM are accurate
enough to quality control the inks before you load them.  Just keep
reference swabs handy and check every new bottle you receive before using
it.  If this is done before you run out of the old ink, you'll have enough
time to correct the problem and never be left without good ink.

In short, quality control will soon be easily within our abilities.

These sponge-less carts are not ready to ship yet.  MIS does more than just
buy and sell these things.  The chips need to be aligned, and there is a
clear label that overlaps the fill holes and stops the stoppers from
sealing.  With the label, I used a razor knife to ream out the top or the
holes and remove the offending lip of the labels.  

When MIS solves the issues with these carts and has an inventory of good
ones, I'll post it.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com