Digital BW, The Print

After hours of frustration and hair pulling, I finally called MIS 
tech support to get answers on the UT7 carts that I recently 
purchased for my 2200. Although, I had followed Paul Rourke's two 
workflows to a "T" (curves and sliders)I still wasn't getting any 
near the quality these inks are capable of producing. Instead, my 
test prints displayed strong vertical banding and b&w tonality not 
of this earth. 

I asked MIS for some suggestions. The very first thing they asked me 
was "have you removed all of the silver strip on the top of each 
cartridge? The ventilation hole MUST be clear otherwise the inks 
won't work properly." 

And guess what? I hadn't.  

I was told I could purchase an expensive syringe to draw the air out 
of the cart or let the ink carts sit for an hour or so for the air 
to dissipate. 

Has anyone else every encountered this problem with this ink system?

I hope the MIS suggestion works because, after hearing about all the 
accolades about UT7 inks, I'm eager to start using them.