Digital BW, The Print

Hello everyone.
Having just installed MIS spongeless carts on my 1160, I would like to
know how you can tell when to refill. 

I got some good tips from Johnny Eades, but still I don't know
what is the best and most reliable way:

1. Keep an account of how many 8 x 10 sheets I print. Tedious and not
reasonable for me beacause I make a lot of small test prints in
variable sizes.

2. Waiting for the  "out of ink lights" to start flashing.
Does it work here?

3. Take the carts out every now and then and judge the ink level
visually. Can be done, I guess, but can easily be forgotten. And:
every time you take the carts out you let air in, and the printer will
spill ink on a cleaning cycle.

4. The SSC Service Utility will let you see the ink levels onscreen.
Does that work?

What is the best option?
Hope anyone can shed a light on this matter. Thanks.

Igor