Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "tomoc" <tomoc@y...> wrote:
<snip>
> I never experienced it, but there was a litany of problems on the 
> piezo site about the greenies that as far as I know never really 
> got "solved" (at least the solution was never posted) but seems to 
> have gone away, either from some adjustment in the ink mix or 
> whatever.
> 
<snip>
To the best of my knowledge 
> there have been no solutions given to those who suffer from ink 
> greenies and killer clogs.
> 

Seeming to have more than my share of problems with both PiezoBW and 
MIS VM, I'm going to suggest the following as an experiment or for 
discussion, not yet as proven fact. The times I list pertain to 
pigment inks only, dye inks should last longer, esp Epson:

1) Run the printer at least once a day, maybe twice. Run a quick draft 
print using all colors on plain paper. Follow with nozzle check. Keep 
fresh ink in the printhead this way, to avoid clogs and old ink 
sitting for weeks without being used. You won't use much ink in plain 
paper mode on "speed".

2)Consider using carts instead of CIS. In some ways it is more 
economical for people not doing all out fine art prints everyday. You 
never risk having ink hanging around the cart very long. If you do use 
a CIS, consider replacing the cart portion every 6-9 months. I haven't 
used it, but the WeInk folks seem to have a quick connect version 
where you can switch the carts out fast. Also, with carts you can snap 
the lid down to keep the thing from riding up, and you avoid 
eventually having your microscreen (if you have one) in the cart, glop 
up.
MIS now has a cart top fill vacuum procedure which I have been using 
(beta testing, sorta) and it works fine. It would work well to fill 
Piezo in carts as well. With MIS hextone VM ink, I worked out that it 
costs about $18-$20 per set of carts for the 1280.

3) If not fully used, discard bulk ink bottles after 5-6 months, 
whatever the expiration date states. Dye ink longer, maybe 10 months. 
Keep the lids on tight, hopefully with no air leaks (of course a CIS 
will have vent tubes, oh well) Fill carts within a week, hopefully a 
few days of when you think you will need them, and discard the cart 
within 30 days of opening the vent tape. Epson carts, maybe 5-6 
months.

4) Do not let humidity in room drop below 35%RH.

5) If you start getting an increase in bad nozzle checks using the 
above methods AND your ink counter shows less than 20% left in cart, 
consider swapping the cart out. This is for non-CIS folks only. There 
is less pressure head in the cart to push the ink through at this 
point, like a water cooler with a bottom spigot that has run low on 
water.

6) Consider running an Epson set of carts for a bit between carts of 
pigment ink. If you do this, please run two or three cleanings just 
after you switch, I noticed that on the 1280 that it may otherwise 
spit out very wet black ink blobs when you go to print. Avoid this by 
the cleaning cycles first before printing. Since 1280 Epson carts have 
poppet valves, you can just "pop" them in and out, between the 
knock-off virgin carts. 1160 Epson carts I don't think I'd try this 
with unless they were "new" carts.

As you can see, this is a "workflow" for occasional printers, not for 
everyday, heavy users. A big concern is cost, it has to be weighed 
with how often you print vs cost to get printer fixed if you get 
clogging ink or ink that is breaking down in composition. These are 
all the points I can think of, you can try a few, all, or none.
Up for debate,
Jim H.