Digital BW, The Print

Bob, thanks for this write up. While working on some custom mixes I
have been dealing with the MIS reset carts for the r1900. Just a few
notes... on the Mac, there is no way to disable the status monitor.
I'm pretty sure I could uninstall it the entire Epson Utility, which
includes the monitor, but then there is no way to invoke a nozzle
check or cleaning cycle. I do get the impression the existence of the
utility and using it interacts with the carts in an unconvenient
manner, forcing more low ink conditions than necessary.
So far, I have yet to get a cart reset with by turning the 1900 off
and on as instructed. The only way I can do it is to pretend I am
replacing carts, which then invokes a cleaning cycle wasting lots of
ink... just to reset.
So, working with these things is pretty frustrating, I do more of that
than actual printing.
Any other user's experiences or insights would be welcome.

By the way, the r1900 seems like a nice desktop printer for multi
density K ink printing. I think the paper feed may start to require
regular cleaning soon, like the 1400. In the Epson driver there is a
setting for thick paper which may help, unfortunately no way to invoke
that in QTR that I can find. Older desktop models with the thickness
levers never seemed this touchy.
Thanks,
Tyler

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@...m, "Bob Marsolais"
<bob@...> wrote:
>
> Here are a couple of points that may help those of us using self-
> resetting chips.
> 
> 1) There are two types of self-resetting chips - those that reset 
> when you cycle the power (usually the oulder type) and those that 
> reset themselves when they go below a certain level.  If you have the 
> later type, disable the Espon status monitor or else you printer may 
> stop printing when the INDICATED levels get too low.  Disabling the 
> Epson monitor will allow you to print throught the low level 
> indication until the chip resets itself.
> 
> 2) You cannot mix OEM, self-resetting, or manual reset chips.  All 
> chips installed should be the same type.  The printer will usually 
> report a bad cartridge or "cannot recognize cartridge" message if 
> chips are mixed.
> 
> 3) Because self-resettng chips reset themselves, you never need to 
> remove the cartridge from the printer and risk getting air in the 
> jets.  Just refill the carts in the printer.  This is the biggest 
> reason to use this type of chip.  I had more problems with air in the 
> R1800's jets than the 1280, C84, and C86 I also have owned.  By not 
> having to remove the carts, the problems went away.  However, you 
> need to keep track of how many pages yu've printed and refill before 
> the carts go dry.  That is the down side.  Once you've done it a 
> couple of times, you get used to it and it's no big deal.  In fact, 
> it's faster than refilling and reinstalling carts unless you keep 
> extras on hand.  But if you remove and reinstall, you risk getting 
> air in the jets...
> 
> 4)  The Espon Status program is disabled as follows from the driver 
> preferences window: from the Maintanence tab, click "Speed and 
> Progress", then check the "Disable Epson Monitor 3" box.
> 
> My source of information is Ross Hardy at InkJetCarts.us who is very 
> helpful.  They are also a good source of refillable carts and ink.  
> They sell Image Specialists inks.  Ross claims (and my experience 
> verifies) they are interchangable with Epson and MIS inks.  I use the 
> Image Specialist R1800 matte black interchangeably with Eboni black 
> with no mixing problems.  As far as the carts go, I have not found 
> any source that ships 100% good refillable carts for the R1800.  
> Considering they all come from the same place, I am not surprized.  
> After all, consider baby food, pet food, children's toys, etc.  The 
> problem is not who sells them.  I must say, MIS's carts for the R1800 
> seem to be the most robust of any I've seen.
>