Digital BW, The Print

On 22/01/2009 Murray wrote:
> I am a
> sporadic printer, so the printer will sometimes be dormant for lengthy
> periods. Does that make going to a CIS a bad idea?

In my experience of CIS-equipped printers using G4 colour pigments and 
Cone piezo, intermittemt use is disastrous. Both printers were OK when new 
with no more than the usual Epson intermittent clogs when I was printing 
frequently, but dwindling client requirements for prints meant that 
sometimes I wouldn't use them for 2-3months. That's when the trouble started.

Pigment tends to precipitate out in the ink lines and feeder cart if left 
several months, causing terminal clogs when eventually used. In the case 
of a 1290 (G4 inks) I replaced a head because of this : it wasn't the 
nozzles that got blocked but the microfilters under the spigots that 
clogged. Ink then couldn't get as far as the nozzles, and backflushing 
with a syringe failed to clear the filters.

Another issue is that the lines can develop air bubbles and dry out. This 
requires dismantling of the CIS, cleaning and re-priming. Hours of messy 
fun :(

I eventually dumped both printers and CIS after spending literally days 
cleaning out the CIS and unsuccessfully trying to clear clogs.

Both were enormously frustrating. Whenever I did need to print it was 
against deadlines and they became reliably troublesome. As much ink was 
wasted in cleaning cycles as ever produced prints.

I now use an HP B9180 which is more tolerant of paper types (G4 & Piezo 
were matt only), has no issues with being left unused for a couple of 
months and then just works without even needing a nozzle check. The 
automatic daily nozzle maintenance uses minimal ink.

-- 
Regards

Tony Sleep
http://tonysleep.co.uk