Digital BW, The Print

I have a question which I hope can be answered rather simply. I 
print on and Epson 1280 and shortly after refilling the cartridge 
and letting it sit up 2 or 3 days to get the ink absorbed into the 
sponge and the air bubbles moved to the top of the cartridge. 
The first 6 or 8 prints that come off the printer have ink blobs and 
stripes of smeared ink on the face of the print. What simple remedy 
can be given to eliminate this problem? I use the cartridges with 
the large round vent holes on the top in addition to the smaller 
ones near the front of the top of the cartridge. I think I have read 
somewhere that the large ones can be taped over since the design of 
the cartridge is for CIS setups.

Your friend in photography,

Johnny Eades