Bob,
I'm in the middle of a OEM/UT conversion myself. I working with
a 2200, using QTR/Linux. The results are great, and I prefer
them to the OEM inks, though the OEM results with QTR
are surprisingly good. I love the range of tones possible
with the UT inks and the curve blending feature of QTR.
I have switched carts between OEM Epson and UT with zero clogging
problems because of the ink switch. I haven't ever done a full
7-cart OEM/MIS switch, just switching individual carts to verify
nozzle check results. I don't know what to tell you about
full-set swapping. I know others do it, but I haven't any
experience with that yet.
I have had some problems with getting perfect nozzle checks
with the UT's in place, not from clogging but from bubbles or
foam in the UT carts. I'm waiting to write up a final report on my
conversion experience until I get going with refilling; the
refillable carts from MIS just arrived this afternoon.
Here's some quick & dirty notes, based on my experience with
one printer.
(1) DON'T shake the MIS carts before you install them. Epson says
to do this, but MIS recommends against it for the thinner UT's inks.
I had a bad out of the box experience with the UT's (I think)
because I did a shakedown on them, as was my habit. No more.
(2) Make sure you store the UT carts outlet-port down. Open the
box and check to make sure they are oriented correctly.
(3) Expect to have to wait several hours or overnight after
installing the carts before you'll get a clean nozzle check; this
allows bubbles & foam to clear. Run cleaning/nozzle checks if you
want, but be prepared for this. But waiting for things to settle has
always got me a clean nozzle check, at the expense of my patience.
(4) Understand what repeated cleanings do; doing > 3 cleanings
without printing an "purge" image (not just a nozzle check) puts the
firmware back into "short clean" mode. It was my experience, and MIS
confirmed this, that the short cleanings often make a nearly-good
nozzle check very bad again.
(5) If you just can't get a clean nozzle check, you can reassure
yourself that everything is okay by putting an Epson cart back in
place. Every time I've done this, the nozzle check for that position
is instantly perfect. This is why I'm convinced my nozzle checks
we're "clogs" but foam in the carts.
Hope this is some help. As I say, I think the results are
fantastic. The conversion does take some patience, though. Don't
do it now if you need prints tomorrow :-)
-David
--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Robert Young
<rcyoung@a...> wrote:
> Before I stick the UT quadtone B&W MIS inks in my 2200, I just
want to
> verify among the current users, that they have not encountered any
> clogging/etc problems when changing back and forth between the
Epson
> pigmented color inks and the MIS inks that are specifically for
use
> with the Quadtone RIP software ( see
> http://www.inksupply.com/index.cfm?source=html/ultratone.html) ?
>
> Although I would prefer to dedicate a printer to purely B&W, I
need to
> show it really makes that much of an improvement before I can fork
out
Show quoted textHide quoted text
> the extra $$$ on another printer. Hence the ink switching with the
> current printer while I test things out for a few months.
>
> Are there any precautions/extra maintenance steps I should take in
> using the two inks in the same printer?
>
> bob young