Digital BW, The Print

I recently installed an MIS UT7 CIS in my 1280.  It looked great 
(after some fiddling) for a few days, but now it seems that no matter 
what I do, I get nasty, inconsistent banding.  Nozzle checks are 
really ugly, and if I do manage to get them "clean" before I run too 
many cleaning cycles and have to let it sit, it will only print maybe 
a few inches into the next print before you can see that it is 
starting to drop nozzles again.  The next nozzle check will look 
terrible.

I tried putting some Windex on the waste sponge and letting it sit 
parked for a day and a half, and have re-aligned the heads, but this 
is driving me nuts.  The prints looked fantastic at first, but I've 
had it installed for less than a week and it is virtually unuseable 
now.  I'm tired of wasting ink and paper.

I see on the MIS site that sometimes "foamy ink" may be a culprit, 
and that they recommend sucking a bunch of ink through the cartridge 
to purge the foam.  Anyone tried this with any success?  I'm really 
frustrated...

Eric

Eric,
I had this same problem with an 1160 last year. It is is not difficult
to suck the foamy ink from the cart but it never did cure the problem.
MIS sent new carts and the problem continued. I gave up and pulled the
CIS out and installed MIS preloaded carts and they did not work
either. Then I installed the original Epson ink and everything was
immediately fine again. I gave up entirely and set up a 7000 with UT
ink and all is well. Now I am in the process of setting up a new 1280
with UT2 CIS. The ink is on the way and I have my fingers crossed that
I'm not making the same mistake as I did with the 1160. 
Wayne



--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "e5bowman"
<e5bowman@y...> wrote:

> 
> 
> I recently installed an MIS UT7 CIS in my 1280.  It looked great 
> (after some fiddling) for a few days, but now it seems that no matter 
> what I do, I get nasty, inconsistent banding.  Nozzle checks are 
> really ugly, and if I do manage to get them "clean" before I run too 
> many cleaning cycles and have to let it sit, it will only print maybe 
> a few inches into the next print before you can see that it is 
> starting to drop nozzles again.  The next nozzle check will look 
> terrible.
> 
> I tried putting some Windex on the waste sponge and letting it sit 
> parked for a day and a half, and have re-aligned the heads, but this 
> is driving me nuts.  The prints looked fantastic at first, but I've 
> had it installed for less than a week and it is virtually unuseable 
> now.  I'm tired of wasting ink and paper.
> 
> I see on the MIS site that sometimes "foamy ink" may be a culprit, 
> and that they recommend sucking a bunch of ink through the cartridge 
> to purge the foam.  Anyone tried this with any success?  I'm really 
> frustrated...
> 
> Eric

> Now I am in the process of setting up a new 1280
> with UT2 CIS. The ink is on the way and I have my fingers crossed that
> I'm not making the same mistake as I did with the 1160. 

Newbie response, and question:

I'm trying to read up as much as possible before I setup my new 1280.
My question is this, and I've looked through the files but haven't found
a clear answer:

Is it possible for me to print both b&w and color, good quality, on my
1280, using the original Epson inks, through Photoshop Elements, and/or
using QTR?

What kinds of problems can I expect to encounter if I want to print both
b&w and color?  If any...

TIA,

Ken Frazier
Weston, CT  USA

Ken:

The QTR profiles for the 1280 require the use of the MIS Ultratone 2 inks rather than the 
Epson color inks.  

The 2200, on the other hand, does a rather nice job of b&w with the Epson Ultrachromes.

Roy (another Connecticut LUGger)


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Kenneth Frazier 

> I'm trying to read up as much as possible before I setup my new 1280.
> My question is this, and I've looked through the files but haven't found
> a clear answer:
> 
> Is it possible for me to print both b&w and color, good quality, on my
> 1280, using the original Epson inks, through Photoshop Elements, and/or
> using QTR?
> 
> What kinds of problems can I expect to encounter if I want to print both
> b&w and color?  If any...
> 
> TIA,
> 
> Ken Frazier
> Weston, CT  USA

This problem has been a recent topic on the Yahoo Epson list.  It's one to which I paid a 
great deal of attention because I was experiencing the same problem with an 8 month old 
MIS CFS with UT2 inks in a 1280.  What finally worked was:

1. Using new Epson cartridges to test the head for proper operation.
It took a few cleaning cycles to get a good nozzle check, but once I
had that I could print purge patterns to my heart's content.

2. Cleaning the underside of the print head according to Arthur
Entlich's instructions.

3. Making up a set of cleaning cartridges with virgin MIS cartridges
(don't forget the chips) and a 4:1 mix of Windex and Isopropyl alcohol
& running purge patterns with these installed until there was no color
coming out.

4. Cleaning the waste ink pad with Windex.

5. Filling a set of MIS virgin cartridges with new UT2 ink (an
interesting experience completed with only one splatter of eboni on the
window over the kitchen sink and remarkably few bad words). These,
knock on wood, have been working fine.

I don't know whether there's a problem inside the CFS cartridge/tubing
assembly or whether the original ink has somehow gone bad. But refills
right now are the way I'm going to go until my work requirements again
call for the convenience of a CFS.

I also think that should I come to a period when the printer will be
idle for more than a couple of days, I'll pull the UT2 cartridges and
replace them with the Epson originals or MIS knock-offs just to be
safe.

Roy


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "e5bowman" <e5bowman@y...> 
wrote:

> 
> 
> I recently installed an MIS UT7 CIS in my 1280.  It looked great 
> (after some fiddling) for a few days, but now it seems that no matter 
> what I do, I get nasty, inconsistent banding.  Nozzle checks are 
> really ugly, and if I do manage to get them "clean" before I run too 
> many cleaning cycles and have to let it sit, it will only print maybe 
> a few inches into the next print before you can see that it is 
> starting to drop nozzles again.  The next nozzle check will look 
> terrible.
> 
> I tried putting some Windex on the waste sponge and letting it sit 
> parked for a day and a half, and have re-aligned the heads, but this 
> is driving me nuts.  The prints looked fantastic at first, but I've 
> had it installed for less than a week and it is virtually unuseable 
> now.  I'm tired of wasting ink and paper.
> 
> I see on the MIS site that sometimes "foamy ink" may be a culprit, 
> and that they recommend sucking a bunch of ink through the cartridge 
> to purge the foam.  Anyone tried this with any success?  I'm really 
> frustrated...
> 
> Eric

> Newbie response, and question:


Thanks for the info, folks.  I think, at this point, I just need to jump
in, as suitably informed as possible, and begin printing, experimenting
as budget allows.

Ken

Eric: go back to the MIS site and find the section about clearing
clogs with a CIS. Follow the directions, repeat: follow the
directions. Don't leave out the step about substituting fresh dye ink
carts. Trust me, it works. 

The substituting of fresh dye ink carts will accomplish two things. 1)
the dye ink clears clogs much better then pigment. 2) that will tell
you if your problem is in the print head or in the carts. It's
possible that everything you are doing addresses the heads when in
reality the problem is in the carts. 

Bob Michaels

 --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "e5bowman"
<e5bowman@y...> wrote:

> 
> 
> I recently installed an MIS UT7 CIS in my 1280.  It looked great 
> (after some fiddling) for a few days, but now it seems that no matter 
> what I do, I get nasty, inconsistent banding.  Nozzle checks are 
> really ugly, and if I do manage to get them "clean" before I run too 
> many cleaning cycles and have to let it sit, it will only print maybe 
> a few inches into the next print before you can see that it is 
> starting to drop nozzles again.  The next nozzle check will look 
> terrible.
> 
> I tried putting some Windex on the waste sponge and letting it sit 
> parked for a day and a half, and have re-aligned the heads, but this 
> is driving me nuts.  The prints looked fantastic at first, but I've 
> had it installed for less than a week and it is virtually unuseable 
> now.  I'm tired of wasting ink and paper.
> 
> I see on the MIS site that sometimes "foamy ink" may be a culprit, 
> and that they recommend sucking a bunch of ink through the cartridge 
> to purge the foam.  Anyone tried this with any success?  I'm really 
> frustrated...
> 
> Eric

---
Eric:  I have been using Media Street's CIS for a couple of years 
and occasionally encounter what you describe.  I have had 
considerable success in withdrawing ink from each colour until the 
foaming disappears.  It is important to plug the ports that you 
aren't working on or air will get back in to the cart.  Once the ink 
is withdrawn then seal the tube (Media Street provides clips on the 
tubing to do this and proceed to the next colour.  

If I leave my printer set for a period of time the inks withdraw 
towards the bottles and I use the same procedure at this time.

I also discovered that over time the carts do wear out and clogs 
occur because of a "gooping up" of the sponges.  So every year I 
replace the CIS carts with new ones.

Good luck.  If you need to know the swear words that work best let 
me know.

Regards

Bill
 In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "e5bowman" 
<e5bowman@y...> wrote:
> 
> 
> I recently installed an MIS UT7 CIS in my 1280.  It looked great 
> (after some fiddling) for a few days, but now it seems that no 
matter 

> what I do, I get nasty, inconsistent banding.  Nozzle checks are 
> > 
> Eric