Digital BW, The Print

With all the comments lately on 1280s with CIS / CFS or spongeless carts I
wanted to add an observation or two.

The Epson 1280 model is at least ~ 4 years old now!

I have a 1280 that has had a CIS (from InkjetArt) with MIS GP Color inks
(pigments) for over two-years and it worked well for a long period of time
(over a year with no hassles, just occasional cleanings).  

Eventually I developed a 'clog' in my M ink and wasn't getting ink out the
heads.  I tried various cleanings and eventually the tube line went empty.
I used gravity, and siphoning, to refill and charge the cartridge and tubes
and it would work for a little while.  Eventually I quit bothering since I
was mostly printing letters and the M went blank all together.  I wondered
if the pigments had settled and clogged the ink heads (Has anyone really had
that experience)?

I figured it was 'time for new carts' BUT before I did, I really looked at
the system and it turned out that one of tubes had developed a micro hole
from rubbing against the edge of the cart area!!!  All of the tubes were
showing signs of this developing under a small amount of black dirt
developing at the contact point.  I found this only because I was going to
try to force ink into the carts one more time before ordering new carts/ink
etc., and decided to examine if I wanted to get new tubes in case there had
developed a pigment / mildew chain in the tubes (something I've read about
but don't believe I have experienced).  

So the gist of it is, my 'clog' was a micro air leak that wasn't big enough
to leak on the print head itself and may have only exercised its ghostly
problem when the print head extended fully to the opposite side of the
carriage.  

It did not occur to me to, and I would not 'complain' to InkjetArt, or any
other CIS / CFS maker, about this problem because of the experimental /
developmental nature of inkjet printing with Alternative inks and because it
sort of falls under the concept of simply wearing out your parts!

I have switched to spongeless carts recently and the change went over well.
It's taken a bit of time for the Magenta ink to work its way fully into the
print head - something cleaning cycles weren't doing, but regular printing
use seems to have helped and probably a series of purge printings would do
it if I were 'in a hurry.'

On re-filling spongeless carts - I find it a (little) hard to get the little
rubber stoppers out with a pin, and I'm sure I would slice them up if I used
a Xacto blade - but I manage to do it easily enough.  The chip re-setter
worked easily enough and paying some attention to the Epson utility to
remind me about filling is working (I use black and yellow at greater speeds
than anything else).

FWIW.  Thanks all for contributions and questions over the years.

Best regards,
Cleavis

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "lyonscox"
<lyonscox@c...> wrote:
> 
> On re-filling spongeless carts - I find it a (little) hard
> to get the little rubber stoppers out with a pin, and I'm 
> sure I would slice them up if I used a Xacto blade - but I 
> manage to do it easily enough.

I've been using a safety pin to remove them; just push it in at a
shallow angle (looking at the cart from the rear) and pry the stopper
out like you're using a shovel.  Pops right out, and stays on the pin,
so no looking for them on the floor.  Maybe the little holes will
eventually degrade the stoppers, but the holes are shallow, and if I
ever try to use them again, I think I'll try to get some spares when I
order carts.  (Make sure you push the pin in far enough that it will
lift the plug out, and not just rip through.)

HTH
Eric

I think I bought the very last new 1160 in existence... there were so 
many 1280 "clog from hell" posts and chip resetting problems that I 
went with a new 1160 and the original VM mix inkset.  Looking back, 
other than a few photos that made it to my gallery, the 1160/MIS VM 
inkset never paid for itself... it was more just the first step in 
seeing the potential of inkjet printing... oh well, we all gotta get 
there by some path.  My HP 7660 churned out many, many prints for my 
gallery or that I sold directly to collectors.  Top print size of 
8x12" was kind of limiting, but for b&w size is more a subjective 
choice than with color IMO.  It seems that you sell photos like color 
landscapes to replace paintings so they have to be painting sized, 
but b&w art prints can be any size.  I showed with a LF photographer 
who only sold 4x5" and 8x10" contact prints, so in comparison my 
8x12s were "large"  ... 12x18" is my prefered size though...

With respect to my 1160 and UT-FSN, it took sitting for 24 hours with 
new Epson carts before I could get any dye out of any of the color 
nozzles... I figured it was gone... don't know if I even want to risk 
the printer again since it is a great cheap printer for my school 
aged kids to use for their class projects etc.

thanks,

mark

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "lyonscox" 
<lyonscox@c...> wrote:
> With all the comments lately on 1280s with CIS / CFS or spongeless 
carts I
> wanted to add an observation or two.
> 
> The Epson 1280 model is at least ~ 4 years old now!
> 
> I have a 1280 that has had a CIS (from InkjetArt) with MIS GP Color 
inks
> (pigments) for over two-years and it worked well for a long period 
of time
> (over a year with no hassles, just occasional cleanings).  
> 
> Eventually I developed a 'clog' in my M ink and wasn't getting ink 
out the
> heads.  I tried various cleanings and eventually the tube line went 
empty.
> I used gravity, and siphoning, to refill and charge the cartridge 
and tubes
> and it would work for a little while.  Eventually I quit bothering 
since I
> was mostly printing letters and the M went blank all together.  I 
wondered
> if the pigments had settled and clogged the ink heads (Has anyone 
really had
> that experience)?
> 
> I figured it was 'time for new carts' BUT before I did, I really 
looked at
> the system and it turned out that one of tubes had developed a 
micro hole
> from rubbing against the edge of the cart area!!!  All of the tubes 
were
> showing signs of this developing under a small amount of black dirt
> developing at the contact point.  I found this only because I was 
going to
> try to force ink into the carts one more time before ordering new 
carts/ink
> etc., and decided to examine if I wanted to get new tubes in case 
there had
> developed a pigment / mildew chain in the tubes (something I've 
read about
> but don't believe I have experienced).  
> 
> So the gist of it is, my 'clog' was a micro air leak that wasn't 
big enough
> to leak on the print head itself and may have only exercised its 
ghostly
> problem when the print head extended fully to the opposite side of 
the
> carriage.  
> 
> It did not occur to me to, and I would not 'complain' to InkjetArt, 
or any
> other CIS / CFS maker, about this problem because of the 
experimental /
> developmental nature of inkjet printing with Alternative inks and 
because it
> sort of falls under the concept of simply wearing out your parts!
> 
> I have switched to spongeless carts recently and the change went 
over well.
> It's taken a bit of time for the Magenta ink to work its way fully 
into the
> print head - something cleaning cycles weren't doing, but regular 
printing
> use seems to have helped and probably a series of purge printings 
would do
> it if I were 'in a hurry.'
> 
> On re-filling spongeless carts - I find it a (little) hard to get 
the little
> rubber stoppers out with a pin, and I'm sure I would slice them up 
if I used
> a Xacto blade - but I manage to do it easily enough.  The chip re-
setter
> worked easily enough and paying some attention to the Epson utility 
to
> remind me about filling is working (I use black and yellow at 
greater speeds

> than anything else).
> 
> FWIW.  Thanks all for contributions and questions over the years.
> 
> Best regards,
> Cleavis

FWIW, I use the tip of my fingernail file on my swiss army knife, the  
part for pushing your cuticle back. No risk of cutting or ripping.  
It's the perfect size for lifting the plugs out. Just have to watch  
out for it popping out and losing track of it.

Eric
www.ericashworth.net

Has any brave soul tried refilling the spongeless carts on an 1160, 
1280 or 2200 without removing them from the printer?

I've got some auto-reset chips for the 1280 and 2200, and it sure
would be nice to just top off the various positions with a syringe as 
needed without having to pull the carts and re-prime them. Yep, I'm 
definitely being lazy ;>)

Just a thought, but I'd be interested to hear if anyone has done it...

Cheers!
Richard

have you ever tried to get those little plugs out and then reinsert
them? Think about doing that while the cart is still in the printer. 

This sounds like trying to iron a shirt while you're still wearing it,
just so you could save the effort of taking it off. 

Bob Michaels

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "richard_h95050"
<richardh@j...> wrote:

> Has any brave soul tried refilling the spongeless carts on an 1160, 
> 1280 or 2200 without removing them from the printer?
> 
> I've got some auto-reset chips for the 1280 and 2200, and it sure
> would be nice to just top off the various positions with a syringe as 
> needed without having to pull the carts and re-prime them. Yep, I'm 
> definitely being lazy ;>)
> 
> Just a thought, but I'd be interested to hear if anyone has done it...
> 
> Cheers!
> Richard

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Bob Michaels" 
<bob@b...> wrote:
> have you ever tried to get those little plugs out and then reinsert
> them? Think about doing that while the cart is still in the
printer. 
> 
> This sounds like trying to iron a shirt while you're still wearing
it,
> just so you could save the effort of taking it off. 
> 
> Bob Michaels
> 

Hi Bob, 

If it was possible to top off the carts without removing them, I
think the convenience would be worth coming up with an easy work-
around for the little plugs that MIS supplies. 

But you're 100% correct -- I've got a definite aversion to ironing ;>)

Cheers!
Richard

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Eric Ashworth
<brigsby707@c...> wrote:
> FWIW, I use the tip of my fingernail file on my swiss army knife
its worth a lot, thanks.

In case you don't have a swiss army knife: I use a small "watch
screwdriver" (I think it is called), you can buy those sets that
contains 5 or 6 of those little scredrivers very cheap. The 1,2 mm (or
1/2 inch) one is perfect. I took away the sharp edges with very fine
sandpaper. And it works very well, with no risk of damaging the stops
or the carts.

I g o r

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "kenstrain2000"
<kenstrain2000@y...> wrote:

> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Eric Ashworth
> <brigsby707@c...> wrote:
> > FWIW, I use the tip of my fingernail file on my swiss army knife
> its worth a lot, thanks.

I just use a push pin and stick it in the plut at an angle-leave it 
on the pin--refill the chamber-wet the plut with water from the sink-
-reinsert plug and press down with finger. All done--and if there is 
stil ink in the chamber at the outlet, there's often no repriming 
needed.

Your friend in Photography,

Johnny




In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Bob Michaels" 
<bob@b...> wrote:
> have you ever tried to get those little plugs out and then reinsert
> them? Think about doing that while the cart is still in the 
printer. 
> 
> This sounds like trying to iron a shirt while you're still wearing 
it,
> just so you could save the effort of taking it off. 
> 
> Bob Michaels
> 
> --- In 
DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "richard_h95050"
> <richardh@j...> wrote:
> > Has any brave soul tried refilling the spongeless carts on an 
1160, 
> > 1280 or 2200 without removing them from the printer?
> > 
> > I've got some auto-reset chips for the 1280 and 2200, and it sure
> > would be nice to just top off the various positions with a 
syringe as 
> > needed without having to pull the carts and re-prime them. Yep, 
I'm 
> > definitely being lazy ;>)
> > 
> > Just a thought, but I'd be interested to hear if anyone has done 
it...

> > 
> > Cheers!
> > Richard