Digital BW, The Print

I just wasted yet another evening and precious ink dealing with yet 
another Clog From Hell on my Epson 1280 with UT2 inks.  I love the look 
I get with the Neutral UT2 setting, and with BO/Eboni.  But I'm royally 
fed up with the endless succession of periodic clogs and BO banding.

Here's a thought.  I have an R200 that I've been using for color.  What 
if I reversed them?  Go back to color on the 1280, and get UT carts for 
the R200.

Would this be OK, or would the 200 be just as clog-prone?  Would I be 
better off with a printer designed for pigment ink? Any suggestions?

I use Picture Window Pro, not Photoshop, so I'd prefer to stick with 
the EZ or Roarke curves approach rather than the embedded profile 
approach. I'd even consider a non-Epson non-MIS approach.  More than 
anything, I want reliability, reliability, reliability. 

--Peter

Hi Peter

I have a R220 which replaced a 1290.  I was (like you) spending whole
evenings unclogging the printer and sometimes managing to produce a
couple of prints.  It eventually succumbed to the (apparently fatal)
stuck nozzle problem so I decided to bin it.

The R220 is much better.  I have had occasional clogs but they're
quickly resolved by a quick head clean.  I've had it for at least a
year now.  I don't print that regularly.

Hope this helps.

Chris

Should have added I'm using R2 inks, with Eboni and PK.  I also use
MISPro for colour in the same printer, switching carts.

Chris

Isn't the 1280 originally designed for dye-based inks?  Does it tend
to clog more because of using pigment inks in it?

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Peter A. Klein" 
<pklein@...> wrote:
>
than 
> anything, I want reliability, reliability, reliability. 
> 
> --Peter
>
You probably should look to something else than Epson R series 
printers for reliability. 
My R200 stopped working in one moment after about a year of 
occasional printing. I used only MIS pigment inks in that printer. 
One day I replaced UT7 inks by MISPRO, as I did several times before, 
and didn't get a clean nozzle pattern. After number of clean up 
cycles it still is not clean, and I suspect that either pump or wiper 
is broken. Nozzle pattern is getting worse after clean cycle.
So, in my opinion, those printers are good while they work, but they 
could stop working any moment. And that will leave you with 
unfinished job and with all your investments into MIS carts, inks, 
etc, that cannot be used on next generation.
I remember discussion about reliability related to cars. Lexus may be 
the most reliable, but you could have a small fleet of Subaru for the 
same money, and all together Subary will give you more reliability. 
This way I would have to buy several r220 when they were at the 
lowest price and with rebate, sell OEM inks and use them one after 
another when they die.

Good luck,
Sergei