Digital BW, The Print

I have an Epson R800 with MIS Associates EBONI ink in the '3MK' configuration in the black, 
matte black and glop positions.

Given that I plan to use this printer for black and white prints with the 3MK system only, is it 
safe to reset empty color cart chips and continue printing with the color carts empty, or 
would this damage the print head and affect the output of the three Eboni ink carts?

If this is not a good idea, would filling the color cartridges with Eboni ink in order to keep the 
print head from getting damaged be a viable option?

Many thanks for any help.

Simon Griffee

I would not print with an empty cart.  At a minimum, fill them with 
distilled water.  Better would be to fill them with the Carbon-6 
base. (See http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/Ink-Mixing.pdf )  The 
glycerol and propylene glycol (in the Photo Flo) will help keep the 
pads moist when the printer is not used and will stop the un-used 
nozzles from being wrecked.  You may want to use one or more of those 
nozzles in the future.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com 

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "simongriffee" 
<simongriffee@...> wrote:
>
> I have an Epson R800 with MIS Associates EBONI ink in the '3MK' 
configuration in the black, 
> matte black and glop positions.
> 
> Given that I plan to use this printer for black and white prints 
with the 3MK system only, is it 
> safe to reset empty color cart chips and continue printing with the 
color carts empty, or 
> would this damage the print head and affect the output of the three 
Eboni ink carts?
> 
> If this is not a good idea, would filling the color cartridges with 
Eboni ink in order to keep the 

> print head from getting damaged be a viable option?
> 
> Many thanks for any help.
> 
> Simon Griffee
>

Paul,

Let me take this opportunity to thank you for all your work on black and white digital 
printing that you have so generously and openly shared with the world. Thank you!!

I currently live in Italy and suspect it will be tricky to get the ingredients for the Carbon-6 
base, but I will certainly try. 

In the meantime to continue printing (and to avoid using distilled water), do you think 
simply filling the unused carts with the same Eboni black ink that I use for the working 
carts is a solution to keep the print head healthy? These are epson color carts and I have 
the ink and refill kit from MIS. If I were to use these cart positions in the future, I'd 
probably purchase new clear refillable carts from MIS. At this point I only want to make 
sure the print head will not get damaged.

Cheers,
Simon Griffee

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

>
> I would not print with an empty cart.  At a minimum, fill them with 
> distilled water.  Better would be to fill them with the Carbon-6 
> base. (See http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/Ink-Mixing.pdf )  The 
> glycerol and propylene glycol (in the Photo Flo) will help keep the 
> pads moist when the printer is not used and will stop the un-used 
> nozzles from being wrecked.  You may want to use one or more of those 
> nozzles in the future.
> 
> Paul
> www.PaulRoark.com

Simon,

>... it will be tricky to get the ingredients for the Carbon-6 
> base, but I will certainly try. 

Those ingredients are very common.  Either glycerin or glycol will 
help to increase viscosity and keep moisture on the pad.  

> In the meantime to continue printing (and to avoid using 
> distilled water), do you think simply filling the unused 
> carts with the same Eboni black ink that I use for the working 
> carts is a solution to keep the print head healthy? 

> These are epson color carts ...

I don't think you need to avoid distilled water.  It is the most 
compatible substance that is in all these inks.  I worry a bit about 
the Eboni base the Epson base being that compatible.  While they may 
be fine on the pad, being in the same cart may be a different story.  
I just don't know, but water is for sure the major common ingredient.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

Paul,
 
> Those ingredients are very common.  Either glycerin or glycol will 
> help to increase viscosity and keep moisture on the pad.  

Okay, I will look for these ingredients.
  
> I don't think you need to avoid distilled water.  It is the most 
> compatible substance that is in all these inks.  I worry a bit about 
> the Eboni base the Epson base being that compatible.  While they may 
> be fine on the pad, being in the same cart may be a different story.  
> I just don't know, but water is for sure the major common ingredient.

Understood. I will fill the color carts with distilled water for now while keeping the 3MK 
configuration in the photo black, matte black and gloss optimizer positions. I will update this 
thread with my results.

Thanks again for your invaluable help. The prints I have achieved so far with the 3MK 
configuration are very pleasing to me and to others I have shown them to and I hope to be able 
to continue! 

Onwards!

Simon

Success, so far!

I refilled the unused standard Epson color carts with distilled water bought from a farmacy, 
and refilled the MIS Associates ink cartridges in the Matte Black, Photo Black and Gloss 
Optimizer with Eboni ink and the beautiful tonality of the black and white prints coming out 
of this R800 printer has not changed!

Thanks again, Paul!!

Now, onto researching protective sprays to give the prints a protective coating. I am printing 
onto Epson Matte Heavyweight for proofs and Hahnem�hle Photo Rag 308 for finished prints 
for now and also have a pack of the Hahnem�hle Bamboo 290 which I have not tried yet. 
Does anyone have any suggestions on protective sprays to use which give the prints a gloss 
sheen and do not diminish their archival qualities?

Cheers, Simon