Digital BW, The Print

How critical are the expiration dates on MIS inks?  I am resurrecting an old 1280 and have a number of UT2 inks that expired on 4/2/09.

Also, how do the UTFSN family of inks compare to UT2?  Are UTFSN inks a viable choice for use with the 1280?  Are they better with respect to clogs?

TIA...

Rem

Hi,

I would appreciate any information anyone can provide on active,  
significant internet forums FOR fine art photographers.
I have not been able to find anything, though there seem to be loads  
of forums for hobby photogs and arguments over equipment.

TIA

David Kachel

After letting it sit idle for a few months it's time to get the Epson 7600 a friend gave me going again.  I received it with partly filled cartridges  -- filled with MIS UT7 inks, which my friend reported resulted in chronic clogging.  I plan on using the Carbon 6 system.

The printer arrived with the carts in a separate box, where they have sat for the last several months.  They appear to be the MIS refillable carts; my friend actually bought the printer outfitted with UT7 from MIS.  Apparently, it was a printer they used.

I mixed up a batch of Paul Roark's base clear solution last night and filled the carts with enough to dilute the remaining ink.  I'm trying to avoid, or at least put off, buying a set of empty carts.  I'd rather spend the money on ink and paper.

My plan is to run some of the diluted ink through the printer to make sure it's firing on all cylinders, then draw out as much as I can from the carts and replace it with base solution until it's basically running clear through the printer.  Then, finally draw out as much clear solution as I can and replace it with C6 ink.  Time consuming for sure, but it's already sat idle for 6 months so what's a few more weeks.

The questions are:  1) Is this a smart way to do it, for someone who's too cheap to buy a spare set of carts?  2)  Are there any problems I can expect to encounter considering the printer has sat idle for half a year without carts plugged in?

Thanks in Advance!

Ken Alexander

"remroberti" <remegius@...> wrote:
>
> How critical are the expiration dates on MIS inks?  I am resurrecting an old 1280 and have a number of UT2 inks that expired on 4/2/09.

I've never had a clear explanation of what happens to old ink, but I beleive from what I know that the coatings that give the particles their electrostatic repulsion might ultimately fail.  This might well lead to the particles forming agglomerations and clogging from this.  So, I really can't recommend that anyone use inks that are beyond the expiration dates.


> Also, how do the UTFSN family of inks compare to UT2?  

They are a monotone inkset -- MIS warm carbon toned with color pigments to be cool.  I've lost track of the color temperatures at this point.  I think the newer inksets are more likely to still be made with the color inks that I used to designed them.  Someone who is currently using them will have to comment on whether the tones are still good.  Avoiding the color inkset variability is one reason for the 100% carbon approach that I currently use and recommend.

> Are UTFSN inks a viable choice for use with the 1280?

Viable -- yes.  Recommended -- I'm not in a position to do so.

>  Are they better with respect to clogs?

Probably about the same as UT2.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

The digital-fineart group is pretty good. It once had about 50% photographers, but I think the % is now smaller.

Alan Scharf
Saskatoon


  Hi,

  I would appreciate any information anyone can provide on active, 
  significant internet forums FOR fine art photographers.
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi,
there's one called The Business of Art Photography, that is devoted to issues related to getting your work into the marketplace and making it sell.
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/business-of-art-photography/

It's been quiet in the last couple of weeks; new input would be appreciated.

thanks,
Richard
____________
http://www.richardsmallfield.com

Ken Alexander <k.alexander@...> wrote:

> ... it's time to get the Epson 7600 a friend gave me going again...
> I plan on using the Carbon 6 system.
> 
> ... my friend actually bought the printer outfitted with UT7 
> from MIS.  Apparently, it was a printer they used.
 
> I mixed up a batch of Paul Roark's base clear solution 
> and filled the carts with enough to dilute the remaining ink...

 
> My plan is to run some of the diluted ink through the printer 
> to make sure it's firing on all cylinders, ...

> The questions are:  1) Is this a smart way to do it, 
> for someone who's too cheap to buy a spare set of carts?

Rinsing out carts can work. 

I wish I knew a simple way to clear the lines that did not wear too much on the printer.  On the 7500 there is a way to prepare the printer for transport that pumps the ink out.  Then one can do an initial fill procedure.  However, the pump is a weak point, and these procedures fill the waste tank quickly.  The alternative of printing lots of square inches of ink is slow and, of course, wears the head a bit.  I'm not sure which is better for the printer.  I suppose one could go into the machine and pull the dampers, then use a syringe to suck the ink out of the lines.  That's probably a messier job than most want to try.  The Epson Wide Format group 
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/EpsonWideFormat/messages
may be a good place to ask these questions.

  
> 2)  Are there any problems I can expect to encounter 
> considering the printer has sat idle for half a year 
> without carts plugged in?

Idle without carts??  I hope the lines are not clogged.  I can see a problem with dry ink in the lines.  There may be a reason the printer was free.  

Even if you get solution through the lines, if there is a lot of dry ink in them that could come off and clog the dampers, which have little screens in them.  They are fairly inexpensive and changing them is a job I expect many wide format owners do themselves.  On the 7500 it's not a bad job if you don't mind a little ink on your hands.

Good luck with what is probably a properly priced printer.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

I have gone over with no shift in color.

Seth