Mooseman wrote:

I don't know how universal kits can work in different brands since each has their own method of transferring the ink to the paper.

On that note.. most people with a fair bit of experience under their belt recommend you give universal kits a wide bearth and not touch. As Moose pointed out, there's very little commonality between uses and manufacturers so they tend to be pointed to as head cloggers.

Bottom line... Avoid!.



As for the re-priming issue, I personally use a vaccum pump that I got from MIS to prime my CIS kits along with some aluminium (aluminum to you North Americans) tape to seal up the exit port. Direction are available on the MIS site under one of the empty CFS kit instruction links.

Works a treat for me...


_________________
Printers: (Canon) MP500/830, MX700, iP4000/4200/4300/4500/5200, iX4000(A3) (Epson) C84/86, D88, CX6600, R285/800/1900 (HP) K550, K850, K5400, L7680

What good is knowledge unless it's shared? The no.1 reason for the Internet's existence!

Anyway, Snailz has a point that you make sure you use a good quality ink. If the first kit works well, then it's worth buying another. At $60, it's actually less expensive than a set or the original carts! And if all you print is CD's and DVD's, (like me), then it will last almost forever. My original carts lasted like 6 months for me! So until you start running, don't worry about it.

I think you should get that air out. I think a bit of air needs to stay in the cart itself as a damper but if the black line is almost all air, you might run the risk of using up what's in the cart itself and run the printer dry and ruin the head. Without ink, it could burn out the piezo "injectors".

Mooseman

Mooseman wrote:

I think you should get that air out. I think a bit of air needs to stay in the cart itself as a damper

Yep... definitely... if you create a situation where there is NO air left in the reservoir to printhead loop, you end up creating a gravity fed freeflow that will slowly empty all your ink out into the printer (cue: horrified scream)

Quote:

but if the black line is almost all air, you might run the risk of using up what's in the cart itself and run the printer dry and ruin the head. Without ink, it could burn out the piezo "injectors".

Agreed... A little air is all well and good but if the whole thing is empty you've probably overdone it and need to re-prime..

For what it's worth, I first learned how to prime my CIS kits from MIS when I had three of them to do. The first had a shed load of air in it because I didn't pinch the tubing properly on most of the feeds.. The second one was a lot better as a I gained confidence, and by the third I had it nailed. I then took the first two and re-primed them and even though it was messy it was a good experience and the systems have worked just fine.


_________________
Printers: (Canon) MP500/830, MX700, iP4000/4200/4300/4500/5200, iX4000(A3) (Epson) C84/86, D88, CX6600, R285/800/1900 (HP) K550, K850, K5400, L7680

Anyone know if these kits can be had in the USA?

Snailz wrote:

Mooseman wrote:

I think you should get that air out. I think a bit of air needs to stay in the cart itself as a damper

Yep... definitely... if you create a situation where there is NO air left in the reservoir to printhead loop, you end up creating a gravity fed freeflow that will slowly empty all your ink out into the printer (cue: horrified scream)

Quote:

but if the black line is almost all air, you might run the risk of using up what's in the cart itself and run the printer dry and ruin the head. Without ink, it could burn out the piezo "injectors".

Agreed... A little air is all well and good but if the whole thing is empty you've probably overdone it and need to re-prime..

As luck would have it, it seems to have taken care of itself...I don't see any air in the lines at all now (after printing a number of things, mostly black)! Will keep the tips in mind for next time.

I'm going to try my other non-Epson carts again now that I've gained a *little* experience in the whole ink cartridge thing, and keep the CIS for times when I'll be doing bigger print jobs (photos, DVD labels, etc.). My wife doesn't like the ugliness of the CIS so until the printer gets moved somewhere less visible, I'll try the switching back & forth as needed idea.

Thanks yet again for your posts!

Bart

photomaniac wrote:

Anyone know if these kits can be had in the USA?

If you're referring to the Nexxtech kits I couldn't tell you but in truth you might as well opt for an MIS associates kit as they are USA based and have a long established reputation..


_________________
Printers: (Canon) MP500/830, MX700, iP4000/4200/4300/4500/5200, iX4000(A3) (Epson) C84/86, D88, CX6600, R285/800/1900 (HP) K550, K850, K5400, L7680

Snailz wrote:

photomaniac wrote:

Anyone know if these kits can be had in the USA?

If you're referring to the Nexxtech kits I couldn't tell you but in truth you might as well opt for an MIS associates kit as they are USA based and have a long established reputation..

MIS is great, I have one of their CFS, as well as a CIS from MediaStreet. Very pleased with both. But they just aren't the only game in town any more. These kits seem to be functional (so long as you match them properly to your printer), but cost around $100 less than from MIS. I'm willing to forgo some customer service to save that money, especially if they are troublesome you can return them to a major store.

But having a bricks-&-mortar store back them up is part of the advantage; I wouldn't buy one off Ebay.

If I do go for a premium CIS it would probably be from MIS or InkRepublic. I read your IR review but see you still prefer the MIS offering. I'm intrigued by the option to use the IR kit in so many printers (since sometimes the CFS/CISS lasts longer than the printer.) Do you feel the better support from MIS outweighs that advantage? Installation aside, how reliable has the IR CIS been for you over time?



Last edited by photomaniac on Mon Jan 30, 2006 5:31 am; edited 1 time in total

Hey Rocco,

Just mention to your wife the cost difference between the CIS and regular carts (even non-OEM) and the fact it actually cost less than a set of carts, I'm sure she won't mind. The only concerns I would have is ink waste each time you switch them as the printer will go through its pre-charge cycle. And you also run into the possibility of something happening like tubes coming undone and leaking, wear and tear on the discharge ports of the carts and just a plain old PITA! When it's a PITA, the more the possibility of a mishap. I personally find that the kit looks good and have had "oohs and ahhs" from friends. My wife couldn't care less

Mooseman

photomaniac wrote:

If I do go for a premium CIS it would probably be from MIS or InkRepublic. I read your IR review but see you still prefer the MIS offering. I'm intrigued by the option to use the IR kit in so many printers (since sometimes the CFS/CISS lasts longer than the printer.) Do you feel the better support from MIS outweighs that advantage? Installation aside, how reliable has the IR CIS been for you over time?

As it goes I need to update my review of MIS kits since they brought out spongeless carts but I need to purchase a new one to check that these new cart types are included in their CIS kits.

The prime issue I had, and still have, with IR is the lack of proper tube pathway planning or facilitation. Couple that with the fact that a number of printers do not hold the buffers in the correct orientation and you find that you have to create a solution yourself. On that basis alone I could see a lot of new users getting frustrated.

Next up, MIS have released a spongeless cartridge of their own which, whilst it's doesn't provide the same level of "easy clean" capability as the IR buffers, is a vast improvement. Additionally, the carts are compatible with a wide range of Epson printers from the R200/300 series to the C84-86 printers and even up to the R1800/2400's. The fact that these cartridges fit snugly, provide a far more stable base for organisation of the tubes (ie: a solid mount point for a clip to be glued) puts them beyond IR's offering in my opinion.

Granted there's not a lot in it and IR do have some other benefits such as excess tubing (MIS always cut it to a very stringent length that leaves no room for error), a storage box for better protection of the reservoirs, and use of video to demonstrate some aspects of installation. My money is still on MIS as a kit for someone who is a first timer or who simply wants something to work "out of the box".

As always though, your mileage may vary..


_________________
Printers: (Canon) MP500/830, MX700, iP4000/4200/4300/4500/5200, iX4000(A3) (Epson) C84/86, D88, CX6600, R285/800/1900 (HP) K550, K850, K5400, L7680

Snailz wrote:

The prime issue I had, and still have, with IR is the lack of proper tube pathway planning or facilitation. Couple that with the fact that a number of printers do not hold the buffers in the correct orientation and you find that you have to create a solution yourself. On that basis alone I could see a lot of new users getting frustrated.

Next up, MIS have released a spongeless cartridge of their own which, whilst it's doesn't provide the same level of "easy clean" capability as the IR buffers, is a vast improvement. Additionally, the carts are compatible with a wide range of Epson printers from the R200/300 series to the C84-86 printers and even up to the R1800/2400's. The fact that these cartridges fit snugly, provide a far more stable base for organisation of the tubes (ie: a solid mount point for a clip to be glued) puts them beyond IR's offering in my opinion.

Granted there's not a lot in it and IR do have some other benefits such as excess tubing (MIS always cut it to a very stringent length that leaves no room for error), a storage box for better protection of the reservoirs, and use of video to demonstrate some aspects of installation. My money is still on MIS as a kit for someone who is a first timer or who simply wants something to work "out of the box".

As always though, your mileage may vary..

That sums it up quite well, thank you. It's true MIS' stuff works well and is very well supported, which can't be undervalued.

Regarding the IR dampers, just how are they held in place? If I weren't in a situation now where my CFS outlast my printers I might not be so intrigued, but I am seduced by the flexibility of their approach.