Supplier: MIS Associates
URL: http://www.inksupply.com
Model(s): CIS for Epson C84
Ink(s): UltraChrome Equivalent
Purchased: August 2003

The MIS associates kit is the first I've ever tried and I purchased 2 of these kits for a school and 1 for my own use.

NB: MIS Assoc call their CIS systems "Continuous Flow" (CFS) but I've used CIS throughout.

Installation:
The first kit was nerve wracking as I knew I was working with kit costing over GBP£80 (US$140). As a result my first attempt at charging the system using the vacuum system provided was messy. The blue tube clamps are fiddly and can slip off or leak if not applied properly. My solution in the end was to actually create the vacuum then fold the tube at the junction above the bottom top before sliding the clip over the folded tube to stop it leaking. This worked a treat and a lot more effective.

After that, you have the usual issue of making sure you get the right ink in the right cartridge (same for all CISs) but this worked fine.

The guide for installing the tube so it has a free range of travel (avoiding snagging, etc..) is good but I do think some additional photographs would make life a lot easier.

Tube path and the clips
Unfortunately I got the placement of the tube clips wrong on the first 2 printers and found that once I'd peeled the clips away from the case the sticky foam mounting pad was unable to retain enough glue/stickiness to stay in place. In the end I was forced to scrape off the pad and use super glue to put the clip in the correct place without it moving. Electricians tape works just as well if you run it around the front plate a couple of times.

My advice would therefore be to mount the clips without removing the sticky pad cover, using tape to see if it works properly and THEN remove the cover to stick it in place properly. It's also vital that you stick the clip as far up towards the top of the panel as possible.

What went wrong:
I hit the problem with the tube pathway dislodging a vital flat cable and learned an important lesson re: tube location (See here: Tube pathway issue C84/86)


Frankly speaking, all the issues I encountered were in part due to impatience, inexperience and a lack of consideration for things like tube pathways in relation to other parts of the printer, etc... so it was a learning curve.


Actual usage
These particular kits were the older full sponge type cartridges with an opaque grey plastic so you couldn't see into them to check ink levels. But once I'd finished installing everything, it was all working wonderfully well on the printers I'd got right.

Print output was as good, if not better than Epson standard inks and there was no leakage or problems with output that couldn't be explained by poor installation (ie: leaky vaccum when charging the system). Once I resolved my installation issues by pulling the ink through with the bottom fill adaptor I found all printers worked perfectly.

One thing I've heard mentioned a lot is the potential for sponge cartridges to foam up over time and eventually stop the print heads receiving ink. In my experience this was a rare occurence and over 2 years I've only had to pull the foam out using the bottom fill adaptor once a year.

The worst mistake I made was to leave the printers unused over the summer holidays and as any inkjet owner will have learned, this will always result in clogging. Luckily however, drawing the ink through the cartridges and running 2 cleaning cycles was the most drastic action required to resolve this. Since then I've installed the scheduled print utility and this runs every 3 days on every printer using a 4 ink purge pattern.



Summary:
Whilst I did experience a number of difficulties with this kit, I could easily point to my inexperience with the principles of CIS installation as the root cause of every problem. The only potential improvement I could recommend would be more pictures in the installation guide but support was (and remains) excellent and I was able to get everything working perfectly.

MIS Assoc' have since brought out the half and half sponge/spongless cartridges for their C84/86 CIS kits so the foaming issue that others report should be reduced considerably. The fact that the relevant kit (bottom fill adaptor & syringe) are included as standard with all CIS kits from MIS, means that all the bases are covered and maintenance is relatively easy.

I haven't really touched on the ink too much on this printer as that's probably a seperate thread/review but just quickly it's worth noting that I only ever use MIS inks and the Ultrachrome equivalent is very good, water fast with no bleeding, and a whole lot better than any other inks I've come across in refills, etc... I wouldn't go anywhere else.



Last edited by Martin on Thu Oct 27, 2005 1:24 pm; edited 2 times in total
_________________
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

Supplier: MIS Associates
URL: http://www.inksupply.com
Model(s): CIS for Epson R300 (R320 compatible)
Ink(s): Dyebase
Purchased: June 2005

I purchased two of these kits and installed them in R300 printers to allow a comparison against the InkRepublic spongeless buffer kits.

Installation:
Once you've done one MIS kit (in my case the C84's - see above) you tend to learn the tricks of the trade quickly. So 2 years on I've learned a lot and installation worked a treat.

As noted in the C84 review the vaccum was secured by folding the tubes under vaccum and securing this by sliding the clip over the fold until ink was ready to complete the charging process. Worked like a dream.

Tube path and the clips
Unlike the C84/86 the process for installing the tubing in the R300 relies on a perspex bracket pre-supplied with the kit and this makes life VERY easy. The path does not push against any wiring so the cable disconnect issue I discovered in the C84 is not a concern.

Clips are a whole lot easier to mount as well because it's all on the outside of the case..

One thing that MIS do well is the way the tubing runs out of the cartridges and into a well formulated path to minimise issues with the tubing catching printer parts or twisting the tubing itself. You only realise how good and vital this is when you experience a kit from another manufacturer without it.

Basically, following the directions means you shouldn't get it wrong.


What went wrong:
Nothing.


Actual usage
It's still very early days with this kit or indeed this printer but the output is very good quality and the only minor niggle is the fact that the mounting bracket forces you to leave the lid open, increasing the noise levels when the printer is in operation. Otherwise though, there are no problems at all.

The tubing runs clean, and the reset chips always work fine.

As with all Inkjets, regular printing is essential to avoid clogging through long periods of non-use but do far no issues with leakage, banding or foaming.



Summary:
My previous experience of CIS kits stood me in good stead and frankly if I were to recommend one kit over the other it would be for new CIS users to get an Epson R300/320 rather than the C84/86 as a printer. It's easier to install, has cheaper inks and has all those extra features.

The half and half sponge/spongless cartridges on this kit are also semi transparent so you can see the ink levels which helps enormously with troubleshooting and the foaming issue should be reduced considerably. Again, the relevant kit (bottom fill adaptor & syringe) are included as standard with all CIS kits from MIS, so all the bases are covered and maintenance (such as pulling ink through) is relatively easy.


Once again I've not really touched on the ink itself but the dyebase from MIS is pretty standard stuff and works like a charm. Good quality and much cheaper than the Ultrachrome equivalents used in the C84/86 models. No complaints at all.


_________________
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