URL: http://www.inkrepublic.com
Model(s): CIS for Epson C86 / R300/200
Ink(s): MIS Supplied (Did not use InkRepublic Inks)
Purchased: June 2005
These kits were purchased with the main goal of testing and reviewing their effectiveness given the use of a spongeless damper design that is touted as being "the best" way to do CIS.
NB: InkRepublic refer to their CIS as iInk systems.
First impressions
The kit does look very well packaged and comes with a box for the ink bottles to sit in.. I actually got 2 packs of chips with each kit set. However I soon discovered problems as I'd been sent the damper/tubing set for an 8 ink kit and subsequently all the colour dots were wrong. Not good if you're a new user and blindly following what you assume to be useful cues.
Installation:
The one thing that really stands out when you get an Ink Republic kit is the fact that you get a CD with Quicktime videos and pictures on how install your CIS kit and this is something that a lot of other manufacturers could learn from.
The actual dampers themselves are not a standard cartridge size so you could potentially use the same kit in a number of different printers (even if the cartridge type changed) so long as you purchased new chipsets to suit your new printer.
Ok, first issue with this kit was the fact that it was the wrong number of dampers so I immediately had to split off 2 dampers and tubing. I then had to discard the incorrect colour dots on the dampers and tube ends as they were completely wrong. A new user would rightly get upset about this because I could easily see someone filling it according to the dots and ending up with everything going to the wrong place. Not good!
Applying common sense and checking everything against the pictures made installation possible so after triple checking what went where, I used a CD marker pen to ID each damper to make sure I knew what ink colour it should have. I then set about inserting the tube ends in the bottles before charging the dampers with ink.
Now, at this point I have to say that personal preference is to throw away that little squeeze bottle that's supplied and get out my MIS bottom fill adaptor to complete the ink charging task, but of course most people don't have this to hand so you have to soldier on with the squeeze bottle. Not ideal but it does work if you are very careful and patient.
Installing the chips... For {deity}s sake, check the chips are the right way up before you install them. Ink Republic do mark the correct orientation on the back with a little arrow but it's very easy to install the wrong way up so always check (yes I wasn't paying attention
)
Tube path and the clips
This is where Ink Republic really haven't done their homework and frankly until I got this kit I didn't realise just how important this little aspect of installation is. In a nutshell, if you get this wrong you can jam, chop the tube (cue: ink everywhere) or basically stop your printer from working properly... So Ink Republic really need to spend some time on this.
My solution was to get a glue gun and a hacksaw to modify and fix the supplied clips after referring to the MIS installation docs to see which paths worked with MIS kits. (Thankyou MIS!!)
You can see the result for the printers I have here:
C86, R200
This obviously invalidates your warranty with Epson so you need to be thinking about that. But in terms of actually getting the tube to work without jamming the printer, this was vital, in my opinion.
Once that problem was resolved (and it required 3 hours of experimentation + cursing to do it) I was able to complete the installation and start printing.
What went wrong:
Well, the tube issue as a big problem for me with the C86/R200 but some things were my own fault (because I wasn't paying attention) including the points below...
I quickly discovered what can go wrong if you forget to unclip the white clips* before you start the printer for the first time.
(*the clips used to stop ink leaking while you installed the buffers on the head)
The printer will attempt to suck ink into the print head but if you leave the clips locked, the ink will refuse to budge and the result is lots of bubbles in the damper and the need to remove the buffers, pull the ink through until the bubbles are gone (requires lots of shaking of damper, etc..) and swear at your stupidity lots. My own fault but something you should watch out for.
Actual usage
Because these are spongeless kits you don't expect to have to deal with foam issues so the 6 monthly ink routine is supposedly defunct. I've yet to prove this, but in theory this is good.
I didn't use the InkRepublic inks and so can't comment on them, but the MIS Ultrachrome ink worked great in the C84/86 models and of course the MIS dyebase worked perfectly with the R200/300 models too... So all good there.
The tube is a little longer than required but you can always cut this if required. The really nice touch is the box for all the ink bottles to sit in. For me with 3 CIS printers sitting in a school, this is now a must as it stops the little darlings from grabbing bottles and branding themselves in a technocolour rainbow (cue: mothers screaming for blood)
The reset chips are, unlike many other models, able to reset to 95% and don't actually resent until they reach around 5% full so you avoid the issue "100% full" chips cause whenever they reset (ie: full ink charging which wastes a lot more ink than a standard cleaning cycle). If your printer is switched off every night then this can make quite a difference to your ink usage.
Purging/Replacing Ink
One thing I found out the hard way was that this type of kit actually has one major advantage over any other CIS kit if, like me, you put the wrong type of ink in it or need to replace your ink type.
Sadly the squeeze bottle makes this task very difficult so if you anticipate this problem, I would recommend getting a syringe and bottom fill adaptor from MIS (or something similar).
That aside the lack of sponge in this kit means you can purge the kit of the original ink quickly and easily before drawing your new ink through to replace it. Sponge cartridges would obviously retain a lot more ink so Ink Republic's design is leaps beyond the others in this area..
Summary: (Edited: Oct 28th 2005)
Having reviewed my original findings and re-read this review I've opted to edit it, as I've realised that it does tend to offer a very negative slant of a kit I actually found had many advantages.
There are a number of very real positives with this kit as I'll touch on below but the fact that there is no proper instruction on laying the tubes at the cartridge/damper head, is a very real negative. The fact that this can stress your printer and affect it's usage is a big problem and needs addressing. In truth, once this is resolved I would say it's other qualities would stand it in very good stead. So I hope solutions are found and shared in the very near future.
Many of the other niggles I've noted are more things to "watch out for" and each kit has their own traps for the unwary so hopefully this review provides things to watch out.
My original recommendation was that only "experienced" users should consider this kit but on reflection I've downgraded that, slightly, to recommend it to users who aren't afraid to experiment and don't need an "out of the box" solution.
I would still hesitate to recommend it to completely new users at this time.
So, moving away from the negatives, there are, as I've said, a number of positives.
- The inclusion of the box is very useful for protecting and moving your reservoirs.
- I really like the video instructions and pictures provided to help with installation
- The way the reset chips work is very well thought out and helps make further savings by reducing ink charging wastage.
- The buffer design should avoid the blocking issue caused by foam.
Of course, I'd also recommend the kit for those users who are likely to want to use the kit for different ink types (see purging info above).
So, having reviewed my own review I would have to say that overall, once the tube pathway issue has been resolved, it's likely to be a good quality piece of kit.
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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
