Digital BW, The Print

Hi Paul -
Could you elaborate on priming the half sponge cartridge and what your 
modification to
what looks like a syringe with a notch cut in the end of the 7 mm 
length? Are these the refill carts
sold by MIS?
I'm just starting to print with K7 Piezo cartridges on a 2200, and know 
I'm going to need to refill carts
because of the costs of new ones!

BTW, you're accumulating a wonderful body of work - I just visited your 
website.
Thanks,

Clay Price

On Jan 14, 2006, Paul Roark wrote:

>> Alternately how reliable are the 2200 carts with the sponge in one 
>> half?
>
> I've been using the MIS versions of those with success for some time.  
> I use
> the version that fits the C86, R220, and R2400.  Once I started 
> priming the
> carts before using them the "clogging" issue completely disappeared.  
> (It
> appears to have been an air bubble just above the outlet.)  I've 
> modified an
> MIS bottom file adapter for this purpose that works much better than 
> their
> standard ones.  See http://home1.gte.net/res09aij/Mod_Bot_Fill.jpg
>
> I try not to let the sponge get dry between the reservoir and the 
> sponge
> half.  I also rinse the outlet when I swap carts -- which I do a lot.  
> So
> far, so good.
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Clay,

> Could you elaborate on priming the half sponge cartridge

MIS's instructions are at http://www.inksupply.com/c84refill.cfm

The idea is to use the modified bottom fill adapter to pull the air out the
outlet.  So, on a new cart I usually tear the seal off the air inlet first
so that the ink will fill the sponge.  I fill the reservoir -- leaving the
plug out for now.  Then I cut the clear seal over the outlet.  With the cart
held upright, I insert the bottom fill adapter into the outlet, with a
syringe attached to it, of course.  I close off the air inlet above the
sponge with my finger and pull the air and some ink out the outlet with the
syringe.  Since the reservoir filler hole is open, the ink is coming through
there and not the sponge.  This almost always pulls all the air -- or enough
of it -- out of the cart's outlet area.  I then top off the reservoir,
insert the plug, and I'm ready to go.  (Be sure the chip is there.)

Usually I get a perfect nozzle check right off.  With these carts I do
notice that if one is having problems more than one cleaning cycle might
pull ink out faster than the sponge can release it.  So, some may think
there is a bad clog, when all they really need to do is wait a little while.

> and what your modification to
> what looks like a syringe with a notch cut in the end of the 7 mm
> length?

The modified MIS bottom fill adapter is just filed down to having only a 7
mm snout.  I then used the edge to groove the end so that it does not seal
itself shut when shoved into the cart outlet.

> Are these the refill carts sold by MIS?

They have various types.  See http://www.inksupply.com/c80kits.cfm for
refill kits and parts.


> I'm just starting to print with K7 Piezo cartridges on a 2200, and know
> I'm going to need to refill carts because of the costs of new ones!

MIS does not have k7 clone inks, but all the rest is easily available.  It's
a bit hard to see if the half sponge are the ones listed above of it they
are all totally spongeless now.  I've just received some half sponge ones
from MIS.  So, they most have them still.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com