The Best CIS ?

[bidefordboy]

Macrovision, your a genius

After all my moaning about wasted ink I thought I should try your cure. This is the story.
Followed your instructions on how to remove & clean the waste pad that the print head parks on. Did'nt have any latex gloves but had some that were supplied by a company that I purchased some cartridge refills from months ago. They were loose fitting but served the purpose.
What a fiddly job it was, my hands are quite big & trying to get them both inside the printer at the same time was a bit of a struggle.
Got the pad out ok & washed it out, what a load of ink it holds !!. Bit worried when I disconnected the hose, You have to pull it quite hard to get it off.
Anyway washed it & dried it then fitted it back into the printer. Left the hose disconnected, will have to connect it up again when I get a get a bad nozzle check.( Unless I manage to clear it printing purge test's ).
Reconnected the printer to the mains. It went through the usual start up procedure, then it continued to do a recharge ( Three of my colours were near the 10% mark ). I looked at the waste pipe & Horror!!!, ink was pumping out. Disconnected my printer again & checked the waste pad, it was clean ?. Plugged it in again, it went through the usual start up procedure then did another recharge, Checked the pads again, still clean.
Repeated this procedure once more & it did another charge, but this time only a small drop of ink came out the waste pipe. Pads still clean. Checked my ink levels & all the one's that were low had reset to full.
So it looks like your cure has worked.
Have just checked my waste pad again & it has very faint lines of cyan, lt.cyan, magenta & lt.magenta going from front to back with clean white spaces in between, I think this is just excess ink from the bottom of the print head when it parks.
I think the reason the ink was pumping out at the beginning was just the ink that was already in the pipe.
Was just wondering though if the waste pad might not be there for another reason. It holds quite a lot of ink & stays moist. That is where the print head parks & perhaps the moisture stops the head from clogging. What do you think ?

[macrovision]

I love it Bidfordboy, Thanks to you and everyone else in this forum I had the strengh to keep posting and working on "OUR" CIS troubles. I almost gave up due to other(and my own) childish remarks in a place where we're suppose to help one another. And to think that they closed this forum down for about a day. I learned about myself more than the printer. Thanks every-one! LOL! ATTACHMENT: Bidefordboy, Nah! Did you take a look at the waste pad and see all of the colors...what they look like after a few cleanings...Black..Right? If this was to even touch the actual print-head it'll contaminate the first few drops of Ink....The waste pad acts like a cap for the printhead when it parks there, Keeping air from drying the ink already in the nozzles. Moisture isn't needed. Poolenglish...sorry dude...I been running around all day....The first pic you posted is the one I'm refering to...The waste-pad on the left...It has the black housing....Push it down softly by the edges and gently slide it to the left to unhook it from the holder. Underneath it is a small black hose...no stripe on it and until you detatch the waste pad you won't see the hose. BTW, be sure to rinse it off and dry it well before re-installing it and let me know if you have any problems. Oh! and Bidefordboy....You seem to forget...the way your waste-pad looks now....Mines has been like that since I bought this printer...remember...I always detach the waste-pad and wash it off after every auto-cleaning...and because I got tired of re-attaching the hose this is how I concluded the source of our problem

[bidefordboy]

Thanks Mac.
Well, I have just been printing covers & stuff just to make sure everything is still working ok. Everything is fine.
When I did the 'Macrovision Cure', I also washed out my waste ink bottle. Have just done a head clean, not a drop of ink in it.

[macrovision]

That's good bidefordboy. I've been printing a bit also and no problems...Funny huh? I like the fact that we out foxed Epson and their little money making scheme. I've been fixing electronics since I was 10. Mechanics and Electronic repair runs in my family. The earlier ink-jet printers didn't have a pump under the waste pad....I know because I owned and serviced them(Canon BJC 600) as well as (EPSON's) The part that amuses me is that I've been printing like crazy over the past 3-4 months...about 1000 DVD's and covers....I got fed up with my HP(refilling the carts)so I started using my R200 for the covers as well. Sometimes I do large orders 100+ at a time and even though my wasted pad is always clean I have yet to have a bad print(3 months and counting) Bidefordboy, Thank you for reminding me about the test purge, Now I don't feel the need to ever re-attach the hose. And of course If ever you want to re-attach the hose I'll walk you through it VIA E-Mail. Thanks again. Macro
BTW, Bidefordboy and all. If you are worried about drying in the nozzles consider this: I cover my printer when I'm not using it....At this time I'm using a heavy towel(not too heavy). I folded it in two and lay it across the top of the printer draped down the front to block air from getting into the printer. Cold air is the worst. As we all know...If you want paint,water, Ect. to dry you'll let the air dry it...In this case we don't want drying so we need to block the air. Soon I'll buy a printer/computer cover....This technique also keeps out/off dust particles. And Bidefordboy, You posted about the waste pad being there for another reason....well on the contrary...the ink on the waste pad(moisture) will most likely cause clogging in the nozzles if anything but keep in mind that the print-head doesn't come into contact with the waste pad...only the rubber surrounding the waste pad.LOVE YA'LL

[dmagic1]

Wow poorenglish your printer is a mess inside.

[FreeDiver]

Like,
Macrovision has been using Stratitec ink exclusively for awhile, and he says that he has no problems. Just look at his pic on page 12 of this forum. I know it's only one persons voice, but I'm gonna try it out. I figure, what the hell, it's still way cheaper than buying from anywhere else, and if I'm right, I just found a gold mine of ink! So hopefully others will follow the link and buy and try and we can give some kind of consensus about refill ink....peace and out.

[macrovision]

Dmagic1, That's from the damn auto-cleaning cycles....Believe me...I know. I maintain my printer as if it costs a million dollars and still It'll start looking a little like that.

[poolenglish]

Dmagic, you insult me about the cleanliness of my printer! As soon as I finish cleaning the kitchen, i will clean it...ok?
just a joke!

[Like]

FreeDiver, Sorry,I meant to be carefull about the brand name "Universal". After rereading my post, I did make it sound like I was putting down Stratitec brand, Sorry.
Thanks

[Like]

Poolenglish, that's funny

[macrovision]

Now I need a hanky...You guy's are mad funny.........Ha!!

[EpsonInkBasher]

Well I purchased some 960ml of Stratitec ink from monstronix.com for $36 shipped. Thanks for the advice mac... What is the deal with the strat ink @ costco ? You can get 510ml of each color for about 8 or so dollars each. If my calculations are right that is 3.06 litres of ink for about 60 dollars. I didn't go for that, I could never use that much ink in my entire remaining 20 years! I may buy some and sell it on ebay though... It that ink suitable for the r200?

Thanks to all! It's almost time to start printing all I could ever want...

[macrovision]

I wonder about that Epsoninkbasher....I"m gonna take a look at it and post if it's the right ink. If it sounds too good to be true...then most likely it's too good to be true.

[OSU]

It is legit if you are a Sam's Club member. Best prices I've seen for that brand of ink

http://search.samsclub.com/eclub/search/search.do?action=search&searchtype=simple&simp...mtype=0&page=2

FWIW, I think it's $30 or 35 USD to join Sam's Club.

[FreeDiver]

Hmmm...maybe no one is reading my posts...but I gave a link to Sams club for that Stratitec ink.....do they sell it at Costco as well? Can someone give that link here so I can check it out, because I don't have a Sams club membership, was going to have a friend order it for me. But according to Sams club, it's 510 ml per color for about $7.00 - $9.00 a pack. It comes with 6 bottels of 85 ml per color per pack.
Here is the link again, the one on page 12 expired....so take a look all, and can we then get a consensus as to which ink is the best?

http://www.samsclub.com/eclub/main_shopping.jsp?coe=0&oidPath=0%3a-23542%3a-23589%3a-4...cfkjdgoodfkf.0

[EpsonInkBasher]

I meant to say sams, sorry. So what do you think? I say lets flood ebay with the stuff and make some cash as well as free ink! I think Im going to go ahead and score a few gallons.

Since that would be 6 sets of ink for a complete order @ 60 bucks, how much could we expect to sell the other 5 sets individually for on ebay? I'm thinking 15 + 5 shipping would be a good price. So free ink? Sounds like a bit of a hassle. Hmmmm, thinking...

[macrovision]

Bless you guy's for that link...It's legit...I wuv you guys....( Sniff ) Man I'm soooo happy I think I'll do something stupid....Like re-attach the waste-pad hose on my printer ....But anyway, When I order I'm not gonna compete with you guys on E-Bay....But I just might have another money makin' scheme....If all else fails I'll never pay the high prices ($20) for 60ml x5 color and 180ml black....I'm gonna join and because my printer no-longer waste in during auto-clean cycles I'll be drowning in the stuff

[bidefordboy]

They don't ship to the UK. So I suppose I will have to be ripped off by EpsonInkBasher on ebay

[OSU]

FreeDiver, tried that link on page 12 of the thread but it just timed out so I just posted it again.

[EpsonInkBasher]

poolenglish, Nice spice rack! You spend too much time with your printer.

[stiltman]

@ poolenglish, least there's a window right there.

Just toss it all out and start a new. You never go to that side of your house anyway

[Like]

bidefordboy, when you took the tube off the waste pad, you said when you went to print, ink shot out (Mac's mod). Did it shoot all over inside your printer & make a big mess?
Thanks

[macrovision]

Even though I'm not able to change my name to Bidefordboy I can answer that because he gave me power of attorney over this matter....He has a waste mod from the back of the printer....even though he disconnected the waste-pad the bottle in the back pushed out the ink that was left over in the tube...this is the mod in the back of the printer so......Bidefordboy?

[bidefordboy]

You are spot on Mac. It was just the ink that had accumulated in the tube to my waste bottle. The bottle is redundant at the moment, but will leave it (just in case). Great to hear the pump trying to waste my ink & just pumping out air. Thanks again Mac.

Like
I will try to explain it in more detail.
When the printer recharges the carts, it moves the head above the waste pad, the pump sucks ink from each cart into the waste pad & out through the tube. If you have a waste bottle attached it pumps it out into this, if not it just accumulates in your printer. If you disconnect the tube from the waste pad the pump can only suck in air. If the head does get blocked, it means the tube will have to be reconnected to perform a head clean, unless another method can be used to clear it. Hope this is clear. Any mistakes in my info. will be spotted by Mac, & I am sure he will correct it.

[Like]

Mac, you can answer anything & should have addressed the question to both as it is pretaining to 'Macrovision Cure'
And I am tickled to death to get that answer
And thanks bidefordboy, I could just see that ink quirting all over inside my printer My new printer has never had the waste pad hit because I did the waste bottle trick 1st. thing. One more stupid question for either one of you. When I unlatched the waste pad to take a look, there is a big spring under it and it appeared to be attached to the pad, but was afried to pull too hard. It the spring attached or was it the tube that was holding the pad tight
Thanks guys

[macrovision]

Like, The big spring is used to elevate the waste pad just enough to allow the suction from the pump to pull the ink from the print-head....The pump's tubing is the thing thats holding the waste-pad. It's located in the middle of the underside of the waste-pad that's why you can't see it. Try using one hand to softly lift the waste-pad and the other to reach under and detach the tube. It'll be a little difficult but do this to avoid the tubing snapping back hard and going under the waste-pad holder, Just in case you need to re-attach the hose in the event of a bad nozzle check. BTW you may be able to clear up a bad nozzle check with-out re-attaching the hose by using the purge utility

[Like]

Thanks Mac

[bidefordboy]

As Mac said, the tube is what is stopping you from lifting the waste pad out. The spring just sits in little grooves on the underside of the pad. I did'nt have any needle nosed pliers, so I used a long pair of pointed tweezers to hold the tube while gently pulling up on the pad, holding it by the plastic frame. But don't stretch the tube too much before letting it go, or it may disappear down the hole, never to be seen again. Mine is there now, like a little black worm, curled up in it's hole. I don't really want to disturb it.

[habs01]

Poolenglish, love what you did with the kitchen. You know what they say about someones house being a reflection of the owners...

Freedriver, FYI I have been using Costco's "IMS" kit with no issues so far. I'm not too picky with color calibration but there's no noticeable difference with the ink supplied with the JLWSales kit. In Canada the kit comes with 5x60ml color bottles + 3x60ml black + accesories for 20$ Can (approx. 16$ US).

[poolenglish]

habs; the pic was a joke. I am a contractor and I took picks of this house because i could not believe the mess. You should see the other rooms...stacked to the ceiling with garbage. OCD disorder this owner must have had!