The Best CIS ?

[grimby]

Warning - Do not buy from inkjetsusa.com!

I have spent the past 5 weeks trying to get these people to help me with the damaged kit they sent me. I bought it off eBay and received it without any problems. Initially I took everything out of the box and started filling the ink tanks. I looked at the tubes and found that they were bent on one end. After looking at them more closely, I found that a couple of the tubes appear to be crushed in the middle and I am not going to chance using it.

I emailed InkJets USA 5 or 6 times asking for help, to which they never sent a reply. I left negative feedback for the auction on eBay though, and wouldn't you know it, the next day I get a reply from InkJets USA trying to get their negative feedback taken away. They promised to help me if I withdrew the feedback, and like an idiot I agreed. I should have told them to help me first but I figured since I had their attention now, it would be OK. Well a few days after the feedback was withdrawn, I email them again asking for help and I get no reply. I send another email a few days later threatening to file a claim and they finally reply and promise to send me a replacement CIS kit. A week later I email them again to ask where it is. They reply that I'll get it on October 21st, and it never comes. That was the last time I heard from them and I've sent 5 or 6 emails since then. What he hell?! They ripped me off and they're ignoring my emails!

I've since then filed a claim with eBay for a fraudulent sale, filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, as well as a claim with the FBI's Internet Fraud Complaint Center - all of which are pending investigation.



Ho hum. I've had my new R200 sitting on my desk for the last 5 weeks and I can't even use it. Let this be a lesson to you all.

[trpenner]

I had a similar issue with jlwsales and was finally able to get a refund. You might check out what I did. It is posted in this thread. They responded immediately with a refund.

[FreeDiver]

Okay, have been busy, but what I meant by the bashing is that I've noticed that since this is a CIS forum, I don't understand why everyone is bashing the CIS and trying to do a Vulcan/Jedi mind trick and telling eveyone to switch to refill kits.
Don't get me wrong, once mine dies (eventually it will..sob..sob...sob...I'm being realistic.) I will probably switch to a refill kit, just out of convienience.
That's all I meant, no one is bashing anyone in particular. I realize that this topic has evolved into it's current form and trust me, I really appreciate the advice I've gotten.
I realize that maybe it's for the best to switch to a refill kit, but for now since I still own a Cis system, I still come to read the responses on this forum once in a while to get advice and to see if there are any advances in the CIS field, but all I've been seeing lately is almost everyone putting down the CiS units.
It's okay to give advice but I think most people come to this forum for help, not to be constantly told that the system that we've spent money on (due to past posts on this forum) sucks!
Anyway, for those of you that have in the past helped, keep up the advice on fixing and making these thing better, it's very appreciated. (the tips on removing the vacuum hose and mods to make the Cis kits work better is what I keep coming back for, on this forum)
For those that don't reccomend these systems, I also appreciate it because as with everything in life, something in the past has made you change your thinking and now you've "evolved" to the refill kits and I'm glad that your also giving advice on which refill kits to buy in the future.
I'm perfectly happy with my system, the only thing I'm having a problem with is the crappy ink I'm using. OKay but on with the questions.

1)(This question shows that I appreciate everyone on this forum) What's the general consensus on refill kits, what's the best (or at least a good one) to buy. I don't care for Way to Print. I sent him a couple of emails when I was having a vacuum leak problem with my CIS and the vendor never responded, so now he has lost a customer for life. I wish some of you out there would let us know about the quality and experiences with the various refill kits other than the printforless ones.

2)Also a question about refilling these refill kits....I know that someone posted about how the carts are clear/translucent and that you can see when it's time to refill, but since the carts are all stacked against each other, how can you see into the carts to know when to refill these carts? I ask this because my Cis kit has clear containers for the resevoir and I can't really see the the middle carts to see if their empty without lifting and turning the whole resevoir kit case. How can you see the middle carts while their locked into the printer? You can't possibly tell their empty just from looking at the top of the cart. Anyone?

3)THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE FOR ME. Can anyone reccomend a good quality ink that's decently priced. I was seriously considering InkjetUsa, but after the post above, I'm having some hesitations.
Mr. Printforless, can you reccomend some ink sites, or can you quote some prices?

[poolenglish]

freediver;
the carts i have (from print for less) have a chamber (small feed line) on top to supply the ink from one side to the other. when the ink line is empty, you need to fill the tank side and there is still ink in the supply side....like an early warning.

BTW the system is still going strong, with days and as much as 8 days idle,,,never a problem.

[Captain315]

Edited

[classfour]

After several months of testing, and one full set of ink (6 4oz bottles): The set that I purchased from printonadime are working as advertised. The original set of chips had to be exchanged (free of charge) and corrected some early problems (chips not being recognized). I only have praise for how they responded (fast and professionally). I am buying my refills from them. I will buy any additional CIS systems needed from them (I have 2 R200s and 1 R300 in service).

This is after 6 months of use.

[habs01]

Thanks for the info classfour.

[Redim]

I learned a lot from this forum regarding the CIS:

http://www.allthefaqs.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3755

This guy has tried out many different CISs and definitely have strong background to review several CIS.

I believe it's good for you all.

[habs01]

A TV show on consumer rights just showed how much we are getting the short end of the stick with Epson carts. They opened up "empty" cartridges and found them to be still over 25% full.

When asked to respond to this, no one at Epson would give an interview. Epson posted a press release basically stating that not knowing the tests conditions they couldn't comment on the results. The show also goes on mentionning that Epson is in the midst of a class action suit in California.

Aren't we glad we got a CIS system!

[bidefordboy]

My r300 has never has Epson ink in it. What you have never had you never miss.

[poolenglish]

Just an update;

Well .....since removing(trashing) and replacing my CIS with refillable ARC(auto reset chips) cartridges my printer has worked flawlessly;4 months i guess. Actually I cannot see why I ever needed a CIS in the first place; other than replacing carts with originals(about $10-14 ea I guess)and the new printer wouldn't print when I ran out of 1 cart.....the second day.


Hindsight ---I wish I would have went with refillable carts in the first place. My printer has worked hard and no more hoses flopping, unprimed carts, etc. etc. (with CIS) headaches anymore!

[FreeDiver]

Just curious, but anyone else been having problems with inkjetusa? I am contemplating buying ink from them or from Printforless. Any positives or minuses from these two companies? Hows the ink from Printforless? I know that inkjetusa ink is supposed to be good, but afraid to order from them if they are giving bad service.

[FreeDiver]

I have a question on mixing inks. I have a few bottles of the stratitec ink in stock and am currently looking for another brand to use, as I am very dissapointed in this brand. I noticed that most companies, if not all, only sell their sets with an exact amount, i.e. 1 bottle of each color. I was wondering, if I continued to use the stratitec black (only) along with the other colors (of the new set)if it would be a problem. The reason I ask is because black runs out almost twice as fast as the other colors and since I figure, black is black, would it make a difference? If so, is there anyone that sells the sets with maybe a bigger bottle of black?

[dun4cheap]

It shouldn't be a big problem as long as the base is not different. (Water, Oil etc)

The tint may change a little, this would probably be more noticeable with colors other than black. The other thing that could make a difference is the viscosity. Hopefully they are about the same. I will be having to do this soon as well.

Time will tell. Let us know how you fair.

[poolenglish]

As for ink,
I transferred the jwl ink out of my cis to the refillable carts. Now I am topping off with printforless ink and see no difference in quality, I thought mixing might make a difference but I haven't seen any.

A positive A+ rating for printforless from me.
3 purchases so far from him.
I bought another printer w/ carts and FAST shipping!

[FreeDiver]

Poolenglish and dun4cheap;
I have been in correspondence with Tim from Printforless and he's been very helpful and honest. I will probably be going with him. I've noticed through my extensive shopping that ink will basically run you about $35.00-$40.00 for a complete set of 100 ml inks, that's with shipping (Even on Ebay).
Printforless will actually combine shipping for more ink and allow you to adjust (i.e. order more of one color, for example 200 ml instead of 100 ml black) the quantity of ink, or course there is an adjustment in the cost of shipping, but hopefully it isn't much.
I will keep you guys posted as to the total cost and how things work out once I get the new ink and once I mix it. I am still shopping around, but will let you guys know where I finally decide to buy, but for now, it'll probably be Printforless.
The only thing I dread is if once i get the ink, I find that it's not the ink that is messing up the prints, but rather the cis system! Ha that would suck!
Also one more thing, since I have full storage tanks filled with crap stratitec ink, how should I flush it out? Should I just dump it out over a bucket or should I just run cleaning cycle after cleaning cycle? Thanks for any advice. Will keep you posted.

[FreeDiver]

Okay, for those of you whom care.
I actually went and bought ink from inkjetusa. I know that the person on the top said not to, but I went on their ebay site, and overall they have had nothing but praise. Also, members on this forum have praised this ink in the past and though some of those members are gone (hey macro where you at???) I trusted them with my buying choices and I am happy that I did.
First let me say that they had the best prices overall. Shipping was combined and they give a full 125 ml, not the 100 ml that most other places give. I got the order, here in Hawaii, in 3 days, not counting weekends. Great service overall, but their communication via email was lacking.
I will probably go with Printforless after my cis dies (hey PoolEnglish, can you tell my how their ink compares to the Epson inks? Also, do you have to leave one of the holes open just to print? I went on one website that shows how to refill these two hole refillable cartridges, and they said to leave one hole open for printing...weird...) and then buy refillable cartridges, but for now, I'm happy with my Cis system.
First of all, let me ask, is there anyone out there that knows where to buy the large syringes with the blunt needles? I went online, ebay, at our local drug stores, and no one sells them that I could find. The reason I ask this is because, I didn't want to mix the inks so I decided to try and dump out the old and put in the new. Let me tell you, this was a mission destined for failure. Pouring the ink out wasn't that bad, although I had to take my entire system apart. Trying to pour in the new ink into my little valve with a syringe as a funnel was such a pain, and I spilled ink everywhere. If I had those damn syringes, it would have been a whole lot neater, and lot less waste...just some advice for those that want to do this in the future.
I learned that there is absolutely no way to completely drain all the ink, I learned this the hard way, (don't ask, I thought I broke my cis system)so I figured that it's best to just drain the resevoir tanks by flipping them over or syphoning the ink out and then just top off with the new ink.
Let me tell you the first thing I noticed from this ink and the stratitec ink was that it was not only thicker, but DARKER!!! The stratitec ink was really watery and because this was the first time I had dealt with any ink, I didn't notice it. The moment I put in the Inkjetusa ink, I noticed that ink in the tubes were way darker than the stratitec ink. I also noted that the ink was thicker and didn't just slosh around like the stratitec ink. This ink seemed like the real deal.
Don't get me wrong, for those of you that like Stratitec ink, maybe I got a bad batch, but I don't think so, because my friend is complaining about the same problems as I am, so after this, I will avoid the ink like the plague.
After printing out a test photo with this ink on stardard settings, with Kodak paper, I have to say, that it was well worth the cost and learning experience to go with this ink. I wholeheartedly reccomend this ink to everyone, it is great.
I did notice that there is a price discrepancy on the website and the ebay site though. On there website, the price is $9.95 a 4oz bottle per color. On ebay they sell it for $30.00 for a set of 6 colors, 4 oz each (and remember it's 125 ml not 100 ml). So if you want to buy, buy it from their ebay site, the ink is a whole lot cheaper.
So there you have it, I won't be mixing the old stratitec ink with this new batch, I think the viscosity (thickness????) is too diferent and it may mess up the prints, but at least I answered my own question. InkJetusa has very reasonably priced ink and the product is great, for anyone who needs to buy more ink for their Cis system. I will keep you all updated to see if this ink holds out or not..peace out!

[poolenglish]

Freediver;
with all inks at first... and especially changing brands ;i think the printer settings must be mastered. which means trial and error and patience. Especially if you demand near perfection. Meaning wasted paper and /or disks... and time. But when you get it right, whichever econmy brand you choose...stick with it!

I have a ton of coaster dvds which were advertised as 8x and only do 2x or 4x. I found a brand that works on my burner and stuck with it.
As they say...if it ain't broke dont fix it!


I forgot; i used epson ink with my new printer about 2 hours and ran out and looked for the solution to the oem rip-off cost right away. that's what led me to this forum via google! wanna buy a new set of epson for $30? still shrink wrapped.
I never opened my second r200 set.

[FreeDiver]

Damnit Poolenglish;
Okay, after just a few perfect picture prints, now my pics in certain areas are tinted bluish/green. Also for some reason, whenever my photo's come out of the printer, the bottom of the page has smeared (lookes like black ink) on it, as if the bottom of the page is scraping the print heads or something, is this a leak??? I've removed my carts and didn't see any collection of ink inside or any other leaks anywhere, so I don't know what's causing the accumulation of ink. (I do notice that black scraper thing that scrapes the ink off the heads near the square sponge, seems to have a lot of ink on it) The colors overall are way more natural, but now I am having problems with the tint and banding...some of you mention something about microweaving......what is this? I have a R200, is this something only for the R300 and above? I have my settings at best photo, no high speed, photo enhance and now my prints are all tinted....I hate to say it Poolenglish, but I may just switch to refills just because I'm sick of the problems I'm having with the picture printing. IF quality didn't matter too much, I would just stick with the cis, but since I have to appease my girlfriend and print pics for Xmas and stuff, it just doesn't cut the mustard. Pool, do you have problems with banding and tinting with your refillables? Would you say that the refills behave pretty much like Epson carts as far as quality?? Right now I have been researching and I'm split between buying from Printforless or from Print on a dime. The only difference is that Print on a dimes refill carts are spongeless, which is what I like. Overall, I can see the advantages of both Cis and refillables, but if so many of you now are swearing by the refillables and if you haven't had any problems with them in over 6 months of printing, I may go that way. I was so happy with my cis, no refilling, alot of almost unlimited ink, but it seems too many problems lately, and I've only had my system for less than 5 months. Sigh, Pool, you may have convinced me after all. DAMN YOU!!!! Ha ha ha :P

[poolenglish]

freediver;
the carts I bought from printforless have foam in them. I am sooooo satisfied.
Cleaning cycles are very rare. Never a problem, whatsoever, period. with the carts or the printer.

It is like night and day compared to my former cis.

I have bought 3 cart sets, 2 ink refill sets and a printer from him (the mfp printer scanner). Now my 3 printers ROCK.
The guy ships FAST,priority mail and takes paypal.

happy thanksgiving everyone! pool

[poolenglish]

freediver;
I noticed in your computer details that you have 3 hard drives.
Are they all active, if so...how do you have them wired?
does your motherboard have 3 connectors?
or do you have them mounted on hot swap trays, and only use 2 at a time? thx pool

[FreeDiver]

Pool;
Okay, first of all, I didn't realize that Printforless used foam, not sponges, thanks, now it makes the decision harder. I know a few of us here have bought the print on a dime carts, can anyone give us a heads up on how good they are?
As for my computer, I have an abit is7 motherboard and I have my hard drives set up so that I have both my 80 gigs on the sata connectors and my 150 gig on the regular IDE (old style ribbon) connectors. I can actually attach another hard drive to this motherboard, but I have it just the way I want. I know some people set it up in a raid configuration, but I just wanted it to run the way that I have it set up. Thanks for the help Pool. I just have to figure out if I want the carts with the foam/sponge or the ones with nothing inside of em, that's the only difference in build that I can discern at the moment. Any advice would be helpful guys.

[FreeDiver]

BTW Pool, what is microweaving? Is this something I can do with my Epson R200 or is for higher up models? Thanks.

[poolenglish]

freediver;
this article might help about what it is
http://www.currys.com/knowledge/rip.htm

[FreeDiver]

Uhhh..thanks Pool...hahahah...kinda confusing but I get the gist of it.

[poolenglish]

Freediver;
The sponge(a sea creature)/foam(a manmade "sponge") is in the cart to stop foaming. A tried and true method of manufacture.

My old lexmark had foam/sponge.And so do many like cannon now a day.

I don't see the benefit to going "spongeless".

Except maybe PETA people might want to save "sponges" because they might have feelings too! lol
But the "sponges"/foam is manmade in the carts.

I think is is just a sales ploy, like the new whatever.... etc. etc.

I think it wouldn't matter with or without ...other than cost and easy of refilling.
I just like my carts because i never have to remove them to refill and i can visually see when i am low on each cart.... no wear and tear on connecting pins etc..




here is a link to help color managment for photos issues, it might help

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/support/supDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&infoType=F...464&foid=51144



Buy the cheapest set you can find, with arc(auto reset chips) and make sure they can stay in the printer for refilling. best of luck

[FreeDiver]

Thanks for all the assistance on this one Pool, I really appreciate it. I will post when and if I go to refills.

[FreeDiver]

This is for those who care. I am having some problems with my Cis system after only a few months and to be fair, I may have damaged it on my own after attempting to refill the ink by draining it completely by syphoning the remaining ink out of the carts with a syringe (don't do this, just top the ink off.... :P ), so nonetheless, I'm having some issues and I may decide to switch to refills. I had been shopping around and emailed a few companies and I this interesting response from Mr. Baker over at Print on a dime;


Each cartridge holds approximately 10ml worht of ink. The design does contain a sponge that is designed for well over 50 refills. Thanks again!

Rob.

Anyone with any technical knowledge of this stuff, Is this true? Do these refill kits (I'm sure that this company is using natural sponges, and some use man made sponges, but nonetheless, I regress) have a set amount of times you can reuse them and then you have to dump them and buy new ones? At $50-$60 a set that is expensive, especially since some us are refilling once or twice (or more) a month. I hope someone can shed light on this matter which I don't believe has ever been brought up in this thread. Thanks.

[habs01]

Sorry for your CIS kit Freediver. I have no experience with your intended buy but other people in this topic have praised the Print on a dime system. But then again, that was a few months ago when they first bought it.

BTW, your mishap with your CIS kit only reinforces my feeling that CIS kits should be installed then left alone as much as possible. I've been using my JLW Sales system since january, and it works fine. Never removed the cartridges since I originally installed it. Then again, could be that I just got lucky.

Keep us posted.

[FreeDiver]

habs01;
Yeah I totally agree, I shouldn't have touched em, just drained the ink out and never tried to drain all the ink out...cuz now I'm getting some major banding on my photo's...so it's off to refills. I know that some of our readers have bought other refills, like the print on a dime, but it seems that none of them have updated us on their experiences. I will keep you all posted on my final decision. I'll be sure to let my friend know not to remove his kit to avoid my problems now too.