Day one: Epson 1280 + Media Street + Blue Lable CISS

[IntergalacticExpandingPanda]

The Blue Lable CISS is my name for the Shenzhen NXY Technology Co CIS,
named after they mispelled label on their CIS systems. There seems to
be no other name for this CISS, so from now on it shalled be called
"Blue Lable CISS". (Blue Lab-lay) It's got Googlability.

As expected the unit has NOT been 100% trouble free.

For the purpose of testing I'm using Kirkland Photo Paper, made in
Mexico.

[Black Banding]
I seem to be getting some banding on the black. This "may" be a
result of a slightly kinked hose. It's resolved with a head cleaning,
but I don't want to do too many of those. If it continues I'll have
to try the ink in an OEM tank and see the result.

[Incomplete printing]
Roughly 3 prints stopped about 66%. I presently get no feedback from
the printer, so I just get a cryptic blinking light. For the moment I
will presume the chips hit empty and they needed a power cycle to
reset.

[black glazing]
My first printers showed significant black glazing, as in the black
ink was VERY glossy in contrast to the print. This likely would be
resolved with other paper, or matte spray. I may have been better off
with the matte black.

[color rendering]
Thus far I only have two profiles.
1280-G6_EPSONPHTOQLTY - This is MediaStreets profile for Epson Premium
paper. It's VERY yellow.
JBL610-GP - this is MIS's (inksupply.com) profile for their "MIS
Archival GP". This is a little closer to reality, but I have yet to
evaluate it more closely.

[Leakage]
Raising up the CIS about 3 inches above the printer was not a good
idea. That seems to have resulted in leakage. It may be it will
operate better at a slightly higher level, but clearly the box it came
in was too high.

Overall, the prints look good, really good. The only issue thus far
is the black, and that might be a cartridge issue.

[source image]
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm83/IGExpandPanda/test1-source.jpg
[OEM ink before the Switch]
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm83/IGExpandPanda/test1-OEM.jpg
[Mediastreet's profile]
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm83/IGExpandPanda/test1-MediaStreet-MIS-profile.jpg
[MIS's profile]
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm83/IGExpandPanda/test1-MediaStreet-Epson-Profile.jpg

 

[Arthur Entlich]

If you are interested in issues surrounding e-waste,
I invite you to enter the discussion at my blog:

http://e-trashtalk.spaces.live.com/

The Blue Lable CISS is my name for the Shenzhen NXY Technology Co CIS,
named after they mispelled label on their CIS systems. There seems to
be no other name for this CISS, so from now on it shalled be called
"Blue Lable CISS". (Blue Lab-lay) It's got Googlability.

Never trust products that are labeled with spelling errors ;-)
I am new to the word Googlability, but I like it ;-)

As expected the unit has NOT been 100% trouble free.

Many CIS units have been problematical or need some adjustments.
Overall, other have reported less issues with Ink Republic's CIS. I
have no affiliation with them, nor do I own one, but I get a lot of
favorable comments about them, although not completely trouble free on
set up, at times.

For the purpose of testing I'm using Kirkland Photo Paper, made in
Mexico.

Unless the inks are incompatible with the paper for some reason, with a
proper profile you should be able to get reasonable results. However,
Kirkland paper has been sourced out to numerous suppliers over the
years, so there may be a loss of consistency. The fact that the Epson
profile with Epson OEM inks gives a pretty poor result, indicates it has
some "features" which are not built into the Epson papers. Have you
tried any other Epson profiles (for other paper types) to see if you can
get anything closer?

[Black Banding]
I seem to be getting some banding on the black. This "may" be a
result of a slightly kinked hose. It's resolved with a head cleaning,
but I don't want to do too many of those. If it continues I'll have
to try the ink in an OEM tank and see the result.

Banding in the black could be:

A head clog (partial)
Ink with too high a viscosity
Incompatibility between the paper surface and the ink*

Since a head cleaning cycle resolved it, it probably isn't a paper issue.

The line kink could be an issue. Also, make sure the ink reserve bottle
has a open air vent to allow for air displacement, and that the tube
that feeds the ink isn't too close to the bottom of the bottle, or
touching it.

[Incomplete printing]
Roughly 3 prints stopped about 66%. I presently get no feedback from
the printer, so I just get a cryptic blinking light. For the moment I
will presume the chips hit empty and they needed a power cycle to
reset.

Were the prints ejected at that point, or the printer continued to try
to print, but no ink appeared to be coming from the head?

Possible causes include, the hoses getting caught on something and
causing the cartridges to shift and lose contact with the chip reading
wires within the carriage

Inadequate contiguous space on the hard drive to create the rasterized
spool of the full image. This can become intermittent if you are using
the same drive letter for the printer spooler, Image program scratch
disk, and virtual memory requirements of the OS.

Check to see what the default spooling location is, and if it is on a
drive with minimum free space, or one shared with other disk memory
applications, you may wish to move it. Also, defrag the drive in question.

Does the CIS use auto-reset chips on the cartridges/dampers?

[black glazing]
My first printers showed significant black glazing, as in the black
ink was VERY glossy in contrast to the print. This likely would be
resolved with other paper, or matte spray. I may have been better off
with the matte black.

This can be an ink or paper problem, or an ink density issue (too much
black ink being applied to the print). In general, black inks are less
glossy than the colors, because they may contain some particulate matter
to make them more dense. It is hard to make a truly opaque dye with
good coverage so blacks sometimes have lampblack or other agents to
darken the black ink. Is the surface too glossy or is it bronzing,
which make sit look bronze/metallic on certain angles?

In general a glossy/photo black is used for glossy papers but it has a
lower density, while a matte black is used matte and fine art papers, as
it has less gloss and more density.

[color rendering]
Thus far I only have two profiles.
1280-G6_EPSONPHTOQLTY - This is MediaStreets profile for Epson Premium
paper. It's VERY yellow.
JBL610-GP - this is MIS's (inksupply.com) profile for their "MIS
Archival GP". This is a little closer to reality, but I have yet to
evaluate it more closely.

To start with, just in terms of trying to pin down the issues, I would
suggest staying with the manufacturers profile and paper just to see if
you can get close to what you are after. This can help you from chasing
your tail. Once you can tame that, you can then move upon to 3rd party
inks and papers and see what needs to be done to correct the profile errors.

Keep in mind that even inks that look nearly identical in color as inks
*may* react differently when reacting with the paper chemistry, (pH, etc).

So try to avoid shooting at a moving target. Also, you may need to
calibrate your monitor with at least something like Adobe Gamma, if not
a proper hardware and software solution.

[Leakage]
Raising up the CIS about 3 inches above the printer was not a good
idea. That seems to have resulted in leakage. It may be it will
operate better at a slightly higher level, but clearly the box it came
in was too high.

Sometimes CIS are made for several different models, and the back
pressure on the ink may differ between models. You definitely want to
avoid formed leakage at the head from excessive ink pressure. Make sure
the leakage isn't from around the ink outlet of the cartridge and the
ink nipple in the carriage and due to a bad cartridge seal. This can
also lead to banding is air is being sucked into the head via that route.

Overall, the prints look good, really good. The only issue thus far
is the black, and that might be a cartridge issue.

If the .jpg samples below are an indication of the prints looking
"really good", we have differing expectations. They should look very
close to your source image.

Art

[source image]
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm83/IGExpandPanda/test1-source.jpg
[OEM ink before the Switch]
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm83/IGExpandPanda/test1-OEM.jpg
[Mediastreet's profile]
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm83/IGExpandPanda/test1-MediaStreet-MIS-profile.jpg
[MIS's profile]
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm83/IGExpandPanda/test1-MediaStreet-Epson-Profile.jpg

 

[IntergalacticExpandingPanda]

On Dec 14, 1:47 am, Arthur Entlich

If the .jpg samples below are an indication of the prints looking
"really good", we have differing expectations. They should look very
close to your source image.

Pretty good is defined in the context of using ink geared for the 2200
in the 1280. Anything within the ballpark without any end user
adjustments is how I define pretty good. You're right, I should
likely reword it. Neon yellow grass isn't exactly within the realm of
reality. But still I wasn't expecting the end result to match the
source image, I'm running ink geared for the 2200 in the 1280.

Colors, serious need of adjustment. Print quality, as in the print
mechanics, the ink hitting the page and resembling an image rather
than the floor of Chihuly's boat house after he got done with a
marathon signature session.

Never trust products that are labeled with spelling errors ;-)
I am new to the word Googlability, but I like it ;-)

Well, I do cut these people some slack in the fact that they are not
native English speakers.

http://www.engrish.com/

The "Blue Lable" series was actually rather limited, they soon
corrected them, but I will continue to mock them.

Many CIS units have been problematical or need some adjustments.
Overall, other have reported less issues with Ink Republic's CIS.  I
have no affiliation with them, nor do I own one, but I get a lot of
favorable comments about them, although not completely trouble free on
set up, at times.

Well, I was going for cheap test unit. My print volume doesn't really
justify a CISS for anything other than letter sized and discs.

Also it seemed prudent to use and document such a ubiquitous yet
nameless unit.

Unless the inks are incompatible with the paper for some reason, with a
proper profile you should be able to get reasonable results. However,
Kirkland paper has been sourced out to numerous suppliers over the
years, so there may be a loss of consistency.  The fact that the Epson
profile with Epson OEM inks gives a pretty poor result, indicates it has
some "features" which are not built into the Epson papers.  Have you
tried any other Epson profiles (for other paper types) to see if you can
get anything closer?

I've not tried anything else as of yet. My goal in testing was
getting some indication of what prints look like with a correction
profile without other color adjustment, pick one that's in the
ballpark, and adjust from there.

I've bought enough Kirkland to know that the "made in Switzerland"
stuff stayed the same. They then outsourced to Mexico and as it turns
out, now the US. I'm not sure how much of a moving target these
papers are since I bought a ton of the Swiss stuff before they
switched.

[Black Banding]

A head clog (partial)
Ink with too high a viscosity
Incompatibility between the paper surface and the ink*

Since a head cleaning cycle resolved it, it probably isn't a paper issue.

The line kink could be an issue. Also, make sure the ink reserve bottle
has a open air vent to allow for air displacement, and that the tube
that feeds the ink isn't too close to the bottom of the bottle, or
touching it.

The "Blue Lable CISS" is vented, in fact it has special "air filters"
which I presume also help adjust the how quickly the ink flows. They
don't seem to be very effective as filters.

The ink on the "Blue Lable" (I can't decide if I should say Lab-lay or
La-Blay)

They are bottom fed, as in they are attached directly to the bottom of
the unit. I don't know if that's an issue, but I presume they do it
this way so when the unit is at the same level as the printer, there
is a slight back pressure.

[Incomplete printing]

Were the prints ejected at that point, or the printer continued to try
to print, but no ink appeared to be coming from the head?

The prints were ejected mid print 2/3s completed. Ink was flowing
VERY well.

Possible causes include, the hoses getting caught on something and
causing the cartridges to shift and lose contact with the chip reading
wires within the carriage

1) Hoses
Valid theory, except they were not caught. I could accept that
additional drag may have resulted in the printer complaining, but you
would expect that sort of error to result in inconsistent aborts.

Inadequate contiguous space on the hard drive to create the rasterized
spool of the full image.  This can become intermittent if you are using
the same drive letter for the printer spooler, Image program scratch
disk, and virtual memory requirements of the OS.

The machine has 2gigs of ram, and 10gigs free on the primary HD. The
secondary HD, I don't remember the exact size, but it has somewhere
around 80gigs free and virtual memory is also mapped there.

This would explain a fixed abort after a specific time, but memory is
not the case. Plenty of that.

Check to see what the default spooling location is, and if it is on a
drive with minimum free space, or one shared with other disk memory
applications, you may wish to move it.  Also, defrag the drive in question.

Good idea, but the problem seems to have been resolved by powering
down the printer, and powering it back up. My current theory will
continue to be chips registering as full, or close to it, and needed
to be reset.

Does the CIS use auto-reset chips on the cartridges/dampers?

Yep, and unfortunately the reseller didn't seem to know the technical
details, or rather worded his support page to account for different
chips.

[black glazing]

This can be an ink or paper problem, or an ink density issue (too much
black ink being applied to the print).  In general, black inks are less
glossy than the colors, because they may contain some particulate matter
to make them more dense.  It is hard to make a truly opaque dye with
good coverage so blacks sometimes have lampblack or other agents to
darken the black ink.  Is the surface too glossy or is it bronzing,
which make sit look bronze/metallic on certain angles?

The glazing I'm speaking of is the surface is way too glossy. I'll
get on scanning those prints tomorrow. Basically the shadow area,
which is without a doubt 100% black or close enough to it. I presumed
it was because I was using a "glossy black" but it could be as you
suggest too much ink.

To start with, just in terms of trying to pin down the issues, I would
suggest staying with the manufacturers profile and paper just to see if
you can get close to what you are after.  This can help you from chasing
your tail.  Once you can tame that, you can then move upon to 3rd party
inks and papers and see what needs to be done to correct the profile errors.

Well, the issue as I see is, is these are 2200 inks. My rational was
not to print images that matched the source images, but rather get
close to the 1280 first, then use that as a base line for color
calibration. But it looks like I'm going to pretty much have to
ignore the stock inks and adjust based on what I've seen.

Keep in mind that even inks that look nearly identical in color as inks
*may* react differently when reacting with the paper chemistry, (pH, etc)..

So try to avoid shooting at a moving target.  Also, you may need to
calibrate your monitor with at least something like Adobe Gamma, if not
a proper hardware and software solution.

The way I've been doing things is as follows
1) Calibrate my monitors, as in with a screw driver (Sony 20SEs
2) Use three example photos, print, scan
3) Subtract the colors and find the strengths and weaknesses
4) Adjust as needed

This may not be a proper hardware/software solution but it has served
me well in the past. That being said, I'm still technically in the
learning phase on the 1280 since I used the 1520 well until 9 months
ago.

Sometimes CIS are made for several different models, and the back
pressure on the ink may differ between models.  You definitely want to
avoid formed leakage at the head from excessive ink pressure.  Make sure
the leakage isn't from around the ink outlet of the cartridge and the
ink nipple in the carriage and due to a bad cartridge seal.  This can
also lead to banding is air is being sucked into the head via that route.

Yes, it seems that these specific vessels are generic and as such may
not actually be designed for a specific printer, which is rather why I
thought a height adjustment would be required. I'm reasonably certain
the leak was only when I moved the CISS. It has not happened again in
the past 24 hours.

 

[IntergalacticExpandingPanda]

I simply cannot understand why anyone ignores the great CIS system for
the 1280 from MIS (inksupply.com). I've had their system for nearly 2
yrs now & any problems I've had with clogging, etc., were explained on
their exhaustive support pages. I don't work for or have any
connection with MIS, other than a satisfied customer.

To be honest, I wasn't in the market for a CIS. I really wasn't. The
way I saw it, it was $40. If it worked, great, if not it contained
self resetting chips which would be handy elsewhere, as well as
refillable tanks that could serve to hold a Windex solution for
cleaning. I don't print enough on that printer to justify a CIS,
well not yet anyway.

I'm sure MIS offers a spiffy solution. I looked at it briefly and
it's basically their standard bottles with gummed caps and I presume a
tube and fittings. What looks most handy is the acrylic bracket with
tube clip attached to it. http://www.inksupply.com/cfs_1280_new.cfm

That's one issue with the "Blue Lable CISS". You can't close the lid
with the clip attached to the back bracket, not without cutting into
the lid plastic.

 

[IntergalacticExpandingPanda]

There are a number of reasons.  People want to use OEM ink which fades
less, has better image quality and do not want to jerk themselves around
with potential clogging and the other crap.

Um, the 1280 takes dye ink.

http://www.epson.com/pdf/LightfastCPD_15334R2.pdf

Under glass OEM 1280 ink is rated for

Double-Sided Matte Paper 15 years
Matte Paper Heavyweight 18 years
ColorLife™ Photo Paper 27 years
Semigloss Scrapbook Photo Paper 27 years

MediaStreet pigment inks are rated for 100 years. As a good rule of
thumb pigments last longer than dye.