MIS CIS Ordered

[Mike Dobbs]

OK, I've taken the plunge. After days of scouring the various vendor websites for the best CIS deal, I settled on the MIS pre-assembled setup for my Epson 875 DCS. This system comes pre-installed with their Epson OEM Match dye ink...all for $130. Now as most of you know, the 875 printer is a USB only model so the MIS software based chip reset method will not work since it required the parallel port connection to printer (found on the 870). So to get around this, I've ordered 2 Read Only "always full" chips from the Weink site for $36 each. These can be put on the MIS cartridges quite easily, replacing the OEM resettable ones supplied with the system. Total for the setup will be $206 including my first set of ink.

I priced out buying all the MIS components separately and doing the labor to drill the cartridges etc. The saving were very minimal ($134 for all components plus the 2 RO chips from Weink, not including $48 for ink...~ $26 savings), so the pre-assembled setup was the best choice.

I could have gone with the complete Weink kit for $199, but I'm not confident in the ink that comes pre-installed with the kit since I 've been unable to find many others here using it. At least with the MIS ink, there's a reasonable net experience/knowledge to draw from as to longevity/profiling/paper issues.

I'll report back when I've got my first results.

Mike.

 

[Kui]

Oh I didn't know that weink sell custom chips. Last time I e-mail them they said they're not selling it.

anyway, I hope you enjoy your CFS. You made the right decision about buying the custom chips (eventhough it's too expensive). But I would do the same thing - the idea is try not to move the cartridges in/out after you got the whole thing settle down.

Kui

 

[DonR]

OK, I've taken the plunge. After days of scouring the various
vendor websites for the best CIS deal, I settled on the MIS
pre-assembled setup for my Epson 875 DCS.

This sounds pretty exciting -- I hope all goes well
Make sure you post your update / impressions / results

or if you don't mind could you email me off line as I'd like to hear about your experience.
Thanks
Don

 

[Jack]

If you could post your results for all to see, it would be helpful for those of use thinking of doing this. Pictures and step by step instructions would be very appreciated.
Thanks in advance,

Jack...

OK, I've taken the plunge. After days of scouring the various
vendor websites for the best CIS deal, I settled on the MIS
pre-assembled setup for my Epson 875 DCS.

This sounds pretty exciting -- I hope all goes well
Make sure you post your update / impressions / results
or if you don't mind could you email me off line as I'd like to
hear about your experience.
Thanks
Don

 

[Tom Husband]

So Mike, have you set things up? I think you have the way to go and I'm thinking about it too. I'd really like to hear how things have gone. CIS makes so much sense but making the right choice for my Epson 870 is a tough one.

Thanks,

Tom

OK, I've taken the plunge. After days of scouring the various
vendor websites for the best CIS deal, I settled on the MIS
pre-assembled setup for my Epson 875 DCS. This system comes
pre-installed with their Epson OEM Match dye ink...all for $130.
Now as most of you know, the 875 printer is a USB only model so the
MIS software based chip reset method will not work since it
required the parallel port connection to printer (found on the
870). So to get around this, I've ordered 2 Read Only "always full"
chips from the Weink site for $36 each. These can be put on the MIS
cartridges quite easily, replacing the OEM resettable ones supplied
with the system. Total for the setup will be $206 including my
first set of ink.

I priced out buying all the MIS components separately and doing the
labor to drill the cartridges etc. The saving were very minimal
($134 for all components plus the 2 RO chips from Weink, not
including $48 for ink...~ $26 savings), so the pre-assembled setup
was the best choice.

I could have gone with the complete Weink kit for $199, but I'm not
confident in the ink that comes pre-installed with the kit since I
've been unable to find many others here using it. At least with
the MIS ink, there's a reasonable net experience/knowledge to draw
from as to longevity/profiling/paper issues.

I'll report back when I've got my first results.

Mike.

 

[Tom Husband]

Thanks,

Tom

OK, I've taken the plunge. After days of scouring the various
vendor websites for the best CIS deal, I settled on the MIS
pre-assembled setup for my Epson 875 DCS. This system comes
pre-installed with their Epson OEM Match dye ink...all for $130.
Now as most of you know, the 875 printer is a USB only model so the
MIS software based chip reset method will not work since it
required the parallel port connection to printer (found on the
870). So to get around this, I've ordered 2 Read Only "always full"
chips from the Weink site for $36 each. These can be put on the MIS
cartridges quite easily, replacing the OEM resettable ones supplied
with the system. Total for the setup will be $206 including my
first set of ink.

I priced out buying all the MIS components separately and doing the
labor to drill the cartridges etc. The saving were very minimal
($134 for all components plus the 2 RO chips from Weink, not
including $48 for ink...~ $26 savings), so the pre-assembled setup
was the best choice.

I could have gone with the complete Weink kit for $199, but I'm not
confident in the ink that comes pre-installed with the kit since I
've been unable to find many others here using it. At least with
the MIS ink, there's a reasonable net experience/knowledge to draw
from as to longevity/profiling/paper issues.

I'll report back when I've got my first results.

Mike.

 

[Guillermo Shashte]

I priced out buying all the MIS components separately and doing the > > labor to drill the cartridges etc. The saving were very minimal ($134 for > > all components plus the 2 RO chips from Weink, not including $48 for > > ink...~ $26 savings), so the pre-assembled setup was the best choice.

In my opinion doing my own with OEM carts is better, see my previous tread.

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1003&message=2296845--G . Shashte

 

[Jon W77861]

Are you sure the read-only chips will fit the MIS cartridges?

They are bigger then the OEM chips.

I might had gone with the weink system, but I had similiar reservations about their ink, but more importantly the price of their ink. They charge quite a bit more for their ink .vs. the other outfits.

I didn't really want to buy a weink CIS then start mixing in inks from MIS/Mediastreets, so since Mediastreets had the complete solution I went with that.

So far it's working great.

 

[Mike Dobbs]

The RO chips did fit the MIS carts...but the little nibs that fit into the chip holes got a bit mangled when I pulled the original MIS chips off. Thus the rO's didn't stay securely in place. A drop of Krazy glue did the trick.

Setup is working great so far.

Are you sure the read-only chips will fit the MIS cartridges?

They are bigger then the OEM chips.

I might had gone with the weink system, but I had similiar
reservations about their ink, but more importantly the price of
their ink. They charge quite a bit more for their ink .vs. the
other outfits.

I didn't really want to buy a weink CIS then start mixing in inks
from MIS/Mediastreets, so since Mediastreets had the complete
solution I went with that.

So far it's working great.

 

[Tom Husband]

Jon, how easy is it to re-set the chips? What kind of printer do you have? With MIS don't you have to have a serial connection? Is that in addition to the USB connection or do you have to hook the serial port up each time you want to re-set? I'd think it would be a pain to re-set the chips in the middle of a job. All of the manufactures really aren't too clear on the re-setting process.

Thanks,

Tom

Are you sure the read-only chips will fit the MIS cartridges?

They are bigger then the OEM chips.

I might had gone with the weink system, but I had similiar
reservations about their ink, but more importantly the price of
their ink. They charge quite a bit more for their ink .vs. the
other outfits.

I didn't really want to buy a weink CIS then start mixing in inks
from MIS/Mediastreets, so since Mediastreets had the complete
solution I went with that.

So far it's working great.

 

[Jon W77861]

Jon, how easy is it to re-set the chips?

My Niagra system from MediaStreets uses read-only chips. So to reset the ink level, all I have to do is turn my printer on.

What kind of printer do you have?

Epson 1280.

With MIS don't you have to have a serial connection?

With MIS would need to use the parallel port if you want to use the software reset method. Mike found another solution though, which was to purchase the read-only chips from WeInk then retrofit them in to the MIS cartridges.

I'd think it would be
a pain to re-set the chips in the middle of a job.

Agreed, but assuming you reset the chips before starting the print job, it would take a really long job to empty the carts.

All of the
manufactures really aren't too clear on the re-setting process.

Yeah, there's quite a few ways they try to work around it:

1) Software reset: you run a special program that resets the chip over a parallel cable;

2) Hardware reset: a special device requiring you to remove the chips from the cartridge and plug them in to the device to set them back to full.

3) Read only chips: the printer reads full everytime you turn it on;

Software reset is the cheapest ($20) but it won't work with Macintosh computers, and you have to use the parallel cable, not USB, so you'd either have to use parallel all the time (slower) or keep swapping back and forth (annoying).

Hardware reset is a bit more expensive (~$50), it can work with Macintoshes, it allows you to use USB, but it requires you to keep removing the cartridges and chips which is a hassle and would cause wear and tear on the chips and cartridges. But this wouldn't be an issue if you were hand refilling your cartridges.

Read only chips are the most expensive (~$90) but it works under all conditions, and it's pretty much fire and forget. Perfect if you have a CIS system, but perhaps too costly if you prefer to manually refill the cartridges.

Costs are all relative. I calculated that when my first 4oz set of bottles are empty, the CIS will have nearly payed for itself and the Epson 1280 printer.

 

[Gerry Gray89132]

Hi
Couple of extra tips:

If you have a 870,890,1270,1280,1290 you can have software reset and cfs or fill your own. Connect both parallel and USB cables at same time. Set your windows to print using USB as normal. When you run software reset, no changes in windows, the reset software automatically goes out parallel port.

If you know you are going to change chips on carts, slice off the little heat seal bump with razor blade. Makes for easier transfer. Put a little dab of cement behind chip to secure. Never plug a cartridge in without a chip or with a loose chip......screws up the contacts.

Assembling your own cfs allows you to use original Epson carts that have little poppett valves in bottom.

After all that you will be very happy with choice of MIS inks and the first lot of inks (4oz each color) should do the equivelent of 15 or more pairs of carts and if using continuous supply you don't. have to remove them.
http://www.inkrefill.ca

All of the
manufactures really aren't too clear on the re-setting process.

Yeah, there's quite a few ways they try to work around it:

1) Software reset: you run a special program that resets the chip
over a parallel cable;

2) Hardware reset: a special device requiring you to remove the
chips from the cartridge and plug them in to the device to set them
back to full.

3) Read only chips: the printer reads full everytime you turn it on;

Software reset is the cheapest ($20) but it won't work with
Macintosh computers, and you have to use the parallel cable, not
USB, so you'd either have to use parallel all the time (slower) or
keep swapping back and forth (annoying).

Hardware reset is a bit more expensive (~$50), it can work with
Macintoshes, it allows you to use USB, but it requires you to keep
removing the cartridges and chips which is a hassle and would cause
wear and tear on the chips and cartridges. But this wouldn't be an
issue if you were hand refilling your cartridges.

Read only chips are the most expensive (~$90) but it works under
all conditions, and it's pretty much fire and forget. Perfect if
you have a CIS system, but perhaps too costly if you prefer to
manually refill the cartridges.

Costs are all relative. I calculated that when my first 4oz set of
bottles are empty, the CIS will have nearly payed for itself and
the Epson 1280 printer.

--GG