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Monday Made It - Continuous Ink Supply System




I'm linking up with the fabulous Tara from 4th Grade Frolics for another Monday Made It! I thought that I was excited last week when I finally got my new office space together.  That was until I was talking to my sweet friend Marissa from The Inspired Owl's Corner.  She told me she had a system hooked up to her printer that allows her to print as much as she wants and she hardly ever has to replace the ink. She prints thousands of copies without worrying about ink.  Say what? Up until now I replace my ink cartridges every month at a cost of about $25.  I hardly ever print in color and it seems like it runs out within 100 pages.  She wasn't sure what the system was called but she showed me a picture.  So I investigated and found out that it is called a Continuous Ink Supply System. I hopped on over to Ebay and found out that you can get these systems for just about all printers.  I purchased a unit that came full of ink for $50.  Let the printing begin!!! Disclaimer:  The unit isn't pretty.  However, you can print everything that you need to.  So don't worry!!!!!!
Continuous Ink Supply System


Let me tell you how easy it is to install:
CISS


Step 1
Open the box!
Continual Ink Supply System - Print for Pennies

Step 2
Install the print cartridges in the printer.  Make sure to push hard.  You will want to snap each individual cartridge into place and listen for the click.  Then you will want to hear a click from pushing the middle of all of the cartridges into place.  If your printer doesn't recognize the cartridge, take them out and push them in harder.  The housing of my printer didn't quite fit the top of the cartridges in so I pulled the housing up until I heard it pop out of place.  This allowed for enough room.

CISS

Step 3
Place the ink wells to the side of the printer.  Do not put them above the printer or the ink will flow all over your printer.  You will need to take the small plugs out and place in the filters.  
CISS - Print For Pennies

Step 4
You will want to allow enough tubing to stay inside so that the printer heads can go to the left and right.  Don't leave so much slack that it will lay on the bottom.  When you are done, clip the tubing to the side.  Everything was included with my system.

Youtube has a ton of videos to walk you through each step, but it really only takes about 15 minutes total.

Step 5 
Clean your printer heads.  I had to print about 25 sheets until the print quality was good.  Enjoy printing your little hearts out.

Refills
Marissa told me that she goes at least a year before she has to refill.  I found refill bottles on Amazon for  around $15 for the big bottle kits.  These kits last her around 2 years.  Liquid refill set

Update 08/23/14
There has been a lot of interest in the CISS and everyone wants to know how it's going.  So I have printed all of my back to school items now.  That would be two reams of paper (maybe more).  My ink supply level has not changed much.  It's still at the top!!!! There have been quite a few of you all who have told me that you LOVE your systems too.  One friend told me that she got the system and has already had to replace the black ink.  She has a printer that is a model under mine. I'm assuming that the quality of printer you have makes a difference in your ink. It is possible be that she bought a different size ink well too.

Here are some troubleshooting tips that I have learned with some of the readers:
1.  Make sure to clean the heads of your printer.  This will help with any lines that you see.
2.  You can also take a cotton swab and use alcohol to wipe the tip of the ink cartridge if it isn't flowing properly.
2.  Make sure to print several pages in the beginning to get the air out of the line.  

Update 01/04/15
The CISS is still working great!!! The print quality is fabulous.  Last week I started to get lines in my prints and they wouldn't go away after I cleaned the heads.  So I went to YouTube and found out that when I filled my ink wells I put a lot of air in the tubes.  Head cleaning didn't solve this problem but the video gave me a quick fix that did.  So now I have printed about 6 reams or more.  I bought a $15 refill kit from Amazon.  I estimate that this ink will last me for over 6 months.

This is the last picture that I printed.  Great print quality.


A great BIG virtual hug goes out to Marissa for telling me about this!!!!




24 comments:

  1. WOW! That's awesome! I actually didn't know you could do that! I wonder if it would work on mine… I'll have to put that on my list of things to google this week!
    Carrie
    Anchored in 3rd Grade

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  2. I didn't know either. We were having a conversation where I had to admit that I choose my printing carefully. When I found out we could have a year's worth of printing for $15, I had to learn how. I promise that it is super easy. You should check out Ebay.

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  3. That sounds so interesting! I hate doing any kind of printing, but if you want things to be cute, you have to, right? So this is the perfect solution! Thanks for sharing,
    Cara
    www.carascreativeplayground.blogspot.com

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  4. Hmmm, I'm definitely going to have to check this out!! We've only had our printer for a year and it's already crapped out on us :( This seems like an AWESOME teacher purchase though!!! :)

    Briana
    Sun, Sand & Second Grade

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  5. Thank you! You will definitely want a good printer before investing in the CISS. Good luck:)

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  6. So glad this worked for you! I can't believe how easy it is to install! No more getting ripped off by cost of ink!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for telling me about this! I'm going to test it out by printing my planner in color! I'm such a rebel:)

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  7. What kind of printer do you have, I need a new one and to get one that works with this would be great!
    Sara
    Frampton's FUNdamentals

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  8. I have an Epson Stylus NX330. I really like how well it scans my pictures. You might want to research a printer that works for you and then go on Ebay and search CISS with the printer and model number. They have these systems for a lot of printers that are out there.

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  9. I've got to look into the ink system! My printer EATS ink!

    Bryce
    First Grade Stampede

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  10. I'm excited! Thanks for sharing :)

    Kristen

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  11. Wow! Thank you sooooo much! This summer has been all about printing task cards and eating up tons of ink. I will be looking into this immediately!!! Thank you!!

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    Replies
    1. You are welcome! Let me know if you need any help with it.

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  12. WHAAAAAAT? I am pinning this right now!! How have I never in my life heard of this. It's genius in a little bottle thingy! YAY! I'm going to investigate after I pin!
    Alison
    Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin'

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  13. Holy Cow! This sounds fabulous! I just bought ink yesterday and it was $35. Let's just say the hubs was not thrilled. :( Summer printing.... it just has to happen! I am looking into this right now. Thank you so much for sharing!!!

    Cassie
    Funky in Fourth

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    Replies
    1. Cassie, I have had the system for a while now. It works better now than ever before. I highly recommend it.

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  15. This is the best news ever! EVER! Thank you!

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    1. You are so welcome! I hope that you are able to get one:)
      Take care, Amy

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  16. That is incredible!!! Thank you so much for sharing!! Your blog is gorgeous...I am obsessed with red and blue!!! :)

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words! As you can see, I love red and blue too!!!

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