HELP - Installation Manuals for MagicFlow! continous ink supply systems

TransMagic!™ Inks are only sold in bottles (if we sold single cartridges filled with our ink you would save very little because you would still be throwing empty cartridges away).

Because of this, you have to have a way to get the ink into the printer; hence, the CIS unit.

A Continuous Ink System is like having a set of cartridges, with a low cost, permanent transfusion attached.

Developing the MagicFlow! CIS™ was almost as aggravating as the story we shared on the previous page about developing our inks! To make a long story short, we have several large junk boxes, filled with the remains of CIS delivery systems from all over the world, that didn’t meet our standards.

When we finally got it right, we had the MagicFlow! CIS™ ink delivery unit.

This page has four parts:
How It Works, Why You Need It, Which System Should I Buy, Prices/Deals.

How It Works

As you can see, there are reservoir bottles, filled with our ink, sitting beside the printer.

The plastic surgical tubes attached to each bottle run inside the printer and attach to connectors atop of each cartridge.

As the ink in the cartridge is used, it pulls replacement ink from the reservoir bottles to keep the cartridges full.

The system is just about foolproof, if you follow our instructions (we send detailed instructions, with pictures and we have expert telephone support, if you need it).

Why you need a MagicFlow! CIS™

• The system uses our TransMagic! Ink™, which is much cheaper than regular ink cartridges (see Cost Comparison below)
• Never run out of ink. You can see the ink in the reservoir bottles and refill as needed.
• The auto-resetting chips in the cartridges reset automatically, so the printer always knows that the cartridges are full.
• Ironclad guarantee: If you are using our inks and the system fails within 6 months, we will repair or replace it free of charge.

Guarantee is Null if: you are not using our inks, you are not following our suggested procedures or the printer is left unused for months. Don't worry. We will always give you the benefit of any doubts but we don't want to be abused either.

MagicFlow! CIS™ System Availability:

Current Epson Printers that can be bought

• Epson R1900 (prints 8.5x11 and 11x17 heat transfer paper)
• Epson 1400 (prints 8.5x11 and 11x17 heat transfer paper)
• Epson C-88+ (prints 8.5x11 heat transfer paper)

Discontinued printers that you may already own

• Epson C120 (prints 8.5x11 heat transfer paper)
• Epson C88 (prints 8.5x11 heat transfer paper)
• Epson R260 (prints 8.5x11 heat transfer paper)
• Epson R1800 (prints 8.5x11 and 11x17 heat transfer paper)
• Epson 1280 (prints 8.5x11 and 11x17 heat transfer paper)

Special Note: We only offer MagicFlow! CIS units for the above printers. We do not offer systems for any other printers.

Cost comparison of TransMagic!™ Inks vs. regular ink cartridges.

Regular manufacturers inks are only sold in cartridges and the cartridges don’t hold much ink (on average about 14 ml). Our cost comparison uses cartridge prices on current Epson printers from a typical office supply store versus our 125 ml (4 oz.) bottled ink (almost 9 times more).

Epson C88+ Printer (prints 8.5x11)

• 1 regular ink cartridge - $14.74 - (14 ml of ink) *Note- Black is about $21.19
• 1 TransMagic!™ Inks refill bottle (any color) - $29.95 (125 ml of ink)

Epson 1400 Printer (prints 8.5x11 and 11x17)

• 1 regular ink cartridge - $18.99 - (approx. 18 ml of ink)
• 1 TransMagic!™ Inks refill bottle - $29.95 (125 ml of ink)

Epson R1900 Printer (prints 8.5x11 and 11x17)

• 1 regular ink cartridge - $18.99 - (approx. 18 ml of ink)
• 1 TransMagic! Pigment2™ Inks refill bottle - $34.95 (125 ml of ink)

Which Printer/System Should I Buy?

As always, rational buying decisions involve balancing needs, budgets and desires. In our view, buying something cheap, that won’t do your work, is being “penny smart and dollar stupid”. On the other hand, spending your “last penny” may not be a good idea either.

Here are your choices. We have a MagicFlow! bulk ink system and the correct type of TransMagic!™ Inks for each printer choice- R1900, 1400, C88+, C88, C120, R260, R1800, 1270, 1280, 1290.

Why only Epson printers? The answer is simple: money. There is no way anyone could afford to offer a bulk CIS unit for every available brand printer. We are very familiar with the named Epson printers because they are used for sublimation printing (we cover that subject on another tutorial web site – see “Our Other Websites” for a link).

By staying with familiar printers we knew that we could provide maximum service and support.

Epson R1900 – Prints 8.5x11 and 11x17 heat transfers

Warning! - Do NOT install the Epson cartridges into the R1900 before installing the MagicFlow! CIS, the system will not work if you have run any other cartridge or system in the printer.

Pro – Excellent 8-color printer, developed with photographers in mind. The Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Blue and Orange colors provide unusually correct, photographic replication. The Matte and Photo Black colors provide good grayscales . The eighth "color" (glossy optimizer) puts a glossy finish on regular photo paper that compares to lab quality photos. The printer is also very fast. Add our TransMagic! Pigment2 Inks™ and MagicFlow1900! delivery system and you have a top of the line setup to print heat transfers or glossy regular photos. This printer is often sold with a rebate.
Check www.epsonstore.com. The printer is fast! It can print in almost half as many prints.

Con – This printer uses pigment inks. Using pigment inks requires that you print something every 3-4 days or you will run the risk of the lines clogging (this can also happen even when using regular Epson inks). Also, while pigment inks wash and wear well, pigment colors are not as vivid as dye based colors (like our inks for the Epson 1400). Neither of these two points is actually a "con" as much as they are just facts. We mention them because if you are going to use this printer, you must take care of it in a professional manner. The printer must be dedicated to the MagicFlow system.

Epson 1400 – Prints 8.5x11 and 11x17 heat transfers

Pro – This is an excellent 6-color printer if you don't need the abilities of the R1900, but do need to be able to print good 11x17 heat transfers The TransMaigic2! Inks and bulk delivery system provide near photographic quality prints for heat transfers. The speed is decent, although not nearly as fast as the R1800 on photo settings. This is the cheapest total setup (printer and bulk system) that we offer that prints 11x17 transfers.

Con – The 1400 is a sturdy printer but does not have many of the R1900 automatic features. The total setup is still a bit pricy if you only need to print 8.5x11 heat transfers.

Epson R260/R280 – (Note- the two printers use the same cartridge) Prints 8.5x11

Pro – The advantage of this printer is very low costs, but 6-color photo output. In fact, it actually uses the same TransMagic2! Inks™ as the Epson 1400. Speed again, is decent. This is a good choice for the best output that is possible with a small printer, especially if you don't need to print larger than 8.5x11. This inexpensive printer doesn't cost much more than the very cheap Epson C88+ (see below).

Con – A good setup, but perhaps not, if you even think you will need to print 11x17 in the near future.

Epson C88+ – Prints 8.5x11 heat transfers

Pro – This is a very good 4-color printer, perfect for new startups, tight budgets or the hobbyist. It is also the cheapest to own and fastest to setup. This is really not a bad choice for beginners and we have many hundreds happily and successfully using the set up.

Con – If you quickly need an 11x17 printer you will not only have to buy a new MagicFlow! System but also different TransMagic!™ Inks (11x17 printers use a different type).

Discontinued Printers - These are all older printers but we still have bulk ink systems for them

Epson C120 - Prints 8.5x11 heat transfers
Epson R1800 - Prints 8.5x11 and 11x17 heat transfers
Epson 1280 - Prints 8.5x11 and 11x17 heat transfers

“Magic” Package Ink Deals

Note- these deals are also offered with our total Startup Deals, which includes a heat press, heat transfer paper, etc. See the links at the top of the page. Your study guide continues at the bottom of this page.

A special note about E-bay ink/system deals. If you decide to go that way, be careful and confident in the supplier. We have literally dozens of customers that first bought systems on E-bay and learned the hard way that their “deal” was no bargain.

4 oz (125 ml) TransMagic Inks™ (C, M, Y, K, Lt. M, Lt. C) $29.95 each (for the Epson C88,C88+ 1280 ONLY) C88/C88+ only requires (C,M,Y,K) 1280 requires all (C,M,Y,K,LC,LM)
4 oz (125 ml) TransMagic2 Inks™ (C, M, Y, K, Lt. M, Lt. C) $29.95 each (for the Epson 1400, C120 and R260 ONLY) Both the 1400 and R260 require (C,M,Y,K,LC,LM)
4 oz (125 ml) TransMagic Pigment Inks™ (C, M, Y, K, B. R, PK, MK, Optimizer) $34.95 each (for the Epson R1800 ONLY)
4 oz (125 ml) TransMagic Pigment2 Inks™ (C, M, Y, K, B. R, PK, MK, Optimizer) $34.95 each (for the Epson R1900 ONLY)

Select your next subject from this Study Guide

The next page discusses regular ink choices, if you cannot start with a “Magic” system. If you are going to start with our Magic system, go to the next study paragraph below. If not, then click here.

The next page we suggest teaches you about decorating T-shirts, using vinyl cutter plotters (T-shirt vinyl for the cutters are on another page). Vinyl decoration offers advantages that printed heat transfers do not have (just as inkjet printed transfers have advantages that vinyl doesn’t offer).

Heat transfer t-shirt decorating AND vinyl T-shirt decorating offer great transfer business opportunities. Learning about both will help you decide if one or the other (or both) is your best starting point.

If you are not interested in learning about vinyl cutters or T-shirt vinyl, then click one of the below options, to continue your study tutorial and keep the information flow in order-

1. Flock Transfers: heat transfers are not great for just letters and numbers. Individual sheets of letters and numbers is the way to go. Learn about them

2. Uniform Numbers: uniforms require very durable, large numbers and are frequently asked for. 90% of all work is 6” & 8” Black and White numbers. Learn about them

3. Heat Press: A good heat press AND heat transfer paper is vital, in building a successful T-shirt business. Start below or pick option 4.

• Heat Press Basics teaches you what you must know, to select the right heat press for what you want to do.

• If you already know about heat press machines, then click, HIX, Stahls', or Knight heat presses, to learn about your choices.

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4. Don’t need a heat press? Then click Starting Your Business for vital insights that help you successfully hit the ground running. “Well begun is half done” Aristotle

Updated: Friday September 10, 2010