Starting Secondary School - tips and advice

[Tinkers]

this board is starting to annoy me, I wrote a nice long reply, clicked on submit and it asked me to log in again and I lost my reply.

anyway I bought mine from Rihac uk which unfortunately 'HAS BEEN CLOSED PENDING A NEW UK DISTRIBUTER '. As a business I can't see how they make much money as once they have sold you the unit, you hardly ever spend any more money with them.
I bought mine for about £80 in 2009, and since have spent another £30 for some more ink. All together about 6x200ml of ink for my 6 colours, which for my printer equates to about 180 cartridges at a cost of about £1200 buying in the most economical quantities.

I had a look at these, they are compatible with my printer, but I have to say with three boys all printing as and when, and two bouncy dogs in the computer/play room with them, I visualise the tubes getting knocked about and ink running everywhere!
How robust is the external unit and how mess proof are the connections?
I would love to win the printer cartridge war!

Ok, its robust and stable... but if it were to be knocked off a table there would be a lot of mess as it pulls the tubes from the printer etc, however you could always try sticking/tying it to the table or printer.
with the one I got the 6 colours come in a single unit with sort of 6 bottle stuck together..

one note, be carefully in choosing one, as some are plumbed all wrong. the tubes need to go from the bottom of the bottles to the top of the cartridges. My printer sometimes goes through a preparation cycle when it pumps to and from the printer. when it pumps to the printer it takes ink from the bottom of the bottles, and when it pumps from the printer it takes air from the top of the cartridges.

I bought the bullet and got a CISS of my HP printer. Simple to set up, seems to work a treat and I Sellotaped the thing to the desk next to the printer, so it doesn't get knocked off. Since DD seems allergic to using a desk, it's not a big problem through. Cost about the same as two/three lots of cartridges.
Got fed up of it constantly complaining a cartridge was low.