They aren't the same. The bottle that comes with a mimaki cleaning kit is a little stronger than the cartridge in the back. I had no idea, and was using washing cartridges exclusively for about the last 9 months, then all of the yellow nozzles clogged (ALL OF IT) on one side. I tried everything, head soaks, pushing a little through the head using a syringe, dampers, etc. Finally had to throw in the towel and have a tech come and look at the machine dreading the $3000 price tag of a new head.
He picked up my bottle of transferred cleaning solution and smelled it and asked me what it was. I told him I had been using the head washing cartridges we got when we swapped to 20/20 inks, just breaking them open and filling the bottle. I was surprised at how different it smelled from the cleaning kit bottle, and we did head soaks with it, pushed that solvent through the head for a few hours, and got about 60% of the nozzles spraying in one afternoon.
That was a week ago. I have since switched back to OEM inks, have about 75% of the nozzles in that channel firing, and am running with it. When I first bought this printer, I was amazed that people would spend 15k on a piece of equipment and then get cheap with how they clean it, or the inks they ran through it. I fell victim to the same thing I had once questioned, and won't look back, I feel very fortunate not to have had to cough up the money for a new head. If inks cost me $.30 a square foot to lay down, so be it. I will adjust my prices accordingly. If a cleaning kit costs $60, same thing. I'll use the cartridge on the back for a head soak now and then, but you better believe I am going to use that kit at least once a week.
I don't blame the cleaning cartridge as much as the non OEM inks, but there is definitely a difference in both.
