I think sometimes the printer's capping station doesn't seal well enough, and the heads dry out. It's certainly true that all these printers and inks will dry on the head and cause clogs if not used reasonably frequently. On the other hand, I often go for a couple of weeks between printing, with maybe one or two cleaning cycles needed to get a perfect nozzle check.
I suspect the "Eboni-6" type, matte only inkset on my ink info webpage may be the least likely to clog. The general webpage is at
http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/, and the one that may be more appropriate to look at, I'd guess, is
http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/3880-Eboni-Variable-Tone.pdf .
When you use the DIY base to dilute the "Eboni" MK ink and the toner inks, there is no binder (glue) added by the base. Note that MIS sells this base pre-mixed at
https://www.inksupply.com/roarkslab.cfm . Note that I do not receive any royalties or the like from this page. It's strictly MIS's, but with my permission as long as they don't put products on the page that I have not formulated or their less expensive clones of such, which I also test to be sure they're not dogs (no offense to my Golden Retriever).
With the MK pigment-based inks there is very little if any binder. (I can't guarantee that the original MK has zero binders. The supplier does not disclose the formula.) Frankly, I made the base originally for a watercolorist (high end and well known) who wanted me to print light images on her watercolor paper before she painted the image. The goal was to have that ink smear with a wet brush. To her disappointment, the MK pigments would not move! Cool, I have an inkset with no binder! And nothing is cheaper or more archival.
So, if you can live with matte prints (and they may be the best when under acrylic or Museum glass), the Variable tone version of the "Eboni-6" inkset may be the best and cheapest way to go. The only big expense is the empty, refillable carts.
I do recommend that all large format printers have their carts pulled and agitated weekly or bi-weekly. All pigment do, slowly, settle.
I might add that I also use the MIS PK and the MIS "amber" base for glossy printing. In my 9800, I have a setup with both Eboni-6 and the glossy inkset version. I'm happy to report it also is fairly clog free, and the two types of ink appear to be totally compatible. The profiles are more complex due to having both ink types in there. Also, note that I use two MK positions in my personal inksets to get a good dmax on Arches (uncoated) watercolor paper (Arches hot press 140). I don't really recommend that most bother with watercolor papers. Inkjet papers and a simpler arrangement, such as noted above for the 3880, are much easier for most to profile. Where the matte-only Eb6 type inset is used in a printer that is made to have both an MK and PK ink in it, I put clear base in the PK position.
Good luck with the printer and your B&W printing.
Paul
www.PaulRoark.com