Print Head & Cartridge Humidor

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I tried a similiar post but can't find it, must have done something wrong. Not everyone gets to use their Inkjets everyday. A week or a month can go by easily and then we find clogged print heads. When I know I won't be using my new printer, a Canon, I am going to start removing the print head, reinstall the ink cartridges, all outside of the printer and store the print head assembly in a sealed suitable plastic container with damp paper towels to see if this will stop or at least slow down the drying out process of the ink in the print head etc. Possible corrosion of the contacts should be less of a concern compared to how quickly a print head can get clogged. What do you think? Has anyone tried this?
 

panos

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I don't think its necessary if you use good quality / OEM inks. I have an HP that has remained inactive more than 40 days in a hot an dry environment and then printed again without a single head cleaning.
 

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I believe what you are saying, but does it really make a difference if a cartridge is OEM or compatible with all brands when it comes to drying out and clogging a print head? If there really is a difference, that would be a strong point for OEM, but there is a difference in cost as we all know. I had a Canon i560 go from printing beautiful 8x10s one week to barely printing at all the next week. These were not OEM cartridges. I cleaned the head with Windex and it printed color again, but not 100%. It was OK for general printing, but not photos, and now it is giving me grief again. I ran the cleaning cycles several times and it seems to be getting worse. A nozzle check pattern shows no color. I found new print heads for $55. I decided to buy a new Canon IP3000 instead for less money. These two printers use the same heads. I would buy a more expensive model if I wasn't concerned about this type of problem. I live in Pennsylvania and it usually is not very dry, but it must be dry enough to dry out a head in a week, you know how frustrating that can be. I had a Canon BJC 6000, it wasn't as good for photos, it used more ink but it didn't seem to dry out. Mechanical and not holding alignment, problems did that printer in. The nozzles were probably larger?? Thanks for the comments, like others I need to learn more about Inkjets, they are great when they are working.
 

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My i560 was still printing black text etc., but no color, so I decided to try cleaning it again. I used the cleaning cycles and nothing happened. I removed the print head and tried using windex again, this worked before, I soaked it overnight and then rinsed and dried it. Now the black doesn't even print. I get 5 orange flashes which translates to a print head problem. I didn't receive my IP3000 yet. I will stick to OEM cartridges with it, because these new Canons are not too hard on INK. I like the separate cartridges of the Canons, but I am beginning to understand another's comment about appreciating getting a new print head when buying cartridges for other brands of printers. (Do you think luck has any part in all of these printer stories?) The really crazy thing is I paid $10.00 less for a new printer than it would cost to put a new print head into this i560. Think this i560 print head is beyond help?
 

Grandad35

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Modeler,

Look at the bottom photo on this post.
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=241

This shows the back of the printed citcuit board on the print head, which has an exposed IC (I think that it may be a serial EEPROM). If you got water behind the circuit board, it could have shorted several pins. If this happens, the printer will not be able to read the EEPROM memory on the print head and will declare a print head fault.

Before giving up, fill a syringe with distilled water and squirt the distilled water behind the circuit board to wash out any remaining tap water or Windex (they both contain "salts", which are what makes tap water conductive). Then blow compressed air behind the printed circuit board to remove as much of the distilled water as possoble, and let the head dry overnight to see if this cures the problem.
 

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Hi Grandad35, Since my last post, I decided to look at the print head one last time. Reading your comments now fit right into what I found. The head was completely clogged, so I wasn't concerned about ruining it. I removed the two screws holding the nozzles in place on the bottom. You might know that you can carefully pop this down, the ribbon cable is flexible enough, then I was able to use Windex to wet the now exposed side of the nozzle plate (I assume that is what it is called). I was able to get a lot of ink disolved from the top side of plate. After I rinsed it in water, I used a small piece of silicone tubing on the top of the nozzles to blow air through the openings. I was able to see light through the openings. I rinsed it in water, but I didn't think about using distilled water. That is a good point about the salts. I also could have used the clean water from my dehumidifier. I still can do that just to rinse it again. I haven't tried it yet brcause I bought a IP3000, a pretty neat printer itself. (Newegg.com has very good deals on Canons) I will follow through on your points and post the results later. I was not in any particular hurry but now I am curious. Thanks for your comments.
 

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