mailing refilled 221 oem cartridges

Here is a table that shows pressure vs altitude:

http://www.sablesys.com/baro-altitude.html

If you look at the last column, it basically shows the percentage of pressure vs altitude in the first column so at 20,000 feet the pressure is about 47% of what it is at sea level. However, I read somewhere that airplanes can go up as high as 45,000 feet which would be down to 15%.

I bought two rolls of the aluminium tape when it was offered by Lidl. The tape is 3M brand. The tape has a white waxy backing paper that must be removed before use, making it a bit fiddly to use, but I wouldn't dare to use the low profile/zero clearance plugs without this extra line of defence against air leaks.

I think the cargo hold in most if not all commercial jet planes is pressurized, here is a quote from a Wikipedia article about cabin pressurization.

Pressurization of the cargo hold is also required to prevent damage to pressure-sensitive goods that might leak, expand, burst or be crushed on re-pressurization.

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Even if the cabin and cargo hold is pressurized during flight, the cabin pressure is less than at sea level. A typical value of the pressure might be three quarters of the sea level pressure.

I have made a simple vacuum chamber for testing traditional vacuum refill of Canon cartridges, so I also thought of simulating air mailing of refilled cartridges, both with and without the vent sealed.

I still reckon the cartridge will breathe normally and won’t leak if you don’t cover the air maze, but if you do it will..

My wife had to clean out a travel bag when my sis sent carts back to me to be refilled. These were empty and some partially so.....and they were checked in as carry on. Been there.

PeterBJ said:

I bought two rolls of the aluminium tape when it was offered by Lidl. The tape is 3M brand. The tape has a white waxy backing paper that must be removed before use, making it a bit fiddly to use, but I wouldn't dare to use the low profile/zero clearance plugs without this extra line of defence against air leaks.

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Did the tape actually say "aluminum" on it or the packaging? Mine is also 3M. It says: Foil Tape 3311. However, according to this website:

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/...um-Foil-Tape-3311?N=5472880+3294275784&rt=rud

...it is aluminum foil tape and does have a paper liner. I would like to hear from mikling before I open the package. I don't want to have to repeat this test.

Why do you mention your low profile/zero clearance plugs? Are you saying that you put tape over them too? If so, that has nothing to do with this issue, does it?

mikling said:

My wife had to clean out a travel bag when my sis sent carts back to me to be refilled. These were empty and some partially so.....and they were checked in as carry on. Been there.

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Could you tell where they leaked from? What kind of seal was on the outlet port? I presume there was no seal on the air vent port, correct?

ghwellsjr said:

Did the tape actually say "aluminum" on it or the packaging? Mine is also 3M. It says: Foil Tape 3311.

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Yes, here is a scan of the two rolls I bought at Lidl. They look very similar to the tape linked to. IIRC the price was 15 DKK or 2.75 USD per roll. Using the micrometer measuring tool, after having cleaned the adhesive away using a paint thinner, I found the thickness of the aluminium foil to be around 0.035mm.

ghwellsjr said:

Why do you mention your low profile/zero clearance plugs? Are you saying that you put tape over them too? If so, that has nothing to do with this issue, does it?

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That depends on which plugs were used to seal the top filled cartridges by mrelmo. Many printers using these cartridges have clearance problems making the use of low profile/zero clearance plugs necessary. The use of aluminium tape when using these plugs is recommended by both Precisioncolors and Octoinkjet UK.

I bought the tape both for sealing the low profile/zero clearance plugs used on top filled cartridges and for sealing the refill hole on cartridges refilled using the German method.

I found out that if you refill your cartridges using the German method, the vent should not be sealed. If you do the cartridge will leak through the refill hole, even if it has been sealed using tape. I agree with your "Tug-of-War" explanation; the vent should not be sealed, no matter what refill method is used.

the plugs that i use for the low clearance printers, are the colored plugs with a tab, i like these plugs because they mushroom out at the bottom when fully inserted, but there is the issue of clearance, so once inserted i take a razor and trim the plug flush with the cartridge, yes i lose the convenience of the pull tab but, the plug is still fairly simple to remove with either the threaded hook used for removing the plastic ball or a pick will pull it out, so now i am thinking that i may place the cartridges in a lock n lock container without tape over the vent maze, for those of you who are not fimiliar with a lock n lock container i have attached a picture as they have a rubber gasket on the lid which i hope may cancel out the pressure issue

mrelmo said:

...so now i am thinking that i may place the cartridges in a lock n lock container without tape over the vent maze, for those of you who are not fimiliar with a lock n lock container i have attached a picture as they have a rubber gasket on the lid which i hope may cancel out the pressure issue

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The only sure way you can protect against pressure changes is with a container like a pressure cooker that not only has a hermetic seal but has sturdy enough walls that it won't deform under pressure/vacuum. I don't think your container qualifies.

I believe this is a non-issue now, I went to the post office and asked if I sent a package from NY to Florida will it go via air at all, I said I wanted to avoid air. they said all I have to do is specify ground only, and that would take longer about a week.