Does Ink Freeze?

[turbguy]

But I liked the prior theme better...

 

[stratman]

Turbguy:

Must be a new sign - no bullet holes yet.

I always liked seeing the state sign. I knew I was almost home after a 24 hour or longer drive. Back then I would have been happy if the sign said "Finally Leaving Nebraska". Iowa and Nebraska are some boring highway driving.

Do you remember the old days in Wyoming when driving with open container was legal? The year before I matriculated, the U. of W. banned firearms in the dorms but still allowed them secured in your vehicle. Legal drinking age was 19. (Ohio was 18 for 3.2 beer) My how the times have changed.

 

[turbguy]

I remember those times! Distances were measured in beers rather than hours! Concealed weapons are allowed on campus..with a concealed permit. But not in buildings....

I reside closer to Tie Siding than Laramie, actually.

Agree about Nebraska...man, that's a LONNNGGG drive across.

 

[stratman]

I remember those times! Distances were measured in beers rather than hours!

Concealed weapons are allowed on campus..with a concealed permit. But not in buildings....

I recall long arms in gun racks on the back window of pickup trucks in the parking lot. It was rare to hear of thievery.

I reside closer to Tie Siding than Laramie, actually.

Had to look that up! I wonder if I went by/through Tie Siding on the way to Fort Collins? That was one bloody cold motorcycle trip - no gloves!

 

[Emulator]

You visited some amazing places, Emu. Big, Wonderful Wyoming was what the sign said when entering the state when I was in school there. I don't know if it says that anymore. The motto also was on a lot of truck mudflaps along with a cowboy riding a bucking bronco. Did you get to see a rodeo or go hiking in the mountains? I take it you went to the Grand Canyon - that is a sight to see.

So many awesome places to see on our planet.

I agree, I think the striking feature in North America and I include Canada, is the scale of everything, as well as the natural beauty, even the man made parts!

We used to visit Houston to stay with our daughter and family, when they were living there. We would go shopping in Katy occasionally and I have never seen such an enormous shopping mall, you had to drive between the blocks, it took too long to walk. Sadly there were relatively few customers, how or if they made a profit, I don't know.

But the natural scenery is the main attraction. We flew down most of the Grand Canyon in a 7 seat Cessna. Unfortunately the flight was delayed from early morning to late afternoon, not a good idea! I have never experienced such a downdraft as we hit, going over the cliff face into the canyon. Even the pilot said "Wow" after he had regained control and put out a radio warning to other aircraft. You can understand why they have so many accidents. Fortunately Cessnas are strong!

Made lots of videos on the tours, which we look at from time to time.

Have you visited the UK or the Hat's Emerald Isle?

Incidentally, thanks for the "likes", I am not sure whether the 'giver' or 'receiver' gets the most benefits!

 

[stratman]

Everything's bigger in Texas including the size of the state!

I have visited every European country, and one behind the "iron curtain", but not Spain or the British Isles. One day I might complete the tour!

Sounds like you had an invigorating experience flying "by the seat of your pants" literally. Have you been to Alaska? I hear you can take a decent photograph or two there just by turning on your camera.

 

[The Hat]

I have visited every European country, and one behind the "iron curtain", but not Spain or the British Isles. One day I might complete the tour!

You’ll be alright visiting Ireland once you have your Sat Nav. with you.
Then you’ll have no chance of getting lost, trying to stay sober is another thing dough..

I remember those times! Distances were measured in beers rather than hours!

You won’t get very far on your hands and knees after a couple of Guinness...

 

[stratman]

You won’t get very far on your hands and knees after a couple of Guinness...

Wouldn't be difficult seeing I'm practically a teatotaler, though I am having a bit of Baileys Irish Cream at the moment.

 

[Nifty]

San Francisco,currently at 45 degrees f. is cold enough for me!!!!

AGREED! We hate cold! The Mrs. starts putting on scarves and mittens when it drops below 60!

Regarding freezing ink: I'd also be worried that post-frozen ink would have some form of permanent damage at the molecular level... but that's over my pay-scale understanding / knowledge.

 

[stratman]

Regarding freezing ink: I'd also be worried that post-frozen ink would have some form of permanent damage at the molecular level... but that's over my pay-scale understanding / knowledge.

Awesome question!

Temperature + Time + Method Of Bringing To Room Temp could equal damage to any component of the cartridge.

Since there are no cellular entities in the fluid ink itself, my overall concern would be to the plastics and adhesives which could become brittle and have early failure.

However, I do not know what effects of freezing would have on the colorant in the ink. I do know what happens to some of the other known components of the fluid dye ink.

For example, a CLI-8 Black cartridge contains:
Triethylene Glycol (5-10%)
Glycerine (5-10%)
Ethylene Urea (5-10%)
Substituted Naphthalene Sulfonic Acid (1-5%)
Water (60-80%)

http://support-th.canon-asia.com/fuseaction/support/safetyinformation/pdf/Inkjet Printer & Inkjet Multifunction Printer/CLI-8BK Black Ink Tank .pdf

Water freezes at 32 F (sorry international folks, this is America) . Glycerine of 10% by weight of the solution will decrease the freeze point of water to 29.1 F.

http://msdssearch.dow.com/Published...rine/pdfs/noreg/115-00663.pdf&fromPage=GetDoc

Glycol will also depress the freeze point of the solution as well it should as it is used as antifreeze in a number of applications.

www.dow.com/heattrans/pdfs/DispellingTheMyths.pdf

Don't know about the Ethylene Urea or the Substituted Naphthalene Sulfonic Acid, but solutes tend to lower the freeze point of liquids.

What does all this mean? well, the fluid ink may not freeze at 32F. Would it still be in the liquid state at - 32 F as reported by turbguy? I'm guessing no. How long it would take I don't know, and is dependent on a number of variables, but it would be longer than if this were just water.

Did you know warmer water may freeze faster than cooler water?

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/hot_water.html

But back to the question of whether Freezing will damage ink. Yes, it is possible. In a different MSDS for Canon CLI-8 ink, alcohol was listed as a component. Maybe they were being generic for glycerol. Anyways, since alcohol freezes at a lower temperature than water, the alcohol may separate and potentially evaporate from the cartridge leaving an altered ink solution on rewarming. Other components of the fluid ink may be altered in their bond structure due to freezing as well as method of rewarming. I cannot speak to the physical effects on the ink in any detail otherwise. Maybe an engineer, physicist or forum member Pharmacist can.

Fun Alcohol Facts:
Water freezes at 0°C (32°F) and the freezing point of ethanol alcohol is -114°C (-173.2°F). Alcoholic beverages are a mixture of both alcohol and water (with sugars and other additives in some distilled spirits) so the freezing point of all of you alcoholic beverages is somewhere in between. The exact freezing point of vodka, gin, tequila, rum, whiskey and the myriad of liqueurs is dependent on its proof, or alcohol per volume. The lower the proof, the warmer the freezing point: the higher the proof, the colder the freezing point.

For example:

• 24 proof liquor freezes at -6.7°C (20°F)
• 64 proof liquor freezes at -23.33°C (-10°F)
• 84 proof liquor freezes at -34.44°C (-30°F)

http://cocktails.about.com/od/mixology/f/alcohol_freeze.htm

The time a cartridge is in the cold when frozen is not as important as slow gentle warming at room temperature in the box or at least the cartridge unopened. Make love, not war! (for Rob in San Francisco)

If you play guitar then you might know this already when it comes to warming up a cold guitar to prevent rapid expansion of a cold contracted wood and resultant paint/polyurethane cracking.