Optimal needle length for German Durchstich refill method

[stratman]

Good grief, I had no idea there were those sorts of restrictions on needles...

Thanks for the tip..

"Tip" -- Good pun!!!

We Yanks are a bit more uptight about these things. England and Europe have a more relaxed attitude. I have yet to find a legion of junkies wanting 3" needles to shoot up drugs. Alas, it is the law-abiding citizen that suffers or is inconvenienced based on the actions of a very small minority. Too many laws.

Anyways... it might be prudent to make sure you don't run afoul of any US state laws concerning shipping of sharps in your business. Maybe Mikling or one of the other e-tailors on this forum could tell you more.

Good luck!

 

[websnail]

Good grief, I had no idea there were those sorts of restrictions on needles...

Thanks for the tip..

"Tip" -- Good pun!!!

Oh help... I missed that... :/

We Yanks are a bit more uptight about these things. England and Europe have a more relaxed attitude. I have yet to find a legion of junkies wanting 3" needles to shoot up drugs. Alas, it is the law-abiding citizen that suffers or is inconvenienced based on the actions of a very small minority. Too many laws.

Anyways... it might be prudent to make sure you don't run afoul of any US state laws concerning shipping of sharps in your business. Maybe Mikling or one of the other e-tailors on this forum could tell you more.

Good luck!

There's probably something similar here... Not worry I'll just avoid a lot of hassle and ship non-sharp versions I think... I've got a contact in the US that's shipping me a few thousand blunt needles and needle covers in return for some work so I think I'll just ship those to any US based sales. Although doubtless Mikling will probably collar most of those being more local n'all

 

[Defcon2k]

I use needles with a sharp tip... mainly because the refill shop sent me those, and I never felt the need to look for blunt needles and try them.

I rinse and reuse my needles and syringes, so the blunted tip adds a layer of safety whether actively refilling or while in storage.

I don't even rinse them I have one syringe for each color, and after refill, I simply put the cap back on the needle.

 

[stratman]

I use needles with a sharp tip... mainly because the refill shop sent me those, and I never felt the need to look for blunt needles and try them.

I rinse and reuse my needles and syringes, so the blunted tip adds a layer of safety whether actively refilling or while in storage.

I don't even rinse them I have one syringe for each color, and after refill, I simply put the cap back on the needle.

I would use any needle, sharp or blunt, that is long enough and is the most economical. Afterall, the point of refilling is to save money first and foremost. It just happened that blunt needles were the most economical at the time. They also have increased safety when it comes to needle stick injuries. Bonus.

I have mixed feelings about rinsing out the syringes/needles. I want to reuse them not only to save money but also to not add to more garbage at the landfill. I rinse because I don't want to increase the risk of bacterial/fungal introduction into the cartridges and also the potential corroding effects of ink on the plastic/rubber of the syringe. But, I hate to waste fresh water rinsing things out when it may not be necessary. And I don't want to introduce more waste ink into our water supply if I don't have to.

I am not an enviro nut. I just think about reasonable stewardship of my little corner of the earth. If there is a reasonable way to do things more efficiently and economically while creating less pollution, then I'd like to try it.

Defcon2k, if you've been using the same needle and syringe without rinsing out for 1.5 years without problems, then I guess I should try it too.

 

[fotofreek]

I've been using squeeze bottles (Howard Electronics) with needles attached for over two years without rinsing the needles between refills. I squeeze and release the bottles several times to pump air through the needles and clear them of most of the ink. Seems to work just fine. I do wash the bottles and needles when I refill them with a new batch of ink.

 

[Defcon2k]

Defcon2k, if you've been using the same needle and syringe without rinsing out for 1.5 years without problems, then I guess I should try it too.

Yes I do, and so do many others here, I think.
Well, I think the concern of bacterial/fungal infection has it's merits... but then again, perhaps tap water is also bad for the print head. Who knows. I flushed my one set of carts (the dry ones from ebay) with tap water and never rinsed my needles. I just put excessive ink back into the ink container and move the syringe up and down a few times and then put the cap back on.
So far, no problems at all.