Prevent clogging

[Nifty]

While it isn't a perfect solution (get it... a play on words since we're talking about liquids... anywhoo) I'd suggest using distilled water if you are concerned about conductivity of tap water. I'm no expert, but from what I understand, it is the minerals in water that make it conductive. Distilled water, while not perfect, has the least amount of minerals. I remember as a kid seeing a TV set in a clear acrylic box that was filled with perfectly "clean" water and it was on and showing a video.

 

[Metallo]

Hi folks,

I continue my 4 years' old post , different destination (Canada ), same question but... the time my printer will stay out of activity will be at least 3 months.

Is the solution you provided in 2006 still the best option?

Many thanks,

Alex

 

[ghwellsjr]

Remove the ink cartridges from the printer. Don't wait to do the next step, you don't want ink drying out inside the exposed print head.

Repeatedly do deep head cleainings followed by nozzle checks until nothing prints. This will evacuate the ink from the print head which is very important whenever you don't plan to use a printer for a long time but especially when you are going to transport a printer, even in a car ride across town. You don't want residual ink to migrate onto the internal electronics which can burn out the print head the next time you turn on your printer.

Remove the print head from the printer and clean the bottom of the print head. Do this by blotting the bottom of the print head against a twice-folder over paper towel soaked with a window cleaner or distilled water. Repeat until the paper towel is clean.

Wrap the print head in a clean paper towel and put it in a zip lock bag for shipping/storage.

Next, you want to prepare your ink cartridges:

If you have the orange clips that came with the cartridges, you can put them back on the outlet ports and hold them in place with rubber bands. Otherwise, put a 2 or 3-inch piece of vinyl tape across the outlet port and up both sides of each cartridge. You want to seal the outlet port on the bottom of the cartridge but do not seal the air vent on the top of the cartridge. If you refill with the German method, seal the refill hole with a small piece of tape (something I recommend doing every time you refill anyway).

Place the cartridges in a zip-lock bag along with a sheet of paper towel folded over and soaked with water. This will prevent the cartridges from dying out.

It's great that your old i865 is still working. Hang on to it because it uses the unchipped cartridges.

 

[Metallo]

Hi,

your advice is very wise, thank you!

Everything is clear regarding the printhead, but I have a question for the carts:

I refill and use the following carts (I guess you know them already): http://www.colorbat.com/proddetail.php?prod=BCI6

I have my original orange caps, the refill hole is always open, the sponge one is closed with a rubber plug, shall I leave them this way for the three months?

Yes, I have been using the i865 for 6 years now, never a problem and I print a lot (my two kids too ), I will continue using it in Canada, I will have both 120V and 240 V in my new home and cycles won't make that much difference, I hope.

Cheers
Alex

 

[ghwellsjr]

No, I don't know those compatible cartridges. I don't know what to say about them. I use only Canon OEM.

 

[d1hamby]

I thought printing without ink in the printhead would burn out the printhead. I'd recommend rinsing the printhead with warm tap water until all the ink is out. Even if you have to use paper towels to wick out all the ink through the printhead until it is clean, you'll have a better chance restarting the printhead when your ready. I'd also use a clean moist paper towel to store the printhead with in a very well sealed bag. When you get the printhead new it is sealed in a foil lined bag to prevent light from getting in to keep something from growing.

 

[leo8088]

I damaged an i950 print head by printing nozzles check after a deep cleaning with ink cartridges removed. I did it for a similar reason to clean up the residue ink in the print head. The i950's nozzle check was probably too much for the print head to dry roast itself. It was an experience deep in my brain that I will never forget.

 

[Metallo]

I damaged an i950 print head by printing nozzles check after a deep cleaning with ink cartridges removed. I did it for a similar reason to clean up the residue ink in the print head. The i950's nozzle check was probably too much for the print head to dry roast itself. It was an experience deep in my brain that I will never forget.

Thanks for mentioning your "negative" experience, I will keep this in mind.
Obviously, this make things more difficult for me as I am not sure what to do now, in theory, the procedure suggested by ghwellsjr is the one that guarantees to "consume" the outstanding ink in the printhead before removing it, but I understand the risk behind it.

On the other hand, if I leave the ink in the printhead, it will be very difficult to avoid hard clogging, hence, removing it afterwards.

Anybody else has an opinion on this?

Thank you

Alex

 

[embguy]

Metallo,

If you have empty cartridges,
1. Clean the cartriges to get rid of any residue ink.
2. Fill the cartridges with Windex.
3. Put the Windex cartridges in your printer.
4. Do deep cleaning and nozzle check repeatedly until no ink shown on nozzle check.
5. Store your print head in Ziploc bag.

 

[Metallo]

Hi all,

well, I just wanted report back my experience following the method suggested by ghwellsjr.

Indeed the print-head which I put in the zip lock bag got here still wet as it left, I was excited when re-assembling the whole thing, did the nozzle test and every color was perfect except the magenta (both hard and light nozzle stripes).
I hate to put my hands in the print-head, so I first tried to change the cart but unfortunately nothing changed, so I have no other choice than going through the cleaning process of the print-head.

I am not optimistic, every time I tried to do it in the past using the right methodology (hot distilled water, ammonia ecc.) I never managed to get it unclogged

So, I really do not know if you have anything else to suggest, before I proceed tomorrow.

However, I am convinced that the suggested method to avoid clogging is correct and it is probably the best option, the rest is pure fortune, like in my case, all the other colors work perfectly.

Thank you guys!
Alex