preventive care for ink jet printers ??

[silii]

hi
i am planning to go for a vacation for about 2-3 months, adn i wouldnt want my printers epson & canon to get their head blocked.
can any one suggest me how to take care of these printers while iam away so that their heads do not get blocked.

i was told by service engineers to remove the cartridges and pack them in a vaccum sealed pack.and instill few drops of alcohol on the printer (where the cartridges seat).
any suggestions

 

[panos]

Yes, the plastic bag is a good advice (for Canon you can and should remove the printhead too) but I would not suggest alcohol. It tends to dry things up instead of preserving humidity. I would prefer glycerine instead.

 

[silii]

isnt glycerine a sticky material,ifeel glicerine would choke up the minute nozzels of the print head

 

[panos]

I would use glycerine because it's water soluble and tends to draw moisture instead of letting it go. Ink for inkjets contain glycerine and many inkjet cleaning products out there contain glycerine too. I have mixed inks with glycerine in the past without problems.

 

[fotofreek]

How about removing the carts and printhead, replacing the carts in the printhead while out of the printer, and sealing it in an airtight container with some damp toweling paper to keep the humidity at 100% and prevent evaporation? Any comments? This would be the simplest approach.

 

[hpnetserver]

Storing all the carts together with the print head in a sealed bag including a damp paper tissue is an excellent idea. As long as the bag is air tight and is able to keep the moisture from escaping the bag it should work. Some older Canon print head allows cartridges remain plugged but some do not. You may want to store the print head separately from the cartridges.