Pro 100 Long term storage

DrDon65

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Last February I asked the question how long can a Pro 100 go idle and how to store it for an extended period. Got many suggestions and ended up doing the following.

1. Printed a noozle check page.
2. Turned the printer off and allowed to completely shut down.
3. Unplugged the printer.

After 6 months I returned and did the following.

1. Plugged the printer in.
2. Turned the printer on.
3. Printed a noozle check. Looked perfect.
4. Printed std test photo and everything looks great.

I love my Pro 100. No apparent clogs after six months storage with no special treatment.

Don
 

stratman

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Congrats! :clap

What ink are you using?

If refilling, what kind of cartridges and the refill method used?

How did you store the printer (in the open, in a closet, wrapped in plastic, etc)?

What kind of environmental conditions was the printer in (humid, dry, seasonal, central air/heat, away from sunlight, etc)?
 

DrDon65

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Congrats! :clap

What ink are you using?

If refilling, what kind of cartridges and the refill method used?

How did you store the printer (in the open, in a closet, wrapped in plastic, etc)?

What kind of environmental conditions was the printer in (humid, dry, seasonal, central air/heat, away from sunlight, etc)?

Since I had just gotten the printer in December the OEM cartridges were still in use. They were about 3/4 full. The printer was stored in a office which was essentially in the dark over that time period and covered by a digital deck cover. The cover fits snugly but the bottom of the printer was open. The temperatures varied from 55F in the winter months to as high as 90F in the summer months using central heat in the winter and no air conditioning in the summer as I was away for that period of time. I would guess that outside temperatures probably varied from -10F to 95F here in upstate NY.

Don
 

stratman

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Thanks for the info. Happy to see the printer and OEM inks came through for you. We don't hear stories like years much at all. I wonder if the Pro-100 inkset is somehow manufactured to be trouble free when the printer is inactive for long periods of time such as yours. Or were you the benefactor of good luck? :idunno

Regardless... :thumbsup
 

turbguy

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I suspect the success is due to a well-capped printhead at the purge station more than anything else. I've always suspected that a poor/deteriorated gasket seal permits dry-out over time.

How often does anyone actually TEST the seal?

How DOES anyone test the seal??
 

3dogs

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I suspect the success is due to a well-capped printhead at the purge station more than anything else. I've always suspected that a poor/deteriorated gasket seal permits dry-out over time.

How often does anyone actually TEST the seal?

How DOES anyone test the seal??


:idunno

Good question tho, I am in hopes that there will be an answer, because it is a $64,000 question if ever I saw one
 

The Hat

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I suspect the success is due to a well-capped printhead at the purge station more than anything else. I've always suspected that a poor/deteriorated gasket seal permits dry-out over time.
These two questions are very simple to answer.

How often does anyone actually TEST the seal? Never

How DOES anyone test the seal ?? Don’t have a clue.
I’ve never had that problem, so if ain't broke..;)
 

mikling

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turbguy raises a key point. If there is no mixed ink in the printhead, clogs due to actual drying is rare and if so easily fixed unless there is something that is causing the problem.

I will invite anyone to perform the following experiment. Place a drop of dye ink onto a sheet of aluminum foil and let it dry. This is to simulate a clog.
Let it dry in the sun, or for a few days exposed and see what happens. Now when it is as dry as you can get it. Drop some water on it and see what happens.

If you want, perform the similar experiment again. Now instead of using water to rehydrate it, place some more ink on it and see what happens.

For a third try. Do the same but this time, put the aluminum sheet into an oven at say 350F and then rehydrate it, either with water, more ink or glass cleaner with ammonia.

For a fourth try, take the aluminum sheet and place it directly on the stove under high heat. Now try the same.

This will allow insight into what causes clogs and what real clogs really are.
 

martin0reg

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5 months and a new printer...I have a r285 and ip4000 left alone for 2-3 years with no care...surely clogged...wondering how easy dissolving will be...
 

mikling

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Epson dye ink behaves similarly. There are two points to consider when an Epson printhead clogs. If the ink dries externally, it will form a crust on the exterior and a head cleaning will usually remove that crust. The second point, is that if ink recedes back into the printer and the ink film leaves the exterior nozzle then a host of different things can happen. First the Epson printhead is a built with a chamber per nozzle. If ink dries in isolation in the chamber you have a challenge. There is air in front of and behind the dried ink. Forcing liquid to try to reach the dried ink is difficult because the air behind the dried ink is trapped and isolates the clog. if you are lucky, and the dried ink is close to the nozzle. You can HOPE that liquid introduced on the exterior of the printhead will creep back in and redissolve the dried ink from the nozzle side. That is the exterior soak everyone knows about. If the dried ink is unreachable then you are pooched.

The other way to clear the Epson printhead is to remove the printhead, place it into a vacuum chamber, head immersed in a liquid that dissolves the dried ink and then cycle it through a series of vacuums and releases. The vacuum needs to be strong > 26in. to evacuate the air inside the printhead. When the vacuum is introduced, the air expands and exits the printhead. When the vacuum is released, air contracts and liquid re enters the printhead and reaches the dried ink. Been done and works but you need a strong vacuum and large chamber. Professional refilling machines with chambers can accomplish this. You need a very strong vacuum to remove as much air inside the printhead to accomplish this. The vacuum does not stress any parts on the printhead because it is totally inside the vacuum. Same way, integrated head cartridges are filled in the factory.

Canon printheads are constructed differently from Epsons and hence why they are easier to clear if there is a real and simple clog. Simple is the keyword. There are pics floating around to see the innards of the nozzle plate.

Of course, as turbguy states..if the capping seal is perfect. Now why don't they use softer rubber for those seals??? like silicone.
 
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