Purging via German method

[alexandereci]

It is actually the same method. The only thing do is to refill the ink compartment completely with water -using the same German Durchstich method- and as much water into the compartment till the sponge becomes oversaturated. Now flush the cartridge as described. The stained water will flow out from the breathing hole and the durchstich hole near the bottom. After that you withdraw the water by blowing over the vent hole so the water is released from the sponge and the water is slowly sipling into the sponge from the ink compartment. This will do the trick.

pharmacist has told me that I can purge my carts even using the German refilling method; from what I understand, I should do the following steps:

1. Use the German refill method to withdraw all the ink out of the reservoir
2. Fill the reservoir with water (tap water? distilled?)
3. Continue to force water into the reservoir thereby forcing water into the sponge OR withdraw the needle into the sponge and inject water directly into sponge?
4. Do this until the sponge is clear of ink.

Now my questions are:
A. How do I dry the reservoir and the sponge?
B. What exactly does "flushing" the cartridge mean? And what does it do?

 

[stratman]

A. After flushing the cartridge you can let them dry on a counter, letting the moisture evaporate into the atmosphere. Or you could speed up the process bu manually blowing out excess fluid leftover by blowing into the air vent on the top of the cartridge to force fluid out the ink exit port and Durchstich refill hole, or, blow into the ink exit port to force fluid out the other two holes/vents - then let it dry as per the first sentence. Or, you could use gentle compressed air to remove excess air instead of manually blowing. Some people use fans to speed up the drying process. I have head of people putting a CHIPLESS cartridge in a very low heat oven or even a microwave to facillitate drying - I am not that brave! Some people refill before the sponge is completely dry becuase they believe it facilitates ink take-up by the sponge or decreases the turnaround time to re-use without sacrificing print output quality. Others wait until the sponge dries to avoid diluting the refilled ink.

B. Flushing usually means using a liquid, typically water, to remove ink from a cartridge. The sponge may return to complete white after flushing, or, may retain a very slight color hue. The purpose of flushing is to remove buildup of any solids (ink clumps, bacteria, fungii, dirt) within the sponge that may impede appropriate flow of ink and cause ink starvation when printing, potentially resulting in a permanently malfunctioning prinhead. Flushing is also useful if you switch from one aftermarket ink to another to prevent potential reaction and/or undesirable color shifts. If you want a printer profile for a specific ink and paper combo, it would be best to make sure that the ink is not diluted/mixed with any other brand of ink in order to get an accurate profile.

 

[pharmacist]

pharmacist has told me that I can purge my carts even using the German refilling method; from what I understand, I should do the following steps:

1. Use the German refill method to withdraw all the ink out of the reservoir
2. Fill the reservoir with water (tap water? distilled?)
3. Continue to force water into the reservoir thereby forcing water into the sponge OR withdraw the needle into the sponge and inject water directly into sponge?
4. Do this until the sponge is clear of ink.

Now my questions are:
A. How do I dry the reservoir and the sponge?
B. What exactly does "flushing" the cartridge mean? And what does it do?

Hi Alexandereci,

The reason the fill up the ink compartment is to counter the pressure when flushing using the tap method (as depicted from the topic concerning the purging method of BCI-6/CLI-8 cartridge). Since cartridges refilled using the German durchstich method do not have a hole above the ink compartment where the flushing fluid (e.g. tap water) can escape. on must completely fill up the ink compartment with tap water the first time.

Just refill the cartridge as if you would do with refilling with ink. So the needle must be entering the ink compartment. But now you must refill until the water is pushed into the sponge area, so you must overfill the ink compartment.

Now continue with the tap purging method as described. The purging water should now escape from both the vent hole as well through the small durchstich hole. Watch out: the water can escape from this small durchstich hole with quite some force and during the first stage, watch out not to get stained with inky water !

The water inside the ink compartment will counter the pressure during this purging process and prevents that the stained flushing water will fill up the ink compartment and flow back when the pressure falls down, when you switch off the tap: this would restain the sponge and has to be avoided. The overfill of the ink comparment with water will solve this problem.

After purging blow as much water by blowing through the vent hole with your mouth, you will see that the water inside the ink compartment will gradually be absorbed into the sponge when the water is escaping by this blowing process. When all the water escaped from both the sponge and the ink compartment, refill the ink compartment again, but this time with either distilled water or my special flushing fluid (see elsewhere on this forum) until -again- the sponge becomes oversaturated (needle inside the ink comparment and press the syringe, as if you would refill using the German durchstich method). Blow again and now your cartridge should be immaculate clean.

The formula for the flushing fluid is:

propylene glycol 3 %
isopropanol 20 %
distilled water up to 100 %

This solution works as an humectant, lowering the surface tension of the sponge material and thus facilitating the penetration degree of the ink and prevents the built up of air bubbles and also helps to desinfect the sponge (isopropanol). When you dry the sponge when flushed with this solution, the isopropanol and the water will evaporate leaving a tiny amount of propylene glycol inside the sponge, keeping the sponge material in an optimal condition. When such a cartridge is refilled, ink will penetrate and saturate the sponge very rapidly, even if the sponge is "completely" dry.

I hope this would clear up.

 

[jackson]

The formula for the flushing fluid is:

propylene glycol 3 %
isopropanol 20 %
distilled water up to 100 %

Is propylene glycol commonly available?
Does it have a common household name?

 

[pharmacist]

Jackson,

I do not think propylene glycol has a common household name. A second good choice would be glycerine (available at your local drugstore/pharmacy), but use 2 % instead of 3 %. Some non-toxic antifreeze contain propylene glycol, but most cheap antifreeze contain the poisonous (di)ethylene glycol (is converted in your body in the destructive oxalic acid which withdraws all the essential calcium ions causing your muscles to contract heavily like tetanus). Both propylene glycol and glycerine are potable.

 

[Ron350]

Would Vegetable Glycerine Oil work?
http://www.herbalremedies.com/vegglyc16flo.html


The only Propylene Glycol I can find in the US is the stuff used in Cigar Humidors.

 

[pharmacist]

There is no something like glycerine oil. Glycerine is made from hydrolysing fats and oils (whether it is vegetable or animal like tallow or lard). Oil would suggest that it is not miscible with water. As long it is pure glycerine (80-100 %, so with or without some water) it should be OK.

 

[avolanche]

IIRC,antifreeze for RVs is propylene glycol and should be available at stores like walmart,RV dealerships and auto supply houses.The kind I got is pink in color and inexpensive.

I use the German method for refilling,but removed the plastic ball from the reservoir to make purges a lot more easy.The holes are sealed with a SS screw(or a nylon screw) with hot glue as added protection.I can remove the screws and glue easily for future purges.

Actually,you can put a small hole anywhere in the reservoir for purging.Then seal it well with hot glue. I have done about 15-20 refills on my "once purged" set of OEM CLI8s and the are performing perfectly.I don't know if I'll ever need to purge again(probably will just to be safe).

 

[15kywalker]

A second good choice would be glycerine (available at your local drugstore/pharmacy), but use 2 % instead of 3 %.

Hey pharmacist, thanks for all your help. I've been learning a lot from reading through your posts. There are a few things I was hoping you could clarify.

1) In your response to this topic --> http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=19256 you said to use 3 % glycerine or propylene glycol but here you say to use 2% instead of 3%. So, I was just wondering should we use 3% propylene glycol and 2% glycerin or does it not matter that much?

2) Also, what percentage of isopropyl alcohol should we be using? Also, what exactly do you mean by "pharmaceutical degree" in the aforementioned link to the other topic?

3) Is there a certain type of container that would be best to store the solution for long term viability? What about the environment?

Thanks.

 

[Aussieinker]

Hi
If you have the ink chamber full of water after flushing then insert needle as if you are refilling and inject air into the chamber, the ink level will fall rapidly.
Here is the Thread on flushing methods.
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3299

Aussie