Substitute for paper towels? Concern about goopy contact valid?

[l_d_allan]

I find myself going through quite a few paper towels. They are recommended for wicking purged carts, cleaning print-heads when clogs are encountered, and other uses. Also for blotting outlet ports and generally keeping things tidy. Glad they are not only relatively cheap, but no-qualifier-needed cheap.

And yet ... do we really want soggy, soupy, goopy, partially dissolved paper in close, prolonged contact with the outlet port filters of the carts, and print-head nozzles?

At one point, I mentioned that I did some blotting of the cart outlet port with a tissue paper . That drew a semi-aghast comment, and was probably a bad idea due to tissue paper's flimsiness, and I discontinued that practice. That got me to thinking ... gears grinding ...

Perhaps I should let a piece of paper towel soak overnight, and then wring it out into a clear glass containier. If the wrung out liquid was visually clear, then less or no worries? If milky/cloudy, then worries?

I'm ignorant about the characteristics of paper towels and actual cloth of various types. Cetainly a paper towel has an impressive amount of wicking power. I would speculate that a high thread count handkerchief that had been washed several times might work as well or better for wicking, and be cleaner. Die ink is quite water soluable.

 

[Redbrickman]

Unless in a hurry I would let the cart dry naturally, perhaps in a warm dry atmosphere. The wicking method is OK but why introduce paper to the outlet when you could simply let the cart dry over a few days?

I may be wrong, and I'm a beginner, but I think there is a slight risk of paper fibres getting into the print head and wreaking havoc with the tiny nozzles :/

 

[mikling]

Guys just use some old cotton T-shirts..or even underwear!!!!. Since I have been telling people how to wick using paper towels for over 5 years, I have discovered T-Shirts actually work better or just as well. Just cut them up and use bits and pieces and roll into a wad. No loose fibres and it is "green". Totally reusable.

In any case, under the mesh inlet in the printhead assembly you will find a very fine felt type filter arrangement. Even if fibres makes it past the mesh screens, there is some even finer filter stuff afterwards that will stop it reaching the nozzles.

I've been thinking of using NEW T shirts and using it to mop up ink. That would certainly be a fashion statement when you walk around with blobs of various colored inks all over your shirt!! The new Tie Dye

 

[l_d_allan]

My impression is that you can get a more consistent degree of residual dampness of the cart sponge with the paper towel wicking method. I believe you actually want to leave the sponge slightly damp so that refilling works best. If the sponge is too dry, ink doesn't wick from the reservoir side to the sponge side as well. Pharmacist recommends using a 3% propylene glycol (or 2 % glycerin) in his cart conditioning formula if the cart will end up being completely dry.

Blowing out the cart (with mouth or syringe or other method) tends to leave the sponge much damper than the paper towel wicking. Then there can be less ink migration via wicking into the sponge area, or much slower. You've also got more ink dilution.

 

[fotofreek]

After purging and blowing out as much water as possible I use a shopvac to get out most of the water. I block most of the end of the vacuum hose while holding the cart in my cupped hand. I first vacuum from the top fill hole until there are very few water drops coming out of the sponge, and I then vacuum the air vent. About one minute per cart, and then left out to air dry. Although ink uptake is more difficult when the sponges are completely dry, applying a slight vacuum to the air vent with your mouth will draw ink into even the most reluctant cart. Just be careful you don't apply too much suction or you will also be able to post the different flavors of the various colors of ink your printer uses.

My carts will be clean and totally dry because I don't purge carts until I have several to do, and they don't have to be all filled at that time.

 

[stratman]

Since I have been telling people how to wick using paper towels for over 5 years,

Ghwellsjr owes you a lot of misdirected kudos.

I'm keeping an eye on him. Not only does he snatch up printers and cartridges but he also pinches compliments!

 

[fotofreek]

I've been thinking of using NEW T shirts and using it to mop up ink. That would certainly be a fashion statement when you walk around with blobs of various colored inks all over your shirt!! The new Tie Dye

Quite a statement - tee shirts to match our inky fingers!

 

[mikling]

Sometimes ideas come out of nowhere at the same time. I'm sure he ( ghswell) thought of it back then.

In the late 80s. I lost a patent to Matsushita by a couple of weeks. It cost me about $1k in lawyer fees just before we found out.

I snatch up printers too. I now have too many Epson A3 printers and no space! .... because I keep fixing them back up.

 

[ghwellsjr]

Since I have been telling people how to wick using paper towels for over 5 years,

Ghwellsjr owes you a lot of misdirected kudos.

I'm keeping an eye on him. Not only does he snatch up printers and cartridges but he also pinches compliments!

Here is where I got the idea to use a sheet of paper towel to drain the ink out of a cartridge. Note that panos uses "a small piece of tissue" to finish drying a purged and vacuum-dried cartridge. My post is about purging a cartridge with lots of ink in it without using water, although I do state that you can also use it to extract the water from a previously purged cart (without having to vacuum dry it first).

Stratman, I know that you are kidding me about misdirected kudos and compliments, but everyone else should see some of my best examples:

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=7483#p7483
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=17655#p17655
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=21123#p21123
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=28774#p28774

 

[stratman]

I snatch up printers too. I now have too many Epson A3 printers and no space!

I'm keeping an eye on you too, Mr. Greedypants.

Arrrgh! I'm running out of eyes.