BCI-6 Starvation - Won't drip

[pharmacist]

RWL,

Is your ink OK ? Or is it a bit thick ? It looks like a ink problem rather than a cartridge problem.....

 

[RWL]

RWL,
Is your ink OK ? Or is it a bit thick ? It looks like a ink problem rather than a cartridge problem.....

That's a good question, and that was running through my mind too. It seems a little more viscous than I recall it being originally, but I wouldn't call it thick. What I notice is that it seems to cling to the hypdermic needle a little more thickly than I recall it doing in the past and seems to be on the needle in a slightly thicker / darker layer. Occasionally I'll see a tiny bubble in the film on the needle and I don't recall ever seeing that before. I'm bringing some glass slides home this evening so I can take smears of the ink back to work tomorrow and look at them under a scope and see if I can see anything growing in the different inks. My guess is that seeing algae wouldn't be too much of a problem. As plant cells, they'll be relatively large, thick walled and will probably displace the dye. Bacteria and fungi, unless they're clumped might give me problems finding them unless I took the time to do a gram stain and I'm not sure if I want to go to that effort. Also not sure of what effect a gram stain might have on the dyes - that is, what misleading artifacts it might induce.

The first color to give me problems was cyan, but BCI-6 black is also giving me problems. I ordered a set of new carts and inks from Hobbicolors last night. The ink I'm using now from Atlantic ink was specifically purchased for this i860 printer, but is a few years old. (estimated 3-5 years old) It could well have changed (oxidized?) despite being in sealed plastic bottles which are 3/4 full. It wasn't until the last few years that I learned that plastic containers aren't really air tight - the gasses in air pass through the plastic and vapors inside plastic containers can escape to the outside. I don't store volatiles / solvents in plastic any more, even if they don't seem to be weakening / dissolving the plastic.

RWL

 

[pharmacist]

Be careful, looks like the dreaded ink glob syndrome. It explains a lot about your problem. Don't use it anymore if you want to salvage your printhead.......

 

[RWL]

I won't be printing anything until the new Hobbicolors carts and inks arrive.

I looked at the ink smears under a microscope. No algae growing. Beyond that I don't really know what to look for, so I don't know normal from abnormal on these smears. The different inks acted differently. The cyan, and the black from the big 3e cartridge made nice thin smears. The yellow, magenta and the BCI-6 black aggregated into beads. Those that formed beads were still wet this morning, roughly 12 hours after applying the ink to the slides. In the cyan ink, I see blobs of ink aggregating around a nidus of refractile material, but I don't know if this material is dust from the Q-tip or the nidi were in the ink to begin with. I see a similar finding in the black 3e ink. I think this is exogenous dust causing this. I suspect that the ink has just reached its useful life expectancy. I may be able to wash the cartridges and salvage them, but it's looking like the inks are the problem.

I haven't explored the blob problem you had mentioned. If it weren't for that, I might try diluting the ink with either deionized water or alcohol and seeing if that would thin the ink enough that it would flow correctly again. Reading your comment about plugging the print head permanently though suggests that this would be an expensive experiment that I don't think I'll undertake.

The lesson learned - buy quantities of ink small enough that you'll use them up in a couple of years. My ink is at least 3 years old and possibly older. This applies to Altlantic Ink, and may or may not apply to other manufacturers inks.

RWL



RWL

 

[fotofreek]

RWL - rule of thumb is two years shelf life, and that is under best conditions. Partially empty containers may also present a hazard and shorten shelf life. Your savings are so great with bulk ink refilling that you are wise to buy small quantities. The large quantitiy purchase appears to be a better buy, but only if your printing volume will use it up in a reasonable time. I've stayed with one year or less myself. Preserving your printer is worth more than risking printhead damage with the few dollars of extra savings. On the other hand, if my printing volume justified buying larger quantities at a time I would be pleased to save the extra $$$!

 

[15kywalker]

Then blow away most of the solution out of the cartridge (mouth above the breathing hole) and put the cartridge in the vacuum jar and vacuum dry the cartridge several times until completely dry (open the jar after each vacuum pulling to let the vapours to escape).

Can someone please explain a little bit more about the vacuum drying procedure and why it's a good method for drying? Is it a bad idea to use paper towels and blot it against the exit port?

Also, I know this may be a stupid question but when you're flushing your cartridge under the sink, what do you do with the chip on the cartridge?

 

[Aussieinker]

Hi
I went to my local Chemist/Pharmacy/Drug store with a glass (small) bottle and spoke to the dispensing chemist there and asked for Propylene glycol he had some out back on the shelf, mentioned something about cough mixture years ago.

aussie

 

[Aussieinker]

Hi
This is an extract from wikipedia.
Propylene glycol is used:

As a humectant food additive, labeled as E number E1520
As a moisturizer in medicines, cosmetics, food, toothpaste, mouth wash products
As a carrier in fragrance oils
As an ingredient in massage oils
In smoke machines to make artificial smoke for use in firefighters' training and theatrical productions
As a solvent for food colors and flavorings
If you know a Baker try them for PG.
Aussie