Claeaning and storing cartridges

[jflan]

How would you flush out solvent. Would you inject air into the cartridge and push the solvent out through the printhead?

best wishes.

A

I wouldn't be interested in placing solvent inside this type of cart in the first place. I would entertain the option of soaking the cart's printhead in a shallow bath if the printhead was clogged. Then run some test prints to flow ink and carry off any solvent.

 

[pharmacist]

Be careful with the 3-in-1 colour cartridges. Soaking them in a fluid can cause ink to migrate from compartment to compartment and this will stain till the point all the colours in the sponges will be the same: a muddy brownish one.

For HP cartridges (likewise 56/57/21/22) you can buy a special suction tool to clean the printhead and also to withdraw static air bubbles near the nozzles which also can cause "clogging".

 

[anon_private]

Hi, Thanks for the tips.

First question. Why would you not inject some solvent into the cartridge to dissolve any blockage, then purge?

Second question. Is there a good DIY way of cleaning colour cart printheads. Obviously, one could let the printer do a head clean, but if I wanted to do more could I avoid contamination. I am glad that you pointed this out because I assumed that soaking the head would only clear the jets and not leak back into the sponges.

Best wishes

A

 

[jflan]

My local pro refiller uses a suction device, as pharmacist mentioned. Without such a device, I don't know how you would purge this type of cart with the integral head.
The printheads on these carts are not as durable as the below mentioned design so care must be taken when dealing with them. Flowing ink with a test page would be a way of "pseudo purging".
http://www.inkjetcartridges.com/_color-print-test.html
A test page requires a good volume of ink and if the head is cloggged it could be burned up trying to respond to the demand for ink. Do a nozzle test print first.


Most of us here do not use this type of cartridge. We are using middle and upper range Canons and Epsons with "dumb" tanks. That is, the printhead is part of the printer and not part of the tank. This design is much easier to refill as compared to the head-on-cart design.

 

[anon_private]

What about pharmacist's point about contaminating the sponges?

Inkfill sites that I have seen, that sell solvent, advocate soaking the head in the solvent to remove stubborn blackages, no mention of contamination?

Thanks

A

 

[jflan]

What about pharmacist's point about contaminating the sponges?

I have contaminated the sponges in a 3-in-1 cart by overfilling.....I've never soaked an integral printhead in solvent and would only do so as a last resort. I would try to get ink moving as soon as possible after a brief soak.
This cartridge design is tricky to refill and easy to over-fill if you don't suction the cartridge's 3 chambers to an empty condition before refilling. Then you can calculate how much ink to inject.

Inkfill sites that I have seen, that sell solvent, advocate soaking the head in the solvent to remove stubborn blackages, no mention of contamination?

They want to sell product. Put the question to them and let them defend their recommended procedures.

 

[ghwellsjr]

My first attempt at refilling was with a 3-in-1 cart, the three colors being cyan, magenta and green. The green was supposed to be yellow. I gave up and looked for a printer with individual cartridges. I consider it a waste of time to try to refill multicolor cartridges.