Does Ink Freeze?

[turbguy]

Current temperature outside my home at 9:41 PM is minus 32 degrees F. Should I put out a bottle of ink to see what happens?

 

[PeterBJ]

My guess is that the ink will freeze. According to the MSDS Canon OEM inks are water based with additives such as glycol, isopropyl alcohol, and glycerine. These additives all have anti-freeze properties, so maybe the freezing point of the ink will be around -5C or 23F.

Here is the MSDS for IS WJ6053, magenta for BCI-6 cartridges: http://www.image-specialists.com/Msds_PDF/110_WJ6053.pdf. This MSDS states that Water is 50-80% and diethylene glycol is 15-45%, so maybe the IS inks have a lower freezing point than Canon OEM? The MSDS only states that the freezing point is below 32F or 0C.

Have you ordered some ink and now fear that it will be ruined by freezing when delivered outdoor ?

 

[The Hat]

The ink won’t freeze up but will be totally unusable because it will form into
a gel like substance, but when brought back indoors and after several hours it's given
a good agitation (A good workout) for you, then it will be ok..

 

[fotofreek]

Current temperature outside my home at 9:41 PM is minus 32 degrees F. Should I put out a bottle of ink to see what happens?

San Francisco,currently at 45 degrees f. is cold enough for me!!!!

 

[turbguy]

M

Have you ordered some ink and now fear that it will be ruined by freezing when delivered outdoor ?

Actually, that has been a serious concern of mine, as the postal delivery box is a 1 mile stroll over the Laramie Valley from my home. Totally exposed, no protection from the elements other than being in a metal box...

Once the sun rose, we managed to rise to minus 7 degrees F as a high temperature. Actually a beautiful, cloudless, calm day! With about 6" of fresh snow, I've been out playing with the dog (who could care less about the weather). There's really no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes!

 

[Fenrir Enterprises]

Maybe you could notify your ink supplier and see if they can pack it extra tight with styrofoam or even in a bigger box (gotta make sure the ink is in the center) to give it more insulation against the cold. Also maybe "Please keep package out of freezing temps" on the outside.

 

[stratman]

Extra insulation won't work for long at those temps. Also, we do not know the temps of the storage during transportation, which turbguy could ask about but would have little to no control over anyways. Having the purchase held at the post office or delivery service for pickup may be helpful. The best thing would be to order plenty of ink to last the cold months next time around.

Whatever the condition of the ink, bring it in and let it warm to room temp before opening or using. Do not try to artificially heat with any source other than the ambient temp in your home - do not stick next to a heater or oven. this may take overnight.

 

[Emulator]

Current temperature outside my home at 9:41 PM is minus 32 degrees F.

In the UK we are currently at +8F and have been down to freezing a couple of times so far.

My wife tells me her uncle, many years ago, living near Edmonton, had to unfreeze his ink to write letters, inside his log cabin.

About 18 years ago in Wyoming, during September, we stopped overnight in Cheyenne, on route from Denver to Rapid City, it was a glorious warm, sunny day with the big sky country all around us. I am surprised that the temperature gets so low in early December, you are a hardy breed!

 

[turbguy]

Actually, these temps are not unexpected, living at 7400 feet in a broad valley between two mountain ranges. I was due to go snowshoeing this morning with my hiking group up in the nearby National Forest, but the number of layers required to stay alive at minus 24F makes it too "unflexible" to move around comfortably, so I chickened out. You gotta keep moving to stay warm. I'm sure the cross-country skiers are out in force up there though....

Yes, Edmonton is much further north from me. It get's seriously cold there!

I had asked Dave at Hobbicolors if ink freezing in the winter was ever a problem for any of his customers, and he replied he never had any complaints due to that. But that was when he was redistributing dye inks only. I suspect pigment inks may be more sensitive to freezing due to containing a fraction of solids (?).

Now, shipping a PRINT HEAD in these temperatures? THAT might be a problem! I don't know what the freeze-point of the "shipping fluid" in Canon heads is....

 

[The Hat]

+12F here with no frost yet and I have just cut our grass last week because it’s still growing,
we’re looking forward to a green Christmas again, not white.

Canon print heads as far as I know are shipped with some sort of an oily solution (Very thin)
so freezing would not be a major problem at all.

But what would be a problem, is if you dropped your new print head into your printer
straight away you’d blow the Sh*t out of it and probability the logic board with it
and end up having to dig the printer out of the ceiling..