soysauce
Fan of Printing
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2018
- Messages
- 58
- Reaction score
- 51
- Points
- 68
- Printer Model
- Epson XP&WF, HP DJ, Canon MG
If you use a syringe with moonshine or other alcohols or solvents the lubrication on the rubber part of the plunger gets washed away and the friction goes way up. I've used a very light wipe of silicone oil to restore the syringe to working condition, but PG might be safer as far as ink compatibility goes, although perhaps not as durable since it is miscible in water. Poutine would work too.
Just use one of the fries.
Back to the drying question, I've had better luck with a sponge that is too dry than too wet. When the sponge is too wet it seems to me that the ink can't always displace the water in the sponge so it stays in the reservoir. I've had some success drying out the sponges in a 65C oven for a few hours. It seems that if I can get the sponge dry enough it wicks in the ink aggressively.
On the other hand we know from experience in the kitchen that a damp sponge absorbs water better than a bone dry sponge that has sat on the kitchen counter for 2 weeks while we were away from home. HP discussed this at length in US Patent 5,467,177 "Addition of alcohol to pre-wet solutions to enhance and accelerate wetting to hydrophobic foams for application to ink-jet pens" The term of that patent has expired so everyone is free to use it. I've tried it with the sponges in HP cartridges and it does help. I realize that this dies not directly apply to the refillable cartridge in the original question posted but it's still interesting from a "knowledge" perspective. Here are some excerpts from that patent:
Just use one of the fries.Back to the drying question, I've had better luck with a sponge that is too dry than too wet. When the sponge is too wet it seems to me that the ink can't always displace the water in the sponge so it stays in the reservoir. I've had some success drying out the sponges in a 65C oven for a few hours. It seems that if I can get the sponge dry enough it wicks in the ink aggressively.
On the other hand we know from experience in the kitchen that a damp sponge absorbs water better than a bone dry sponge that has sat on the kitchen counter for 2 weeks while we were away from home. HP discussed this at length in US Patent 5,467,177 "Addition of alcohol to pre-wet solutions to enhance and accelerate wetting to hydrophobic foams for application to ink-jet pens" The term of that patent has expired so everyone is free to use it. I've tried it with the sponges in HP cartridges and it does help. I realize that this dies not directly apply to the refillable cartridge in the original question posted but it's still interesting from a "knowledge" perspective. Here are some excerpts from that patent:
...Untreated polyurethane foam is hydrophobic and therefore does not readily absorb an aqueous-based ink. One method used to prepare foam to serve as an ink reservoir involves prewetting the foam prior to loading it with ink. Prewetting the foam reduces its hydrophobicity so that the foam absorbs rather than repels the ink.
...The process commonly used to prewet foam involves compressing the foam to expel air from the foam and immersing the compressed foam in a fluid. The foam then absorbs the surrounding fluid as it expands toward its uncompressed state. The foam is repeatedly compressed and allowed to expand while it remains immersed in order to enhance and accelerate wetting. Once the foam is completely wet, it is removed from the fluid and compressed to expel excess fluid. The treated foam is then stuffed into a tube which is placed within the pen body. The tube is removed, leaving the treated foam to serve as an ink reservoir. Ink is then injected into the treated ink reservoir.
...Various fluids have been used to prewet foam in commercial applications. Three fluids that commonly serve as prewet solutions are water, ink, and ink "vehicle". (Ink vehicle is the fluid that carries the dye in ink compositions. It is commonly composed of a low vapor pressure solvent miscible with water, such as a glycol, specifically, diethylene glycol.) However, each of these three fluids manifests serious drawbacks and shortcomings as prewetting solutions.
...The use of ink as a prewetting solution for foam poses several problems. First, the color of the ink used to prewet the foam must be matched to the color of the ink subsequently injected into the foam. This inability to use the same color ink for each prewetting process increases assembly time and effort by requiring separate accommodations and handling for different ink colors. Second, ink is expensive compared to other fluids available for prewetting foam such as water and ink vehicle. Therefore, while ink is effective as a prewetting solution, its use is both inconvenient and costly.
...The use of ink vehicle as a prewetting solution also poses certain drawbacks. When used as a prewetting solution, ink vehicle adversely affects print quality by diluting the ink subsequently stored within the prewetted foam. Therefore, while ink vehicle offers a colorless, cheaper alternative to ink as a prewetting solution, the resulting reduction in print quality is unacceptable.
...Finally, the use of water as a prewetting solution is also problematic. Like ink vehicle, water provides a colorless, cheaper alternative to ink. However, water is not as effective as either ink or ink vehicle in prewetting foam. The level of wetting achieved by using water is inferior to that obtained by using either ink or ink vehicle. Furthermore, using water to prewet foam is more time-consuming than using ink or ink vehicle. The foam must be exposed to water for longer periods of time than required when using ink or ink vehicle to achieve even an adequate level of wetting.
...In accordance with the invention, an improved method is provided for prewetting hydrophobic foam for application to ink-jet printers. The method utilizes an aqueous prewetting solution with a concentration of low molecular weight alcohol ranging from about 3 to 10 wt. %. Examples of low molecular weight alcohols employed in the practice of the present invention include methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, iso-propanol, 2-propenol (allyl alcohol), and 2-propynol (propargyl alcohol). Optionally, the aqueous solution may also contain a biocide at a concentration ranging from about 0.1 to 0.5 wt. %.
...The use of ink vehicle as a prewetting solution also poses certain drawbacks. When used as a prewetting solution, ink vehicle adversely affects print quality by diluting the ink subsequently stored within the prewetted foam. Therefore, while ink vehicle offers a colorless, cheaper alternative to ink as a prewetting solution, the resulting reduction in print quality is unacceptable.
...Finally, the use of water as a prewetting solution is also problematic. Like ink vehicle, water provides a colorless, cheaper alternative to ink. However, water is not as effective as either ink or ink vehicle in prewetting foam. The level of wetting achieved by using water is inferior to that obtained by using either ink or ink vehicle. Furthermore, using water to prewet foam is more time-consuming than using ink or ink vehicle. The foam must be exposed to water for longer periods of time than required when using ink or ink vehicle to achieve even an adequate level of wetting.
...In accordance with the invention, an improved method is provided for prewetting hydrophobic foam for application to ink-jet printers. The method utilizes an aqueous prewetting solution with a concentration of low molecular weight alcohol ranging from about 3 to 10 wt. %. Examples of low molecular weight alcohols employed in the practice of the present invention include methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, iso-propanol, 2-propenol (allyl alcohol), and 2-propynol (propargyl alcohol). Optionally, the aqueous solution may also contain a biocide at a concentration ranging from about 0.1 to 0.5 wt. %.
