How to store used Canon printer and used Canon OEM cartridges

[dvdit]

I have started buying and storing Canon printers to serve as replacements if my current Canon printer dies. I just bought 100pcs of used OEM Canon cartridges and I am wondering what would be the best way to store them. From what I have researched, I need to purge the old ink out first, let the cartridge dry and then store them in air tight plastic bag with a moist paper towel. Wouldn't this cause the buildup of mold/fungus of some sort? Should I store the print head using the same procedure as the ink cartridges. Any other tip would be much appreciated as I am planning to store multiple Canon printer and I want to do right the first time. Thanks.

 

[Grandad35]

I use an i9900 for my printing, and have 4 spares in the closet. In addition to the print head in the printer now being used, I have 5 spares - 3 new/sealed in foil and 2 used heads that came with the used printers. One of the used heads is missing only a single nozzle and the other is missing at least 50 nozzles (which I keep in reserve for troubleshooting). Some time ago I also purchased 500 used OEM carts, and purged/dried about 150 of them. As a note for anyone thinking of buying large quantities of used OEM carts, mine appear to be carts that couldn't be refilled and sold, since many of them had cross-contamination or had broken bits that make them useless for refilling.

1. Once the carts are thoroughly dry (there is no harm in letting them sit for a few weeks), you can store them in a plastic bag to keep them clean. Mold/fungus requires moisture, so thoroughly dry carts won't have a problem.

2. To store print heads, I slip a short piece of vinyl tubing over each ink pickup and blow out the ink using mouth pressure only. I then put isopropyl alcohol into the tube and blow it through the print head (using mouth pressure only) until all of the color is gone. I then blow out the alcohol to leave the nozzles completely empty. After this cleaning procedure, I have installed cleaned/dried print heads after more than a year's storage with no problem. The cleaning procedure run by the printer after a head change gave perfect nozzle checks without any extra cleaning cycles.

3. Before storing a printer and while the print head is still installed, print the service test print and the EEPROM information for that printer. Obviously, you don't want to store a printer that isn't working perfectly. Write any extra information that you have on the printer on these sheets and store them with the printer. After you have documented the state of the printer, open the top lid, remove the print head and squirt water onto the porous material located under the print head in the parked position. Make sure that the water level doesn't drop when you do this. Close the lid to cause the printer to run a cleaning cycle; the water should now be gone. Repeat this step 3-4 times to clear the old ink from the porous material, tubing, ink suction pump and the absorbent material near the tubing exits so that it doesn't harden in place and cause a problem when the printer is reactivated.

 

[ThrillaMozilla]

Grandad's suggestions sound sensible to me. I can just add that if I need to store cartridges in non-dried condition (i.e., either filled, empty, or partly empty), I store them capped, with Scotch tape sealing the vent, in a plastic bag with a paper towel moistened with Pharmacist's purging solution. I use that solution instead of water, since the alcohol prevents mold, and it matches the composition of the ink better than water. It seems to work pretty well. Sometimes the solution causes a little ink to wick out, and it may cause a little deterioration of the tape and the label, but these are minor effects.

 

[mikling]

I think Grandad method is well thought out. I will add something else to his notes since I also went through this myself. For the text black pigment ink printers, you should use something like windex on the pigment channel instead of water. This will more effectively break down and flush out the pigments which can solidify when stored and then give subsequent problems priming on startup. I think grandad35's last paragraph is especially important in the pigment line actually. I will even go one step further and recommend a wipedown/cleanup using long swabs of the rubber/silicon wipers in the rear of the priming station. If pigment dries and hardens on the wipers it will cause clogging issues on the printhead subsequently as the hard solids can be smeared into the nozzles of the printhead in the future.

 

[dvdit]

Thank you all for your input.

 

[Lucas28]

I keep used cartridges in a jar, to prevent drying out.
Just my 5 cents.

 

[dvdit]

I took some of my purged and stored CLI-226 cartridges(did the purge about 8 months ago, dried them completely before storing them in a plastic zipped bag) and the sponge is dry and hard as a rock. I have already drilled a small hole for the German method. I socked them in a bowl of warm distilled water for about 30 mins twice and they are still dry. I socked them overnight and they are still dry as a rock. When I blow through the vent hole right after taking them out of the bowl, I feel nothing coming out of the ink outlet/port. No water residue nor any air. I am thinking of filling this cartridges with ink in a few days. I am about to soak them again with 50/50 mix of windex and distilled water hoping that would help. Should I apply a few drops of rubbing alcohol directly on the sponge? Am I worrying too much ? Should I just go ahead and refill the cartridges hoping the ink will soak/saturates the sponge well enough that the ink will flow normally? I don't want to mess this up and cause any ink starvation and kill my print head. Thanks for your help guys.

 

[Grandad35]

I use the top fill method, but my experience is that the sponges on dried carts wet out on the first fill with no special treatment.

Even if you do run into a problem, you can always just re-purge, blow the cart out, then refill while the sponges are still a little wet. The ink in the sponges will be diluted a little, but you probably won't be able to notice the color shift.

 

[dvdit]

^^ That is reassuring. Thanks much.