Inkjet Printhead Cleaning Method

[Nifty]

Okay, so 92% water and alcohol around 3% and some special soap??? I think a home brew can come pretty close to this.

 

[Grandad35]

Nifty-stuff,

If you analyzed a loaf of bread you could figure out most of the ingredients, but I doubt that you would find the dead yeast residue or figure out its role in making bread. I hate to think of what bread would look and taste like without this "minor ingredient".

Designing a formulation for a cleaning solution is probably about as difficult as designing a formulation for inkjet ink. I know that I can buy clothing dye and dissolve it in water to make my own ink for next to nothing, but I also know that it wouldn't work as well as commercial inks, if it worked at all. If I spent a lot on cleaning solution and there was a cartel that controlled the price of cleaning solution at exorbitant prices, I would probably want to work on an alternative just out of principle. Without the motivation that I feel that am being over-charged, it's hard to get motivated for such a project.

 

[fotofreek]

Well, since someone has used alcohol successfully and someone else has used windex successfully, perhaps the solution that Arthur Entlich uses on Epson dye based printers will work equally well for Canons. Granddad - do you think that the people who make Windex with Ammonia D would send you an MSDS? Probably has 95% water, a bit of ammonia, a touch of surfactant, and a smidge of blue dye to make it look like you bought something more than a quart of water with a drop of ammonia! When it comes time for me to deal with a head clog I will first make up the home brew, drop a few drops of ink into a sample of it to see that it immediately disolves and disperses, and if it does, I would then use it and follow the cleaning techniques that had been laid out in this forum.

 

[Nifty]

Good points from both of you. Thanks!

 

[Grandad35]

Fotofreek,

I got this data for Windex by Googling MSDS+Windex. (http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~jsmith/MSDS/WINDEX GLASS CLEANER BLUE.htm). It says that Windex smells like ammonia, but doesn't list ammonia in the ingredients. Given the pH of 11, it may well contain ammonia, but at such a low level that it doesn't need to be listed.

Note that the major ingredient is isopropyl alcohol, but there are lots of other ingredients in smaller concentrations. This won't be an easy blend to copy.

 

[fotofreek]

Beware of the newer formulations of Windex (as advised by Arthur Entlich). You need to use the original one with ammonia or the newer one that has ammonia prominantly printed on the label. I believe that they also have a "dripless" version that should not be used. Ph is a critical issue that Arthur covers in his instructions. They are copywrited and Arthur requests that people who want them (at no charge) can email a request to him for a copy at e-printerhelp@mvps.org . Worth reading. No need to blend a copy if Windex + alcohol works as it is so cheap and is an easily obtained household item.

 

[Nifty]

Grandad mentioned he uses a soda straw that fits in his syringe. I was digging through my inkjet box (filled with misc. stuff that I've collected over the years) and found something interesting. It is a syringe with a piece of surgical tubing that fits PERFECTLY into the threaded part of the tip of the syringe. I don't have a clue where it came from, or what size the tubing is, but I'm sure I could use it for all kinds of fun stuff.

 

[Grandad35]

Fotofreek,

I just read Entlich's information - it is looooong and contains a lot of good information that also applies to printers other than Epson.

There were two points that I found especially interesting:
1. Dye based inks tend to be basic (high pH) and pigment inks tend to be acidic (low pH). An ammonia based cleaner (high pH) should not be used with pigment based inks until the combination is tested for compatibility as described in his writeup. This brings up an obvious question: "Are the pigment based inks used in Canon's BCI-3eBK carts compatible with ammonia based cleaners?"
2. Some inks can clot when mixed with inks of the same type from other suppliers. I have suspected that this could happen, but this is the first time that I have seen it in writing. When switching inks in your printer, it might be a good idea to clean the head before installing the new ink. If you don't clean the head when switching, it would be a good idea to mix some of the inks to see if they clot before proceding.

Does anyone have experinece with clogged nozzles after switching inks? I think that I have, but I wasn't running a controlled experiment or paying careful attention at that time so I can't be sure.

 

[fotofreek]

To avoid a sequence of color adjustments I've stayed with one company's inks once I found them to be suitable. Good suggestiong on mixing if you wish to change for compatability check to avoid clogging.

 

[Nifty]

I'll admit that I'm not running a precise lab over here and have mixed many inks over the years. So far I haven't (that I've noticed) had any clotting issues. Of course, now that I've read that it can possibly happen, it will probably start showing up.

Do you think that clotting caused by mixing different inks would be visible to the naked eye, or would more precise tests for viscosity, etc. be necessary?