Print head compatibility

[questionnaire]

which print heads are best suited for inks containing sodium hydroxide?

 

[PeterBJ]

I don't know if this is the answer to your question, but some Epson printer models have been turned into flatbed printers for direct to garment printing or for applying an etch resist for printed circuit board making, Only Epson's piezo-electric printheads can handle the special inks needed for these purposes, thermal printheads as used by Canon, HP and others would be clogged or ruined by the special inks. Here is a DTG printer and here is a PCB printer.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

which print heads are best suited for inks containing sodium hydroxide?

You may ask the printhead manufacturers directly like Epson which produce them for various industrial applications like packaging etc.

 

[questionnaire]

well yes I've heard that piezo electric printheads can handle inks with this formula i have been using the Epson Eco tank series which i have researched that all models are piezo electric printheads but what is a common occurrence is the printouts come out very faded and after just a couple prints nothing gets printed at all, does this have to due to the viscosity of my ink? which currently is the equivalent to water.. and is vegetable glycerin the proper thing to add to increase the viscosity i figure my issue is the viscosity level and the drying out time of my ink which is clogging the print heads? the glycerin would increase both the viscosity and lengthen the drying time is that a correct assumption?

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I must admit I don't get it what you want to acheive. Vegetable inks for refill are on the market and can be purchased.

And you may look up the MSDS - Material Data Safety sheets for Epson inks if you want to use Epson printers, these MSDS will tell you an approximate contents of an ink - water + gycoles + dyes and probably some other additives like a fungicide and other. NaOH - sodium hydroxide - will kill dye colors .

 

[PeterBJ]

Are the inks homemade and is the NaOH used for adjusting the pH level? If so maybe it could be replaced by ammonium hydroxide (ammonia)? Unlike NaOH it doesn't leave a solid deposit that could clog the nozzles upon evaporation of water, but leaves ammonia gas that dissapears into the air.