Pro 100 Long term storage

[berttheghost]

Buy a cheap set of prefilled carts and install them in the printer. Then store the printer. I would print a nozzle check once every month.

Too risky for my taste. Just my opinion, though.

 

[Tin Ho]

Too risky for my taste. Just my opinion, though.

How are you going to do it to lower the risk?

 

[berttheghost]

How are you going to do it to lower the risk?

IMHO, the best answer for most customers is to buy a brand new part with warranty and installation instructions from an authorized Canon parts reseller. If the parts droid on the phone doesn't ask for both printer model and serial number, consider trying another parts droid or risk getting the wrong part. Stay away from non-authorized resellers. The price might be right but the part might not be.

If swapping parts from a donor printer, ensure that the donor printer's parts are compatible with your own. Manufacturers change product designs during production for a variety of reasons bur mostly for cost reduction; for example, cost of warranty claims. The printer's serial number is used to identify different production variations. Are there different production variants of the pixma pro-100 out there now?

WRT the suggestion to leave the head in the donor printer with a set of fresh carts, the storage life of the donor head will be limited by the service life of the fresh carts. It doesn't even matter whether the fresh carts are oem or aftermarket. The risk from expired ink/carts might be reduced by replacing the carts with fresh ones when their service life expires and running a deep clean to purge any old ink left in the head.

 

[The Hat]

I have a slightly different problem.I can get a "like new" pro-100. I have immediate use for the partially used carts but I want to store the print head for backup way down the road. What is the best way to do this?

I have several print heads in storage and I store them all dry, and when I need to use one of them, I pour generous amounts of pharmacists’ solution into the inlets and leave it to stand for ½ an hour, then shake dry and use.

The fact that the printer has not been used for some time helps the print head climatize itself to ink once again by the vigorous cleaning cycle it gives it, which leaves it more than ready to print...

I also use the pharmacist solution to clean the head before I put them into hibernation dry, I am however not recommending this as the correct way to store a print head, but it works fine for me...

The other method is to flood the purge unit with Windex and when the printer settles down, turn it off and store it with all the carts in situ till you’re ready to reuse, it will keep for years like that..

 

[stratman]

store it with all the carts in situ till you’re ready to reuse, it will keep for years like that..

1) Didn't mikling just say this would create issues with the sponge in the cartridges due to drying out?

2) What about the confusing issue someone had with ink unexpectedly draining out of the cartridges while it was in storage presumed due to contact with the purge pads?

3) I thought the best practice was to keep the plastics in the print head conditioned and bacteriostatic/bactericidal due to the glycerin in Pharmacists Solution, similar to why Canon packages print heads sealed in juice. Not that I've done this, but it has been the forum consensus.

 

[palombian]

I always used to place cartridges with "printhead conservation" fluid, 2 cleanings before storing the printer.

Recently I also removed the printhead, rinsed it in demineralised water, a second bath in conservation fluid and then in a sealed bag or a jar.

Both methods worked until now.

 

[Tin Ho]

1) Didn't mikling just say this would create issues with the sponge in the cartridges due to drying out?

2) What about the confusing issue someone had with ink unexpectedly draining out of the cartridges while it was in storage presumed due to contact with the purge pads?

3) I thought the best practice was to keep the plastics in the print head conditioned and bacteriostatic/bactericidal due to the glycerin in Pharmacists Solution, similar to why Canon packages print heads sealed in juice. Not that I've done this, but it has been the forum consensus.

I lost two print heads by storing them, flushed, in Ziploc bags. Those print heads were clogged solid with no amount of soaking with Windex or Ammonia solution that could revive them. They were in the bag no longer than 6 months. It's not the way for storing print heads for me ever again.

On the other hand my IP4700 has been stored with carts in the printer for the past 5 years. It was taken out to get an exercise once in a while (3 to 6 months). I just printed some documents with it today and it worked like new. My Pro-100 is like that too but it is a 10 months old printer. Last time when I turned it on I realized almost all but one or two carts were bone dry. Quickly refilled them and they printed beautifully as it should. I will watch the carts and see if it will repeat to drain the carts. But clearly this is the much safer way to store a print head in a printer for me. It is not insured and if you don't believe it don't do it.

No matter how you store a print head there will always be an issue here there. I probably can point out a few more than Mike did.

 

[stratman]

lost two print heads by storing them, flushed, in Ziploc bags.

Can you go into more detail, please:

• What did you flush with?
  
• Were they completely functional before the flush?
  
• Did you rinse after the flush, and if so, with what?
  
• How were you sure the nozzle channels were completely flushed before storage?
  
• Were they stored where sunlight and heat could not cause an outgassing of the plastic?

 

[Tin Ho]

I know I did something wrong. I should have flushed with distiled drink or 100% alcohol wine. Still if I were to store a print head I would not go that way. I learned a hard lesson. Who did not back in the i960 era? I now store my print heads in the printers accompanied by all their cartridges. Never had a problem until who knows when I run into another disaster.

Yes, those were good print working heads. Had I not ruined them that way they might have gone wrong by other mistakes, possibly refilled with PC ink. Who knows...

 

[mikling]

I know I did something wrong. I should have flushed with distiled drink or 100% alcohol wine. Still if I were to store a print head I would not go that way. I learned a hard lesson. Who did not back in the i960 era? I now store my print heads in the printers accompanied by all their cartridges. Never had a problem until who knows when I run into another disaster.

Yes, those were good print working heads. Had I not ruined them that way they might have gone wrong by other mistakes, possibly refilled with PC ink. Who knows...

Tin Ho, i know you are a Hobbi something shill.