Recomendations for long term storage of a Inkjet printer

[videobruce]

I have a Canon I560 printer I bought used for a backup printer that I want to store long term.

1. Should I leave the ink tanks in the printer or remove them and store them separately?
2. How about the print head? Same thing?

I went through and checked the printer. All is ok. I cleaned the bottom of the print head as it was covered with dried ink. I also cleaned those soft nylon cleaning tabs by the foam pads where the head parks.

Thanks in advance.

 

[mikling]

My thoughts are that you should remove the cartridges/tanks seal the outlet port and air inlet at the top. To seal the outlet ports, it is best to reuse the original seals and use some elastic bands. A piece of adhesive tape will seal the air inlet hole at the top.

For the head, I'd throughly flush it through the inlet ports of all ink within it until the water that comes through the nozzles is clear. Maybe you've already done that. After that, depending on the quality of your water, a final flush with distilled water will be best. That way, when everything dries, there will be no deposits and thus no clogs.

If you are really thinking over a year of storage, you might as well, dump the ink within the cartridge/tank, purge it and don't bother sealing it.

There is a reason why Canon recommends that tanks, once opened, be consumed within six months...but they are conservative...so give yourself a year. Ink will degrade once exposed. This degradation can cause print head starvation, the same reason why many on this board recommend purging, and if not caught will cause permanent head damage. Also keep in mind that you should store the cartridges somewhere cool. Heat accelerates aging.

BTW, in essence the same ink issues could arise for those who print infrequently and have some cartridges/tanks that may be in their printer for well over a year. They can experience ink starvation issues even when the cartridges are OEM and never been refilled. This will also illustrate why it can sometimes be difficult to predict how many refills are possible before purging is required. The time/usage pattern, refill methods all have some bearing on the effects of ink degradation and in my opinion, not easily predictable.

Don't let this scare you because many printers left unused for months come back to life even without any precautions. The above just kind of guarantees that it will immediately function like new once restarted.

 

[videobruce]

For the head, I'd throughly flush it through the inlet ports of all ink within it until the water that comes through the nozzles is clear.

Would using 'Windex' or Isopropyl Alcohol be better?

purge it and don't bother sealing it.

Don't seal the printer head??