Substitute for paper towels? Concern about goopy contact valid?

[l_d_allan]

Perhaps I should let a piece of paper towel soak overnight, and then wring it out into a clear glass containier. If the wrung out liquid was visually clear, then less or no worries? If milky/cloudy, then worries?

And the answer is .... drum roll ....

Undecided. I just did a "first-order smoke test" to get a quick idea. The wrung-out water wasn't at all milky/cloudy, but it wasn't perfectly clear either. However, the small, floating particles I could see may have gotten there from a sloppy test on my part. I didn't really clean out the containers carefully, or wash my hands thoroughly.

I'm doing the test more carefully this time, just for completeness and my own curiousity. In any case, I think I was alarmist, and paper towels are probably ok. However, I think I will switch to using old t-shirts or old handkerchiefs in the future for what I previously used paper towels to accomplish ... especially anything in contact with the print-head.

If I were purging a number of carts and using paper towels to wick to damp-dryness, I would be inclined to use a procedure as follows:
* Wash my hands.
* Tear off several paper towels from the roll to expose fresh towels that would have had no exposure to dusty air.
* Fold the paper towel as described
* Carefully wet the edge of the paper towel with distilled water that will be in contact with the cart outlet port.
* Squeeze to damp-dry this corner and place in position on the cart outlet port for wicking.
* The purpose is to rinse out any loose paper fibers in the corner that will be in contact with the cart outlet port.
* If there are loose paper fibers, this should reduce the number of them.
* I don't think the rest of the paper towel matters all that much (or at all?) if it has loose paper fibers, as the cart contents are wicking outwards.

Some other comments:
* It may be that handing the paper may put on more dead skin cells than the rinsing removes. Hand washing should help.
* In Colorado, paper towels dry out really fast in the dry climate.
* Wicking a purged cart to damp-dryness doesn't take all that long in Colorado ... several hours at most.
* If I had a bunch of purged carts to wick to damp-dryness, I'd do about ten carts at a time, let the paper towel dry out for an hour or so, and reuse.

* I think it would be interesting to look at a drop of water from the soak test under a microscope (which I don't have but several on the forum do, IIRC).

 

[billkunert]

Someting else that will work quite well to wick the ink out a cartridge are paper table napkins. They seem a bit more absorbent than paper towels and are quite cheap for a big stack in discount stores. I fold them as many times as possible and rubber band them to the cart outlet. I usually use 3 or 4 at a time.

 

[stratman]

Stratman, I know that you are kidding me about misdirected kudos and compliments, but everyone else should see some of my best examples:

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=7483#p7483
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=17655#p17655
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=21123#p21123
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=28774#p28774

You're right, those are awesome misdirected kudos onto me! But I'll take 'em.

You know I am in jest. You have been an extraordinary poster who obviously has good taste in complimenting other posters.

You might recall I listed your kitchen paper towel wicking method as one of the best things innovations in inkjet refilling history. Sorry, no link, but it's that historic. No kidding. Plus the many times I've referred to your method in name or written of content from other posts of yours.

Panos and Mikling may have had their own epiphanies on wicking, but yours was elegant - probably not a word we inkjet nerds hear about ourselves too often. So, know that I respect your contributions and appreciate your hat tips.

But I'm still keeping an eye on you... and Mikling now.

 

[l_d_allan]

I'm doing the test more carefully this time, just for completeness and my own curiousity. In any case, I think I was alarmist, and paper towels are probably ok. However, I think I will switch to using old t-shirts or old handkerchiefs in the future for what I previously used paper towels to accomplish ... especially anything in contact with the print-head.

I tested again with the paper towels soaking in distilled water for about a day ... more carefully this time. The wrung out water was mostly clear, but there were definitely paper particles floating around. They were quite small, but easily visible to the naked eye. I don't know how their size compares to filter and mesh sizes in the print-head.

 

[pharmacist]

If you are so concerned about paper particles sticking on the ink outlet I would suggest to squeeze or blow the sponge for a few drops of ink to escape from the ink outlet. This will remove the potential paper particles from the ink outlet sponge immediately by rinsing action.

For me it is a non-issue...

 

[l_d_allan]

I ended up not being that concerned about using a paper towel when purging/flushing carts. However, I am going to try using rinsed cotton balls the next time I purge/flush carts.

I remain somewhat reluctant to have a soaked paper towel in extended contact with the print-head itself when working on a clogged print-head.

 

[stratman]

I am going to try using rinsed cotton balls the next time I purge/flush carts.

If you are concerned about particulates/fibers being an issue, then cotton balls is a counterintuitive thing to try.

 

[l_d_allan]

I was wondering about that ... does a cotton ball maintain its "cohesive integrity", or would it tend to shed fibers? I acknowledge ignorance. I suspect that "best practice" ... if you are really concerned about it .... might be something mentioned in an earlier post of this thread (mikling?) ... use pieces cut from a well worn, washed t-shirt as the intermediary between the outlet port of the cart-to-be-purged cart and the paper towel.

 

[Redbrickman]

I wouldn't even consider a cotton ball if you are at all worried about paper towels. They are much worse for shedding fibres.

 

[l_d_allan]

Redbrickman and Stratman .... Noted and "uncle".