For over ten years I have been intensively using inkjet printers at a higher than normal use level and there are some things that we learn everyday. I have learned a lot in the last few weeks.
Over the last few weeks I have been busy and most of it inkjet related. I have come out of this with more knowledge about things that can go wrong and what to do.
First thing I have learned is that despite ink manufacturers using biocide in their ink, sometimes these chemicals do not work and the ink and system is attacked by biological intruders. For the most part, biocides work very well, but sometimes.....they don't and you'll only know when it does not at the time of failure and not likely before and the mfrs cannot determine when it won't either. Failure only shows up over a period of time.
One needs to recognize when that happens and the steps to take to fix the situation and stop a reoccurence. Fortunately I appear toI have a solution.
The steps required are similar to what one would do with biological infections because it is identical in what happens. One needs to consider aspect of contamination and possible return if it is not killed off.
Simple washing and flushing of contaminated objects is not enough. Flush solutions containing alcohol is not effective enough as well..so far only one common household chemical I have used with great success is BLEACH. However, I caution you that it can cause damage as well and must be used with great care. You need to be precise in the way it is used with printheads. Yes,...it is scary but so far with careful use, bleach has solved clogs where no other chemical solution would work. And yes, it can damage as well. But it has worked so far...but no guarantees.
In later posts I will outline how to use it. Again, it is to be used only when it is a last resort and with great care. I repeat again.
Further I have discovered that in the past stubborn small clogs and large are possibly bacterial/fungal growth and was not recognized as such. We now have a solution. Again before embarking on any cleaning with bleach, all precautions when handling bleach needs to be taken.
In later posts I will outline the whole process some more. Don't go running off and use bleach so quickly. It will damage chips on the cartridge as well as the contact plate of the printhead. You are warned. Epson printheads will not take to bleach at all...it will be damaged by it. So far Canon printheads appear to be able to withstand bleach within the ink channel. I use the word appear because only 5 tests, all successful ,withstood bleach. So there is some inherent risk.
Over the last few weeks I have been busy and most of it inkjet related. I have come out of this with more knowledge about things that can go wrong and what to do.
First thing I have learned is that despite ink manufacturers using biocide in their ink, sometimes these chemicals do not work and the ink and system is attacked by biological intruders. For the most part, biocides work very well, but sometimes.....they don't and you'll only know when it does not at the time of failure and not likely before and the mfrs cannot determine when it won't either. Failure only shows up over a period of time.
One needs to recognize when that happens and the steps to take to fix the situation and stop a reoccurence. Fortunately I appear toI have a solution.
The steps required are similar to what one would do with biological infections because it is identical in what happens. One needs to consider aspect of contamination and possible return if it is not killed off.
Simple washing and flushing of contaminated objects is not enough. Flush solutions containing alcohol is not effective enough as well..so far only one common household chemical I have used with great success is BLEACH. However, I caution you that it can cause damage as well and must be used with great care. You need to be precise in the way it is used with printheads. Yes,...it is scary but so far with careful use, bleach has solved clogs where no other chemical solution would work. And yes, it can damage as well. But it has worked so far...but no guarantees.
In later posts I will outline how to use it. Again, it is to be used only when it is a last resort and with great care. I repeat again.
Further I have discovered that in the past stubborn small clogs and large are possibly bacterial/fungal growth and was not recognized as such. We now have a solution. Again before embarking on any cleaning with bleach, all precautions when handling bleach needs to be taken.
In later posts I will outline the whole process some more. Don't go running off and use bleach so quickly. It will damage chips on the cartridge as well as the contact plate of the printhead. You are warned. Epson printheads will not take to bleach at all...it will be damaged by it. So far Canon printheads appear to be able to withstand bleach within the ink channel. I use the word appear because only 5 tests, all successful ,withstood bleach. So there is some inherent risk.
