how to keep inkjet inks fresh?

[peter]

I bought some extra inkjet inks (epson stylus photo r300) when on sale. It
would probably be a year before I need to use them. Is there something I can
do to keep them fresh longer? Perhaps put them in the refrigerator?

 

[Taliesyn]

I bought some extra inkjet inks (epson stylus photo r300) when on sale. It
would probably be a year before I need to use them. Is there something I can
do to keep them fresh longer? Perhaps put them in the refrigerator?

Accompanying instructions for my bulk inks include:

-Do not refrigerate.
-Do not store in areas of high temperatures, heat & humidity.
-Keep in a cool place out of direct sun.
-Use ink within 6-12 months.

I suppose the cooler/darker the environment the longer they will stay in
"fresh" condition. I hope to have used up my 4 oz bottles of bulk within
a year, kept in a drawer in the basement where temperature rarely
reaches 20 C / 68 F. I have used inks older than a year with no
noticeable problem.

-Taliesyn

 

[measekite]

I would call Epson Tech suppt and put the question to them.

 

[measekite]

Accompanying instructions for my bulk inks include:

He is talking about real ink and should call the factory for support.
Then he will not have to suppose.

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Your printer uses dye inks, which are less vulnerable to aging than
pigment types.

The main problem they run into is evaporation. Believe it or not, water
is lost from within the sealed plastic cartridge, even when it is vacuum
packed in the aluminized foil. So, the best thing you probably can do
is limit evaporation as much as possible. Keep them wrapped in several
layers of freezer thickness zip lock plastic bags and then keep them in
a cool place. I would not place them in a fridge or freezer, because
that climate tends to desiccate things.

Also, sealed dye inks packages will last several years without a lot of
precautions, assuming they are now relatively fresh.

Art

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

Your printer uses dye inks, which are less vulnerable to aging than
pigment types.

The main problem they run into is evaporation. Believe it or not, water
is lost from within the sealed plastic cartridge, even when it is vacuum
packed in the aluminized foil. So, the best thing you probably can do
is limit evaporation as much as possible. Keep them wrapped in several
layers of freezer thickness zip lock plastic bags and then keep them in
a cool place.

Amazingly, I recently came into a few genuine HP #45 black (pigment)
cartridges. They have tape over the print head -- and that's it. They're
packed in leaky awkwardly-shaped non-reusable cardboard retail boxes.

On the other hand, the four aftermarket remanuactured cartridges that
I've purchased from two different suppliers have the tape, PLUS a custom
snap-on protector, PLUS a heat-sealed plastic static-discharge bag.

Now, exactly who treats their customers with more respect?

Richard

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

Art, please see my post headed: _Epson Start-Up Question_. I'd
especially appreciate your input.

Thanks.

Richard

 

[Bob Headrick]

Amazingly, I recently came into a few genuine HP #45 black (pigment)
cartridges. They have tape over the print head -- and that's it. They're
packed in leaky awkwardly-shaped non-reusable cardboard retail boxes.

On the other hand, the four aftermarket remanuactured cartridges that I've
purchased from two different suppliers have the tape, PLUS a custom
snap-on protector, PLUS a heat-sealed plastic static-discharge bag.

Now, exactly who treats their customers with more respect?

Well, I would say HP does. HP design's the cartridges so the ink stays in
when it should. Reman vendors have problems with this, and often have to
include extra packaging to prevent a leaky cartridge from destroying a
carton of its neighbors (or worse) in shipping. See page 10 of
http://www.hp.com/united-states/consumer/inkjet/qualitylogic_study.pdf for
some examples. You might find the rest of that document interesting as
well, as it does address your question directly.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

HP design's the cartridges so the ink stays
in when it should. Reman vendors have problems with this, and often
have to include extra packaging to prevent a leaky cartridge from
destroying a carton of its neighbors (or worse) in shipping. See page
10 of
http://www.hp.com/united-states/consumer/inkjet/qualitylogic_study.pdf
for some examples. You might find the rest of that document interesting
as well, as it does address your question directly.

Thanks, as usual, Bob. And, as usual, I appreciate your contributions
and your generosity very much.

The products in this report, as in what I've read from Wilhelm, do not
include products that we discuss here, which are mostly of higher
quality. The one that I recognized, Universal, is a "one size fits all"
supplier whose black ink, stated as suited for HP, is dye-based and
borders on runny (and sometimes crosses that line). These are products
and reports that are the stuff of Measekites, and in that world of
black/white fantasies, in which all ink and refillers offer poor
products, Measekite is correct.

But the rest of us know better, and in this forum, we deal mostly with
products of significantly higher quality than those in these reports.
Granted, they probably won't function with the perfection and
repeatability of the OE supplies, but the OE supplies are priced as if
each of us were a large corporation. And the performance of the good
aftermarket items may be, indeed, good enough for the needs of many of us.

If OE manufacturers offered real value for the money, and didn't play
distasteful marketing games; maybe if true competition was at play in
this marketplace, perhaps we would not be trying so diligently to avoid
them. And I'm certain that the printer manufacturers would still make
good money.

What do you think?

Richard

 

[fraxinusalba]

I just received some ink cartridges direct from Epson. Afte
installation, one of them indicated a manufacture date of 9-05. Ha
worked fine so far.

From this, I would assume as long as you keep them in the sealed packs
they should work after a year or more of storage

 

[NotMe]

| Your printer uses dye inks, which are less vulnerable to aging than
| pigment types.
|
| The main problem they run into is evaporation. Believe it or not, water
| is lost from within the sealed plastic cartridge, even when it is vacuum
| packed in the aluminized foil. So, the best thing you probably can do
| is limit evaporation as much as possible. Keep them wrapped in several
| layers of freezer thickness zip lock plastic bags and then keep them in
| a cool place. I would not place them in a fridge or freezer, because
| that climate tends to desiccate things.
|
| Also, sealed dye inks packages will last several years without a lot of
| precautions, assuming they are now relatively fresh.
|
| Art
|
| peter wrote:
|
| > I bought some extra inkjet inks (Epson stylus photo r300) when on sale.
It
| > would probably be a year before I need to use them. Is there something I
can
| > do to keep them fresh longer? Perhaps put them in the refrigerator?

We use one of those kitchen 'seal-a-meal' devices to protect a lot of our
stuff.

One application is to seal CDs which we store in a temp controlled
environment. Which is basically an antique wooden ice box with a pelter
device (the type used in 12v car coolers) set to keep the temp at 70 F.
Perhaps a bit of over kill but looks good and is a talking point with
visitors/clients.

We also have a section of rock face that came from a excavation site in
western NC that we have painted a likeness of the French Cave Paintings as
well. We jokingly tell the clients this is part of the portfolio of our
founding fathers ... the left handed implicit we have more experience than
any of our competition.

 

[Bob Headrick]

One application is to seal CDs which we store in a temp controlled
environment. Which is basically an antique wooden ice box with a pelter
device (the type used in 12v car coolers) set to keep the temp at 70 F.
Perhaps a bit of over kill but looks good and is a talking point with
visitors/clients.

70F is pretty warm if you are trying to preserve CD's. They would probably
last 2x as long at 50F - chemical reaction rates typically double every 10C.

- Bob Headrick

 

[NotMe]

"Bob Headrick"
|
| > One application is to seal CDs which we store in a temp controlled
| > environment. Which is basically an antique wooden ice box with a pelter
| > device (the type used in 12v car coolers) set to keep the temp at 70 F.
| > Perhaps a bit of over kill but looks good and is a talking point with
| > visitors/clients.
|
| 70F is pretty warm if you are trying to preserve CD's. They would
probably
| last 2x as long at 50F - chemical reaction rates typically double every
10C.
|

Good point, chose 70F as that was the mid point of the various
recommendations I read. Also we have been told it is not so much the
storage temp but that the temp be stable.

Regardless it was lower the than the temp we had in the studio.