storage of printer...

[aardvark]

Can someone advise as to what precautions to take when storing a Canon
iP5000 for a period of a year, or longer? Should the cartridges be
left in the printer or sealed in zip locks? Will the ink in the
cartridges dry out anyway? Any comments as to how to store this
properly would be appreciated, PC.

 

[Taliesyn]

Can someone advise as to what precautions to take when storing a Canon
iP5000 for a period of a year, or longer? Should the cartridges be
left in the printer or sealed in zip locks? Will the ink in the
cartridges dry out anyway? Any comments as to how to store this
properly would be appreciated, PC.

What I do for periods up to a year for any unused Canon printer:

Remove the cartridges one by one, seal the cartridge bottom ink exit
port with the original break-off orange caps and rubber bands. Seal the
top air vent with "Scotch" or electrical tape. Place them in a zip-type
baggy in a cool place (not the refrigerator). Myself, I only store
excess printers, not cartridges, as I use the same cartridges on my
other printers. But I see no reason why you would have a problem unless
the cartridges are almost empty, thereby depriving the internal sponge
of moisture for an extended period of time. But heck, you can get new
cartridges easily - original, compatible, or your own refilled.

Then.... remove the print head assembly. Place a folded paper towel
beneath the print head on a flat dish. Run distilled (or demineralized)
water through the top ink intake tubes/vents with an eye dropper until
the water runs clean (not "red", "blue" or yellow) through the inkjet
nozzles on the paper towel beneath. Change paper towel as necessary.
This can take 10 minutes or longer. The cleaner you get it the better
chance you have of starting the printer up with no clogging problem.
I also run a few drops of store bought printhead cleaning solution
through the ink vents after the water. Not sure it's necessary, but I
have it, so I do it. You can buy this solution from various online dealers.

DO NOT rinse whole printhead under water tap and avoid getting water
into the electronics, or whatever, inside the printhead assembly. Shake
off any excess water, dry lightly with paper towel and seal in plastic
zip baggy. Every time I've done it so far the printers have started up
again perfectly, right away, so I must be doing something right. Good
luck!

P.S. Distilled or demineralized water is easily found in most grocery
or drug stores.

-Taliesyn

 

[Michael Johnson]

What I do for periods up to a year for any unused Canon printer:

Remove the cartridges one by one, seal the cartridge bottom ink exit
port with the original break-off orange caps and rubber bands. Seal the
top air vent with "Scotch" or electrical tape. Place them in a zip-type
baggy in a cool place (not the refrigerator). Myself, I only store
excess printers, not cartridges, as I use the same cartridges on my
other printers. But I see no reason why you would have a problem unless
the cartridges are almost empty, thereby depriving the internal sponge
of moisture for an extended period of time. But heck, you can get new
cartridges easily - original, compatible, or your own refilled.

Then.... remove the print head assembly. Place a folded paper towel
beneath the print head on a flat dish. Run distilled (or demineralized)
water through the top ink intake tubes/vents with an eye dropper until
the water runs clean (not "red", "blue" or yellow) through the inkjet
nozzles on the paper towel beneath. Change paper towel as necessary.
This can take 10 minutes or longer. The cleaner you get it the better
chance you have of starting the printer up with no clogging problem.
I also run a few drops of store bought printhead cleaning solution
through the ink vents after the water. Not sure it's necessary, but I
have it, so I do it. You can buy this solution from various online dealers.

DO NOT rinse whole printhead under water tap and avoid getting water
into the electronics, or whatever, inside the printhead assembly. Shake
off any excess water, dry lightly with paper towel and seal in plastic
zip baggy. Every time I've done it so far the printers have started up
again perfectly, right away, so I must be doing something right. Good
luck!

P.S. Distilled or demineralized water is easily found in most grocery
or drug stores.

I have use a can of compressed air to blow out the printhead of any
liquids. Just hold the print head with a paper towel and blow the air
into the ink receptacles. Then rinse with distilled water and repeat.

 

[measekite]

I would sell it for the best price you can get.  When the year is up get the latest technology.

aardvark wrote:

Can someone advise as to what precautions to take when storing a Canon iP5000 for a period of a year, or longer? Should the cartridges be left in the printer or sealed in zip locks? Will the ink in the cartridges dry out anyway? Any comments as to how to store this properly would be appreciated, PC.

 

[Burt]

I just read the request about how to store a Canon printer. Well my
Canon printer had been sitting idle for about 2 years.

I replaced the inks but it was no use because apparently the print head
was totally clogged up with dried ink. Just as I was about to trash
it... my friend suggested I try an inkjet cleaning kit, like the one he
had bought on 'Ebay' (http://tinyurl.com/27lrd5) to unclog his Epson
printer. A bit sceptical at first, I bought a 'Magic Kit'
(http://tinyurl.com/27lrd5).

They gave me a link to download a manual after ordering. Although it
did not have my exact model, it did have lots of color photos, so even a
dummy like me could use it! When the kit finally arrived... 2 weeks
later! I was all set
to go and it came with 4 items. I warmed the Magic bottle in the
microwave, (my wife was happy because it did not blow up and no smells)
Then I injected the warmed Magic stuff through both ends of the print
head with a special rubber tipped -Magic Applicator-. I then left the
printhead soaking overnight on a -Magic Pillow- which are easy to use.

Next morning I inserted the inks and used the -Ink Priming Pump- to
draw the ink down after unclogging, its easy to use and because you can
see the ink flowing... you know the ink clog has been unblocked and
saves wasting your ink. I then installed the print head and inks. It
printed 1st time ! That 'Magic Inkjet Flush'
(http://tinyurl.com/27lrd5) stuff worked brilliant !!!

So if anyone else has an ink clog? here's the link to my frends
'Magic' (http://tinyurl.com/27lrd5) Fix,
Good Luck it worked great for me !

'Magic Inkjet Flush Kit' (http://tinyurl.com/27lrd5) (Ebay)

Good post. Now let's look at the no ebay, no cost, readily available
alternative. Use a folded over paper towel (magic pillow) in a plastic
refrigerator container and saturate it with a mixture of water and original
Windex (home made magic fluid, thanks to Arthur Entlich) that has been
warmed. Have enough fluid in the container to be just a few mm. over the
paper. Place the printhead on the soaked paper toweling (home made magic
pillow), nozzle plate down. Take some of the home made magic fluid in a
syringe or eyedropper (magic applicator), drip it onto the intake screens
where the ink carts go, and let sit for a while. Be patient. Pump gently
up and down to see if any ink percolates upward onto the ink intake screens
where the ink carts go. No response? Pick up the printhead and look at the
home made magic pillow. Ink pattern? Move the printhead over to a clean
area and repeat. Repeat process several times and be patient. When you see
percolation in all intake screens pumping the printhead up and down gently,
put the printghead into the printer and run a few deep cleanings. Print a
nozzle check. Successful? You are magically done. Unsuccessful? Repeat
the magic process. If you still get a poor nozzle check you can take the
printhead to the sink, get the water running hot, and carefully run hot
water into the intake screens. Be careful not to get the electronic
contacts wet on the back of the printhead. Your goal is to wash out all the
ink until the water coming out of the nozzles runs clear.

If the home made magic cleaning liquid doesn't work, add a bit of isopropyl
alcohol to the Windex/water mix and start over. I've also used straight
Windex successfully when necessary, and when in desperation, straight
alcohol. If you use straight alcohol, however, be sure to completely wash
it out of the printhead as the Canon system works by heating the ink with
heating elements in the printhead to expel drops of ink. Overly agressive
cleaning, however, can ruin a salvageable printhead, so be patient and go
gently. After you have given it your best shot, successful or not, send the
$20 the magic kit plus shipping would have cost you to your favorite
charity.

I'd suggest that Steve, the OP, was fortunate to get the clogs cleared after
two years of storage, no matter how magic the fluid. The printheads that
would be most difficult to clear would be the four or five color heads that
have a black pigment-based ink cart. The dye-based inks are water soluable.
The pigment based ink has a water carrier, but when it is applied to paper
and it dries it is much less soluable.

I don't know what might be in the magic kit that would be more effective
than what I have written above. This is information I have gleaned from
several sources, including Arthur Entlich's manual for cleaning Epson
printeads. The techniques for Canon are different because the Epson
printheads are not easily removable for cleaning, and the Canon printheads
are removable and replaceable.

For comprehensive info on clearing Epson printhead clogs, look for Arthur
Entlich on this NG and email him for his Epson printhead cleaning manual. I
understand that he also has made one up for Canon printers. For lots of
info on cleaning Canon printhead clogs go to the Nifty-stuff forum and read
through the first FAQ that you can access by clicking on FAQ at the top of
the web page.
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/

 

[thoss]

At 19:30:48 on Sat, 2 Feb 2008 Burt opined:-

Good post. Now let's look at the no ebay, no cost, readily available
alternative. Use a folded over paper towel (magic pillow) in a plastic
refrigerator container and saturate it with a mixture of water and
original Windex (home made magic fluid, thanks to Arthur Entlich) that
has been warmed.

I keep reading here about Windex. It's not available here in the UK.
What is our equivalent?

 

[Nicolaas Hawkins]

At 19:30:48 on Sat, 2 Feb 2008 Burt opined:-


I keep reading here about Windex. It's not available here in the UK.
What is our equivalent?

Clear, usually blue, ammoniacal glass cleaner.

 

[Burt]

Clear, usually blue, ammoniacal glass cleaner.

--
Nicolaas.


... Would you describe yourself more as a process or as a function?

Did I read somewhere that there is a product called Windowlene in UK? A
friend downloaded the MSDS (shows ingredients) of original windex from its
manufacturer. (please excuse the caps - I cut and pasted the info which was
in caps on the MSDS) Described as CLEAR BLUE LIQUID W/SLIGHT AMMONIA ODOR.
Ingredients by weight - 90 - 95% water, ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL< 3%, ETHYLENE
GLYCOL MONOBUTYL ETHER < 2% . Interesting that there is no Ammonia listed
although there is definitely a smell of ammonia. It is possible that trace
amounts are not required on the MSDS. My sense is that using a high
concentration of Ammonia would be destructive to a printhead. A trace may
be all that is necessary.

 

[Stuart]

Did I read somewhere that there is a product called Windowlene in UK?

Certainly used to be, a thick pink liquid that dried white on the window.
You then used a second cloth to polish it off!

--
Stuart Winsor

From is valid but subject to change without notice if it gets spammed.

For Barn dances and folk evenings in the Coventry and Warwickshire area
See: http://www.barndance.org.uk

 

[Burt]

Certainly used to be, a thick pink liquid that dried white on the window.
You then used a second cloth to polish it off!

--
Stuart Winsor

From is valid but subject to change without notice if it gets spammed.

For Barn dances and folk evenings in the Coventry and Warwickshire area
See: http://www.barndance.org.uk

You would not want to use the type of product you described. It sounds like
something we had called "glass wax." You also do not want to use the newer
drip free windex. If you don't have something akin to the windex I
described, you can probably use water with about 5 - 10% isopropyl alcohol.
Available at pharmacies in the US. Probably the same in the UK. Increase
the percentage of alcohol a bit if that doesn't work.

 

[thoss]

At 15:36:37 on Sat, 2 Feb 2008 Burt opined:-

Did I read somewhere that there is a product called Windowlene in UK? A
friend downloaded the MSDS (shows ingredients) of original windex from its
manufacturer. (please excuse the caps - I cut and pasted the info which was
in caps on the MSDS) Described as CLEAR BLUE LIQUID W/SLIGHT AMMONIA ODOR.
Ingredients by weight - 90 - 95% water, ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL< 3%, ETHYLENE
GLYCOL MONOBUTYL ETHER < 2% . Interesting that there is no Ammonia listed
although there is definitely a smell of ammonia. It is possible that trace
amounts are not required on the MSDS. My sense is that using a high
concentration of Ammonia would be destructive to a printhead. A trace may
be all that is necessary.

The original Windolene is an emulsion which leaves a solid deposit on
the glass, to be wiped off. Clearly designed to clog up printer
nozzles, not unclog them.

However, I see there is now a clear Windolene spray. This may be what's
needed. Has anyone tried it?

 

[Arthur Entlich]

I don't know what the Magic Kit cost, but most of the elements in it can
probably be made at home for a few pennies. Before spending any
substantial money on such a kit, I suggest people check out some of the
suggestions on this newsgroup or through the websites mentioned below.
(not sure all are still active, haven't checked in a while.) Perhaps if
those do not work, then consider buying a commercial cleaning system.

http://www.maxpatchink.com/canon-tips.shtml
http://www.neilslade.com/Papers/inkjetstuff3.html
http://www.atlascopy.com/newsletters/Cleaning_Epson_Print_Heads-Revisited.htm
http://www.printerhelp.me.uk/
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/

Art

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Unfortunately, that IS a problem. I have been trying to find one
without success for our "hands across the water" friends ;-)

The closest I've found to date is something called Mr. Muscle window
cleaner, but I can't vouch for it's similarity to Windex (it may contain
Sodium Hydroxide (also called lye), which in higher concentrations can
damage some metals)

The principle active ingredients in Windex are:

water with:
ammonia at about 1% concentration (yes, that's 1%)
isopropyl alcohol (at about 5% but you can add up to 30% or so)
glycols (not required, but does work to help as a wetting agent and
solvent, and it helps to keep particles in suspension)

If you can find household ammonia (non-sudsy version), if you dilute
that to about 1 part to household ammonia to 8 parts water, and then
toss in some ISA (Isopropyl alcohol) that will usually do it. The dye
ink Canon inks will even dissolve in warm water, but the other
ingredients hasten to dissolve dried ink in small portals.

What isn't good for Canon inks is acid cleaners which use things like
vinegar.

The European continent and EU seem to be limiting access to ammonia
because it does have some health issues is prolonged breathing of the
fumes in an enclosed setting occurs. I also suspect they are
restricting it because it can be used in explosives.

You may still be able to get it at a chemist (or whatever a pharmacist
is called in England... ;-))

Art

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Unfortunately, I have been told that the current clear version of
Windowlene uses vinegar as the cleaning solvent. Whatever you do, do
not use the think pink version of Windowlene.

Art

 

[Arthur Entlich]

See some of my recent comments in this regard.

Art

 

[thoss]

At 12:57:39 on Mon, 4 Feb 2008 Arthur Entlich opined:-

Unfortunately, that IS a problem. I have been trying to find one
without success for our "hands across the water" friends ;-)

The closest I've found to date is something called Mr. Muscle window
cleaner, but I can't vouch for it's similarity to Windex (it may contain
Sodium Hydroxide (also called lye), which in higher concentrations can
damage some metals)

The principle active ingredients in Windex are:

water with:
ammonia at about 1% concentration (yes, that's 1%)
isopropyl alcohol (at about 5% but you can add up to 30% or so)
glycols (not required, but does work to help as a wetting agent and
solvent, and it helps to keep particles in suspension)

If you can find household ammonia (non-sudsy version), if you dilute
that to about 1 part to household ammonia to 8 parts water, and then
toss in some ISA (Isopropyl alcohol) that will usually do it. The dye
ink Canon inks will even dissolve in warm water, but the other
ingredients hasten to dissolve dried ink in small portals.

What isn't good for Canon inks is acid cleaners which use things like
vinegar.

The European continent and EU seem to be limiting access to ammonia
because it does have some health issues is prolonged breathing of the
fumes in an enclosed setting occurs. I also suspect they are
restricting it because it can be used in explosives.

You may still be able to get it at a chemist (or whatever a pharmacist
is called in England... ;-))

Art

Thanks, Art. It seems that Windolene (only one w) is not the answer. I
must have a look at Mr Muscle.

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

I suspect that the "secret ingredients" in the kit we've been discussing
fall into two categories:

1. Good instructions
2. A few special tools that aren't in most ink kits
(plunger-suckers,eyedroppers that fit the holes, etc.)

Most products that are sold come with terrible instructions, which are
confusing at best. It's amazing how a customer's experience can be
improved when you just tell him what to do in a way that he can absorb
the information. But it's a fact that most manufacturers regard
instructions as an afterthought: something that they resent to have to
provide, and want to give as little time and money to as possible.

It's common for manufacturers to just parrot each other's mindless
advice for home maintenance. Examples:
- "There are no user-serviceable parts inside."
- "Do not use any solvents. Wipe the screen with a clean cloth."

When I've repeatedly hassled manufacturers of cameras and monitors about
how to clean the viewscreens, they've finally broken down and revealed
that what they use at the factory is; Windex!

Next question: what is Windex in the first place, and/or what are its
characteristics?

1. Amonia (not much of it).
2. Isopropyl alcohol.
3. Clean water.

Does it leave a residue?
Not that I know of.

The ingredients are dirt cheap, and I think that Arthur has hit the nail
on the head about the approximate concentrations. I've been using
isopropyl alcohol for decades to clean audio equipment in both
easily-available strengths: 70% (rubbing alcohol) and 90%. Both have
been good, benign cleaners, but they can dissolve certain paints and
other finishes. Other than these finishes, neither I, nor my staff, have
ever damaged anything with these alcohols. If anything, I suspect that
they actually can help prolong the life of certain rubbers that are
exposed to some environmental contaminants.

Contrary to the opinion of some, rubbing alcohol (at least here in
California) is pure and contains no cruel and abusive additives. The
ingredients are as specified on the bottle: alcohol and water. And since
many people swab their insulin injection sites with rubbing alcohol, it
would not be prudent of the alcohol bottler to use a non-purified water
to achieve the advertised dilution.

In closing, I suspect that the ratios of our home-made "Windex" are not
very critical when it comes to cleaning our ink systems.

Go to it, lads (and ladies!).

Richard

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Hi Richard,

I recently began more investigating about rubbing alcohol, in regard to
its differing formulae.

Although in most of the US, it consists, as you stated, of Isopropyl
alcohol and water, that is not true of other countries, and since this
is an international forum, it is always best to be cautious. I
personally, while traveling have seen "rubbing alcohol" containing witch
hazel (an oily substance) and oil of wintergreen, (which is a salicilate
in the same family as ASA or Aspirin). In fact, in the UK, rubbing
alcohol typically contains no isopropyl alcohol, and instead uses a
mixture of one or more methyl or denatured ethyl alcohols and water.

For some reason, isopropyl alcohol is darn cheap and plentiful in the US
and Canada, perhaps it is the result of some chemical process or
accessible industrial manufacturing technique that isn't used in some
parts of the world. Ammonia is also quite hard to come by in much of
the world other than in buying it from chemical supply or "chemists"
(Pharmacies) and it is quite costly relative to ours, yet most groceries
sell it in North America for a buck or less a litre in household
concentrations, which are higher than needed or suggested for cleaning
inkjet heads.

It is a bit of a problem for people in Europe and elsewhere.

Art