Printer ink dries out when away

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  #31  
Old 10-15-2018, 10:16 AM
Win1894 Win1894 is offline
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I don't use our printer enough to keep the cartridge from drying out but discovered something that works for me virtually all the time. I first wipe/clean the cartridge head with isopropyl alcohol then, and this is the fun part, hold the cartridge head in a stream of steam from the spout of a rapidly boiling kettle for 5 or 6 minutes - in essence, a steam cleaning. I then test it on a paper towel to see if ink comes out. If it does, dry the cartridge, install in printer, and print away. If not, repeat the process. Don't burn yourself. I can't think of a single time where this didn't work for me.
  #32  
Old 10-15-2018, 11:28 AM
2bordens 2bordens is offline
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I was told to take the cartridges out, put scotch tape over the heads, place them in a plastic bag and put them in the refrigerator. We've done this with success.
  #33  
Old 10-15-2018, 11:52 AM
bunnyhop bunnyhop is offline
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Sometimes, if you place the ink cartridge on a few very wet paper towels for a few minutes, the moisture seeps up into the cartridge nozzle and moistens the dried ink, which might help it to dispense the ink again. It's always worth a try.
  #34  
Old 10-15-2018, 04:23 PM
papasetti82 papasetti82 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by upstate View Post
We are seasonal residents and our printer ink always dries up while we’re away. I’ve tried removing it from the printer and putting it in an airtight container without success. Has anyone come across this problem with possible solutions? Thanks.
Save the caps that come on them.That might help.
  #35  
Old 10-15-2018, 08:34 PM
larcha larcha is offline
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I have had the same problem. The solution I used was to buy a Brother laser printer. You can get a basic model for less than $100 on sale. Replacement cartridges can be purchased online very inexpensively. The number of pages that can be printed on one cartridge is more than with an ink jet printer.
  #36  
Old 10-15-2018, 08:39 PM
larcha larcha is offline
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Even the cheaper Brother laser printers can do duplex (two-sided) printing.
  #37  
Old 10-15-2018, 09:01 PM
THUNDERCHIEF THUNDERCHIEF is offline
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Buy more ink, or don't leave for the summer
  #38  
Old 10-16-2018, 09:03 AM
Tredsaw12 Tredsaw12 is offline
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I agree with Kathy. I've owned the Brother HL-2250DW laser printer for a few years now and it's a great printer. Wireless so you can put it in any room in the house and and you never need to turn it on or off as it just starts up automatically when you send a print job to it. If you don't need color, this is the way to go. Actually, if you need color, they have color laser printers too. Toner cartridges cost more but they last much longer. It will actually save you money in the long run.
  #39  
Old 10-16-2018, 09:49 AM
willis100 willis100 is offline
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Win1894 has the answer except I have never steamed. The dry ink is on the cartridge and not in it unless the cartridge is really old. Wiping with alcohol solution will work in most cases.
  #40  
Old 10-16-2018, 10:23 AM
rexxfan rexxfan is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by upstate View Post
Installed new cartridges the other day, works fine. Apparently this has been a problem with HP printers. Never experienced this with our two Canons at home, live and learn.
Of the inkjet printers I have owned before switching to laser, the Canon's were the best at recovering from dried ink. I never had to run more than one or two cleaning cycles. The Epson's, on the other hand, have been terrible. I've had to recycle at least 5 of them over the years. No amount of cleaning cycles would work. I even tried the various alcohol and paper towel cleaning methods and things just got worse. So, if you want to stay with inkjet, Canon is a good bet.
--
bc
  #41  
Old 10-16-2018, 10:51 PM
OrangeBlossomBaby OrangeBlossomBaby is offline
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One thing you CAN do with an HP wireless printer (and probably most other brands), is you can print a page remotely. All you need to do, is have cloud print running from your phone or laptop or whichever device you have with you at the time. Once a month, e-mail your printer a single page of something. It can be a coupon, or a picture, whatever you want, as long as it makes use of whichever cartridges are in the printer.

It'll print out that one page, every month. When you get home 8 months later you'll have 8 waste pieces of paper, and perfectly useable ink cartridges in your printer.

You'd also have to still have the electricity turned on.
  #42  
Old 10-17-2018, 06:59 AM
Nell57 Nell57 is offline
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I tried it all. Even bought the same printer for both locations, wrapped the cartridge in saran wrap and moved it back and forth with me so it was never out of use. The next problem was: if one color ran out you had to buy a whole new cartridge, it wouldn't even print in black.
enough already. I bought two laser printers that only print black, if I need color I'll print it at Staples...or try the Rec center as someone suggested. in a year I haven't needed color
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printer, dries, ink, success, container

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