Printer ink dries out when away
 

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.

Put the entire printer in a Black Garbage Bag. I did that with an old cheap printer I knew I would need one day in NJ. After two years I plugged that piece of junk in and away we went, when it ran out of ink I threw it out.

I need a printer with a two-sided document feeder and two-sided copying at a reasonable price. Any ideas? Help!

If you use the non-OEM ink I don't think anything will keep it from drying out. Good Luck.

I just found this on line but haven't tried it.

Storing Opened Ink Cartridges

If your ink cartridges are already outside their original packaging, they should be placed in a plastic tub with an airtight lid for safekeeping. Along with the cartridges, place a damp cloth or paper in the sealed tub to initiate humid conditions in a controlled environment.

Remember, if cartridge nozzles are not stored in airtight and humidified conditions they can crust over or dry out, nullifying their usefulness. Make sure that there is nothing touching or leaning against the cartridge nozzles. If anything rubs against them, it can cause the ink to wick.

We bought the previous version of this one and it works great. If you can get by with black and white I recommend it:
Amazon.com: Brother Compact Monochrome Laser Printer, HL-L2350DW, Wireless Printing, Duplex Two-Sided Printing, Amazon Dash Replenishment Enabled: Office Products

kathy

I tried this twice, no luck.

I think I would have an identical printer at both residences and bring the cartridges along when I relocate. Another possible solution is to have a web based printer, and occasionally print a few pages remotely.

That is exactly why I went to a laser printer. The toner is dry and so never clogs up. IF, I ever really need to print something in color, I can use the printers at the rec centers for (I think) $0.10 per page.

Talk about bang for the buck, I had this printer for several years until it needed a drum. The thing is am I'm starting to think its impossible to find, a two-sided printer with the original being flipped in the document feeder. If its out there I've had no luck finding it but thanks for the effort, much appreciated.

I put ours in an airtight bag in the freezer. Just remember to take it out several hours before you want to use it.

I do so little color printing that my next printer will be a B&W laser. Can get them for under $100 and never have problem with the toner being left for longer periods. Also, in the long run, non-OEM toner is much cheaper than ink cartridges.

Will need to try that, how long do you “defrost” it before putting in the printer?

Brother 2350DW laser printer is $89.00 from Walmart.com. does 2 sided printing. It is a WiFi printer, easy to setup and works great! No ink to dry up!

I've had good luck with wrapping the printer cartridges in saran wrap. Then I soak them before using.

A few years ago we had the same problem--dried up inoperable ink. We went to Walmart to buy a new printer and the salesman said to buy a Canon printer. We did and no more useless ink cartridges. It works perfectly every year.

just take it out the night before you want to use it

Thank you for all the replies.

Just take it north or where ever, run it a couple of time a month. Easy Peasy. $70 saved. They reall aren't that big.

Get a color laser. They are often available for less than $200. The toner cartridges last far longer than ink cartridges, and the page won't smear if it gets wet. I stopped using ink jet printers years ago. Long term cost is far less with a good laser.

Different manufacturers, HP and Canon.

Buying the Ink just kills me because at one point I owned a Copy Machine Repair Company and know it is sold for triple the cost.

Since the kids are no longer around to sneak copies from my little Epson Printer I decided because of this thread to go nuts and treat myself to a Brother 2 sided copier with a 2 sided Document Feeder. Maybe I'll have to buy toner once a year and no more color ink. I looked back at the Amazon Order History and see I spend about $240 on ink last year. It was worse with those sneaky cheapskates around. LOL.

This is a cheap maneuver that makes me feel like a million bucks. Thanks to the OP. I hope you solved your problem.

I don't print that much so I don't have to buy toner cartridges too often, but when I do I buy cheap ones on Amazon -- whatever brand has 4.5 stars. I pay $12-15 each for cartridges for both my Brother and HP b&w laser printers (compared to ~ $50 for Brother and HP-brand ones) and I have never had a problem with one of the cheap ones.

kathy

Very helpful comment. Thanks Kathy.

The HP 5255 AIO is inexpensive, has a two-side print, plus fax, scan, and photocopy.

It's wifi and Instant Ink compatible. You can check hp's Instant Ink website for details. I have it, saves a fortune in ink costs without sacrificing genuine HP ink.

The math:

The printer itself costs $60.

The ink, at 100 pages per month for one year (no contract. Just cancel if you don't want it anymore, the ink in your printer stops working and you can buy your own at Staples or wherever else) is $60 (rounded up). If you only want to do the 50 page per month plan, that's $36/year for ink.

Instant Ink program measures how many pages you print, no matter how much or little ink is on that page. So if you're a photographer and use high gloss photo paper with full color photo printing, it's still as low as $36 per YEAR for the ink, if you use the Instant Ink program.

However - if you are a photographer I'd recommend an HP Envy PhotoJet printer rather than an Inkjet printer, because it's designed specifically for high quality photo printing. The HP 7855 is Instant Ink compatible, has all the features of the 5255 including automatic duplex printing, but the ink is delivered in tinier microscopic bursts which allows for more precise placement. The HP Envy Photojet 7855 costs around $150.

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.

I needed the same recently and ended up with a Brother L2750DW. I also got tired of having to recycle clogged inkjet printers and finally decided to go with laser and be done with it. I went with a b/w model. Color is available but is about twice the price, so I settled for b/w.
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bc

In the 18 years I've owned HP printers, I've had this happen - once. There are definitely problems with using aftermarket (refilled, refurbished, and otherwise non-HP original) products, but that's because they're inferior. They also void your manufacturer's warranty if you use them and something goes wrong.

I have an HP Envy 5642 that prints on both sides. You do not have to touch the paper; it prints one side then the other.

To do auto 2 sided printing and copying, look at the Canon all in one printers. I’ve been using them for years because I wanted an auto doc feeder as well as auto 2 sided printing and copying. A bonus of these printers is that they do a great job of printing photos. My last printer cost $90. When I have trouble with my printer, I call Canon and they sell me a new one at a discount because of customer loyalty (I’ve checked their “discounted” price and it was).

I leave ours in all summer while gone - original ink not the cheap stuff - Never had a problem - If you do just clean the print heads. Good luck - Like wise I leave ink in printer in our MH for 8 months and same thing no problem

Flush nozzles on printer
 

If you dont regularly use a printer the cartridges/nozzles will clog. Many printers have cleaning settings in their maintenance settings. That uses extra ink to clear things out. May take more than one cleaning if its been awhile.

Ohiobuckeye
 

You know even your damp rag or papers will dry out in about in about a week or two, no matter how air tight your container is. Sorry but I've tried that but an open container, like a glass of water sitting in the container won't keep the cartridge from drying out. Good luck, try your solution!:shrug:

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.

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.

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.

Save the caps that come on them.That might help.

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.

Even the cheaper Brother laser printers can do duplex (two-sided) printing.

Buy more ink, or don't leave for the summer

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.

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.

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.
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bc