PC Tips Tweaks and Maintenance

Do not let you inkjet cartridges dry out.

If you are going on a vacation for an extended period the ink cartridge left in you printer may dry out. It is similar to leaving the lid off paint tins; eventually the ink will thicken and dry blocking the print-heads. Remove ink cartridges before you leave, being sure you follow the instructions provided in your printer manual. Wrap the cartridges in plastic wrap then place them in a Zip-Lock plastic bag and leave in a cool dark place. This should help keep them from drying out and they can be re-installed once you return. Use your maintenance software when you do re-install them to clean and prime the heads again. It is a good idea to print in color and black at least once in 2-3 weeks (some cartridges will dry out sooner than others). If the cartridge is already dried out, do not use it to print, it can damage the print head.

If you do suffer from Clogged Printer Heads:

In some occasions it is impossible to avoid clogged inkjet cartridges. On many occasions, those cartridges with built in print heads can be unblocked by the following steps:

Water Based Ink Cartridges:

Remove the cartridge; according to the instructions in your printer manual. Take the cartridge to a work area that will not matter if you spill ink (a utility sink is a good place). Fold a few sheets of paper towel and dampen them with warm water > do not use tap water… use bottled water. Take the blocked printer cartridge and dab the printer heads into the moist paper towel. Let it soak for a few minutes. This should result in the warm water being drawn into the printer heads assisting the clearance of old dried/thick ink. You need to dissolve and clean up any old residue and ink before re-installation. Once you see all colors showing on the damp paper towel then it should be OK to try the cartridge back in your printer. Make sure you dry the printer heads off with a clean paper towel sheet before re-installing the cartridge. You may have to repeat this process a number of times if your cartridge is badly blocked.

Pigment / Oil Based Ink Cartridges:

For oil based inks follow the same instructions above but use isopropyl alcohol instead of warm water.

Cleaning My Printer?

Most people are unaware that they have to maintain their printers on a regular basis to ensure consistent print quality. On most printer models you will notice that when you change ink cartridges or when you first turn your printer on the printer goes through what is known as a Print Head Cleaning and Alignment Procedure. For the life of your printer this will happen hundreds of times. You may not have noticed that while this automatic head cleaning and alignment is taking place that old ink and paper residue is being dumped into a holding bin usually a small plastic container situated towards the right hand side of the printer under the lid. This is where your printer head sits while parked and not in use. If this Ink Dump Area gets over loaded, instead of cleaning your printer cartridges it can clog them with old ink and paper dust, with a sticky residue this can damage the print head and result poor quality prints or even completely blocking the print heads.

Therefore you must maintain your printer by cleaning the Print Dump Container and the Cartridge Parking area. You should have detailed instructions in your printer manual. Basically you can use a cotton swab and some Isopropyl alcohol. Make sure that you remove as much old ink as you can.

NOTE: before doing this type of maintenance make sure that you disconnect the power and you are working in an environment suitable for the job in hand.