Ink cartridges drying out

[mash]

Hi, Just seeing if anyone has any ideas on this problem.
I have a Canon Pro9000 II ink jet printer. It's a very nice printer but the Ink cartridges keep drying out before I use them up.
Needless to say it's getting a bit expensive.

Any ideas on how to keep them from drying out?
I've seen one suggestion of placing them in a plastic bag with a wet cotton ball.
thanks

[Tex]

Howdy!
Most ink cartridges have a small hole on top; maybe you could close that hole (temporarily, of course, when you're not using the printer) with a piece of Scotch tape; no idea if that works - fortunately, I've never had that problem.
Another way to prevent your ink cartridges from drying out is to just print and build more cardstock models ... ;-)
- Tex

[Lighter]

A much more expensive problem with canon printers are the actual print heads. If they dry out it's pricey. (Ask me how I know and how many times it took to learn!) I run a color page a day - at least - through my printer. As for ink, your mileage will very as to how long they last. I can't recall having one dry out and I get a few months of household printing per set. I would be very concerned about the print head drying out and blocking if the carts are removed for storage.

[Knife]

If you let the print head soak in a mixture of hot water and window cleaner for a few minutes, then do several machine cleaning cycles, you might unclog plugged jets. I find it's not the ink drying up but the jets getting clogged that prematurely kills ink cartridges.

[thomaswg]

When it comes to printers HP is the ONLY way to go.

The print head is in the cartridge first off. The cartridges are incredibly easy to refill. On average I get between 12 and 15 refills before having to replace the cartridge.

Check on Ebay for refill kits. I purchased one over a year ago for 12.00 and still have ink left, and I print out ALOT!!! Finally, when it does come time for a "new" cartridge again Ebay is the BEST place to find re manufactured ones. They usually run around 8.00 for the color and less for black. They work perfectly. Why ANYONE would want to spend 35.00 to 40.00 for an actual HP cartridge simply baffles me to no end.

[Muttleyy]

I use an Epson CX5600 Styllus with bulk ink system. The ink is injected into the cartridges through hoses connected to containers of paint. When ink is running out (and it takes a long time) just put more paint in the containers. The quality is great and I see no need to use original cartridges (especially considering the cost). To not clog, is the same tip for any Inkjet Printer: use at least once a week.

[DEADMAN]

You could try getting into a routine of daily/weekly maintenance, coupled with refilling your own cartridges. Environment may be a factor as well.

[v16guy]

You need to run a print test page at least once every other day or two. Otherwise YOU WILL CLOG YOUR PRINT HEAD! I learned this the expensive way! Also keep your print head wiper clean (windex and a Q-tip), clean the docking sponge (apply a little windex on it and gently soak it up with paper towel). Also get a waste ink bottle, it's not a problem now but the waste ink tank in the printer will get full eventually and will give you heck later. If you have a problem now the best way to clean them is get a ciss for your printer and fill it with windex and run cleaning cycles until you get blue in the face without spending money on very expensive ink which WILL clog your head all over again the next day (if you ran more than 3 or 4 cleaning cycles at once). You then should print color test charts until the windex is purged (again don't use the dreaded cleaning cycles!).

Hope that helps,
John.

[mash]

Hi, thanks for the info. I think I found one thing that may be a source of the problem.
The last few ink cartridges I got was from "Cartridge world". They are a small chain of stores that sell ink cartridges. For some reason their ink drys out even faster then the regular cannon ink. I even bought one cartridge and discovered it was out of ink even before I took it out of the package. So I'm gong to have to look into getting a refill kit and doing it myself.

[Tex]

Well ... yeah, cheap cartridges may not always be the best solution ... GOOD LUCK!
- Tex