Piezoflush diluted for long term storage 9900

InkjetMall Customer Support Printer Maintenance & Cartridges
1

Hi Walker,

These days I have the 9900 filled with Epson colour inks. Now I am preparing the printer for storage during a few months, until I am again full time at the studio and can resume printing in the lab. So, my idea is now to fill the printer with Piezoflush, and then in a few months install the Piezography Selenium inks for printing.

Now, if you remember, I had diluted my Piezoflush a bit with distilled water months ago, when trying to fill the machine while avoiding air getting inside…

My question is: Could I use these carts with diluted piezoflush inside to keep the machine idle for a few months?

Otherwise I had a new bottle of piezoflush, but before discarding the content of the carts, I would like to know what you think.

Another intermediate solution, as I will have in any case to go from Epson colour to Piezography, is to make now an init fill with piezoflush to flush all the colour, and then once that first init fill is done, replenish the carts with fresh new Piezoflush from the bottle and make a second init fill, leaving the printer ready for when I want to install the piezography inks in a few months time…

What woud you recommend? I would like to avoid having my head dried in a few months, after all the troubles I have gone through with this printer.

Thanks and regards,

Rafael

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I suggest not converting to PF on this printer. You did not have luck last time using PF with this specific printer so don’t test it now IMO.

A few months is fine on the 9900. Just make sure you have humidity and do a shake and power cleaning when you get back.

PF is meant for 5+ months for these Pro-series printers in all reality.

best,
Walker

3

Hi Walker. Thanks for the answer. That is something I considered too…That being said, I had already had piezoflush installed on this 9900 printer for many months, and never had a problem. The problems I had started when the technician came to change the dampers and cleaning station, which was something I did just as maintenance… the printer was working well. So I suppose that means the problems I had were not related to the piezoflush on that machine, but something than went wrong when the technician touched the machine. In any case now the printer seems to work well, after they changed the head twice, and the cleaning station and dampers unit 3 times!

Because I am now getting ready for my annual intermittent-leave-come-back-to-the-studio, I want to make sure I avoid having problems in the future…

So, please, sorry for bothering but as you can imagine this might be quite important for me at this point!

Right now I have the Epson colour inks installed (the Epson technician installed them to check the head). That being said, this printer will be used only for piezography and negs, so that means I have the Piezography Selenium bottles new, sealed and waiting for when I will use the printer for the first time. I also have a brand new big bottle of piezoflush. What I mean is that the printer in any case will have to be converted from colour to piezo Selenium inks, and in the process the Piezoflush will need to be used to purge the colour inks.

So that you understand how the printer will be used in the near future, I will be leaving and coming to the studio in the next 8 months very intermittently, with absences of about 1 to 3 weeks each time. So yes, I would be able to make a few cleanings and shake the printer from time to time. Now, in terms of printing, I would like to do some if I can squeeze the time, but that is not sure. So that is why I just wondered whether PF would not be more suited, since in any case I will have to use it to flush the colour inks the moment I want to start using the machine with piezography inks? That would mean using PZ now, and leaving it as storage, vs using it only for flushing right before I use it in X months…

So know that you know exactly what my situation is:

A) Leaving the printer sitting with Epson inks: Would you recommend that I leave the original Epson colour carts installed while the printer sits alone, switching it to Piezography Selenium only when I have to use it for the first time in a few months? I would still be able to shake-print a few targets-clean every 1 to 3 weeks during that period…

B) Leaving the printer sitting with PF; waiting for change to piezography: Or, would you install the Piezoflush now, then print a few targets every 1-3 weeks, and then switch to piezography directly the moment I can start using it again in a few months? If I do this, I would not need to flush the colour inks, since PF would have been installed already and there for a few months…

C) Flushing colour Epson today with PZ, inmediately after switching to Piezography today, and leaving the printer sitting with Piezography Selenium inks for the next 8 months of intermittent absences.

In the past, I had problems of pigment settling with the Piezography inks (it is true I did not shake the printer or make any power cleaning)… and that is why I was thinking on concentrating all neg printing activity around a few months, and leaving the printer on piezoflush sitting for the rest of the year, as I print in the lab with the negs done during that intense period… Do you think if I shake the printer and do a few cleanings now and then, the problem of pigment settling of piezography inks could be solved? My main problem when printing negs in the past was that my calibration was going nuts in all directions, as pigments settled, inks changed their density. It was a nightmare and I lost quite a few months trying to figure out what happened! Obviously, this option C would be the best for me, since I could still print a few negs when I am back from my intermittent trips in the autumn-winter season. So if there is a way to make this work without inconsistencies of calibration, that would be perfect.

D) I suppose that when flushing colour inks prior to installing the piezography inks, one can use dilluted PD (distilled water) with no problems, since the liquid will not stay there for long? However, when using PF as storage liquid, then could I use the PF I dilluted in the past, or would you discard it all and refill with 100% the carts? How long can this liquid be used for safe storage?

Sorry for the complicated questions, and thanks in advance for answering Walker. I know these questions are boring to answer… but I have lost too much time and money with this machine and do not want to start all over again! I know these machines are tricky, but I want to minimise risks as much as possible now that I will start moving around…

Cheers,

rafael

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Hi Walker. I am about to leave this next Tuesday and I would be very grateful if you can answer the points I mentioned on my answer above! Again, sorry to bother, but I want to make sure I do the best before leaving.
Cheers and take care.
Rafael