Question Anyone Figured Out How to Wet Cap an EcoSolvent Print head?

[David40]

I would appreciate hearing from anyone that has come across or invented a way to wet cap an ecosolvent print head to keep the nozzles from drying out during extended idle periods?
Seems to me like there must be something that can be applied to the head surface that would seal out air and prevent the ink from drying out without damaging the head. I even thought about smearing it with Vaseline but I can't be sure that won't damage the head. Any suggestions are welcome.

Thank You

 

[victor bogdanov]

Let the printer do its automatic cleanings?

 

[damonCA21]

How long are you talking about it being idle? Solvent heads dont like having ink sitting in them, so if you sealed the head you are likely to do more damage. The best way to keep them working is to have fresh ink flowing through them regularly, so letting the printer do its automatic cleanings is the best way if you are not using the printer for a while.
Even better is just to run a good test print every few days. Make up some stripes of C,M,Y and K about 10cm thick and the width of the vinyl, and print those out. This also stops ink drying on the captops and wipers

 

[Signarama Jockey]

Definitely no Vaseline. My gut tells me that once you get Vaseline in print nozzles you will never, ever get it out.

Victor had the answer I'd give. Set your automatic cleanings up and let them do what they do.

If you're talking about mothballing the printer for a few months or more, then I'd look into just flushing the lines completely and packing the machine up like you were moving. That's an ordeal. auto head flushing is a much better idea.

 

[David40]

Yeah, that's what I was afraid of, this danged machine is like a ball and chain. It's sad that with all the technology nobody has been able to figure out a simple way to keep these heads from drying out without wasting a ton of supplies and time.

 

[victor bogdanov]

Yeah, that's what I was afraid of, this danged machine is like a ball and chain. It's sad that with all the technology nobody has been able to figure out a simple way to keep these heads from drying out without wasting a ton of supplies and time.

Simple way is to let the printer do what its made for, print!

 

[David40]

True, but that can get to be an expensive loss if you don't happen to have any paying customers on a regular basis.

 

[damonCA21]

True, but that can get to be an expensive loss if you don't happen to have any paying customers on a regular basis.

Printing small things every day costs next to nothing. It is certainly a lot cheaper than having to replace heads!

 

[Kemik]

True, but that can get to be an expensive loss if you don't happen to have any paying customers on a regular basis.

Sell it!
If this printer is not your main money maker and you hardly use it, find someone local that you can buy from wholesale and resell for a profit.

 

[studebaker]

When I buy replacement eco solvent print heads, they have a small square of "saran wrap" attached to them. (just the nozzle section) I suspect that, or a small square of static cling material will do the trick.

 

[coltonwanderson]

In theory you could disconnect the drain tubes from the pump cap and put a syringe on each tub. Then you could fill the caps with cleaning solution and it wouldn't drain through. Never tried it but it might work.

As others have stated, its best to leave them plugged in, or replace all the inks with cleaning solution for longer term storage.