Old ink from Fellers?

[midnightmadman]

I just ordered a black and yellow Falcon 220 inks. The Black is MFG. oct.2011 but the yellow is mfg. Aug. 2010! That's a year and a half old.
Should I be worried about the yellow and return it?

 

[Circleville Signs]

I'd be MORE worried about the fact that you're still using a Falcon!!! (j/k)

I wouldn't be terrible worried unless it somehow feels dried up in there. Just shake it well before you put it in.

 

[midnightmadman]

I'd be MORE worried about the fact that you're still using a Falcon!!! (j/k)

I wouldn't be terrible worried unless it somehow feels dried up in there. Just shake it well before you put it in.

Hey man, its still running good with some tender love and care so why worry?

 

[Jack Knight1979]

"I wouldn't be terrible worried unless it somehow feels dried up in there. Just shake it well before you put it in."

That's what she said.

 

[Gino]

I'm not sure if this is a concern or not, but if you shake it, then put it in and want to use it immediately... I wouldn't. We were told some years ago that shaking this stuff could cause bubbles of various degrees and might send a bubble through your lines and to prevent any problems.... not to shake it right before putting it in. If you must shake it, do it like 24 or 48 hours in advance. However, if you gently roll it around in your hand, this will do the trick.

Same thing applies from the old days when using paint. You don't want to agitate this stuff to the point it has bubbles, especially things like clears and top coats. In fact they tell you specifically to never stir some of this stuff before using.


As for the age, I've used stuff that is over two years old without any hint of color shifts or problems.

 

[midnightmadman]

I'm not sure if this is a concern or not, but if you shake it, then put it in and want to use it immediately... I wouldn't. We were told some years ago that shaking this stuff could cause bubbles of various degrees and might send a bubble through your lines and to prevent any problems.... not to shake it right before putting it in. If you must shake it, do it like 24 or 48 hours in advance. However, if you gently roll it around in your hand, this will do the trick.

Same thing applies from the old days when using paint. You don't want to agitate this stuff to the point it has bubbles, especially things like clears and top coats. In fact they tell you specifically to never stir some of this stuff before using.


As for the age, I've used stuff that is over two years old without any hint of color shifts or problems.

Thanks fellas, I guess I should be fine with it.

 

[ddarlak]

i wouldn't use it. i made it a general practice to ignore the expiration date on ink and after a while it catches up with you. they put an expiration date on for a reason, shaking up the ink doesn't put it back together like it needs to be.

i did this for a few years , then i got two of my machines wrecking head after head until i started using new ink.

IMHO

 

[Gino]

i wouldn't use it. i made it a general practice to ignore the expiration date on ink and after a while it catches up with you. they put an expiration date on for a reason, shaking up the ink doesn't put it back together like it needs to be.

i did this for a few years , then i got two of my machines wrecking head after head until i started using new ink.

IMHO

I agree. I wouldn't recommend or do it routinely as you stated for years, but a couple of old ones every great once in a while is not an issue and we've been doing it since about 2000. An old one slips in every so often. In fact, we just put an '09 220 cartridge in our Roland a few months back and nothing went wrong. Somehow, we missed ordering the two 440 yellows and the 220 kept us going another day or two.

The way to prevent this from happening is to either order your inks before you run out, so you can return them..... or keep a set in stock and keep replacing the set you just put in the machine. We go through ink enough that our turnover is quick enough not to worry for the most part.
​

 

[midnightmadman]

I agree. I wouldn't recommend or do it routinely as you stated for years, but a couple of old ones every great once in a while is not an issue and we've been doing it since about 2000. An old one slips in every so often. In fact, we just put an '09 220 cartridge in our Roland a few months back and nothing went wrong. Somehow, we missed ordering the two 440 yellows and the 220 kept us going another day or two.

The way to prevent this from happening is to either order your inks before you run out, so you can return them..... or keep a set in stock and keep replacing the set you just put in the machine. We go through ink enough that our turnover is quick enough not to worry for the most part.
​

hmmm... so I should return it I guess.

 

[randya]

These inks are 2 years from date of manufacture.
So yours have not expired.

The issue over time is settling, so they all should be "gently shaken" before use.
These are all degassed and sealed, so there should be no air issues.

If you are going to stock carts for long periods of times, it is advisable to physically rotate the carts in stock to help reduce settling.

 

[midnightmadman]

I won't be using it for at least a couple weeks, and as far as shaking it - I'm sure UPS took care of that on its way here!

 

[TheSnowman]

I had bordeaux inks that I got that the "time stamp" or whatever it is that won't let me print from the cartridge all at once when it still has ink in it, was past it's date. I had to pull chips off of new cartridges to use up the other half of the inks. That started all kinds of other problems...but yea, that was not a good situation. Who knows if it's a Fellers or a Bordeaux issue.

 

[CS-SignSupply-TT]

Who's problem?

I had bordeaux inks that I got that the "time stamp" or whatever it is that won't let me print from the cartridge all at once when it still has ink in it, was past it's date. I had to pull chips off of new cartridges to use up the other half of the inks. That started all kinds of other problems...but yea, that was not a good situation. Who knows if it's a Fellers or a Bordeaux issue.

More than likely, stale dated ink is a result of a failure to ROTATE STOCK in the warehouse. The manufacturer is shipping the ink as soon as it is manufactured.

 

[midnightmadman]

I had bordeaux inks that I got that the "time stamp" or whatever it is that won't let me print from the cartridge all at once when it still has ink in it, was past it's date. I had to pull chips off of new cartridges to use up the other half of the inks. That started all kinds of other problems...but yea, that was not a good situation. Who knows if it's a Fellers or a Bordeaux issue.

Its Mutoh brand ink I not the aftermarket stuff

 

[Alti-Plotter]

More than likely, stale dated ink is a result of a failure to ROTATE STOCK in the warehouse. The manufacturer is shipping the ink as soon as it is manufactured.

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