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From: Adam on 20 Jul 2010 18:33
Has anyone found out why inkjet cartridges have those sponges
inside, one for each ink? The only advantage I can see is that they
keep ink from spilling all over the place if the cartridge gets
tilted or inverted in transit. Or are they meant to keep the user
from shaking the cartridge and hearing that the ink compartments
start out less than half full? Thanks in advance for any and all
illumination on this mystery!

Adam

From: Metspitzer on 20 Jul 2010 19:50
On Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:33:41 -0400, Adam <adam(a)address.invalid> wrote:

>Has anyone found out why inkjet cartridges have those sponges
>inside, one for each ink? The only advantage I can see is that they
>keep ink from spilling all over the place if the cartridge gets
>tilted or inverted in transit.

You may be on to something.


>Or are they meant to keep the user
>from shaking the cartridge and hearing that the ink compartments
>start out less than half full? Thanks in advance for any and all
>illumination on this mystery!
>
>Adam
From: Adam on 23 Jul 2010 16:59
Joel wrote:
>> Has anyone found out why inkjet cartridges have those sponges
>> inside, one for each ink?
>
> It seems like it's part of the old design and to limit the amount of ink.
> The printer manufactures don't see any better reason to go without it as
> well as the sponge can limit the number of refill etc. so they continue
> using the old design.

Okay, that makes sense. From the printer manufacturer's point of
view, anyway.

> The original ink cartridge we have to pump the ink slowly, when the
> refillable ink cartridge we use vacuum method and you can fill the cartridge
> as fast as the vacuum can vacuum the ink. This is how it works.

Thanks for the very helpful YouTube links!

> 1. Plug the AIR VENT hole
>
> 2. Insert the syringe without needle to the REFILL hole (whre the gentleman
> in video inserts the needle), then PULL the syringe to create vacumm, and
> the ink will be sucked into cartridge the exact amount of air taking out.
>
> That's it! no need to suck the ink our from bottom. I can also fill the
> ink without taking the cartridge off the printer (like CISS), but I always
> take them off to check the ink level.

So far I've been using the one-syringe method (inject ink slowly),
but the vacuum method looks good too, as long as one can get a tight
seal around the second syringe. With HP's black plastic cartridges,
there's no easy way to check the ink level, so I'm just going by
what the printer reports, and filling them before they get too low.

I also learned that even for cartridges with removable tops (like
I've done to some of my old HP 22s), the needle is still necessary
for refilling to prevent cross-contamination.

Adam
From: TJ on 23 Jul 2010 20:23
On 07/20/2010 06:33 PM, Adam wrote:
> Has anyone found out why inkjet cartridges have those sponges inside,
> one for each ink? The only advantage I can see is that they keep ink
> from spilling all over the place if the cartridge gets tilted or
> inverted in transit. Or are they meant to keep the user from shaking the
> cartridge and hearing that the ink compartments start out less than half
> full? Thanks in advance for any and all illumination on this mystery!
>
Just my own speculation, but I think you may have the main idea when you
talk of spilling. But not just in transit. Since these are tricolor
cartridges, the sponges may be there to reduce sloshing and potential
cross-contamination during high-speed printing. It's true that that
problem could be eliminated with a cartridge designed to be spongeless,
but this is how they chose to do it.

TJ

--
Life isn't fair. It's not meant to be.
Overcoming the disadvantages we face is what makes us strong.
From: Arthur Entlich on 24 Jul 2010 03:49
The use of sponges or other batting (some use a plastic fiber) is
multiple, but is also an older and not as effective method. It is
mainly there to control ink release to the head. The capillary action
of the sponge or batting, helps to keep the ink from leaking out of the
cartridge and through the heads, flooding them. Some heads, like those
on Epson printers are passive, meaning they are always open and can,
through siphon action, spill all the ink out the bottom. The sponge
allows the ink to hold. Also, with the heads moving back and forth
relatively rapidly, it keep the ink from splashing up the cartridge and
out the air vent.

The other advantage for the manufacturer, is it makes the cartridge more
difficult to refill will air pockets developing during refilling, In
fact, some manufacturers add a foaming agent which creates a dense
soap-like foam into the sponge, making it much more difficult to get the
refill ink into place. Depending upon the ink, one way to get around
this, besides the vacuum refill method, is using a small amount of
isopropyl alcohol injected into the cartridge, swishing it around before
adding ink. The alcohol breaks down the soap foam bubbles.

The problems with this system are that it wastes a lot of ink in the
sponge, (and some of the components of the ink are considered
environmentally hazardous), the ink has more chance of oxidizing due to
direct air exposure, and the ink distribution to the head is not well
regulated which can lead to skipping ink output, the surface of the
sponge can dry out, the sponge can break down chemically, etc.

Many newer cartridges use no sponge. Instead they use a complex
labyrinth of channels and air exchange filters, and valves to control
the ink flow, control air contact, etc. They also are even more
difficult to refill ;-)

Art

If you are interested in issues surrounding e-waste,
I invite you to enter the discussion at my blog:

http://e-trashtalk.spaces.live.com/

TJ wrote:
> On 07/20/2010 06:33 PM, Adam wrote:
>> Has anyone found out why inkjet cartridges have those sponges inside,
>> one for each ink? The only advantage I can see is that they keep ink
>> from spilling all over the place if the cartridge gets tilted or
>> inverted in transit. Or are they meant to keep the user from shaking the
>> cartridge and hearing that the ink compartments start out less than half
>> full? Thanks in advance for any and all illumination on this mystery!
>>
> Just my own speculation, but I think you may have the main idea when you
> talk of spilling. But not just in transit. Since these are tricolor
> cartridges, the sponges may be there to reduce sloshing and potential
> cross-contamination during high-speed printing. It's true that that
> problem could be eliminated with a cartridge designed to be spongeless,
> but this is how they chose to do it.
>
> TJ
>
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