What is your experience with trying to dissolve away
dried out ink jamming ink-jet printer cartridges?

I have already tried isopropyl and ethyl alcohol with little result.

acetone, toluene, xylene, mineral spirits, MEK ?

Castrol SuperClean wheel degreaser?

Chevron Techron fuel injector cleaner?

Ultrasonic jewelry bath ?

The Canon box that the new cartridge came in
lists ethylene glycol as one constituent in the ink
so I have thought about soaking them in antifreeze

Remanufactured cartridges from OfficeMax are $10 each
so the fix can't be that expensive to be worth it

 

We used to put some acetone on a paper towel and it would rub right off. Since I got a new printer I've never had that problem, they must have changed how they make them.

 

We use a piece of paper towel soaked with water and keep blotting until it blots even.
This is a regular ocurance since we do not use the printer that much and the ink cartridges dry out often.
dun4now.

 

quick update

Tried "Goo Gone" but it was no better than alcohol or water

Best solvent seems to simply be 'new ink' from one of those cartridge refill kits.

If you can get even a few nozzles working again
try opening up the Microsoft Paint program
and make a whole page of that solid color,
then print the solid color page out,
which gives those nozzles a continuous workout.

Also a 'Nick Sander'
which a little pen sized tool for cleaning paint scratches on cars
before touch up paint is applied,
is a very good electrical contact cleaner
for the ink cartridges' little pad contacts,
and many times the problem is not a plugged nozzle
but an electrical contact that is corroded enough
to not transfer the electrical signal needed to fire that nozzle

 

here's my experience..

how to avoid the problem - always keep the printer plugged in and turned on. the printer will peridoically go through a cleaning cycle which applies some heat and keeps the openings in the print head from drying out and clogging up.

once it does dry up...
1. most printers have a head cleaning process thats selectable from the control panel buttons. try this first.
2. try alcohol. if this doesn't work, quit wasting time and replace something. most printers have an integrated ink cartridge/print head, so when you replace the cartridge, you get a new print head. i've got an old Canon inkjet with a separate print head, so replacing the ink doesn't fix the problem. i had to replace the print head one time for about $50.
3. if you just like to tear up stuff then continue to clean the print head with nail polish remover (acetone), carb cleaner (no help), paint thinner (no help), and finally - the killer - brake cleaner. this will melt the plastic in the print head and end your experiment. enjoy.

 

acetone may work why not buy a remanufactured ink they cause a little cheaper though.. a HP 51604A or a HP 51626A.

 

You do realize that this is a 2.5 year old thread, right?

Always use manufacturer/OEM inks. Not sure on those specific re-manufactured cartridges, but traditional "ink refill" places use a cheaper, crap ink that will eventually cause build-up/clogging and other problems.