How to repair Tektronix 4696 inkjet and what to use for - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

10 Sep 2010

jim s <jws at jwsss.com> wrote:
...
  On 9/8/2010 9:18 PM, Teo Zenios wrote:
 > Is that what they look like (used but cheap) 
 > http://www.kpsurplus.com/tektronix-4696-maint-cartridge-016-0838- 00.html 
...
   .
 Is that realy an inkjet and not some solid ink printer?
  <snip>
 Ted,
  From what I could read on the somewhat blurry photo, the instructions 
 have many cautions about fluid on the cartridge shown.  I don't know 
 what a Maintenance cartridge is either.  It may be that the thing is 
 inserted and consumed cleaning the system, but the instructions sound 
 like it is a supply cartridge of some sort.  Perhaps the cycle of the 
 printer draws on this in addition to ink supply cartridges.

 At any rate, it certainly is dealing with fluid, not solid.
 Jim 
...
 From some discussion fragments I found on
fixyourownprinter, the 4696 is a "real" (liquid) ink printer, since people talk
about using conventional inkjet refill ink in the ink wells and flushing/cleaning out the
ink lines.  
The link to the picture above didn't work for me, but I found the article in KP
Surplus' eBay shop. Putting the maintenance cartridge P/N into a search machine took
me to

http://hazard.com/msds/f2/blx/blxkp.html,

which has the MSDS for the fluid and also states the composition:
DIETHYLENE GLYCOL MONOETHYL ETHER, Fraction by Wt: 20%;
TETRASODIUM ETHYLENE DIAMINE TETRAACETATE, Fraction by Wt: 0.3%;
WATER, Fraction by Wt: 79.7%

The term "Maintenance cartridge" was known to me from the manuals of the later
Tek/Xerox "Phaser" series solid ink printers, since I have a Phaser 340 standing
in the basement since last year. I think the name refers to the fact that it has to be
changed as a part of regular maintenance; it has however to be installed all the time for
the printer to operate.

In these printers, the maintenance cartridge applies a clear oily fluid from a plastic bag
to the surface of a heated metal drum by means of a felt pad. This serves as a sort of
anti-stick coating for the ink (think "fuser oil") because the image is first
printed to the surface of the drum to be transferred onto the paper or film later.

There is some sort of MSDS buried in the appendix of the Phaser 340 User's Manual
which indicates that the fluid in the maintenance cartridge is silicone oil
(Polydimethylsiloxane, CAS Number: 63148-62-9). Mostly harmless: "Hazards: ...
Ingestion: Swallowing large amounts could cause discomfort. ... No first aid should be
needed."

The usage counter on the maintenance cartridge is realised by a spindle driven from the
printer mechanism by gears and a moving block which hits a mechanical switch when the
cartridge is supposed to be depleted. ISTR there is some sort of anti-windback device but
nothing that looks impossible to overcome. The bag even has a thermo-sealed filling line
attached to it which could be used to replenish it.

So long,
Arno
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