Method of cleaning an ink storage material

Abstract

Several methods are provided for cleaning felt or foam materials that are used to store and deliver ink, particularly ink supplied to ink jet printheads in an ink jet printing system. The felt materials are contaminated during manufacture, by various antistats, primarily phosphates. These antistats later react with the ink to create kogation and nozzle blocking problems as well as reduction of surface tension of the ink. The methods of the invention are directed to reducing the antistats left in the storage material after manufacture. In one method, the material is washed in heated softened water. Prior to loading the material in the wash, IPA is added to the heated wash. The material is washed through two Wash/Rinse cycles and then dried. The removal of the calcium in the wash water via softening prevents the precipitation of calcium-phosphate salts, which, when the material later contacts the ink, reduces nozzle clogging caused by these precipitates. The addition of the IPA increases removal of the phosphate antistats and greatly reduces the kogation and clogging problems. In a second embodiment, the storage material is washed in tap water to which has been added the IPA as well as a chelating agent. The chelating agent prevents the calcium from forming a precipitate with the remaining antistats in the material and provides the same function against any calcium or other divalent metal ions that may be introduced during ink flow from material to printhead nozzle.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.