A question our Customer Service team are sometimes asked is whether printer ink can dry up. The simple answer is yes. After all, printer ink is a liquid and liquids, especially small quantities stored inside an ink cartridge will eventually dry out.
If you buy ink from a reputable supplier and look after it as we describe below unused ink will be good for 12 months, and possibly much longer. There are a few simple steps you can take that will greatly increase the shelf life of ink and may even ensure you can still use ink that's starting to dry out.
4 Tips To Stop Printer Ink Drying Out
Don’t: Keep your printer in direct sunlight – If your printer is housed in front of a window and is exposed to direct sunlight every day, then this will affect the cartridges. Even though cartridges are sealed small amounts of evaporation can occur over time, so if you have a hot machine, the ink inside is going to dry up faster.
Do: Keep your printer in a stable temperature environment - Ideally try to house your printer (and unopened cartridges) out of direct sunlight so that it is kept at a stable room temperature.
Don’t: Keep your printer by a radiator – Just like the sun, a radiator is the enemy of your ink cartridges! Aim to keep the away from radiators and other heat sources.
Do: Keep your printer in a cool space – House your printer away from any radiators to ensure that it stays at a more stable room temperature.
Don’t: Open inks before needing to use them – It's not a great idea to remove cartridges from their packaging until you need them. Just like many food stuffs, ink can stay in great shape if not exposed to air.
Do: Keep ink air-tight – If you have opened the packaging and then find you won't need them for a while, pop them in an airtight container, the smaller the better.
Don’t: Leave your printer dormant – Infrequent use can lead to cartridges drying out more quickly as the cartridges are sat still in the carriage.
Do: Get the cartridges moving – Even if you do not need to print, it is important to keep up the maintenance of your printer. Switch the printer on at least once a month and let it do a warmup run so the cartridges move back and forth along the belt and then turn the printer off again. This movement makes all the difference in keeping cartridges healthier for longer.
As you can see there are multiple factors that can affect the process of ink drying out, but with regular maintenance and mindful storage, you can prevent/slow this.
Conclusion
To conclude, yes, printer ink does dry out, but with a little thought on storage and printer usage, you can often store and use inks up to 2 years from purchase and you are covered for 12-months from purchase by our Stinkyink guarantee.
If you have discovered an ink cartridge has dried out, you can follow our How to fix a dry ink cartridge guide to help resolve this.
Still within your 12-month guarantee and the guide did not resolve your issue? If you're a Stinkyink customer contact our Customer Service team who are always happy to help!
