Colorado 1640 Ink (Shelf Life)

[Scrathcy]

Hi Guys
Does anyone know what shelf life a new bottle of UV ink for the 1640 should have.
I know there is an expiry date on the bottle, but what should I be expecting from a new bottle. I would have thought 12 months.

We bought the 1640 five months ago and only do small prints, but we do lots of them an need the speed, but we don't run 1000's of feet of material. The printer is saying some of our inks are about to expire and I have just looked and some of the inks they sold us for backup it appears about to expire as well, so I am feeling duped.

Anyone know more.. or what the life should be of the inks.

 

[iPrintStuff]

We bought some in December and they say they should last until August, so I’d guess they last around a year and it depends how long they’ve been sitting on a shelf before they get to you. But realistically I’d expect at least 6-9 months. Which is more than enough for us.

Actually, I just noticed this on our black, still got 27 days but wondering what happens after the 27 days is up? Pretty sure those bottles were fairly new as well though so there’s a good chance that was in the dec bundle and they’re only gonna last 3 months.

I know with the Arizona’s they’re pretty notorious for sending out inks with limited expiry dates. I guess it’s the same for the Colorado, you’re still gonna try sell it even if there’s only a couple months left.

Ran 4 rolls today and only used 20ml of black so this should be tight!

 

[Scrathcy]

I have the tech guy out here now.. He said if you leave the old ink after expiry you can do a head in which is $8K
Gosh they put the fear in you of doing the wrong thing.. Then the Oce trainer said, don't worry just add a new ink bottle and when they mix it extends the life of the older.

It all sounds shoddy to me, Im not sure what to think. I have only used half the inks, so I would be throwing away $500

 

[iPrintStuff]

Yeah they told me that when they put it in too. 50% expired ink is fine as long as you put in a new bottle! Only got like 12% black to use in 27 days so not at panic stations yet lol.

which leads me to my next point; ink reservoir is 2.5 litre, ink bottles are 1 litre. 1 new ink bottle gives you 50%. By canon’s math, 50% of 2.5 = 1.

My only suggestion would be to try complain about the ink life on the supplied inks but I’d guess it will fall on deaf ears.

I would bear in mind that the expiry date is probably a “safe” estimate from canon/oce, the inks will likely be best before that date and probably still have a month or two but they probably have to play it safe In their estimates so nobody gets their head screwed by inks that are still in date.

 

[Scrathcy]

Good points.
The tech guy is getting specs for me.. They are not salesman so hopefully ill get some real data and share it around..
But you have me thinking. So did they fill the reservoirs to full which would be 2.5 liters versus put a single canister on.. 1 litre.
So
Im at 50% ink use (1.2 Litres if it was full), adding a new 1 litre bottle by my math will mean the reservoir will be filled to 88%.
When will the tank ever be full again unless I put a second bottle on, then that ink bottle would only empty by .3 litres meaning I now have a full tank and .7Litres in the attached bottle. That would definitely go bad before I ever used it.
This is messing with my head.
I would be better off with the reservoir only ever having 1 litre in it..

 

[jasonx]

We check our inks when they get delivered. Has't been the first time a supplier sends an ink box about to expire.

 

[Bly]

We always use ink before expiry but do check the dates.
I think from memory Oce would discount ink that had less than 3 months (?) to expiry.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

This is why we don't store too much ink now for the Colorado, we are forcing our suppliers to inventory it as part of our agreement in purchasing the machine.

Canon told us to expect 6-9mo life for the bottles of ink and that is ringing true.

 

[iPrintStuff]

Yeah that’s about what we’re getting. We do get it in next day if we order before 3 anyway so no issues there anyway.

 

[Joe House]

In general (I have NO EXPERIENCE with Colorado inks, just so you know) UV inks will have a 1 year life from the date of manufacture. This has a bit of cushion built into it, but they cannot control how the ink is stored after it leaves their facilities. UV inks are more sensitive to temperature extremes than solvent inks are. It doesn't magically turn to goo on the 367th day, but if it's stored in an uncontrolled warehouse in Phoenix over the summer it could be goo before you even get it. Hopefully they're keeping it in a temperature controlled warehouse.
If you don't use much ink, getting an extra bottle when they set up your printer was probably not a great idea, but dealers don't really know what you're going to use till you start using it.

Good luck

 

[Snydo]

Find the biggest supplier within a 1 day-ship and order exclusively from them, and you'll always get "fresh" ink.