American Imaging Corp.
32 Broadway
Hillsdale, NJ 07642
201 753-4600

To Order Parts:
aicorder@americaninkjetsystems.com

For Support
doccolor1@aictech.us

CLF1 and CLF2 are high potency cleaning fluids designed to dissolve any residue of ink in the printer tubes, dampers, and print heads. It is the strongest cleaning fluid on the market. It does not merely rinse the system, it dissolves the ink.

New Printers:

Water Based Printers:

You may think because your printer is brand new you can place any ink into it. What you need to know is all printers are tested at the factory to make sure the heads are aligned and firing properly. Ink is drained from the printer, but not cleaned with cleaning fluids; thereby, leaving ink deposits in the heads. If you are going to use a third party ink, it may not be compatible with the printer's ink even if the both inks are Pigments or dyes. This incompatibility can result in a blocked head. Even our most powerful cleaners may not be able to clear the blockage. This is why we recommend using our CLF1 cleaning fluid before placing third party inks into a new or used printer.

We recommend very strongly to a initiate the fill procedure of cleaning fluid. You may even want to do this twice. We prefer the action of a complete fill than multiple cleanings. It is more effective. Make sure that the tubes are completely clean and the docking station pads which the heads rest on are almost white. The reason for this procedure is because there are certain chemicals that may cling to the walls of the tubes and that will slowly be removed with the new ink, but not dissolved depositing particles in the damper or the head. This will cause blocked nozzles or blockage in the damper. The cleaning fluid CLF1 will completely clean the walls, the damper, and the docking station pads. Incompatibility can also cause the docking station pads to gel preventing suction and thereby preventing head cleaning.

Solvent Printers:

For printers that are solvent based that will be changed to water base inks, you must completely clean all the color out of the tubes and the docking station pads with solvent cleaner. This may take several fills. After that is accomplished you must  perform the same procedure with CLF1.

We cannot stress enough the importance of proper maintenance needed for inkjet printers. Printer companies do not stress the care and cleaning of your printer. Just as you change the oil in your car every 3000 miles to keep it running, so does  an inkjet printer need care and maintenance to keep it running as well. Ink deposits build up on the docking station pads, which prevents suction, which in turn prevents cleaning causing nozzle drop out. The cleaning procedure is of little effort, but so important. To keep your printer running longer it is advisable to run our cleaning fluid at least once a year no matter what ink your use. Using our cleaning cartridges follow our step by step directions. These cartridges can be used over many times.

Preparation for ink change over:

When changing over inks to a different brand it is imperative to perform a minimum of two fills. As stated before you must clean until the tubes are clear and the docking station reaches a pale color. If nozzles are blocked before the ink change over utilize CLF007 first, then apply CLF2 tinted cleaning fluid. Test the cleaning effectiveness by firing the cleaning fluid with a nozzle test print. However, if nozzles are firing well then CLF007 clear fluid is all that is needed.

CLF2 is a tinted version of CLF007 designed to be used to to check nozzle firing. CLF2 comes in 3 forms: Blue, Pink, and Yellow. 

Our Bulk Ink Systems for the Epson 7600, 9600, and 4000 as well as the systems for the Mimaki, Roland, and Mutoh Printers come with cleaning fluid and directions.

CLF007 is designed for cleaning Dye, Pigment, and Dye Sublimation Inks.

These cleaning fluids are not intended for solvent ink cleaning.

Potential Problem:

All Pigment Inks exist is a colloidal suspension and are thicker than dye and water. When the printer is not used often enough the pigment ink dries out on the docking station pads as well as on the bottom of the heads, which reset on the docking station pads. This can cause the nozzles to become clogged. This can also happen with dye printers.

Ink maybe thought of as a perfectly pure liquid, but after having performed repairs on printers using OEM ink, I have found small particles captured by the filter on the damper. One of the functions of the damper is to filter ink preventing any particles from being trapped in a nozzle. The damper sits on top of the head in all wide format printer. The more ink that gets passed through the damper, the more likely the chance for a particle build up. As the particles build up in the damper, ink flow is restricted and drop out occurs.

Remedy:

For every day handling. Get an eye dropper bottle, such as the one we supply, and fill it with cleaning solution. Each night before shut down, place a couple of drops of cleaning fluid on the docking station pads. This will moisten the pads and break up any ink particles. Caution: Do not over soak the pads. It can cause a capillary action where the ink gets sucked back into the heads. However, if a head has serious clogged nozzles, then soak the pad to effect capillary action into the head and leave overnight or over a couple of days.

To help clean the docking you can soak it with CLF007 and leave the solution on it for at least 10 minutes. Then dry the pads by dabbing a paper towel or a lint less cloth on it.

Once a year or every six months depending on printer usage, it would be advisable to run cleaning fluid through the lines and dampers. If you know how to replace or clean the dampers by themselves do so.

In the near future we will have graphic instructions describing the procedure of removing dampers.

ClF1 and CLF2 are designed for cleaning Dye, Pigment, and Dye Sublimation Inks. It is not intended for solvent inks.

Use Pinks for Magenta, Light Magenta, Reds, and any warm colors.

Use Blue for Cyan, Lt Cyan, Lt Black, Lt Lt Black, Black, Blue, and Green.

Use Yellow for Yellow and Orange.

New Clear *CLF007 - Stronger than ever!
8oz. $25  16 oz. $40.00  32 oz. $70.00  1 Gallon $210.00

New Tinted Cleaning Fluids Clear *CLF1 - Pink, Blue, and Yellow
8oz. $30  16 oz. $50.00  32 oz. $80.00  1 Gallon $210.00

Tinted Additives: Pink, Blue, and Yellow

2 oz $10.00  4 oz $20.00

Cleaning Cartridges:

*Reusable cartridges can be refilled and the chip reset. Ask about our Universal Resetters.

*CF007 is a highly concentrated cleaning fluid designed to dissolve and break up ink particles. It works with most types of inks, especially pigments and dye based ink. For most applications it can be diluted 1:1 with distilled water.

**CF2 is a highly concentrated tinted cleaning fluid designed to be used with printers that have clogged nozzles. After the cleaning procedure you can perform a nozzle check and you will be able to see whether all the heads have fired or if you need to perform further cleanings. It works with most types of inks, especially pigments and dye based ink.