Pro-10 Waste Ink Pad Partially Saturated

zephyrcomet · Aug 8, 2021

Hello!

I've had this Canon Pro 10 printer for about 3 years, and I noticed that parts of the waste ink pad are saturated with black ink, and other spots have no ink. Its mostly concentrated on the edges of the printer and the center is clean.

I assume this is probably due to the 8x10 black and white art and galaxy prints I have been making. For full disclosure, I've done a few "borderless" prints or prints with a .1875 inch border on the borderless setting with no extension. I have also done a nozzle cleaning of the GY, MB, PB, CO tanks. I don't know if that contributed to this as well.

I haven't seen any smudges on my prints. As a precaution, I carefully blotted the saturated sections with a paper towel. Basically, I want to make sure this isn't something I should be worried about or need to see about getting the pad replaced if possible. If you all any tips and tricks to remove/prevent excess ink, I would be very grateful. Many thanks!

stratman · Aug 8, 2021

zephyrcomet said:
waste ink pad

First let's make sure we are all using the same words for the same things.

Waste Ink Pads - End of the line for waste ink collected. Felt-like material. Located deep in the bowels of the printer. Requires disassembly of the printer to get to the pads.

Purge Pads - Located underneath the nozzles when the print head is parked. Porous hard material. Part of the purge system that waste ink passes through on their way to the Waste Ink Pads. No disassembly required to get to but required the print head to move over and off of them as occurs when you lift the printer's cover to change out an empty cartridge.

Link below shows purge pads (rainbow-colored rectangles) of a Canon Pro 9500 that should correlate well enough for your printer.

https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/removal-of-top-cover-from-pro-9500.9961/#post-82489

Which one are you talking about?

Second, you say you are not having any issues. Don't fix what isn't broken. However, if you want to check the integrity of the Purge System then follow @turbguy 's instructions in the link below. You can use water if you want to. Report your results.

https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/urgent-help-canon-ip4920.7972/page-4#post-66333

While the printer in the video below is not your printer model, it is similar enough to provide you with good information. Cleaning the purge pads with Windex or similar product and paper towels if fine to do but may not be necessary for the life of the printer.

zephyrcomet · Aug 8, 2021

stratman said:
First let's make sure we are all using the same words for the same things.

Waste Ink Pads - End of the line for waste ink collected. Felt-like material. Located deep in the bowels of the printer. Requires disassembly of the printer to get to the pads.

Purge Pads - Located underneath the nozzles when the print head is parked. Porous hard material. Part of the purge system that waste ink passes through on their way to the Waste Ink Pads. No disassembly required to get to but required the print head to move over and off of them as occurs when you lift the printer's cover to change out an empty cartridge.

Link below shows purge pads (rainbow-colored rectangles) of a Canon Pro 9500 that should correlate well enough for your printer.

https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/removal-of-top-cover-from-pro-9500.9961/#post-82489

Which one are you talking about?

Second, you say you are not having any issues. Don't fix what isn't broken. However, if you want to check the integrity of the Purge System then follow @turbguy 's instructions in the link below. You can use water if you want to. Report your results.

https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/urgent-help-canon-ip4920.7972/page-4#post-66333

While the printer in the video below is not your printer model, it is similar enough to provide you with good information. Cleaning the purge pads with Windex or similar product and paper towels if fine to do but may not be necessary for the life of the printer.

Thank you for responding! I'm not sure if it is either one of those, it's the foam lining. I have also attached a picture. I hope this makes better sense.

stratman · Aug 9, 2021

zephyrcomet said:
it's the foam lining

This strip of foam collects oversprayed ink when printing Borderless prints. This is normal. Pooling of ink, ink outside the strip elsewhere in the printer, and excess ink on the photo paper may be from excess ink in the foam strip and needs to be diagnosed and resolved.

PS A number of the wiser forum member do not print borderless or recommend it because of the risk of unwanted ink deposits on the paper in the future with continued use.

My opinion is if you want a borderless print on an infrequent basis then go ahead but with the knowledge of too much fun may lead to a problem down the road. The Pro 10 is the last of its Pigment ink refill friendly Pro kind, so treat her well.

Paper towels may be used to dab up ink on the foam strip if you want. IMO, leave it alone unless there is a problem. It's supposed to work like that. Also, vigorous cleaning may drive some ink elsewhere and then wind up on the paper.

zephyrcomet · Aug 9, 2021

stratman said:
This strip of foam collects oversprayed ink when printing Borderless prints. This is normal. Pooling of ink, ink outside the strip elsewhere in the printer, and excess ink on the photo paper may be from excess ink in the foam strip and needs to be diagnosed and resolved.

PS A number of the wiser forum member do not print borderless or recommend it because of the risk of unwanted ink deposits on the paper in the future with continued use.

My opinion is if you want a borderless print on an infrequent basis then go ahead but with the knowledge of too much fun may lead to a problem down the road. The Pro 10 is the last of its Pigment ink refill friendly Pro kind, so treat her well.

Paper towels may be used to dab up ink on the foam strip if you want. IMO, leave it alone unless there is a problem. It's supposed to work like that. Also, vigorous cleaning may drive some ink elsewhere and then wind up on the paper.

Thank you, Stratman. This is very helpful. I'll leave the foam strip alone since everything is going well.

So just to clarify what I mean by borderless prints. I followed Jose Rodriguez's excellent tutorial for getting even margins.

The settings are borderless/no-extension, but I leave about .1875 inches of white space on four sides, but I'm fine with upping it to a quarter-inch or more if need be. However, if it is inadvisable to use the method for even borders; then, I'll go back to the drawing board.

I appreciate all your assistance.

stratman · Aug 9, 2021

zephyrcomet said:
I leave about .1875 inches of white space on four sides, but I'm fine with upping it to a quarter-inch or more if need be. However, it is inadvisable to use the method to even borders; then, I'll go back to the drawing board.

Logically, if you are leaving a sufficient border then there should be no overspray. I think you are OK and need not do anything more/differently since you are not having issues.

Advise you ask Jose or wait to see if another member can help with your question on even borders.

zephyrcomet · Aug 9, 2021

Thank you again, Stratman. I'm going to leave well enough alone and try not to be a worry-wort. If I have any issues with the borders, I'll contact Jose or make a separate post. Have a great rest of your day.

stratman · Aug 9, 2021

You're welcome. :frow

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