Dye ink yellow problem

I use dye ink (from a German manufacturer) without any problems since about 2 years.

Recently I observed loss of yellow after printing a few pages, the image (waving lines across the page) suggesting cartridge flow problems.
When I stress the cartridge (with @The Hat 's cartridge test grid, or plain yellow pages) the problem worsens with a complete block of the yellow.
The color does not come back with cleaning cycles, I have to remove the printhead and bath it overnight (in @pharmacist solution).
The next day everything is fine again until the next long print job.
Only the yellow is affected.

This week I received a bag of empty carts from my children to refill, and since I also had to prepare my travel MG5250 (laid up with @pharmacist solution), I wanted to avoid this yellow problem spreading over all printers.

Indeed, my children printed with a stock of cartridges filled last summer, and they did not mention yellow problems.

Could it be an infection built up afterwards ?
The ink in the bottle is (and always was) cristal clear.
Or could it be the new ink I received in February ?

I changed the syringes and needles.
I flushed the carts (first with tap water, then with deminaralised, at the end with (again) @pharmacist 's solution before drying with the @ghwellsjr method.

Until now the laid up MG5250 refilled with the new batch of ink in flushed carts prints plain yellow pages at high quality one after another without problems.

Is it the new yellow ink reacting with the old (from the same manufacturer ?) or an infection in the old cartridges, I do not know at this moment.

Any ideas ?

Without seeing a picture of the issue(s), relying only on your description, this sounds like ink starvation - a progressive loss of ink laid down on the paper over time. The first thing you should do is replace the Yellow cartridge with a new OEM Yellow cartridge (best option), or an aftermarket 3rd party new Yellow cartridge (next best option), or a known working or newly flushed and refilled Yellow cartridge (least expensive option).

You want to isolate the issue as best as you can and that is why a new cartridge is the best option for introducing another error from a unknown but poorly performing refilled cartridge.

It could be a shift in the sponges that breaks the flow of ink. It also could be due to fungus or bacteria inthe sponge. There is also the possibility that the sponge has lost its flow function from repeated refills and drying out of the sponge and remnant ink which leads to "gunk" adhering in the pores of the sponge resulting in loss of ink flow.

It is possible that the easiest and least expensive path is to use a new OEM Yellow cartridge, or one that is still in full working order, than to risk permanent print head malfunction, a far costlier problem.

Please post the brand of ink you are using for reference.

If it would be ink starvation, changing the cartridge would solve the problem.

I did this already with a new Canon one, the nozzle check stays blank for the yellow.
That's make me think there is something pushed in the printhead.

The ink is Prodinks.

Hi @palombian, I’ve had a similar problem with one of my cyan carts, I changed to a different cart and I was back working again, and that problem cart is sitting on my desk waiting for a complete purge, but first I want to salvage the ink that’s in it.

I also had much the same issue with yellow on the iX7000 (Very poor output) and eventfully got it cleared by repeated cleaning of the head in warm water and washing up liquid, but then lost the darn head later with a magenta failure.

Your problem is not the cart or the ink but more likely some dried up ink inside the head itself, the best you can hope for is to soak it for many days, changing the solution regularly and that should get it to function properly once more, patients boy'o.

I hate it when the most obvious solutions don’t work for you and your left scratching your head trying to figure out what the hell the problem could be..

Thanks for the info, @palombian.

Agree with The Hat that your next hope is to soak and flush your print head for possible blockage. Patience is required as many days may be needed.

@The Hat and @stratman, your diagnosis seems correct.

Since soaking alone didn't help, I placed a piece of silicon hose on a syringe, it was the right diameter to fit over the ink inlets of the head.

I could suck @pharmacist solution with a few drops ammonia through the ink channels and it seems to have cleared the obstruction.

To avoid excessive ink spillage (and filling the ink pads) I use cleaning cartridges with diluted ink when I clean a head, this allows me to see what is printing.
I passed @The Hat 's cartridge test and afterwards printed several pages with plain yellow in high quality without problems.

But when I placed a cartridge filled with (Prodinks) yellow it was blocked again after half a page.

Lucky enough I could clear it fast with my new tool.



There must be something with the ink.
Maybe Prodinks has some information ?
But when I logged on their site I've got the message their shop is closed and will reopen under a new management:



As @The Hat knows, it is not the first time we have problems with their yellow ink (although I emptied 200 ml of their previous dye yellow batches without any problem).

Since I continue to believe in German quality, and prefer suppliers nearby, I will order a bottle of yellow from OCP to enhance my cocktail.

Glad to hear you have corrected your issue!

palombian said:

I will order a bottle of yellow from OCP to enhance my cocktail.

Click to expand...

FYI - using a different formulation of Yellow ink than the set of inks from Prodinks may cause a noticeable color shift in your images. I am guessing this is a temporary fix for you and that you will either purchase a complete set of matched inks in the future or will obtain a printer profile for the current mismatched inks in order to maximize results. Or, maybe you will be happy with the results as is.

@palombian, I have not used any of the Prodinks since I had the reaction with the yellow ink despite you reporting good success with most of their pigment inks much later.

I care too much for my 9500’s to chance using their pigment products again, I still have 450 ml left in bottles unused, but their dye inks seem to be pretty acceptable and doesn’t cause any problems.
I tried to log in to their site about 4 week ago and found the sever down and got a error, which I found very strange at the time, but now we know why..

Prodinks still appears to exist, their own webshop is apparently under reconstruction. They refer to Tintenalarm.de as one of their dealers

http://www.prodinks-gmbh.de/produkte.php

It is possible that the yellow ink channels are not yet completily cleared and that diluted ink passes, but not normal ink.
Will try again, with Prodinks and Canon ink.
If both block, it must be the head.
But how 2 of my printers became clogged in the first place ?