I've taken many of the tips in this forum, and they have saved a tremendous amount of money, so I want to say "Thank you very much", and try to return the favor with a recent experience.
I've owned several Canon printers, experimented with 3rd party cartridges, refilling, and with each one I've eventually experienced the symptoms of a "clogged" head. I've tried most of the head cleaning methods described on the forum with mixed results.
This winter, after experiencing a no-magenta problem with my older iP4000, that resisted every attempt at head cleaning, I figured that the head was damaged and bought a new replacement print head ($50). When that didn't work, I figured that the logic board was bad, switched the printer over to BW application only, and bought another ip4000 ($60). The new printer worked well for weeks.
When I was replacing the original Canon cartridge with a G&G cartridge (~$3), I got interrupted for 1/2 hour. Shortly afterward, the new printer stopped printing magenta. So I installed a new Canon cartridge ($12). I got a good test page, and got normal printing for one day, then magenta stopped printing again. I cleaned the printhead until no more magenta came through and got the same result.
Out of desperation I tried applying some solvent* that I use for cleaning ink from my hands to the waste absorber sponges that the printhead sits upon when idle. I kept applying it until the sponges looked white. Magenta started working great.
So I'm thinking, why not try it on the other printer? Abacadabra!! It worked, not only with the new head, but also the head that I'd thought was bad. What I thought was a head problem was the printer not sucking properly, priming wasn't working. I've since added the step of putting a few drops on my cleaning solution on the sponges whenever I have to change a tank. Several changes of cartridges later, both printers continue to work well. So now I have a spare head that I can swap out in a minute if a head seems like it needs cleaning.
I realize that the new printer problem was probably caused by my delay in replacing the tank immediately, but I'm wondering - how often is caked ink in the absorber mis-diagnosed as a clogged head or bad purge unit? Considering the relative time and money involved, I'd advise anyone with a persistent "clogged" head to try cleaning the sponges with a solution first - especially if it happens during a season of low humidity.
*The solvent I use is a Dollar Store cleaner called LA Awesome, which I dilute 50:1 with water. I've tried many commercial cleaners looking for something to get ink off my skin (I don't have very good dexterity working though plastic gloves). Since it worked well, I tried using it for head cleaning. Unheated, it works as well as any of the solutions packed with refill kits, and better than isopronol, at a fraction of their cost. (If you try it, be sure to flush the head well afterward with plain water).
I've owned several Canon printers, experimented with 3rd party cartridges, refilling, and with each one I've eventually experienced the symptoms of a "clogged" head. I've tried most of the head cleaning methods described on the forum with mixed results.
This winter, after experiencing a no-magenta problem with my older iP4000, that resisted every attempt at head cleaning, I figured that the head was damaged and bought a new replacement print head ($50). When that didn't work, I figured that the logic board was bad, switched the printer over to BW application only, and bought another ip4000 ($60). The new printer worked well for weeks.
When I was replacing the original Canon cartridge with a G&G cartridge (~$3), I got interrupted for 1/2 hour. Shortly afterward, the new printer stopped printing magenta. So I installed a new Canon cartridge ($12). I got a good test page, and got normal printing for one day, then magenta stopped printing again. I cleaned the printhead until no more magenta came through and got the same result.
Out of desperation I tried applying some solvent* that I use for cleaning ink from my hands to the waste absorber sponges that the printhead sits upon when idle. I kept applying it until the sponges looked white. Magenta started working great.
So I'm thinking, why not try it on the other printer? Abacadabra!! It worked, not only with the new head, but also the head that I'd thought was bad. What I thought was a head problem was the printer not sucking properly, priming wasn't working. I've since added the step of putting a few drops on my cleaning solution on the sponges whenever I have to change a tank. Several changes of cartridges later, both printers continue to work well. So now I have a spare head that I can swap out in a minute if a head seems like it needs cleaning.
I realize that the new printer problem was probably caused by my delay in replacing the tank immediately, but I'm wondering - how often is caked ink in the absorber mis-diagnosed as a clogged head or bad purge unit? Considering the relative time and money involved, I'd advise anyone with a persistent "clogged" head to try cleaning the sponges with a solution first - especially if it happens during a season of low humidity.
*The solvent I use is a Dollar Store cleaner called LA Awesome, which I dilute 50:1 with water. I've tried many commercial cleaners looking for something to get ink off my skin (I don't have very good dexterity working though plastic gloves). Since it worked well, I tried using it for head cleaning. Unheated, it works as well as any of the solutions packed with refill kits, and better than isopronol, at a fraction of their cost. (If you try it, be sure to flush the head well afterward with plain water).
