Best generic ink for Canon Pixma Pro 9000 MkII?

[dinky]

You are too humble and funny, Guru Rodbam. Your wisdom will be studied and emulated.

My perilous printer pains aside for a moment, this forum seems a generally healthy community I have stumbled on! Interesting, thoughtful folks generous with know-how and ideas.

Thanks and will report any useful findings.

 

[The Hat]

rodbam It seems as though Mr Dinky didn't read my post just above Hats so I suppose that's the drawbacks of just being a Guru

Not at all, I think dinky is doing a fine job confusing both of us well me anyway.

For whatever reason (poor scan/color repro) my nozzle check image that I posted is inaccurate

How on earth the scan can be that much out when the colour picture is relatively fine + half of the nozzle check.
http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/8171/canonpro9000plainpaper.jpg
Compare it with rodbam nozzle check http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i406/rodbam/_MG_5676.jpg

What I can get from it so far is that there are 4 compatible / 4 OEM cartridges in stalled in his printer
and his nozzle check is fine except for the photo magenta, he may be trying to refill the compatibles
using the German method, possibly mixing his inks?

I think until he only uses a complete set of OEM cartridges together will we know for sure
just what exactly his problem is and maybe then we can stop guessing but be certain.

Stratman in thread #31 gave a couple of valid reason for some of his troubles
as did I in thread #28 and (you) rodbam in thread #26 + #35 but dinky for some reason is not
willing to see or unable to understand the enormous information given to him so far (sorry dinky).

Maybe when dinky read through the complete thread again he may actually see his problem
explained in detailed and where everything is going wrong for him,
then maybe he can work it out himself or undo/overcome the problem in his own little way, hopefully..

 

[dinky]

I understand I have POd my helpful masters and that a good grasshopper listens and follows through. I am not sure what advice I am ignoring but I will try harder.:/

Yes, The Hat, I am working on replacing all the carts with OEM/German method. Yes, the nozzle check shows that the PM is off but the others seem fine to my eye. Another mystery is the images print OK on plain paper using standard setting (which I believe uses all the inks not just CMY).

Meanwhile, I attach a pic of the two spongy pads I semi-cleaned using 1/4 Ammonia solution. I dropped a couple of drops of the solution on the pads and soaked up the excess ink using a long surgical tool gripped around a wad of paper towel. The pads were black and now they are light grey! See the ink splatters on the walls etc. around the pads? I assume that's normal?

Spongy Pads on Canon Pro9000II:

New Nozzle check: http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/5580/dsc0797hj.jpg

What do you think?

Dinky

 

[The Hat]

dinky
Now things look like therere coming together for you all right.
The nozzle check has improved considerably and the picture of your purge pads are spot on.

So if you can get all of your cartridges changed to OEMs and are careful
when refilling them you should be as right as rain in no time at all.

I am glad you stuck with us and sorted out all of the problems, so go print and enjoy.
Happy refilling..

 

[stratman]

Dinky:

Those look similar to my purge pads, so I will assume those two rectangular hard sponges are the purge pads.

You can test the function of the purge system by flooding those two pads with your solution, closing the lids so that the print head parks above the pads, and then initiating a cleaning if the printer does not do one automatically. Then you lift the lid, allow the print head to come to center, and then visualize the purge pads. There should be no more pooled solution and the pads may even appear a little cleaner). If there is still pooled solution, you have a purge system problem which may explain your problems with printing.

These purge pads are removable for cleaning but are very difficult to remove and replace. If the clog is in the pad or just below it, repeated soaking with fluid and letting it sit over night (so the solution has time to work through a clog) may resolve this type of issue.

But we still don't know what is/was your problem (given that your new nozzle check looks better and may even be appropriate for all I know). So, try the purge pad solution test and report back.

 

[dinky]

Thank you all for your help. I think I am getting there.

Sadly, the core problem persists (see pic of market veggies I posted at the start): Photos on Canon and Kirkland inkjet photo paper have a deathly green hue about them.

I used to print gorgeous photos using this paper. I have tried glossy, matte, standard/photo, etc. to no avail.

So it's either a color management problem (software), poor ink mixing a la Stratman (hardware) or an evil pixma pixie?

EDIT: Sorry, Stratman didn't see your response before I posted. I'll try the purge pad process you suggest but I am utterly puzzled why all colors appear to work on plain paper (no weird hues) but not the inkjet photo paper.

 

[stratman]

From what I understand of your model, the PM and PC are used extensively for photographs. I don't know how the R and G ink is utilized. This could be part of your issue when you go to print images - the ink set beyond the usual CYMK is being utilized only when printing images (or when printing using certain paper settings) but something is not correct.

Maybe it is a corrupt or altered print driver. Check your settings in both the application used to print from as well as Canon's own setup screens to make sure everything looks OK.

Maybe it is a problem that occurs beyond the amount of ink needed for a nozzle check alone, ie ink starvation. Please post what cartridges you are using for each color - which are OEM Canon and which are aftermarket and by whom. If you know the age of the cartridge and how many refills, include that too.

 

[rodbam]

I believe the red & green inks mainly or only get used on the pro9000 when printing on glossy papers using the photo paper pro profiles. All last month I was only printing on Canons fine art premium matte & photo paper plus semi gloss & the red & green inks never moved off the full mark but after about 4 days of printing on glossy papers with the pro profiles my red has gone down to 3/4 full.

 

[The Hat]

The red, green and photo black are only used on photos for shading and outline
but are restricted for use on matte, semi and gloss papers only.

One of the reasons why these cartridges always look full is that there are only four levels
of measurement in the ink monitoring (full, half full, low and empty).

So the ink level tend not to move at all regardless of what your actually printing
but then by magic jump quickly to the next level, it can also happen after a cleaning cycle takes place..

 

[stratman]

On another thread - http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=44227#p44227 - Pharmacist posted about R and G ink usage with the Canon Pro 9000 mk II:

"You should always set the paper setting to Photo Glossy Paper Plus (I or II) or Glossy Paper Pro. If you choose "Other Photo Papers", the system will fall back to the 6-colour CcMmYK printing system and your red and green will only be consumed during cleaning cycles. If you want to force the usage of the red and green inks, always choose Photo Glossy Paper Plus (I or II) or Glossy Paper Pro."

Think of this in the context of printing your nozzle checks and printing images, and how this could be affecting the colors of your printed photographs. It could be a clue on what is going wrong for you.