Bought a used Canon Pro-10s - Do I try and return this or is it still salvageable/fixable?

[Ellyrion]

I bought a used Canon PRO-10s just the other day on marketplace on a bit of a whim after seeing it highly recommended by a Youtuber I watch, and unfortuantely for me - pretty much zero knowledge of inkjet printer maintenance (stupid i know, very much a newbie).

The printer came with 3rd party ink catridges from a pretty reputable company here in the UK - https://www.cartridgepeople.com/ - and I bought a couple of the same catridges to replace the ones that were low/empty.

I just ran two cleaning cycles, followed by a deep clean cycle (just went off what the manual said, I reliase that was one cycle too many) all with nozzle checks inbetween - and unfortunately the test pattern is not looking good at all - its completely faded and colours are missing entirely.

I bought the printer for just £100 ($120) from an art student who didnt use it much anymore, she told me prior to buying it would definitely need cleaning as it had been idle for a while but at this point I am wondering if Its even salvageable - I'm totally new to all this, but this test pattern looks so much worse than some of the other examples I've seen on here.

I'm aware that original Canon inks are the way to go but I figured it would be best to use the currently installed inks to remedy any clogged nozzles etc before I go and drop another £110 on a full set of Canon PGI-72 inks.

Would love to know what you reckon is the next best step - try to clean the printhead with cleaning fluid/water/alchohol (or whatever is best) OR to see if I can return it if its beyond repair. I bought it on marketplace so there are no guaruntees - but the printer was sold as "In good working condition but will most likely need a clean as I haven’t used it in a while" and the seller was very nice so I may have a leg to stand on if it is totally beyond fixing.

Many thanks!

 

[The Hat]

Would love to know what you reckon is the next best step

The first thing is not to panic, the second is remove all of the carts, and place the plastic orange clip on them all, and third is to remove the print head.

Now place the head in a dish of warm water 2 “ deep with a couple of drops (Squirt) of Fairy liquid and leave it to soak for several hours, then replace the same warm liquid this time only 1/2 “ deep, leave to stand overnight.

In the morning remove the head from the liquid and dry with some paper towels and leave it to stand somewhere warm (Top of radiator) for an hour or two, and then reinsert the head and carts again, and run a nozzle check and see how much better the output is..

Never print anything until you get a 100% good nozzle check, if your still not getting good results try running the Ink Quality Maintenance, you’ll find that just below the nozzle check button, next run another normal cleaning cycle, followed by a nozzle check..

If still not satisfied then post your last nozzle check here so we can determine how best to proceed..

 

[Ellyrion]

The first thing is not to panic, the second is remove all of the carts, and place the plastic orange clip on them all, and third is to remove the print head.

Now place the head in a dish of warm water 2 “ deep with a couple of drops (Squirt) of Fairy liquid and leave it to soak for several hours, then replace the same warm liquid this time only 1/2 “ deep, leave to stand overnight.

In the morning remove the head from the liquid and dry with some paper towels and leave it to stand somewhere warm (Top of radiator) for an hour or two, and then reinsert the head and carts again, and run a nozzle check and see how much better the output is..

Never print anything until you get a 100% good nozzle check, if your still not getting good results try running the Ink Quality Maintenance, you’ll find that just below the nozzle check button, next run another normal cleaning cycle, followed by a nozzle check..

If still not satisfied then post your last nozzle check here so we can determine how best to proceed..

Thank you very much for your reply!

I've removed all ink and the print head (some are without the plastic clips so I've palced them spongy-side down in tupperware for now.

The only thing I'm concerned about is putting the head in 2" of water would touch the electrical contacts on the back of the print head - shall I put it just deep enough that only the head is covered?

Thanks

 

[The Hat]

Submerging the Electrical contacts won’t cause them any harm, what your trying to achieve is cover the ink inlets on the inside of the head, and the next time you change the water, I mentioned only using ½” of liquid, which will not go anywhere near the electricals.

But it is essential to clean off most of the water with a paper towel, and then place in a warm area for an hour or two to dry any residual of moisture that might linger after the cleaning.. Giving it a good shake helps too..

Shall I put it just deep enough that only the head is covered?

P.S. you can if you wish only use ½” of water, but that will take far longer to get the inside of the head clear of dried up ink, and the sooner you change to OEM ink the better because OEM ink helps clear out any old ink remaining, believe it or not..

 

[Ellyrion]

Submerging the Electrical contacts won’t cause them any harm, what your trying to achieve is cover the ink inlets on the inside of the head, and the next time you change the water, I mentioned only using ½” of liquid, which will not go anywhere near the electricals.

But it is essential to clean off most of the water with a paper towel, and then place in a warm area for an hour or two to dry any residual of moisture that might linger after the cleaning.. Giving it a good shake helps too..

P.S. you can if you wish only use ½” of water, but that will take far longer to get the inside of the head clear of dried up ink, and the sooner you change to OEM ink the better because OEM ink helps clear out any old ink remaining, believe it or not..

Ok so I just finished drying out the print head (left in airing cupbard for 2hrs) after leaving it to soak as you described and printed a nozzle check - here's what I got:

As this wasn't much of an improvement I then tried Ink quality maintenance, cleaning cycle and then a nozzle check as you said, and got this:

Seller said it's been idle for a few months and last time she used it it worked fine. Would love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks

 

[The Hat]

Seller said it's been idle for a few months and last time she used it it worked fine. Would love to hear your thoughts!

As you are getting some improvements, I reckon you should leave it to soak for a week as in your first attempt, this of course is if the previous seller was being truthful, because if they were then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t get a 100% nozzle check.
I would also check the other carts to make sure they have ink still left in them, or even replace the other carts too, because this may take time to resolve itself, so for now have plenty of patience in stock..

P.S. had the previous owner been using OEM inks, this clog would be much easier to shift.. O’ and you can use a few extra drops of Fairy..

 

[Ellyrion]

As you are getting some improvements, I reckon you should leave it to soak for a week as in your first attempt, this of course is if the previous seller was being truthful, because if they were then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t get a 100% nozzle check.
I would also check the other carts to make sure they have ink still left in them, or even replace the other carts too, because this may take time to resolve itself, so for now have plenty of patience in stock..

P.S. had the previous owner been using OEM inks, this clog would be much easier to shift.. O’ and you can use a few extra drops of Fairy..

I reckon the seller is being truthful, she was very kind and straightforward and she had used it earlier in the summer for her portfolio.

All of the carts currently have ink in them, although they are all 3rd party inks. I reckon theres a good chance I could get it working with the method you described as yeah it has improved a little - but as the seller has allowed me to return it to her I think I'll be going that route, I just dont have the money at the moment to spend on a printer that I have no idea will work or not in the future.

Even if I buy a full set of OEM inks for £110 it'll be somewhat of a gamble, I just dont know what condition the head is in even if I get the clogs resolved and if it still doesn't work that'll be more money down the drain

I would normally try and persevere with this but I reckon its best for me to just return the printer and come back to printing again with a little more money so I can buy something that I know works!

Thank you very much for all of your help, I really appreciate it!

 

[websnail]

The printer came with 3rd party ink catridges from a pretty reputable company here in the UK - https://www.cartridgepeople.com/ - and I bought a couple of the same catridges to replace the ones that were low/empty.

Disclaimer: I sell remanufactured OEM cartridges with pigment ink so I am by definition biased

That aside, I looked up the cartridges sold by the Cartridge people and they look like the, frankly, bloody awful sponge in a box cr*p that we've seen in the past that uses the tech from non-pigment cartridges (eg: the CLI-42) in the PGI-72 when they honestly cause more problems than they solve.

It seems like you're getting somewhere with the advice you're receiving so I don't want to rain on that parade but as/when you get things working I'd strongly recommend switching to using pigment inks in original cartridges along with a chip resetter as soon as you can because those sponge in a box units are ink starvation waiting to happen and tbh, aren't really utilising the functionality of the printer as it's all dye ink, not what the printer was designed for.

Apologies for the semi-rant but man those things are just awful... Good luck with the head cleaning.

 

[The Hat]

I would normally try and persevere with this but I reckon its best for me to just return the printer and come back to printing again with a little more money so I can buy something that I know works!

First things first, inkjet printing of any sort costs and its never cheap so trying to do it on a budget is not going to work, you either continue with this great printer, or you give up the idea of ever owing another printer..

Yes the head has clogs but they can be resolve with time and patience, so please don’t send it back, persist until you know one way or the other, because as Websnail said he has inks and carts for your model printer, that are a dam site cheaper than OEM carts and ink..

https://www.octoink.co.uk/products/Canon-Pro%2d10-Compatible-Pigment-Ink-PGI%2d72-Cartridge-Set.html

 

[websnail]

As an aside, one thing that's not been suggested is to save some time and buy yourself a new printhead. You're obviously in the UK so the best source for one of those is here:
https://www.crc-tasktron.co.uk/product/20010/genuine-canon-print-head-qy60085010

(CRC-Tasktron are the service centre for Canon in the UK so the printheads are legit and cheaper than other legit units).

That way you can get the printer running as there's obviously nothing else wrong with the printer, and then you can take a slow road approach with the printhead you received with the printer and eventually get it cleaned out and working as a spare.

Just a thought...

PS: No I didn't pay @The Hat for that last recommendation...

...He wishes