canon i9900 (in USA) or i9950

[dumbelle]

I soaked the printhead in ammonia and distilled water and in t he nozzle test the yellow has improved considerably.
Cyan is still half dark half light but now photocyan is hardly appearing in the printout.
Some queries :

What does it indicate if even thought the ink cartridges are full on the computer it shows that they are virtually empty (doing this for yellow and cyan)

Is it worth buying a new printhead - would that solve all problems even if for example purge unit (??) is faulty

Hope someone will now respond as i9900 and i9950 are the same A3 printers depending on location.

 

[The Hat]

If your nozzle check is showing the cyan half missing even after the good soaking you gave it
then it is fare to say the print head has had it.

The cyan, magenta and yellow are all on the same side of your purge unit so
if the yellow has improved and the cyan is exactly the same, then that doesnt look like a purge unit problem at all.

Now you can check your purge unit if you want to be sure that its working and its not as hard as you might think.

Have your printer on and lift the top lid, when the print head moves to the centre and stops you will then
be able to see the purge pads in on the right-hand side of the printer, use a flashlight if you have difficulty seeing them.

They are the two grey/ black rectangular slabs that you can see, just put a couple of drops of water on both of them
(almost flood them), you can use a syringe or a spoon for the job but dont take too long
because the print head will move back in the way.

If you need more time to study the situation then pull the power plug when the cartridges are in the middle of the printer,
then youll have all the time in the world.

When you have covered them in water just close the lid and wait a few minutes then open the lid once more
and check to see if the pads are still very wet or all most dry, if they are dry then your purge unit is working normally.

There are quite a number of places you can get a new print head from, they are not scarce at all,
the code number QY6-0055-000 but dont buy one from China..

 

[Tin Ho]

It will cost $100+ for a new one. Hat is right that the print head has done it. It is worth that price for a new one. I tried a refurbished print head before (likely one from China). It was actually OK. But I think I am just lucky probably.