Canon IP1500 now printing, but only every other line

[steve8091]

Hello all...

My faithful Canon IP1500 that I've had for about four years recently stopped printing in color. After some advice from these boards, I removed and thoroughly cleaned the print head. I ran hot water over the screens, soaked in Windex, and repeated several times (I've not yet let it soak overnight, though). Once the head was clean (no more ink coming out), I pressed it down onto a paper towel and observed bubbles coming back up through all of the screens. I reinstalled the head, installed the cartridges, primed, cleaned, etc, and then I not only have no color, but now I've also lost black.

After some more reading, I checked the purge system. Using a syringe, I soaked the pads in glass cleaner (w/ammonia), closed the cover, cycled off and on, and watched as the cleaner was consistently whisked away. I did this 5 times or so for good measure. I once again primed and cleaned the nozzles, tried to print again, and had no improvement.

I'm not sure what to do next short of buying a new print head, which is what I figure I'll have to do. It doesn't seem to be clogged though, but I wonder if perhaps it is burnt or the controls are no longer working properly..? I'm open to suggestions...thanks!

 

[ghwellsjr]

It's not a good idea to return your print head to the printer after rinsing, washing, etc, unless you let it dry for two days in a warm area. Liquids are sure to get into the internal electronics and as soon as you turn on your printer, it can permanently damage them. Not only that, but there is also a chance that the damage can burn out the electronics in you printer too. And as if that is not enough, it is also possible that if you put a new print head in your printer, it can be damaged if your printer was damaged. So you need to proceed carefully. Hopefully, you did let the print head dry out so this would not be a possibility.

The best thing that could happen is that Canon would send you a new print head for free under their Customer Loyalty Program. Let us know how it works out.

 

[steve8091]

Thanks for your reply. I did thoroughly dry the print head using a hair dryer, though I suppose I can't be certain that it was COMPLETELY dry when I reinstalled it. I played with it a bit more after I posted my message, and I was able to get the black to come back in a bit after 10 or so cleaning cycles. Based on that, I am currently soaking the head in glass cleaner for an extended period of time in hopes that it will dissolve any remaining clogs. In parallel, I will check out the customer loyalty program you referred me to. Thanks!

 

[steve8091]

A few updates - I soaked the head in Windex overnight and continued to get very spotty, sometimes blank results from the black side, and nothing in color. I contacted tech support per your suggestion, and they simply offered me a 15% discount on a replacement print head (bringing it to $43) or the same discount on a new printer. I'm thinking I'll try to replace the head. Is there any sort of continuity (or other) check that I can perform (without a second printer) to test my current head? Also, one thing I noticed while cleaning were some marks around the discharge side of the color ports on the print head; not sure if that is notable.

 

[ghwellsjr]

If the marks you are referring to look like burn spots (look under a magnifying glass or microscope), then the risk of your printer being damaged are much greater. There is no way to test a print head except by putting it in a printer but that can sacrifice a printer. It's just not possible to know if the problem with the colors not printing is in the printer or the print head or both, except by doing expensive swaps with other printers and/or print heads. Usually, though, when the print head prints at least something, that usually means the problem is exclusive to the print head and can probably be fixed with a new print head.

Another option you have is to take your printer to an authorized Canon repair center and let them diagnose the problem. The one near me will not charge anything if I let them keep the printer after they give an estimate if I don't want the repair done or they charge $30 to return it unfixed. They will probably quote you a very high price, much more than the original purchase price.

 

[steve8091]

I received my replacement print head and installed it with new ink carts. I am now able to print in both black and white and color, but now I have a new problem. The printer only prints every other line of text. I've tried various applications, including the nozzle checks, and it is consistent. The parts that it does print are flawless, but it's skipping lines. Any idea as to what could be causing this? Googling seems to indicate a print head failure, but that seems unlikely for a new head. I can scan printed images if needed.

 

[ghwellsjr]

Did this problem happen immediately with your new print head or did it work correcly for awhile?

What does the nozzle check look like?

If you tell your printer that you are printing on photo paper (try matte), will it print your text correctly?

If you print a photo in greyscale on plain paper, does it print correctly?

 

[steve8091]

It happened immediately. The nozzle check looks the same, with horizontal lines skipped on the page. I've not yet attempted the photo or grayscale prints, but will do so tonight.

 

[ghwellsjr]

The nozzle check looks the same,

The same as what?

Maybe you should post an image of the nozzle check.

 

[steve8091]

Okay, on second look / thought, black is printing fine. It is the color that is skipping spaces. I've taken photos of my nozzle check, test page, primer page, and alignment check. You may also notice that the alignment check and test page show the black skewed slightly. Ideas?