Canon - no printing in columns during nozzle check or head alignment

[sox]

Canon i9900 - had 5 range blinking lights and it would not print at all - so I replaced the printhead. It is printing now but will not print 'Cyan'.

I have deep cleaned several times and yet the printout showed nothing beside "6C"....6PM is very light and so is 6Y but I do see some faint printing. I did a print head alignment and nothing printed under columns F or I.

Here is what I have done: I replaced ALL of the ink cartridges. Then I removed the printhead and cleaned it with distilled water - I put some distilled water on the gray dots on top of the printhead and then blew some air through - a little ink did come out of the cyan slot so I dabbed it with a qtip and then let the printhead sit on a soaked paper towel (distilled water) overnight - I let it dry and then ran some deep cleanings three times or so in a row - still no change. So after reading some other posts I used an eyedropper and put a little Windex over the purge unit pads - let it sit over night (with the printhead sitting over the pads) and then did a deep cleaning this morning but that did nothing.

I would like to stay with it now that I have invested the time and money in a new printhead so please help.
Thank you in advance.

 

[ghwellsjr]

Sounds like a defective print head. Can you return it? I would think Canon would make good on it if you bought it directly from them. If you bought it on eBay, PayPal should cover you. It's possible that the problem is in your printer but you will have to find another identical printer to know for sure.

 

[irvweiner]

There can be 2 other causes:

1: Electrical contacts on the printhead is dirty, especially those for the defective color channel.

2: The electronic drive circuit for the cyan channel and/or the printhead is defective.

Find a friend with a i9900 and test your head in his unit, if it works then your circuit board is defective. Do not put his working printhead in your printer, your malevolent circuit board could then possibly destroy his printhead.

If your circuit board is defective, cost of repair can be excessive, more than the original printer cost. The Canon Pixma Pro 9000 'rebated' units are available online from Craiglist or ebay for $200-300.
My i9900 failed this April after 5 yrs of great usage, I then purchased the pro 9000, a $100 rebate from Canon was in effect-may still be.

The 'rebated units I'm referring to came from a hot Canon promotion: buy a digital Canon camera and get a 'almost free' printer, the Pro 9000 MKII or the Pro 9500. Many took advantage of this offer and sold the printer after getting the $400 rebate.

This printer, like many, now sport 'chipped cartridges' an attempt to discourage refilling. Have no fear, all the info and tools required for you to refill your carts is available in this forum including several high quality respected inks.

 

[sox]

Excellent suggestions!!! I do have a relative with the same printer so I checked it out on hers - my printhead worked fine on her unit. So it looks like I'll have to look into a new printer - I did check and the logic board cost $165 but I don't know how to replace it.....I would consider it if it didnt involve soldering etc.???

Also I thought I read somewhere that the printhead is the same on a Pixma Pro 9000 - can this be verified? would it work with the "Mark II" that is at Canon Direct and on ebay?

I could get a $100 rebate (in the form of an American Express Reward Card??) from Canon Direct - on a Pixma Pro 9000 Mark II - - - after rebate it would be $300 - free shipping but dam sales tax is another $24 - - I can get one a lot cheaper it appears from ebay....so I may take that route.

Thanks again for your help!

 

[ghwellsjr]

Here is a picture of the box the print head comes in:

However, don't be fooled into thinking that the same print head takes the same cartridges in the newer printer. These newer printers take the chipped cartridges (CLI-8).

 

[sox]

thanks ghwellsjr - that's the same model number for the printhead but good that you pointed out the difference in cartridges....very helpful information.