Canon PGI 520 problem.

[Donkeyoatay]

I have a 6 month old Canon MP550, little used. A month ago I refilled the carts using the German method with Octoinkjet Canon black ink. Everything printed OK after the refill. I do a weekly Nozel Check Pattern which always is OK.

This morning when I tried to print a document from my Mac the black ink was missing. A further Nozel Check Pattern indicated that everything was fine. I have tried to make a copy from the printer but it will only print black if I select Color. I have removed the Black PGI 520 cart which still has plenty of ink in it and by gently blowing in the top vent, ink flows from the outlet. Current ink levels show full.

Can anyone please give a complete novice some advice on what my be causing the problem. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Michael.

 

[panos]

Are you certain the nozzle check is OK ?

Does it look like that ? (scroll down a bit)

 

[Donkeyoatay]

Thanks Panos for replying. I have checked again and you are right. The top section of the check which says PGBK and has the grid alongside is missing. Only the color result is there. How I missed that I don't know. What does that mean?

Michael.

 

[panos]

Your printhead's nozzles for the pigmented black (mainly used for text) are clogged.

If you have ran a cleaning and a deep cleaning cycle and the problem persists, try this method.

 

[Donkeyoatay]

I have just run a cleaning and deep cleaning cycle and the problem exists so I will try your method. First I have to try and find some Ammonia based glass cleaner. Here is Spain that might be difficult. Somewhere in the printers manual I read that with this problem do a deep cleaning cycle, and do another 24hrs later if the problem is still exists. What do you think?.

 

[panos]

I don't know. I don't understand what would change in the meantime.

What you should do is that you should avoid printing anything until you clean the printhead.

Ammonia based glass cleaner is sold under the name Windex in some countries. It's the cleaner with the strong odor. It's available on my local grocery.

 

[inkoholic]

I have just run a cleaning and deep cleaning cycle and the problem exists so I will try your method. First I have to try and find some Ammonia based glass cleaner. Here is Spain that might be difficult. Somewhere in the printers manual I read that with this problem do a deep cleaning cycle, and do another 24hrs later if the problem is still exists. What do you think?.

Espaa? I see Lidl has stores in Spain as well. I have heard their W5 glass cleaner is nearly as good as Windex for cleaning printheads. There's probably some other ammonia based glass cleaners as well. If you can't find anything, try soaking the printhead in distilled water (see the hardware store).

 

[Donkeyoatay]

Thank you all for your advice. I used your method Panos for cleaning the head and so far have done it twice. It still is not printing the pigmented black. Thank goodness the printer is still under warranty. I suppose I will have to buy a set of new carts if I have to send it back, as Canon will notice I have refilled the originals and claim it is the ink causing the problem.

Before I decide to use the warranty is there anything else I can try?

Michael.

 

[panos]

Did you see ink/black liquid coming out of the large pickup disc while you were gently pushing the printhead on the folded tissue ?

If not, you should try more push-ups and more Windex. If yes, and you kept on with the push ups until you saw clear Windex coming out, then your priming pump might be clogged instead and you might be able to fix it.

I neither criticize your decision to use your warranty in this case nor I endorse it.

 

[Donkeyoatay]

I would like to say a big thank you for all your advice especially The Hat who has helped me resolve my problem. I tried many things to get back my black pigmented ink recommended here but in the end a simple procedure did the trick. Being a novice to trouble shooting ink jet printers, I have to admit that I was not aware of the Utility section in my Macs Print setup, not the printer itself.

When The Hat told me about this, I selected a deep clean for just the black pigment cart. Before I had been selecting the deep clean for all the carts using the printers menu and consuming large amounts of ink. The first deep clean followed by a nozzle check showed the faint outline of the PGBK section. I repeated the same process and the nozzle check had improved greatly. After making a few copies of a document the pigmented ink started to flow again. I am now back to 100% normal.

If it wasn't for the knowledgeable members of this group I would never have resolved the problem by myself and certainly would not have learned so much. Next time I have a similar problem I will be more prepared.

Again, many thanks to you all.

Michael.