Canon Pixma ip4300 won't print text and won't print the pgbk test pattern

[Genki]

Hello,

My printing has been looking more and more washed out. Not really deep black on the text and any colors look pale also. I now notice that the ink level of the PGBK has not decreased despite printing for a good bit. I suspect it has been not really working well for a while but still able to print text.

Yesterday the printer failed to print text from various files, pdf, wordpad, note pad etc.

I soaked the print head over night in distilled water and soaked the inlet holes as well.

After drying I reinstalled and tried to print with no luck.

I tried normal cleaning then test patterns 4 times. C M Y and BK printed but there was no test pattern for PGBK.

I tried deep cleaning PBGK a couple of times, no luck.

The ink levels in the PGBK tank decreased during the tests as did all the other tanks.

The "white tissue" test show deep black ink in a square pattern and a long line pattern next to the square one, so it seems ink is getting through.

The PGBK tank is 3rd party as are all the tanks on the printer. There is no manufacturer name on the cartridge but it is labeled C005 B and states that it is for Canon Pixma ip4200. ip4300 is not listed.

The red light is not lit for the PGBK when installed (also it is not lit for the C but that still prints.)

The test program recognizes the PGBK tank and shows that it is partially empty now but showed that it was full when I started the cleaning.

 

[stratman]

The Pigment Black ink (PGBK) is missing in your nozzle check, which should look like this:

Since you say the ink level in the PGBK cartridge decreases since you've run cleaning cycles, then your purge unit is probably working.

You seemed to say the PGBK problem occurred all of a sudden, not a gradual loss of ink such as you would see increasingly more streaks of missing ink over time.

The Missing PGBK in your nozzle check may be due to ink starvation, ie lack of ink flow out of the cartridge during printing. A new cartridge should fix that issue. If you refill then a flush of the cartridge may resolve as well.

The problem could be due to an electric malfunction within the print head or the printer's logic board assay. This would be either costly or extremely difficult to repair since your printer has been out of manufacture a long time and new old stock, or even reliable used parts, may be hard to come by. There are print heads sold out of China but they may be refurbished and repackaged to look like new. There is a high failure rate with these Chinese sold print heads.

Since the Dye-based ink cartridges all appear to be working, you could select most any other paper setting other than Plain Paper and the printer will bypass Pigment Ink use and treat whatever is being printed as though an image and not text. For instance, selecting Matte paper will force the use of the Dye-based ink for text. The downside to this is potentially less sharp text, not as black, and will not he water/highlighter resistant to smearing. But, you will get more life out of your printer. Printing images will be unchaged, though you will still need to set the appropriate paper setting.

Or, you could try your luck on the Chinese print head wheel of fortune.

 

[Genki]

Thank you for your reply

I have noticed that there have been little bits of letters or text missing or not printing for a while now. But yesterday it was just nothing.
It's worth trying a new cartridge to see if that fixes it.

I did not know about changing the paper setting. That is a good option.

Is the PGBK the only ink that is normally used during text only printing?
I normally only print text but I've noticed that my other colors decrease in quantity but the PGBK has not.

 

[stratman]

Since Canon inkjets use ink to cool the heated nozzles during print head (as well as use ink to print!), lack of PGBK ink when attempting to print text may cause overheating and eventual burned nozzles. Do not use the printer for Plain Paper text until the issue is resolved. Only print nozzle checks, which are not destructive, until the PGBK issue is resolved. Of course, you can use the Dye-based workaround as discussed above for text printing.

The following are the usage patterns for the cartridges of your printer that I gleaned from the manual of my MP830:

PGI-5 Pigment Black Ink is used ONLY For:
- Plain Paper Text (monochrome and grey scale)
- Envelopes
- Transparencies
- Duplex Printing On Plain Paper
- Camera Direct Printing on Plain Paper

CLI-8 Dye-Based Color Inks are used anytime color is printed and is used exclusively for:
- All Photo Paper types (including when Duplex printing)
- High Resolution Paper
- T-shirt Transfers
- CD-R's
- All Borderless Printing, on both PhotoPaper and Plain Paper

An example of mixed PGBK and Dye-based ink usage is printing out a web page that has both text and images when Plain Paper is selected.

Even though you may only print text, Canon printers will do maintenance on the print head which includes purging ink from all the cartridges on a scheduled timed cycled. The reason is to maintain proper functioning of the print head, particularly prevent clogging. The effect is gradual use of ink whether you use the printer or not over time.

 

[Genki]

Well it seems like something is amiss with the printer head. I bought a new, albeit after market, PGBK cartridge but it still fails to print the test pattern and won't print text on plain paper. I tried changing the paper type and I can get the color dyes to print text that way. So I guess I can nurse the old girl on for a bit longer.

To confirm an earlier question you had, yes the text only printing seemed to fail suddenly overnight, which also leads me to believe it is an electrical or printer problem rather than ink cartridge.

Thanks for the helpful replies.

 

[stratman]

Two things to check. You have nothing to lose at this point and all to gain.

1) Test the purge pump. If this is not working then a clog can form.

Use a syringe/needle, soda straw, long eye dropper or some other implement FLOOD water on top of the purge pads. Water should POOL on top of the 2 pads. It takes more than a couple of drops to FLOOD the purge pads. The purge pads are located to the extreme right as you look into the inside of the printer. When the printer is idle or powered off, the print head rests above the purge pads. Open the lid and you will see the print head come to and stop in the middle, like when you change cartridges. Now use a flashlight to see the pads to the right. FLOOD the purge pads making sure you see a pool of water above them then close the lid and perform a simple cleaning. Open the lid and look to see if the water is now gone (the pads may even look a little less blackish). Report if you are unable to FLOOD the pads, if the POOLED water doesn't go away. Report your experience - if it worked as expected or not.

2) Flush and soak the print head to see if this is a clog. I use a warm water flush using tap water. Then I fill a non-reactive, non-metal bowl with water and some Dawn or Fairy liquid dish detergent as if I were to wash dishes. Place a wad of paper towel in the bottom of the bowl. place the flushed print head, nozzle side down, on top of the paper towels. The fluid level should be above the ink inlet ports on the print head. You can push the print head up and down on the paper towels / fluid to help drive solution into the print head. Let soak for 12-24 hours. Change the solution if dirty. Flush with water thoroughly, gently towel dry and let dry in warm place for a day to make sure no solution is on the circuit board or contacts. Put back in the printer and try a nozzle check. Report results.

 

[Genki]

Proceeding on item 1). I see two small foam pads, one square, the other rectangular. They seem to fit the shape of the nozzles on the underside of the print head. These must be the purge pads. So once I flood these, should I do a simple clean of ALL nozzles or just the problem PGBK one?

Any suggestions for keeping the ink from drying out in the discharge holes of the ink cartridges while I do the cleaning? I only just realized the value of keeping those orange covers that come with the cartridges. I tried scotch tape but it does not stick well.

 

[stratman]

So once I flood these, should I do a simple clean of ALL nozzles or just the problem PGBK one?

No. This is only to test the function of the purge system. Just report your results as mentioned in my post.

I tries scotch tape but it does not stick well.

You could try plastic wrap, plus or minus rubber bands, like you use in the kitchen. If you do not cover the ink outlet port on the cartridge, a gentle squeeze of the cartridge to cause a drip or two of ink will moisten the sponge.

value of keeping those orange covers that come with the cartridges

Agree. Those that top refill are required to use them or else ink leaks out during the refilling process. The rest of us may only need them in rare occassions or when you use more than one set of refill cartridges.

 

[Genki]

No. This is only to test the function of the purge system. Just report your results as mentioned in my post.

I flood BOTH pads correct?
I'm confused by what you mean by "do a simple cleaning after closing the printer doors." Does that mean to do the cleaning routine found in the maintenance tab of the Devices and Printers? (see upload photo) If so, do I do it for all nozzles or just the PGBK?



When you say that I have nothing to lose at this point, do you mean that I stand a chance of the printer not functioning at all after doing this? I'm fine with taking that chance, I just want to know the risks.

 

[stratman]

Does that mean to do the cleaning routine found in the maintenance tab of the Devices and Printers? (see upload photo) If so, do I do it for all nozzles or just the PGBK?

Yes, a regular cleaning cycle of the PGBK only if you'd like. Or both. It is up to you. I don't run a cleaning when I flood the purge pads, but this is the forum wisdom and so you got it.

When you say that I have nothing to lose at this point, do you mean that I stand a chance of the printer not functioning at all after doing this?

The PGBK is not printing on a nozzle check with a new cartridge. This is your nothing to lose. It's already malfunctioned. My suggestions are Hail Mary's, in American Football parlance.