Canon Pixma mx870 print head unclogging

[turbguy]

I got my "new, original Canon" carts and stuck them in my print head, which I had soaked for almost a week in straight original Windex. Initial testing shows that black and magenta are a little streaky and maybe not as dark as they should be--I'm not sure. In the very first test, a tiny bit of cyan showed, but no yellow at all. In subsequent (two) tests, cyan is just barely visible--mainly only black and magenta are working, but not well. Could the missing colors be caused by air in nozzles or passages? I also did one nozzle clean after the first test and one deep clean after the second test.

Yes, the missing colors can be caused by air. The printers have a purge unit that pulls a small vacuum on the print head while in the parked position during cleaning cycles to pull ink through the passaeways to the nozzles. A poor seal top the print head from the rectangular gaskets will cause loss of prime. A clogged (or leaky) purge unit will loose all colors. Inspect the paking pads closely and see if the gasket is distorted.

Do you know how to test the purge unit for operation, by flooding the parking pad with a puddle of windex?

Wayne

 

[hmtalmid]

Thanks very much for your help! The gaskets of the print head cartridge male fittings look good. My printer is only 2-3 years old and not used much. Nor have I seen any signs of leakage from those fittings.

I do not know how to test the purge unit for operation by flooding the parking pad with Windex, but I'd love to know! What's a parking pad?