Canon planned obsolesence?

[RWL]

Based on some bad personal experience, I'm getting the impression that within the last 4 or 5 years Canon has designed their print heads to last a relatively short time, after which that failure disables the entire machine. Did I just have bad luck, or are you guys getting limited usage out of your Canons now too?

I forget the model of the previous Canon I had, but it used cartridges identical to the CLI-8's, but without the chip. It printed well for years, and when that one died, it didn't owe me a thing. A little less than 4 years ago, I bought an MP610 all in one because that was one of the last models still in production that used the resettable CLI-8 cartridges, and the next generation of printers used cartridges that held less ink, IIRC. My BCI-8 cartridges had been refilled 8 times when I got the message along the lines of 'Print Head Not Recognized' or "Wrong Print Head', after which the machine wouldn't power up. No green light; nada.

I can find similar stories on the web on a variety of different models of Canon printers. Are those of you who are heavy printers seeing the same thing, or did I just have bad luck? I was considering a used ip4500 but I'm leery of getting something whose life expectancy is limited. I'm getting the impression that the Epsons may be replacing Canons as the printer of choice for longevity and refilling although they use more ink - apparently because of their cleaning cycle.

 

[ghwellsjr]

I don't think it is anything planned as I have had the same issue with the print heads in older Canon printers that don't have chips. I have had situations where a print head was working in one printer and just moving it to a different printer causes it to die but not because of the printer, other print heads continue to work in both printers. I have had print heads die during the time the printer was merely printing so it wasn't caused by handling. By die, I mean that a set of nozzles quit working but also I get the "cartridge not recongized message". Canon print heads tend to be delicate but I don't think Canon purposely planned it that way and I don't think it is a new problem.

You definitely want to have backup print heads whenever you buy a Canon printer.

 

[MP640]

Printhead problems will not always be caused by the printhead itself, especially with refilled cartridges. When refilling is not done properly and for example an airvent is blocked, ink starvation may cause damage to the printhead. When I loose one color completely, I always check the cartridge first.
Kinda like swapping you cars engine when you ran out of fuel...

 

[RWL]

There is a sudden and unexpected / unpredictable death of Canon printers reported on the net. I'm just not sure of the frequency. Those who have experienced it, including me, have noticed an error message, usually about the print head immediately prior to the failure. When we attempt to turn our printers back on, they act dead electrically. The green light in the on-off button won't light, and the computer doesn't recognize anything connected to it when the USB cable is unplugged and plugged back in. Because of the error message, I assumed it was a print head problem, but it could be something else. I was experiencing no deterioration in print quality prior to the final event. The fact that two of you heavy printers have not experienced the problem suggests it is not a volume or time related occurrence, but rather a random event; a printer that was in the bad tail of a bell shaped curve. (with the other tail of the curve being printers that lasted far longer than anyone would have anticipated.)

I had the printer's power supply out last night. [easy to remove, only held in by two plastic tabs] and was testing voltages between pins of the connector. I didn't record specific voltages or pin combinations, but I got one set at around 20V and another pair of pins that put out around 30V, so I don't think it was a failure of the power supply based on what others have written of their experiences. Removing the print head did not change its behavior.

Thanks to both of you for your experience with your printers.

 

[barfl2]

Printhead problems will not always be caused by the printhead itself, especially with refilled cartridges. When refilling is not done properly and for example an airvent is blocked, ink starvation may cause damage to the printhead. When I loose one color completely, I always check the cartridge first.
Kinda like swapping you cars engine when you ran out of fuel...

Quite right most of us have had problems by trying to beat the system and save money and the landfill. I am wondering whether the newer carts I am on CLi-521 series lend themselves to repeated re-filling. They seem flimsier softer plastic plus smaller capacity. Certainly I have had plenty of ink flow problems lately and yet rotate my carts frequently
and clean them.

The output is great but not for very long and if it continues to play up I may be tempted to try an Epson. The 880 Stylus I had lasted for years and then gave it to a friend.

 

[fotofreek]

RWL - Have you used only OEM carts? Refilled? Used aftermarket prefilled carts? Just curious as to the type of cartridges you've used in the printer that had printhead failure.

 

[RWL]

The [Epson] 880 Stylus I had lasted for years and then gave it to a friend.

How did the Epson compare to the Canon with regard to quality of printing and ease of refilling. Why did you keep the Canon & dispose of the Epson?

 

[RWL]

RWL - Have you used only OEM carts? Refilled? Used aftermarket prefilled carts? Just curious as to the type of cartridges you've used in the printer that had printhead failure.

Well, we're not sure if it was a true printhead failure or that was just the error message it threw off as it was dying. Nevertheless, these were all OEM cartridges refilled with the German durchstick method and Hobbicolors ink. I never developed the streaking or ink drying out that I had had with the previous printer that used the unchipped BCI-6 cartridges. As soon as the popup window said I was running low I refilled the cartridges. They never ran completely empty. The cartridges on the previous two Canon printers saw more "abuse" than this set did. My computer and peripherals are all on an Isobar power strip which I turn off when I'm not using the computer, so they're not continuously exposed to power line spikes.

 

[Big_Al]

RWL - Have you used only OEM carts? Refilled? Used aftermarket prefilled carts? Just curious as to the type of cartridges you've used in the printer that had printhead failure.

Well, we're not sure if it was a true printhead failure or that was just the error message it threw off as it was dying. Nevertheless, these were all OEM cartridges refilled with the German durchstick method and Hobbicolors ink. .

My computer and peripherals are all on an Isobar power strip which I turn off when I'm not using the computer, so they're not continuously exposed to power line spikes

.

Are you saying that you turn off the printer by way of the power strip? If that is the case, that is a no no for any printer. Turn the printer off with the on/off button on the printer.
Al

 

[RWL]

Are you saying that you turn off the printer by way of the power strip? If that is the case, that is a no no for any printer. Turn the printer off with the on/off button on the printer.
Al

No. I always did a normal shutdown with the printer's off and on button. When I shut down my computer for the day, I always turn off the power strip / surge suppressor. I guess that helps to preserve the components of the surge suppressor more than it does for anything connected to it when it's off. In summer it's one more impediment for a lightening strike to get around, admittedly not infallible.