Don’t know when to run a Nozzle print !

[The Hat]

A nozzle check is the best known way to use all of the nozzles at once in your print head, (Every colour) so you can tell at a glance if you your heads are clean and clear and ready for use plus it’s the only sure way to run a test print without damaging the print head in any way.

It is also a good idea to run a nozzle check before you decide to print anything first, it’s only one sheet and if you keep the sheet it can be used to print again on the other side at a later date, it works out cheaper than blindly wasting a glossy photo sheet and may even save the print head from overheating if there is a problem !

It’s up to every individual owner as to when they should run a nozzle check, but I reckon at least once a week should be sufficient in most cases, more if you think it wiser or longer if you use your printer regularly.

To keep an accrete record of when you ran your last nozzle print you can also print a Windows Printer test page immediately afterwards, it has the date and time on it and you can also add comments to it if you like, and you can print on the back of that sheet also. (Paper save)

Please remember that 95% of all poor output (Clogs) are not in fact clogs at all but are usually down to a cartridge which has failed to deliver sufficient ink to the print head, (Ink starvation) that’s the place you should look to solve most poor output problems first. (Cartridges)

If you’re uncertain you can run a normal head clean followed by a nozzle print, that is usually enough to clean any little clogs that may have built up since its last use, let the printer do its own cleaning and maintenance and only at a very last resort should you ever remove and clean the print head yourself..

 

[jtoolman]

Absolutely 100% sound advice.
If only everyone did this you would see a lot less questions about clogging problems in these forums.

But then again it would be mighty boring

 

[Łukasz]

It is also a good idea to run a nozzle check before you decide to print anything first

This is very good practice. Especially if someone is using cheap 3rd party inks.

(...) it’s only one sheet and if you keep the sheet it can be used to print again on the other side at a later date, it works out cheaper than blindly wasting a glossy photo sheet and may even save the print head from overheating if there is a problem !

To those, who are so greedy to lost entire A4 sheet to run nozzle check, there is a tip:

For most cheaper Pixma printers, nozzle check would fit on A5 size sheet (some of Pixmas allow to accommodate 2 nozzle checks on each side of A5 size), feeding from cassette (default plain paper tray).

Two A5 size prints. First is from MG6250 (QY6-0078 printhead), second is from MG5150 (QY6-0073 printhead). There are some notes - includes date/time, general condition and presence of auto cleaning cycle.

And yes, there is relation between running nozzle check and auto cleaning. In simplest words, running nozzle check first reduces auto cleaning probability. This is probably because nozzle check utilizes all possible nozzles, so all sub-printheads are marked as "lately used" and literally do not need to be cleaned.

 

[paulcroft]

>> A nozzle check is the best known way to use all of the nozzles at once in your print head, (Every colour) so you can tell at a glance if you your heads are clean and clear and ready for use plus it’s the only sure way to run a test print without damaging the print head in any way. <<

True. I run a nozzle check at least weekly and that is how I found out on Monday that the Photo Cyan on my Pro9000 Mk2 was u/s. I bought the printhead (my third for this printer) on 1st March this year so it has lasted just over four months and I am hugely disappointed. When the last printhead died I thought long and hard about whether to get a new printhead (c.£100) or whether to buy a Pro-100. This time, after trying two other cartridges and then an overnight soak in windex to no avail, I have now joined the legions of other Pro-100 owners.

Here in the UK we do not have access to some of the astonishing deals available in the US and we are very jealous and, now that I have mine, I am even more jealous because not only do we pay a lot more over here but there weren't even any sample photo papers in the box :-(

 

[Łukasz]

Hello again,

it is a simple way to run a Nozzle print by using "stop/resume" button:

In simplest words:
- make sure printer is on and ready (power LED isn't blinking)
- press "stop/resume" button until power LED blink twice
- release "stop/resume" button

Many older (and probably newer) Canon Pixma printers can do that (in some models it is accessed only via LCD).
Example printer is iP4950 (iP4900 series PGI-X25/CLI-X26 ink type generation printer).

Thanks to PeterBJ instructions.

Ł.

 

[PeterBJ]

This method of making nozzle checks also works with older printers of the BCI-3e/6 and the PGI-5/CLI-8 generations like for instance Pixma 4000 and Pixma 5200.

It is a handy way of making nozzle checks for maintenance printing without having to connect the printer to a computer, if you have a collection of several printers but only use one for daily printing.

Nice animated gif showing the procedure.

 

[trashguy9]

Hey thanks it works by counting the white flashes! I must have gotten lucky the one time it did work for me the other day. Thanks again!

 

[Łukasz]

@trashguy9

Good to hear that this method is working with PRO-100.

I found some models not supporting this method, for instance iP1900 and similar, simplest printers.
It is related to complexity of firmware I guess.
One of the factor of complexity of Pixma printer is USB printing support, front USB connector capable of PictBridge printing.
If front USB connector is missing, chance to run nozzle print by holding "stop/resume" button is marginal.

Ł.

 

[Łukasz]

I would like to put some pictures of selective/intentionally disabled colors on nozzle print.
QY6-0080 printhead, PGBK and CMYK dye-based inks, so it is quite popular setup, very similar to older QY6-0067/QY6-0075 printhead or newer QY6-0082/QY6-0086 printhead.

1. Selective disabled PGBK and CLI-BK (both by masking certain pins on connector and using neutral liquid filled ink tanks):

2. Selective disabled all but CLI-BK (neutral filled ink tanks and sealed contacts):

Please note, that:

• phrase "PGBK" is made only with PGBK ink
  
• letters for dye inks are made with all inks except dye-black (and except PGBK)
• dye-black is present in all dye-based vertical blocks (this is probably not valid for older CMYK+PK printheads)

Ł.

 

[Emulator]

Works on my Pro9000 II. A very useful short cut.