Faulty black printing on MP500... why?

[ziggy]

I have learned a lot from this site, thanks to everyone!

My 7-year-old Canon MP500 began to print faint or no black, and when tested it printed a distorted PGBK test pattern. I ran all the cleanings in the printer several times, no change, and even the entire PGBK test pattern sometimes disappeared. Colors were OK. Took out the print head (per forum instructions) did the soak & overnight dry (a LOT of dark ink came out), and re-installed head and carts. Now just the top half of the PGBK test pattern is printed as before, and there is little or no black in any printouts. Seems like every two lines of black are faint or missing. The colors were faint at first but are now getting better after several prints.

I had the PGBK5 and the 8 magenta refilled at Costco a while back. They seemed to work fine for about six months, but now I'm wondering if refilling there could have caused the problem. It would cost over $60 to have this printer looked at or repaired. Your thoughts? Thank you so much!

I have uploaded a photo of the nozzle tests but can't see a way to add it here.

 

[PeterBJ]

There is a 24 hour waiting period before new members can post links, so you cannot yet link to your uploaded picture.

From your description it looks like an electronic printhead failure, but a picture would certainly be helpful in diagnosing the printhead problem, so please try again tomorrow to post the nozzle check.

 

[ziggy]

Thank you! I will post the image tomorrow. I won't be sorry if its an electrical problem, as I probably need a new all-in-one after seven years anyway. Just would like to know what might have happened. And especially if refilling at Costco is problematic.

 

[ziggy]

Well, I have been a member for over 24 hrs, so looks like the waiting period is extended for adding the photo. When I try, I get the following message. I will keep trying, as I'd really like to know what the problem might be.

The following errors need to be corrected before the message can be posted:
We have been having a big problem with spam and have had to temporarilly limit what brand new members can post. To continue, please reduce the number of URLs or images in your post to 0.

 

[mrelmo]

i do not have a costco near me but i would be interested in how they refill the cartridges and which ink they are using, are you having OEM cartridges refilled or compatibles refilled, it almost sounds like the cartridge can not supply enough ink, so it may print 2 good lines then a couple light lines until it can get more ink from the reservior

 

[ziggy]

Still unable to post the image after uploading it, the forum won't allow.

Mrelmo I had Costco refill original Canon cartridges but I don't now how (it's a big machine) and I will find out what ink they use. Not sure what OEM stands for but I gather it means original carts from the printer manufacturer.

 

[jtoolman]

OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer

 

[fotofreek]

I had just read about Costco's refilling service. After seeing this thread I googled "costco inkjet refilling" and got lots of hits. Costco has a very informative web site devoted to this issue, and PCWorld did a review on their refill service. There is also a price list and a listing of the carts that they currently refill.

As a comparison, bci-6 and cli-8 cart Costco refills cost $7.99. Although it does represent a savings, refilling your own carts with the inks our participants have found to be good will cost about $1. the cost varies based on the size of ink containers you purchase at any given time. My printing volume is usually fairly low, so I buy either 2 or 4 oz. containers. Although there is savings in buying larger containers I am also attentive to the two year shelf life that is recommended.

 

[The Hat]

As far as I can tell the restriction on posting is 48 hours now and not 24 as previous stated,
the goal post have to keep on moving it seems.

Regarding the shelf life of inks some of my stuff is over five years old and I can see no issues with it so far,
I am not a skinflint but I am not about to dump a couple of litres of good ink without reason,
to hell with the Use by Date..

 

[ziggy]

Here is the image of the nozzle checks (see post #1 for what I did). What does it look like to you experts? I am considering the Canon MG5320 to replace this printer, assuming it's an electrical problem.