Found a Canon MP620...

[zepat]

Hello there,
here I'm back again...
Found on the trash a beautiful Canon MP620.
Before making a big mistake (Printhead burn out etc...) I want to share with you (PeterBJ )
what you think about. Plugged in...Everything wwas working.

Cartridges are original Canon one and almost full.
I did print a noozle check.
Than I tried to copy... and you can see the text is not very sharp.
Some lines are almost not printed.
I decided to clean the printhead (mix of Ajax and Isopropyl Alcohol) showered it with hot water... Waiting it get dry...
What do you think about??
I tried the scanner...Working!!
The carriadge seems to be very dirty inside

I think I'm gonna clean itand also the Ink station .
I let you know about the results after trying the printhead and doing a Nozzle check.
Best regards and many thanks in advance.

 

[PeterBJ]

It looks to me like the printer has some clogged nozzles in pigment black, but no electronic damage to the print head or logic board, so with some luck in unclogging the print head you will have a fine printer

The most important thing to remember when unclogging Canon print heads is that water or cleaning fluid left where it does not belong, especially behind the ribbon cable and the circuit board can cause a short or a leakage current that can ruin not only the print head but also the logic board. The print head must be properly dried before reinstall.

Canon print heads rely on a steady ink flow to cool the nozzle heaters, without this cooling they risk burning out, so only print nozzle checks until the problem is solved.

For cleaning I recommend a window cleaner with ammonia or "Pharmacist's cleaning solution". Here is a gentle cleaning method that saved a salvaged Canon MP540 for me.

The problems with pigment black could be caused by the purge unit not working properly for pigment black, so I recommend to do this purge unit test by turbguy.

A service manual for the printer might be useful, you find it here. Sadly the server only works sporadically, so if the manual doesn't load, you will have to try again later. The server is online at this moment.

For an extended nozzle test and an EEPROM test print with the printer's history, you will need a canon service tool used with the printer in service mode. The procedure for entering the service mode and using the service tool is found in the service manual and also in the first post in this thread. The procedure is the same for the MP540 and the MP620. Even if the printer is wireless the service tools only work with a USB connection.

You find a download of Canon Service Tool v3400 here. The download contains two files, the service tool of around 400 kB and an unknown file around 10 MB. Delete the 10 MB file. Neither AVG internet Security nor Malwarebytes Antimalware found any threats in the download. Be very careful when searching for service manuals and service tools; there is a high risk of downloading something very unwanted.

Good luck with the unclogging and remember that one of the most important ingredients in print head cleaning is patience.

 

[zepat]

Thank You very much PeterBJ,
Patience is 80% of my life...
I keep you posted.
Best regards

 

[palombian]

Congrats with the discovery !

Dipping the head in a few mm's solution is less risky than shower it. Wait for a major overhaul until you know how old it is.

If you can get the printer running again, you will feel the irresistible need to refill !

 

[zepat]

Hello PeterBJ,
here's a new Nozzles check, after leaving the printhead in a Ajax Windows cleaner with a little bit of Isopropyl Alcohol 17 hours and washed and dried out (no water drops nowhere found before I plugged in again ;-)
It seems to be good or...?
Tell me what you think about.
Thanks in advance
Best regards

 

[Łukasz]

Hello,

MP620 (and other ink type PGI-X20/CLI-X21 printers) is supporting standalone service mode operations - computer with running Canon Service Tool may be omitted.

Before entering service mode, make sure both trays are loaded with plain paper.
After entering service mode, wait until power led (typically green) stops blinking.
When press "stop/cancel" button (reversed triangle in circle) 1x and then press power button once, and if nothing is going on, press power button again (there is no need to hurry). This will let printer to make "service test print".
If You get the "service test print", when do the same again but press "stop/cancel" button 2x instead 1x - this procedure would produce EEPROM print.

Good luck,
Ł.

 

[stratman]

Congratulations on your new treasure. Well done unclogging the Pigment Black nozzles! Looks like you are ready to print.

 

[barfl2]

zepat Congratulations this a great printer I own the same model and it produces a very good copy/scan/photograph.

Just keep eye on the PGBK output and do a regular nozzle check weekly recommended. Sometimes nozzles missing is down to the cartridge flow not being sufficient. Plenty of supplies available to refill and chip re-setter also available.

 

[PeterBJ]

Hello PeterBJ,
here's a new Nozzles check, after leaving the printhead in a Ajax Windows cleaner with a little bit of Isopropyl Alcohol 17 hours and washed and dried out (no water drops nowhere found before I plugged in again ;-)
It seems to be good or...?
Tell me what you think about.
Thanks in advance
Best regardsView attachment 1429

The pigment black pattern looks perfect now, but it looks to me like there is some cross contamination and some missing nozzles in the dye test stripes.

If you are lucky one or two nozzle cleanings from the driver's maintenance tab will clear out the cross contamination. The missing nozzles might be caused by air in the print head, hopefully the cleaning will re-prime the print head and make all nozzles work again.

I have experienced the same with a print head for a MP540 I had cleaned. Over a couple of days with only test printing the pattern improved and was almost perfect.

Some say that the nozzles are fired during a nozzle cleaning, so I think it is best to avoid using the extended nozzle cleaning, it stresses the print head more and dumps more ink in the absorbers. If necessary you can use two regular nozzle cleanings with a cooling pause of a couple of minutes between them.

The "Test Print" from service mode prints grid patterns for all colours, so this is better for checking the condition of the print head. The printed patterns are small, so good light and a magnifier might be a good help in studying the test patterns, if you have reached the "reading glasses age".

Hello,

MP620 (and other ink type PGI-X20/CLI-X21 printers) is supporting standalone service mode operations - computer with running Canon Service Tool may be omitted.

Before entering service mode, make sure both trays are loaded with plain paper.
After entering service mode, wait until power led (typically green) stops blinking.
When press "stop/cancel" button (reversed triangle in circle) 1x and then press power button once, and if nothing is going on, press power button again (there is no need to hurry). This will let printer to make "service test print".
If You get the "service test print", when do the same again but press "stop/cancel" button 2x instead 1x - this procedure would produce EEPROM print.

Good luck,
Ł.

No, the PGI-x20/CLI-x21 generation of printers need one of the the service tools for service mode operations. Your procedure works with the older BCI-3e/BCI-6 and PGI-5/CLI-8 generations of printers.

I tried your procedure on a Canon MP540 that is similar to the MP620. It uses the same print head and cartridges, but has fewer features. After having entered service mode the printer doesn't react to pressing the stop/resume button and as expected, pressing the on/of button turns off the printer.

 

[zepat]

Thank you all... folks!!
I'm gonna order some Ink to refill the Original Canon Carts.
Magenta and Black are at a kind of very low Level.
I don't want to burn the print head nozzles.
What do you think about this Ink Shop prices from Hamburg??
https://www.qraex.de/tintenshop/tintenstrahl_drucker_produkte/canon/MP/C-IPC2/MP 620?page=2
http://www.octoink.co.uk/ seems to be cheaper...
Does anybody knows about this ink mark?
Seems to be cheap too...

I fully trust you PeterBJ concerning the ink quality... concerning the EEPROM test print running with a Mac computer is a drag...The Russian site provide only pc software...
In any case I'm very thanks full to all of you.
I keep you posted asap.
p.s: I'm looking for a CANON MP520 conducting ribbon
(from the screen to the board)

ref.n°:AWM E41447-SHC 2896 VW-1
the screen is white...