Help trying to solve blurry/double black text when only in the "Plain Paper" setting (using a photo paper setting comes out perfect)

[nadiayorc]

So this issue has been ongoing for quite a while, probably a couple years by now but didn't make any real effort to fix it until now as it's not a major issue for me. Have had the printer for at least 5 years (probably closer to 10) and got it mostly for photography printing which it still does perfectly, but printing things with text has issues unless using a photo paper setting which of course uses a lot more ink and is a lot slower. I'm honestly kind of surprised how long it's lasted as it's still perfect print quality for photographs.

Today I decided to properly clean out the printhead with isopropyl alcohol, making sure that it was properly cleaned out and that ink stopped seeping from the nozzle, it was still definitely worth doing as I hadn't done a proper printhead cleaning the entire time I've been using it but it didn't seem make any difference to the issue I'm having with blurry black text. I'm also pretty sure it's not the encoder strip, is it possible I may need to purchase a replacement printhead? They would be around £60 from here, but I wouldn't want to purchase one if it's not definitely the issue.

I've included a scan of the nozzle check page and also a comparison of the plain paper vs matte photo paper setting as attachments. The top text is using the plain paper setting and bottom text is using the matte photo paper setting, both printed on normal non-photo paper. As you can see the photo setting one looks fine, so it's some kind of issue with PGBK printing only.

 

[turbguy]

Your PGBK nozzle plate has either become distorted or worn badly (ink is "spitting" in two different directions instead of one). I've had the exact same issue with several Canon printers. PGBK ink is only used for black text and line drawings.

PDF documents tend not to use PGBK. You could try saving text as PDF files and print those. See if that helps with printing speed.

You will need to change the print head to overcome the issue.

 

[The Hat]

@nadiayorc, you have a problem with the print head and only a new head will fix the issue, head removal is a bit tricky in your model printer and I was wondering if it is worth spending the money on such an old printer..

Question:- Are you using OEM carts or compatibles..

 

[nadiayorc]

@nadiayorc, you have a problem with the print head and only a new head will fix the issue, head removal is a bit tricky in your model printer and I was wondering if it is worth spending the money on such an old printer..

Question:- Are you using OEM carts or compatibles..

I've been using 3rd party ink for pretty much the entire time using the printer as I just can't justify paying 6 times the price for genuine Canon ones. The print quality is the same in my experience but I do know that sometimes they can supposedly wear the parts quicker.

I guess I will have to just order a new genuine printhead. It seems to be working perfectly other than the PGBK issue. I already removed the printhead completely today to thoroughly clean it and reinstalled it so doing that won't be an issue.

This is the printhead I would be getting if I were to purchase one: https://www.crc-tasktron.co.uk/Item/qy6-0083-canon-print-head

 

[stratman]

Your issue is a warping or delamination of the Pigment Black ink nozzles in the print head as demonstrated by the elliptical bowed vertical lattice lines in the Pigment Black nozzle check. It is irreversible. A thought is that heat causes, or accelerates this issue.

Canon print heads heat up the ink before it is spit out onto the paper. The ink itself helps keep the print head from overheating.

It is thought that third party inks, the pigment black one in this case, may have inferior cooling properties compared with OEM and lead to this failure, at least quicker. Of course it could be a fateful failure regardless of what ink you used.

What are you using for Pigment Black? Please post a link to the web page.

There are two solutions.

• A new print head.
• Bypass the use of the pigment black ink altogether by using a photo paper setting rather than plain paper setting. This will force the use of only the Dye-based inks to make black. The text may look less crisp and will not be water resistant.

 

[nadiayorc]

Your issue is a warping or delamination of the Pigment Black ink nozzles in the print head as demonstrated by the elliptical bowed vertical lattice lines in the Pigment Black nozzle check. It is irreversible. A thought is that heat causes, or accelerates this issue.

Canon print heads heat up the ink before it is spit out onto the paper. The ink itself helps keep the print head from overheating.

It is thought that third party inks, the pigment black one in this case, may have inferior cooling properties compared with OEM and lead to this failure, at least quicker. Of course it could be a fateful failure regardless of what ink you used.

What are you using for Pigment Black? Please post a link to the web page.

There are two solutions.

• A new print head.
• Bypass the use of the pigment black ink altogether by using a photo paper setting rather than plain paper setting. This will force the use of only the Dye-based inks to make black. The text may look less crisp and will not be water resistant.

I've used countless types of 3rd party ink over the years, all of which looked just as good in terms of print quality as the other, all from various amazon listings or other websites, I probably used (https://www.stinkyinkshop.co.uk/products/multipack-of-compatible-high-capacity-canon-pgi-570-cli-571-ink-cartridges-stcli-571pk) for most of the life of the printer, so if anything that's what caused or accelerated the issue but recently within the last year I started using Amazon as it was a lot cheaper and is just as good print quality. The issue has been present for at least a couple years and I just didn't bother doing anything about it so it's definitely not the recent Amazon ink that did it.

The most recent and current ink that I'm using is from here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01EN4D0D2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm most likely gonna get a new (genuine Canon) printhead as it's not overly expensive, at least compared to a new printer, and I'm very happy with the photo prints and everything else about the printer currently. I will just bypass the PGBK for now until I decide to get order the printhead replacement.

 

[The Hat]

If you’re going to get the new head, then why don’t you use OEM black and the rest of the carts compatible, that way it would stop the same thing from happening again..

Only buy genuine Canon heads from Tasktron because the other ones you’ve seen on eBay are refurbished, and not reliable..

 

[stratman]

I've used countless types of 3rd party ink over the years, all of which looked just as good in terms of print quality as the other

Thanks for the links.

Someone here can probably suggest a better aftermarket ink cartridge, but, if you are satisfied with the output from those ink cartridges then keep on using it. Kind of like you should drink the wine you like and not the one the "expert" tells you. He's not drinking it for you.

Still, @The Hat makes a good point using an OEM Pigment Black cartridge if you want to safeguard yourself from another warping as best you can.

 

[turbguy]

As an additional way to reduce heating duty to your print head, select "Quite Mode" or "Night Mode" in the Canon driver, and always use it.

Printing will be slower, and the print head will cool itself faster. You can also increase the "Drying Time" in the driver to allow a pause between multiple page prints.

 

[Artur5]

I’ve experienced a number of Canon printheads electrical failures during the last 15-20 years. As I print 90% of the time text in plain paper, most of the problems concerned pigment black : part or all the lines in the nozzle check grid missing, None of them suffered from the ‘warping syndrome’.
For the record, I used always cheap third party ink from Arici Group and the ‘deceased’ printheads (maybe 10-12) were for Pixmas IP3000/4000/4500.
Possibly these older models are more resilient to warping ?.

IMHO this has little or nothing to do with the cooling properties of the ink itself. Maybe it’s the viscosity or something else, but the cooling properties of ink are due to water, which is a component of much more high specific heat than any other. All inks are composed at least of 70-80% of water so I don’t see how some of them would cool significantly better than others.