Help with Canon Pro9000 II - Clogged head or ink starvation issue?

[jondave]

That said if you have already tried a new OEM PC cartridge and the results are still the same then your print head is
definitely fried and no amount of cleaning will clear the problem.

Your should start and purge all of your cartridges again this time leaving out the cooking bit
while you wait for a new print head sorry..

No, my print head is not fried.

Coming off from an overnight soak, I just installed the print head, just shaking off the excess windex and kept the nozzles/receptors wet.

Installed my refilled carts and the brand new PC cartridge. Performed a normal cleaning cycle and printed a nozzle check pattern - the PC channel still showing banding BUT way less than the scans I provided earlier. C and M also showing banding - these weren't banding before.

I replaced the C and M carts with another refilled set I had, and performed a normal cleaning cycle again. Voila! Nozzle check was all good. Print head alignment print also came through with no problems.

DEFINITELY an ink starvation issue, right?

 

[mikling]

you were able to rewet the internal in the printhead. That is the issue.

 

[The Hat]

jondave No, my print head is not fried.

What I said in fact was IF a new OEM PC cart didnt cure your problem then the print head is fried.
If youre getting a good nozzle check from the photo cyan then thats great and I am glad my predictions were wrong, well done to you.

When you sure that everything is printing ok again then it would be a good time to reappraise
your refilling methods to prevent the same thing happening again..

 

[wcandrews@sccoast.net]

I am not well received on this forum and seldom look at it, but I do know something about refilling ink carts in general and the Canon 9000II in particular.

If you will email me, I'll try to help you.

Wil

 

[jondave]

What I said in fact was IF a new OEM PC cart didnt cure your problem then the print head is fried.
If youre getting a good nozzle check from the photo cyan then thats great and I am glad my predictions were wrong, well done to you.

When you sure that everything is printing ok again then it would be a good time to reappraise
your refilling methods to prevent the same thing happening again..

The OEM PC cart didn't cure my problem, I believe it was what mikling said about the print head internals being dry.

But you're correct about my refilling method being suspect and needs reappraising. I'm just a bit thrown off, as everything I've done in refilling I've picked up from here.

I've observed my carts to have both a sponge saturation issue AND a venting issue. Particularly on the venting issue, I've observed that when I uncover the fill port the reservoir takes in air and the ink level drastically falls down, indicating there's a vacuum. This would explain why my heads are getting starved. Has anyone experienced this as well?

 

[jondave]

Nifty-Stuff.com Pharmacist's cartridge flush/conditioning solution recipe:

-3 % propylene glycol (or 2 % glycerin)
-20 % isopropyl alcohol
-distilled water up to 100 %

This solution has been tested by several forum members already and they are very happy with it. It also enhances the absorption degree of ink into the sponge after flushing, especially with the difficult pigment based BCI-3eBK/PGI-5Bk cartridge.

Sorry, can anyone run by me how to mix this? The percentage totals got me off, does this recipe mean
- 3 drops of pure propylene glycol
- 20 drops of 100% isopropyl alcohol
- 87 drops of distilled water

to make a 100 drop solution?

 

[stratman]

does this recipe mean
- 3 drops of pure propylene glycol
- 20 drops of 100% isopropyl alcohol
- 87 drops of distilled water

to make a 100 drop solution?

No.

Using your scenario it would be 77 drops of distilled water. (3 + 20 + 77 = 100)

 

[The Hat]

jondave
But you're correct about my refilling method being suspect and needs reappraising.
I'm just a bit thrown off, as everything I've done in refilling I've picked up from here.

At a guess I would say most of your problems extend from the sponges inside your cartridges
being unable to absorb sufficient enough ink because of the way you dried them out, like gas mark 5.

It is best to have the sponges inside the cartridge slightly moist rather than completely dry when refilling
then ink absorbance is assured, Take Moss Peat for example
add a pint of water to moist peat in a bucket and the water will be completely socked up
but do this with dry Moss Peat and the peat will simply float away, resulting in 99% zero absorbency.

I've observed my carts to have both a sponge saturation issue AND a venting issue. Particularly on the venting issue,
I've observed that when I uncover the fill port the reservoir takes in air and the ink level drastically falls down,
indicating there's a vacuum. This would explain why my heads are getting starved. Has anyone experienced this as well?

The reservoir on the cartridge is meant to be sealed air tight at all times during operation but can be opened
for refilling purposes but only when you have the ink outlet port sealed, say with an orange clip.

Now if your ink level drops when you open the top of your cartridge that would suggest the air maze
on the topside of your cartridge is completely blocked or the top sponge inside the cartridge
have melted and sealed itself to the inside of the cartridge preventing proper air circulation from occurring.

This may mean having to get replacement cartridges for all those affected by this problem;
maybe a complete purge will solve the problem for you so test one out completely first.

 

[jondave]

No.

Using your scenario it would be 77 drops of distilled water. (3 + 20 + 77 = 100)

So after I flush it, do I dry off the sponge using the paper towel method? I mean, if I follow pharmacist's instruction to simply blow off as much fluid as you can, wouldn't the remaining fluid in the sponge dilute the ink too much? On the other hand, wouldn't drying it with the paper towel method overly dry the sponge again and bring you back to square 1?

 

[stratman]

jondave:

I suggest you blow then suck.

If you want, you can blow excess water out of the cartridge. Then use ghwellsjr paper towel method to wick away more moisture. Alternatively, you can just use ghwellsjr's method, though it may take more paper towels to get the same end result. The sponge will still be damp in the end. Then refill the cartridges. If color accuracy is paramount then you can flush the sponge with ink so as to keep dilution from residual water in the sponge to a minimum. Otherwise, within a couple/several refills the dilution effect from water left in the sponge will be resolved.