I've been using these forums for a while now and I keep seeing ways to clean a clogged printhead. Most of them will work for a printhead that is lightly clogged. This method may destroy your printhead if you are not very careful! But it's a thorough way to see if the printhead is toast before you get ripped off by the resellers, who are charging a fortune for them and are typically selling "reconditioned" printheads (in other words a thrown away printhead soaked in cleaning solution) as new. There are no more new printheads for most of the older models since Canon no longer supplies them. There are many ways to lightly clean a printhead in these forums so I will skip them all and go right to the most thorough method.
This is for my MX850 but it can be used with any printhead that is constructed in the same way. Your objective here is to completely remove all ink and particles from the entire printhead.
You will need the following, although some can be substituted you will probably need all of them.
1. Printhead cleaning solution. NOT dish soap & water, NOT isopropyl alcohol, or anything else. The inks are formulated using the same extender as in the cleaning solution, so they are not 100% soluble in anything else. Available from any site that sells refill ink.
2. Jeweler's phillips head screwdriver. The tiny screwdriver with multiple heads, found at Lowe's and probably many hardware stores, works as well. The screws are VERY small and a regular screwdriver will strip the heads immediately if it even seats in them.
3. Small vise grip pliers, available at any hardware store. You may not need it if you can manage enough force to turn the screws with the screwdriver. You might be able to get away with a small pair of pliers.
3. Magnifying light or a bright light and magnifying glasses. Even if you have eagle eye vision you can't see the slots in the screw heads and it's easy to strip them and not know it.
4. Plastic pipette. They are very cheap on candle making and "aromatherapy" scent websites. There is no substitute for this. I see cleaning kits with plastic tubing on Ebay. The tubing is all too large for this method.
Procedure:
1. Do the usual soak in printhead cleaning solution. You don't need to do it for more than a few minutes if you've tried it before, all you are doing is cleaning out the loose ink. If you haven't, then use one of the usual cleaning procedures first. What many people don't tell you is that multiple deep cleaning procedures can fix many problems IF used with printhead cleaner soak between runs. If you refill they consume relatively little ink. Doing them one after another just wastes ink, you need to flush out what dried ink or sediment the cleaning loosens up.
2. Pat the head dry, turn it upside down and locate the two tiny screws on either side of the ceramic lower part (attached to the head by the ribbon).
3. Press down or clamp the printhead down as tightly as you can without distorting the plastic. Using the screwdriver, press down hard and try very carefully to unscrew them. Chances are they are in so tight that you won't be able to budge them. This is where the magnifying light comes into play, you need to watch the screw head and if the screwdriver slips a tiny bit STOP, or you will strip the head and never get it out. You may need to grab the screwdriver in the vise grip pliers and use them to turn it. They are screwed down tight for a reason.
4. Once the screws are out the bottom part will off, it will still be attached to the head by the ribbon.
5. From the top of the main head, use the pipette with gentle pressure on the screens to force the solution through the screens in the inkwells. Try not to push down on them, the black cartridge screen is particularly sensitive to bending.
5. On both the head and the bottom part you will see tiny ports that the ink flows through. Put the pipette gently on each hole on the bottom of the main head and squeeze solution through the hole. You'll see ink coming out the other side. Do the same from the top side of the bottom part. Keep doing this until the solution runs absolutely clear on both sides of both parts. You may need to do the screen cleaning again.
6. Reassemble and screw down TIGHT. If you look at the sides of the ceramic you will see tiny indents where the screw head snuggles into when completely tight. I don''t see the need to dry the printhead, the solution is basically unpigmented ink and your printer doesn't care. I suppose it can't hurt.
You may need to do a cleaning or deep cleaning cycle if the check pattern isn't perfect. If this doesn't solve the problem then your print head is deader than a doorknob and there's nothing else you can do to rescue it.
You're welcome
This is for my MX850 but it can be used with any printhead that is constructed in the same way. Your objective here is to completely remove all ink and particles from the entire printhead.
You will need the following, although some can be substituted you will probably need all of them.
1. Printhead cleaning solution. NOT dish soap & water, NOT isopropyl alcohol, or anything else. The inks are formulated using the same extender as in the cleaning solution, so they are not 100% soluble in anything else. Available from any site that sells refill ink.
2. Jeweler's phillips head screwdriver. The tiny screwdriver with multiple heads, found at Lowe's and probably many hardware stores, works as well. The screws are VERY small and a regular screwdriver will strip the heads immediately if it even seats in them.
3. Small vise grip pliers, available at any hardware store. You may not need it if you can manage enough force to turn the screws with the screwdriver. You might be able to get away with a small pair of pliers.
3. Magnifying light or a bright light and magnifying glasses. Even if you have eagle eye vision you can't see the slots in the screw heads and it's easy to strip them and not know it.
4. Plastic pipette. They are very cheap on candle making and "aromatherapy" scent websites. There is no substitute for this. I see cleaning kits with plastic tubing on Ebay. The tubing is all too large for this method.
Procedure:
1. Do the usual soak in printhead cleaning solution. You don't need to do it for more than a few minutes if you've tried it before, all you are doing is cleaning out the loose ink. If you haven't, then use one of the usual cleaning procedures first. What many people don't tell you is that multiple deep cleaning procedures can fix many problems IF used with printhead cleaner soak between runs. If you refill they consume relatively little ink. Doing them one after another just wastes ink, you need to flush out what dried ink or sediment the cleaning loosens up.
2. Pat the head dry, turn it upside down and locate the two tiny screws on either side of the ceramic lower part (attached to the head by the ribbon).
3. Press down or clamp the printhead down as tightly as you can without distorting the plastic. Using the screwdriver, press down hard and try very carefully to unscrew them. Chances are they are in so tight that you won't be able to budge them. This is where the magnifying light comes into play, you need to watch the screw head and if the screwdriver slips a tiny bit STOP, or you will strip the head and never get it out. You may need to grab the screwdriver in the vise grip pliers and use them to turn it. They are screwed down tight for a reason.
4. Once the screws are out the bottom part will off, it will still be attached to the head by the ribbon.
5. From the top of the main head, use the pipette with gentle pressure on the screens to force the solution through the screens in the inkwells. Try not to push down on them, the black cartridge screen is particularly sensitive to bending.
5. On both the head and the bottom part you will see tiny ports that the ink flows through. Put the pipette gently on each hole on the bottom of the main head and squeeze solution through the hole. You'll see ink coming out the other side. Do the same from the top side of the bottom part. Keep doing this until the solution runs absolutely clear on both sides of both parts. You may need to do the screen cleaning again.
6. Reassemble and screw down TIGHT. If you look at the sides of the ceramic you will see tiny indents where the screw head snuggles into when completely tight. I don''t see the need to dry the printhead, the solution is basically unpigmented ink and your printer doesn't care. I suppose it can't hurt.
You may need to do a cleaning or deep cleaning cycle if the check pattern isn't perfect. If this doesn't solve the problem then your print head is deader than a doorknob and there's nothing else you can do to rescue it.
You're welcome
