embguy:
I had downloaded that file before posting, and it does not have any information about the procedure to remove the exterior case. I do have a written instruction I found online, but would prefer to see a photo/description that points out where the various casing pieces join and in what rotation you should disassemble them. Thanks anyway for the information.
How is printing going with my profiles ? I found some interesting information concerning Lightroom: it cannot deal with profiles properly especially with older printer drivers like the Canon i9900. Even if you disable ICM inside the printerdriver it will actually enable it, causing double profiling and you will end up with severe colour casts. Try Photoshop or Qimage instead.
If it is the first time you'll receive the "waste ink full" message, you can actually reset the eeprom without any problem. The second time you will have to exchange the sponges at the bottom of the printer or your desk will be inundated with ink. Maybe this link will help you:
First, interesting comment about the double profiling in Lightroom with Lightroom not releasing ICM even though you have it un-checked and using stock Canon profiles. If you get a chance, would you send me the site where you read this information. I am really into Lightroom and am curious. I will search the Adobe Lightroom User to User forum for any information on this. If nothing there, I will post the question.
Regarding the profiles you sent me, since I was in a magenta cast problem already, they just intensified the problem by adding even more magenta cast. I did resolve the bulk of my problem with another solution as follows:
1. Printer: i9900
2. Ink: Hobbycolors UW8, OEM carts.
3. Paper: Canon Photo Paper Glossy - 98 ISO
4. Lightroom 2.3: SP1 profile, ICM turned off, Print type: None.
5. Monitor profiling with Spyder 2. I calibrate every two weeks.
6. 24" Samsung LCD monitor.
What I was trying to do was to match up the above elements to produce a correct color balance, but was getting a light magenta cast. Regardless of how I set the media type: Using Photo paper plus glossy, Glossy photo paper, or Other paper, I was still getting the same results. I could make small adjustments in the "Manual color adjustments" but still had the overriding magenta cast. By switching to Cosco Photo paper, which has a less brilliant ISO and slight green tint, actually brought me into a near perfect color balance with my monitor, again using the Canon SP1 profile and Photo Paper Plus Glossy media type. But Cosco only comes in 4x6 and 8.5x11 paper sizes. I also have Ilford Printasia 13x19 paper which also matches up perfectly to the Cosco paper, and is selling real cheap on the internet. So I now have all my paper sizes covered. Now, I have my monitor and printer in balance, getting great results without having to create a custom printer profile.
Regarding the "waste ink full" message, I am not near that situation yet, I am only preparing myself for when the time comes. I can get very"anal" about how things work and practicing preventive maintenance. What else is there to do when you are retired.
Thanks for all your suggestions and comments. Sincerely appreciated.
I disassembled and reassembled my i9900 case at the beginning of February. When I did that, I discovered the cause of my non-printing cyan: the pipe to the CMY priming pad had popped off. In hindsight, I could have diagnosed that this was the problem from the slight popping sound when that group was cleaned. I took the opportunity to wash all the sponges and clean up the printer.
Disassembly of the i9900 is tedious, not hard. There are more screws than you might suspect, and sometimes you have to pop something loose, but before you apply force, verify that there are no screws that you haven't loosened.
I could not find a disassembly guide for the i9900. However, Canon makes many of their printers alike so that the tricks and parts they use in one printer are the same as those in another. I found the disassembly guide for the ip4000 to provide enough clues to get the job done: http://www.druckerchannel.de/artikel_druckansicht.php?ID=1831&ps6=1&print=Drucken
One word of caution, there is a ribbon cable and a ground cable on the right hand side connecting to the right front panel. As you lift the cover, be very careful about the attached cables. It's easy to break the ground cable or worse.
At the same time, I also got the i9900 service manual. There is are amazingly useful tables in Part 2: 3. PRINT MODE that tell you exactly what happens with different combinations of media type (e.g. plain paper vs photo paper vs transparency) and quality settings. Hold on to you hat. Depending upon the settings, the i9900 does uindirectional or bidirectional printing, uses 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 or 8 colors, at resolutons of 600x1200 to 4800x2400 in 1, 2, 3, 4, or 8 passes, borderless or with border! Boy did that single table explain a lot of mysteries. Why wasn't it in the user manual?
The table is fantastic. Did you know that specifying "Other photo paper" means you are printing with only 6 colors (CMYK-PC-PM) and on Red or Green? Or that printing on Matte Photo Paper high quality you are using only 7 colors (no Green)? Plain paper standard mode is only using 4 colors. If you're using nonCanon papers and/or inks, the Service manual is absolutely essential just for this table alone.
Of course the other advantage to the Service Manual is that it tells you how to print out the service mode diagnostic prints and dump the eeproms (it appears to me that your printer has one eeprom and your print head has its own eeprom with its own serial number).
My work with the i9900 convinced me that the printer is pretty simple to maintain (think VW bug) and that it is likely to remain a CIS cult machine for a long time. The printhead in the i9900 is shared with the Pro9900 and other Canon printers so it is apt to be available for many more years. I've been using MediaStree inks in a MediaStreet CIS system in mine for about 4 years. I've had the usual need to clean clogs and required new print head every couple of years. In return, I've had the freedom to print big and often to get the perfect print because the ink cost was low.
I posted some i9900 disassembly photos showing many of the release points on the i9900. These are not all of the release points. For example, there are two release slots marked with triangles in the dark chocolate plastic on the top at the back. One of these is on the left side of the carriage and the other mirrors it on the right. Look over the whole of the printer for these triangles and slots. They mark release points. The pictures can be found at http://www.cachescientific.com/WebGalleries/i9900/photos/.
It's a slideshow. Be sure to notice the arrows at the bottom of the screen.
I have been watching this post for several days. I have also communicated personally with some of the individuals and they know that I have created very technical and detailed Repair Manuals for Canon Printers such as the i9900, i9950. This manual and the CD it comes on is all you will ever need to do any possible repair to your printers.
If you use inadequate instructions and end up doing more damage to your printer you only have yourself to blame. If you are really interested in getting it fixed, just send me an email,... and no I do not do this for free.