iP4200 BK disappeared

[elenhil]

Only for PGBK.

 

[Artur5]

That makes sense. If you'd cleaned all colors several times in a row, it would be absurd that only the PGI black nozzles were damaged.

 

[stratman]

what should have been the proper procedure in this situation?

Asking here first!

It is dealer's choice. You could try a few more regular cleanings with an occasional deep cleaning. I have read either 1 or 2 deep cleanings in a 24 hour period MAXIMUM. Never print anything more than a nozzle check until resolved.

Flush with tap water until little or no ink leaches from the print head. Then soak in a bow' with water plus Dawn or Fairy liquid dish washing soap OR a little bit of Windex with Ammonium D original version to a fill just above the ink inlet screens. Never use hot water unless someone reputable says otherwise. Let the print head soak for at least 24 hours and longer if you can. Change the solution every 12 hours or so. You can crumble up a paper towel and place under print head, sometimes pushing the print head up and down every now and then to move solution through the nozzles.Patience is key. Flush again the soaking solution from the print head and then let dry until dry before reinserting it back into the printer.

Make sure you use either NEW cartridges or KNOWN working cartridges.

 

[elenhil]

Thanks a lot!

One more questions: is there some trick to trigger the photo mode (to print text with BK, bit PGBK) with anything lower than standard quality? To speed things up a bit.

 

[stratman]

Adjusting any of the following settings IF available for your printer may help increase print time and/or decrease ink usage: Draft mode, Intensity, Contrast, Brightness, the Colors themselves (adjust all equally lower, at least at first, and then fine tune to your liking).

You might also want to avoid Photo Paper settings like "Pro" or "Plus" as these may use more ink and take more time to print. Someone else will need to advise further on this topic.

 

[turbguy]

Fella's...this could also be due to a fault with the PGBK purge system...

 

[Artur5]

It’s a possibility but IMHO quite small. In fifteen or more years using Pixma printers I never had any problem with purge units and quite a few with electrical printhead failures.

@elenhil said that, after starting having clogs in the pigmented black nozzles ( as seen by the picture posted), he performed several deep cleanings of the PGBK channel, possibly in a short period of time. He also removed the printhead for soaking it.

Several deep cleanings in a row and not a trace of ink in the nozzle test = fried nozzles in the vast majority of cases. There’s no reason why the purge unit might be damaged by the cleanings. You never know, of course, but it would be rare.

 

[The Hat]

Fella's...this could also be due to a fault with the PGBK purge system...

Several deep cleanings in a row and not a trace of ink in the nozzle test

Several deep cleans in a row = possible damaged head, but no one asked him to test the purge unit yet , and that too is a possibility…

 

[elenhil]

How do I test the purge unit?

 

[stratman]

Fella's...this could also be due to a fault with the PGBK purge system...

How do I test the purge unit?

In honor of turbguy's important reminder to us all, here is turbguy's excellent post on checking your purge system:

https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/urgent-help-canon-ip4920.7972/page-4#post-66333

What the purge pads look like:
https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/why-does-the-ink-turn-dark.5495/#post-39723