IP4500 printer head still clogged

[ROX]

Ive been reading this thread to try to unclog magenta...
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5097&p=1

Ive cleaned the head 2x by blowing windex through and letting it sit for 2 days to dry...still nothing the nozzle checks still look exactly the same. Is the head fried? Also I noticed that magenta is showing up as a shadow on blacks? This was an issue that already was there when magenta was clogged or clogging.

Here is my nozzle check

 

[ghwellsjr]

I see a bunch of black boxes around various parts of your nozzle check. What do they signify?

It's really hard to see what's going on with the magenta. Are there light streaks in the dark magenta? Are there any light streaks in the medium magenta? Is the light magenta printing at all? It's very difficult to see.

Did you print your nozzle check on white paper? It would really help.

 

[ROX]

I see a bunch of black boxes around various parts of your nozzle check. What do they signify?

It's really hard to see what's going on with the magenta. Are there light streaks in the dark magenta? Are there any light streaks in the medium magenta? Is the light magenta printing at all? It's very difficult to see.

Did you print your nozzle check on white paper? It would really help.

Hey ghwellsir! Glad you saw my post!

I'm sorry about the poor quality of the picture - i dont have a scanner and my camera doesnt pick the colors up very well. Also yes, its printed on white paper.

Yes, there are light streaks in the dark magenta and light streaks in the medium as well. The light magenta prints but very very faint, you can see it just enough to notice.

I put the black boxes around problem areas that i saw...particularly a little of the magenta bleeds around the sold black rectangular boxes next to the C M Y. It also seems to cast a red shadow.

Here is another picture that I exaggerated the colors so you can see them better. hope it helps

 

[ghwellsjr]

If your printer is like mine, the black blocks along the left side of the nozzle check are made in different ways:
The top one adjacent to the pigment black grid uses the pigment black ink.
The ones adjacent to the dye color inks use a combination of all three color dye inks--there is actually no black in them.
The bottom one adjacent to the dye black ink uses only the dye black ink.

So, when you see some magenta showing around some of the "black" boxes, just realize that there is actually no black ink there, it is just a combination of three colors, and the overlap is not perfect.

There really is nothing to be learned from the black blocks to the left of the individual nozzle check patterns.

All I can suggest regarding your attempt to clean the nozzles is to keep at it but don't let any of the nozzles be exposed to air for very long as they can dry out and make matters worse.

 

[ROX]

If your printer is like mine, the black blocks along the left side of the nozzle check are made in different ways:
The top one adjacent to the pigment black grid uses the pigment black ink.
The ones adjacent to the dye color inks use a combination of all three color dye inks--there is actually no black in them.
The bottom one adjacent to the dye black ink uses only the dye black ink.

So, when you see some magenta showing around some of the "black" boxes, just realize that there is actually no black ink there, it is just a combination of three colors, and the overlap is not perfect.

There really is nothing to be learned from the black blocks to the left of the individual nozzle check patterns.

All I can suggest regarding your attempt to clean the nozzles is to keep at it but don't let any of the nozzles be exposed to air for very long as they can dry out and make matters worse.

okay i'm going to try to clean it again this weekend. couple questions... after a blow windex through the ports, should i then follow it up with clean water or should windex be the last step before i let it dry for a couple days?

The magenta around the black is concerning i hope its related to the clogged nozzles. This printer is used for printing label for my clients and if its not up to par i'll have to get a new head.

also what are your thought on refurbished heads from canon? Ive seen a couple on ebay.

 

[ghwellsjr]

If you have allowed Windex to get all over the inside of the print head, and if you are blowing compressed air into the print head after applying Windex, then I would rinse the print head in flowing tap water, dry as best you can, then one final soak in distilled or de-ionized water, just to be on the safe side, before letting it dry for two days.

I don't know anything about refurbished print heads from Canon. If they are on eBay, I doubt that they would be from Canon. Of course, they are made by Canon, no one else could make a print head. They are probably just used print heads that have been tested and cleaned. I would hope they would be half the price of a new print head directly from Canon.

 

[jflan]

A few of thoughts :

I'm not in the "let it dry for a couple days" camp because I strive to keep the electrical contact area dry in the first place and don't want any drying of the printhead or intake ports to occur. If I thought that I had wetted the the electrical contact area, then yes, the head would have to dry thoroughly before installing or risk fatal damage to the head and/or printer.
I want to keep the head moist with ink, distilled water or cleaning solution 100% of the time if at all possible.

With a badly clogged head that has not responded to typical cleaning efforts, I have adapted syringes to fit snuggly over the intake ports (flex tubing) and carefully applied push/pull action with the syringe.
Keep the head (bottom plate area) submerged while you do this.

I'll do the following as a last resort:
Finally, I have used homemade (and commercial) cleaning cartridges in place of the clogged color cartridge.
The (Art Entlich) homebrew is 1 part Isopropyl Alcohol (90+%) and 2 parts Windex Original formula.
Run a cleaning cycle and then let it sit overnight.
You just might have a rescued printhead in the morning.

 

[leo8088]

Jflan, your post is right on the money. I can't believe why people want to let it dry for a couple of days. You actually want the print head constantly moist. Letting a print head to dry up for a couple of days is suicidal. It gives any remaining ink residue in the print head an opportunity to plug up the nozzles.

 

[wilko]

Like jflan I use home made cleaning cartridges but filled with heated water or whatever mixture you prefer. I have found that a heated (not boiling) solution often breaks down the dried ink.