Is my print head dead? Canon i960

[danford1]

I have a Canon i960. From reviews of this printer and for as many happy people that have it, I can't find much help info on it :-(
A search only comes up with a few posts and tons of info on other printers, not the i960.
Sooooooo, I decided to start my own thread.

I have spent many days so far trying to get my printer to print again. I've been reading forum anywhere on the net I could find. Here the problem and what I've done.
The prints started to come out white light colored bands. A common problem I've seen before. No big deal. I usually just run a few clean cycles or deep clean cycles followed by a nozzle check and I'm good to go.
Not this Time!
The bands got worse, the prints took on a magenta hue so I removed the print head for a cleaning in 409 as I've done before in the past.
I let is soak on a paper towel pad in a dish with about 1" worth of 409 and some isopropyl alcohol for 2 hours. Then I rinsed the head and screens with water and flushed all the ink out. Then I let the head dry overnight on some paper towel. The next day I ran two deep cleans then a regular clean followed by a nozzle check. I was expecting a working printer again but what I got was even worse than I started. About the only color that worked was magenta. So, I figured the head still must be clogged. I let it soak overnight in 409, I flushed it, I blew air through the screens with an air compressor, I rinsed, I blew, I soaked, I rinsed I blew and let soak in water overnight again. I shook that out and dried off the outside contacts then put it in the printer.
I ran multiple deep cleans, cleans nozzle checks until the waste ink level was almost full warning popped up. So, back to the internet to investigate that.
I found a great site that showed step by step pictures how to take the waste ink pads out. I did that, I flushed the pads with hot water and got A LOT of ink out. I let them dry on a rack with a fan blowing on them for 24 hours. They were dry so I reassembled the printer (I'm very mechanically inclined so this wasn't an issue). I put in new compatible ink tanks thinking perhaps my old tanks developed a flow problem. I went through multiple deep cleans and normal cleans and nozzle checks to no avail. I get mainly magenta and some grey. The black letters next to the colored bars are only half there. It looks like the bottom half only.
Since I'm a new member I can't seem to post pictures. I have a scan of what my nozzle check looks like but can't upload it here.
It looks like crap though.
I think my print head is bad. I found some refurbished heads on Ebay from China but don't know if they are worth the gamble. I did find a used head on Ebay for $15 and bought that. I'm waiting for it to arrive but it will be a few more days.
The new ink carts I used are LD brands. Part number on one is LD-BCI6Y. Could they cause a problem? I mean I might have a good head but these new carts aren't working right ? I have no way of checking anything.
No, I didn't go out and buy new OEM Canon carts either. I want to get the printer working again with a clean head before I invest in them. I may just invest in a refilling kit so I can do it myself.
My first step is to determine if my print head is dead or alive.
Is there a check I can perform to tell?
Thanks
Danford1

 

[turbguy]

A VERY likely cause is a bad purge unit on your i960. Mine has "failed" repeatedly several times, and tends to exhibit your problem. The small tubes between the parking pad and the peristaltic pump can come dislodged really easily (one of the purge unit cams tends to rub up against one in service and pull it off it's nipple. Read:

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=7629

If you have not tested the purge unit for proper operation, you need to do so. It's not hard.

This testing requires flooding the "parking pad" (where the print head sits while idle) with Windex. You must be able to build up a pool of standing Windex atop the pad without it draining away after a minute, then let the printer go through a cleaning cycle, then observe if the pads appear dry afterwards (they should appear dry). Only a milliliter or two of Windex is required to flood the pad. If the pool still exists or the pads appear wet after cleaning, the purge system is clogged or blocked. If the windex pool drains away after a minute before you close the cover and permit a cleaning cycle, there is a leak in the purge system. One of the hoses is probably dislodged. If you managed to get to the waste pads, you can easily reach the purge unit. Sometimes you can see a pulled-off hose on the rear edge of the pad. There is also another coming from the bottom of the pad. Clogs in the purge unit for dye ink are rare.

Report what you find and post a nozzle test (or even better, a SERVICE test print if you know how to force one).

Wayne

 

[fotofreek]

You've brought up several issues. I'm not sure I can answer all of them.
1) banding can be caused by a printhead clog, an electrical problem, a poorly feeding cart, or other possible issues that other participants might fill us in on.
2) I don't know if anyone on the forum has used the LD carts. There are so many prefilled aftermarket carts on the market that it is difficult for us to recommend any of them unless there are positive results reported on the forum. We have always recommended using OEM Canon bci-6 carts and refilling them rather than getting involved with aftermarket carts. I imagine that there are non-OEM bci-6 carts out there that work OK, but I wouldn't use them for refilling. Did the problem start when you started using these carts? Might be the carts, and it might be coincidental. The shape of the ink outlet is no problem as long as the rim of the outlet makes a good seal with the black rubber (?) seals around each ink intake screen in the printhead.
3) 409? pretty strong stuff! I haven't seen that recommended for cleaning printheads. Original Windex with ammonia is about as strong a cleaner as I would use. Might add just a little bit more alcohol if it is really stubborn, but I'm reluctant to use anything like 409.
4) I don't think that cleaning the waste ink pads has anything to do with banding on prints. I commend you for tackling that messy job at any rate.
5) I know there are no more new i960 printheads on the market. I can't imagine what a vendor can do to "refurbish" a printhead. If it is a good, used printhead that has been carefully cleaned and stored, that may be OK. You can report back to us on how well it worked out. There are instances where a printer electrical malfunction cooks all or part of a printhead as well.
6) Where are you located? In the San Francisco Bay Area I occasionally see used i960 printers for very little money on Craigs List. I've also seen ip5000 printers on occasion, but both seemed to have dried up. I've bought an ip4200, new and in a factory sealed box, for $30 for a friend whose HP printer just died. Although it uses the cl-8 carts and is not the best Canon printer in that generation, my friend is absolutely delighted with it as compared to ther very low-end HP two-cart printer he had used for years. I picked up an ip4300 used for my preteen granddaughter and, with refilling carts for a bit over $1 apiece, she can print to her heart's content. I also bought another ip4300 for a backup for that one and an ip4500 that works perfectly and is a very good printer. All of these were used but worked as new. There are Canon Pro9000MkII printers on Craigs list, new and in the factory sealed box, that occasionally are listed at around $100. Large format and very large footprint, but very decent printers.
7) If you live in my area I can possibly put you in touch with a used, properly functioning i960 printer, but the hassle and cost of preparing it for shipping plus the shipping cost wouldn't be worth it.

Bottom line - If your printer is, in fact, at the end of its life I would try to find another one that uses either bci-6 or cli-8 carts, use only OEM carts, and invest in the little bit of equipment and knowledge to start refilling the carts. There is definitely a learning curve and an initial "all thumbs" feeling until you get the hang of it, but you will be happy in the long run. If you do this, be sure to use only inks that are recommended on this forum or another trusted source, and only use OEM carts. The exception is for some of the newest Canon printers with opaque carts where refillling is a bit more difficult and some aftermarket carts have been suggested. I'm not recommending these aftermarket carts as I haven't used them.

edited just a few minutes later: By the time I submitted this post Turboguy posted his about the purge unit. Excellent advice and another reason for banding that I failed to mention. Thanks, Turboguy.

 

[danford1]

Thanks for the info thus far.
I still have to top cover off the printer so looking at the parking pad area is easy. I filled it with 409 (what I have on hand) and let it sit for a few minutes. it did not leak out. I saw the small rubber tube coming out of the parking pad tray when I had the printer apart. It was hooked up and looked good. I didn't notice another tube running out of the side or back however, just the one tube coming out the bottom of the tray. I saw two small Short hoses coming off the pump housing which look like where the ink would come out of the pump and into the pads. (Yes, cleaning those pads was a mess but not hard to accomplish).
I watched the parking tray filled with solution as I ran the printer thru a head cleaning cycle. That tray swings down out of the way and when it does , it dumps off the puddle of cleaner. After the head cleaning cycle is done, the pad doesn't have a puddle anymore but I not sure if it got pumped out or dumped off when the pad retreats. Is there another way of testing the pump?
I can take the lower case off the printer again and i'm sure with all of my cleaning cycles and all of the cleaner I squirted in there, those ink pads are wet again... I'm thinking perhaps the pump isn't pumping correctly though. I took out the print head and applied water to that tray to see if it would pump out. I can hear what sounds like the pump running but the water on the tray did'nt look like it was being pumped out fast. If it was pumped, it was slow...
How long do I need to be a member before I can post pictures or videos? I have a scan of my nozzle check and i can easily make a video to post also if needed.
Another reason I think the pump isn't working, is i probably ran 30 or more deep cleaning cycles on this thing today and the level of ink HAS NOT dropped in my cartridges. All of the deep cleans should have emptied my cartridges by now... Can I buy a rebuild kit for the pump?
Danford1

PS I'm located in Michigan, not in CA.
PSS How do I print out a better test than the nozzle check? I tried printing pictures and they look awful.

 

[turbguy]

If you don't have Original Windex, use clean water instead. I would NOT use 409.

There is a second smaller black "rubber hose" that exits the rear of the parking pad. It's there and connects to a small valve assembly in the mechanisms to the rear of the pad. Look again. At least look for it's nipple on the pad. It's hard to see due to congestion.

If you remove the parking pad's surface from the rubber surround (it's a thin piece of porous ceramic) with tweezers or equal, you will see TWO drain holes in the surface below the pad. One goes to the nipple on the bottom (to the pump), and the other goes to a smaller nipple to the REAR edge of the surface. Feel free to wash the ceramic pad out if you wish. CAUTION! When you re-install it, ALL the rubber tabs on the surround MUST be properly atop the pad, else the rubber surround won't seal tightly to the bottom of the print head during cleaning.

After a cleaning cycle, the pad's surface should appear dry (but stained badly with ink if you cleaned to to it's near-white condition). During the cleaning cycle, you should actually see the puddle being sucked out of the pad through the drain holes.

Again, do you know how to force a service test print?


Start with the printer OFF and have a sheet of paper ready to feed. With the cover off, you may have to support it by hand

1. Hold down RESUME and then hold down POWER
2. release RESUME (while still holding down the POWER)
3. press and release RESUME twice, then release POWER
4. The green light will blink and the printer will make some noise. Wait until this is finished, you are now in the printer's diagnostic service mode.

Press and release the RESUME button once, the light turns orange
press and release the power button once.

A service test print will print. Post it.

Turn power off to leave the service mode. The printer will not print anything from the computer when in service mode. Upon the next power-up, the printer will eject a sheet of paper, which is normal.


Wayne

 

[turbguy]

You will need to wait at least 24 hours after your first post to enable posting images to this forum. You upload them to your area, then copy/paste a link to them in your forum posts.

The pump is actually very reliable. The black cylinder containing the "works" snaps together in halves with molded clips at the ends of the cyclinder. It's easy to get the first clip disengaged, but getting BOTH to disengage at the same time is somewhat of a game, but doable. Take it apart and pull out the internal rolling mechanism. Make sure the inlet ends of the two clear tubes are attached to the white inlet manifold. If even ONE tube is loose, the pump will not pull a vacuum. Make sure the manifold is not plugged or clogged. Clean up and re-assemble, assuring all the hoses are connected. Timing of the gearing is not critical.

I have found one of the two clear tubes had slipped off the inlet manifold once, which killed the pump operation. I suspect the rolling action of the peristaltic pump worked the tube end off over many revolutions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peristaltic_pump

Wayne

 

[turbguy]

By the way, I heat damp waste pads in a MicroWave oven to speed up the drying, also keeping a cup 'o water in the oven so I don't damage the magnetron tube if all the water in the pads steams off.

 

[The Hat]

danford1

The prints started to come out white light colored bands. A common problem I've seen before. No big deal.
I usually just run a few clean cycles or deep clean cycles followed by a nozzle check and I'm good to go.
Not this Time!

I am surprised that nobody has brought up your excessive use of the purge unit at all.

If you have poor print output than a normal cleaning cycle may clear the problem easily for you
and this can be checked by running a simple nozzle check.

If its a persistent problem then a deep clean may be need to unblock the affected nozzles and get it back working again for you,
however if it doesnt then excessive use of the deep cleaning will only waste ink and may even damage the purge unit itself.

When you first notice the poor print quality then you shouldnt print anything else other than nozzle checks till the problem
has been resolved and to keep the use of deep cleaning cycles to a maximum of two.

Usually when there is a problem with your output it is best to look to your cartridges first for a solution (Ink flow)
before pulling out you print head for any manual cleaning.

It would be also advisable to seek help as early as possible so as to avoid any quick fix solutions
that could damage the printer beyond repair..

 

[turbguy]

The Hat has a point. While the Purge Unit is durable, it is possible to overhear it's drive motor, or cause a tube to come loose. Additionally, some beleive all the nozzles fire during cleaning, which if true can overheat the printhead.

Wayne

 

[danford1]

Thanks for the info, again

I'll pull the bottom off the printer and check out the hoses and pumping unit. I'm familiar with peristaltic pumps so if I need to, I'll pull it apart and check the insides for damage.

Here is a scan of my nozzle check sheet. The picture may look like a bad scan, it isn't. The scan is good, the nozzle check is bad...

Thanks for telling how to print a test printout. Here is the results. It is scanned at 600 dpi. The scan is good, just the print out is bad.
I noticed the cyan color in the the test print. When I do nozzle checks, no cyan prints at all, yet there is some here.
Danford1