IX6850 clogged pigment black

[floK]

Hi all, I have the same problem that was discussed here: https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/mp560-pigment-head-clogged.6136/ and tried all the recommended methods to unclog the printhead - even disassembling it once and flushing under the tap (fortunately, without damaging it) - but no results. All the dye inks are printing well, only the pigment black is totally missing.
Now, I would like to check the purge system - as I've seen that many of you had advised - but... I don't know how/where to find it on my printer model and I also couldn't find the service manual on the net.
So, could you help me with some instructions and photos (maybe from a similarly constructed printer) of how to access this system and repair it, if needed?

 

[stratman]

Weren't the instructions for checking the purge system was in the link you posted? I just skimmed it and forgot about my Missing Ink Club.

In my post #9 of that thread, my point #2 in the Rules Of Missing Ink Club was never open the print head unless you are prepared to throw it away. Since you have, we may never know if you cause some permanent malfunction or not. Still, we'll push on.

When the printer is not in use the print head typically parks itself all the way to the right side as you look into the printer from the front of the printer. In this parked position are the purge pads that collect ink and sucked away to inside the printer to the diaper pads that hold onto the purged ink.

The print head moves horizontally along the metal or plastic rod that stretches across the inside of the printer during a print job. The print head will also move left when you turn the printer on and lift open the cover to look inside as if you were going to replace an empty cartridge. The print head will eventually reposition itself in the parked position ready to perform a print job within a set period of time (a couple to several minutes).

To see the purge pads and test the purge system, turn on the printer and open the cover. When the print head has moved to the center then pull the plug from the electrical outlet. The print head will of course stay in the middle until you plug the printer back in and turn on.

Look all the way to the right wher the printer parks. Use a flashlight. There will be two rectangular blackened porous pads. See the following link for images and useful information: http://cityinfrastructure.com/singl...6A00<br />Printer Repair&d=CanonPrinterRepair Picture 7 of 112 shows the two purge pads for that model printer - one for the Pigment Black ink and the other for all the Dye-based Ink colors. Yours will be similar.

To test the purge system, use a needle and syringe, a straw, a turkey baster, whatever, to drip water, or Isopropyl alcohol or Windex such that it floods and pools on top of the purge pads. If the fluid does not pool then that is a problem. Next, close the printer cover, plug back on the printer and turn on the power if need be. The printer goes through a little maintenance and when completed, open the cover again and see if the fluid is gone. The purge pads may be less blackened. If the fluid is still pooled then this is a problem.

FYI - some people will run a simple cartridge cleaning before opening the cover again. I have not found that necessary but YMMV.

Post your results in this thread.

 

[floK]

Thank you @stratman!
I finally found the purge pads - as shown, step by step, in the attached pictures - but there are very hard to access because they are hidden beneath a wide part of the casing and away (about 12 cm) from the opening that the print head reveals when it moves to the left. Also, that opening is only 2.5 cm wide, so it seems impossible to work inside with some tools and, the same time, to see what you're doing....
But I'll try next days to find and buy a thin and long dropper and also a thin and long tweezer, maybe I'll be able to do the test as you taught me and, if needed, to remove, wash and put back the pads.
On the other hand, I am a little worried about the other issues I have noticed on this occasion - I mean the drops of inks that are around the pads, especially the large one of magenta. Probably these are related to the problem I have mentioned here: https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/refillable-cartridges-lose-ink.12001/
but now I wonder if this, besides the waste of ink, could also damage my printer?!

 

[stratman]

Well done with the images.

buy a thin and long dropper and also a thin and long tweezer

A simple soda straw or needle and syringe should work for flooding the purge pads. No need to remove them at this point.

drops of inks that are around the pads, especially the large one of magenta. Probably these are related to the problem I have mentioned here: https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/refillable-cartridges-lose-ink.12001/
but now I wonder if this, besides the waste of ink, could also damage my printer?!

Loss of ink may be due to a poor seal of the ink refill hole. It also could be due to overfilling the cartridge with ink and it leaks out until pressure inside the cartridge is equilibrated.

Leaked ink can cross-contaminate another cartridge in the print head causing color shifts in your printed image. You will need to determine the reason why, correct it and flush and refill the contaminated cartridges.

Leaked ink can also cause unwanted ink to drip or smear on the paper as the image is printed.

Leaked ink can dirty the plastic timing strip that runs parallel and behind the print head as printing occurs. this can cause a variety of issues that are resolved by carefully cleaning the timing strip.

There are probably some other issues, including potential short circuiting of electronics or obscuring of sensors.

Also, leaked ink is messy and not fun to clean and may eventually get outside the printer.

So, starting with the Magenta cartridge, make sure there are no leaks and that the refill plugs securely blocks the hole. If this is an issue that you cannot readily figure out why your ink levels drop quicker than expected or leaking still occurs, then I advise obtaining new cartridges for refilling, preferably OEM Canon if there is a chip resetter or ARC chips available.

If the Pigment Black is still missing despite trying a new or known working cartridge, and you have tried soaking the print head in liquid dish washing soap such as Dawn or Fairy for at least 24 hours, or it is a suspected purge system issue where maybe the hose has been disconnected and you want to try reattaching it, then consider getting a new printer, especially if sharp text that is also water resistant is desired.

 

[floK]

Hi @stratman, sorry for the delayed response but just this evening I had some time to do the test.

Well, in the first part everything was ok, I managed to drop some distilled water on the purge pad for pigment black and it pooled there for 2 or 3 minutes, until I decided to re-plug the printer and turn it on.

But in the second part, after I let the printer to complete its initialization/maintenance process and, then, reopened the cover, I found that the water is still there...

So it seems that it could be a malfunction of the purge system, although I do not understand how this could happen as the printer is not very old (a year and a half), it was not used very intensively (probably less than 1000 of pages) and the inks were only of good quality (OctoInkjet).

Indeed, I have had a lot of problems with the chinese - although bought from OctoInkjet, too (meanwhile Martin found up these issues and changed the supplier) - rechargeable cartridges and their "habit" of draining in a mysterious way. It happened two times to find the pigment black cartridge almost dry and to have to do several deep cleaning cycles, the first time I managed to make it work well, but the second time it only worked that day, for 3-4 pages, and the next morning was... kaput. Since then I have not more been able to start it.

However, I wonder if the test could not be done correctly because the pigment black cartridge is empty (red light blinking)*. Maybe the printer software doesn't allow the purge in this case?

(*) The reason for this is that the refillable cartridge I have is no more recognized by the printer, don't know why, so I installed back the "starter" pigment cartridge that came with the printer, in order to be able to use at least the dye cartridges - only in "photo" mode, of course. I hope this week will arrive the new refill kit that I ordered from OctoInkjet - this time with OEM cartridges - and I'll do the test again).

 

[stratman]

I managed to drop some distilled water on the purge pad for pigment black and it pooled there for 2 or 3 minutes

Did you test both purge pads? Please do and report results.

I found that the water is still there...

The tubing of the peristaltic purge pump may be clogged. This may require dismantling the printer to clean out the tubes. In the meantime, one thing to try is to carefully take out the purge pads and flush them with water to clean them and then retest. Long tweezers would be helpful!

I wonder if the test could not be done correctly because the pigment black cartridge is empty (red light blinking)*. Maybe the printer software doesn't allow the purge in this case?

Good question. Have not tried that. We assume you will have working cartridges for the testing.

 

[turbguy]

If the purge pad for pigment ink did not drain the standing pool, then I suspect the purge system for pigment is clogged. It's a LOT of disassembly to access the purge unit and unclog it. Good luck.

 

[floK]

It's a LOT of disassembly to access the purge unit and unclog it. Good luck.

I wished I had a service manual...

 

[PeterBJ]

The printer is of the PGI-x50/CLI-x51 cartridge generation, and service manuals for this generation of printers and newer seem nowhere to be found.

 

[WilloBee]

I obtained a service document for this series of printer in 2014. The pages dealing with disassembly and the purge pads I tried to upload. I have had chronic clogging of the PGBK slot on three machines in this series. The forum file size limitation precludes uploading the 1.5 mb file.