long time member, now my turn with some MP830 PGI5 streaking issues

[jimbo123]

long time member, now my turn with some MP830 PGI5 streaking issues. see nozzle check below

have tried:
- new PGI5 cart
- windex on pads, several times
- windex on print head port for PGI5

also gives me a 5C10 error when attempting a deep cleaning, might be related

MP830, 2.5 years old, 75% ink pad usage

any ideas ?? more windex, new print head , electrical issues ???

i do have a backup MP830, so wondering if its time to put this one out to pasture, been a great printer, over 120 refills on it

thx

J

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Printers: Canon MP830, IP4500, MX700
Method: German Durchstich Method
Ink: Hobbicolors
Misc: Squeeze bottles, needles, scabbards from Howard Electronics

 

[ghwellsjr]

That has got to be the strangest nozzle check pattern I have ever seen! You've got four columns that are not printing at all which looks like an electrical problem but then you have four more columns that all almost blank but have a few nozzles working which cannot be an electrical problem (unless its intermittent), and then there are many more randomly scattered bad nozzles which are typical of clogs.

So I have some questions:

1) When you do successive nozzle checks in a row without doing any cleanings or anything else in between, do you get exactly the same pattern of non-printing nozzles?

2) Have you tried removing the print head to clean the contacts on the back of the print head and on the carriage?

3) Have you tried cleaning the bottom of the print head to make sure there isn't a deposit of wet or dried ink?

4) Have you verified that the purge pads suck away any Windex you place on them between cleanings?

Just be very careful when you remove the print head that you put the locking lever back down so it doesn't get jammed in case the printer decides to park the print head. You should close the cover so that it doesn't decide to do this just at the point that you are putting the print head back. And also, be very careful that you don't let residual ink migrate into the inside of the print head while you are examining it and cleaning the bottom of it. I try to keep the print head upright at all times or tip it so that the contacts are upright.

Since you have another printer, you can always try this print head in the other printer to see if the problems goes away. I'm sure you're aware that there is a slight risk that your suspicious print head could propagate a failure to your new printer but that's what I would do.

I would not recommend you start using your new print head unless you can figure out a way to clean the ink out of your old print head (or unless you have given up on it). This is easy on the printers that use chipless cartridges but on these later models I'm guessing you would have to use a set of totally empty (dry) cartridges or at least a set that have Windex in them to do some cleanings until nothing prints.

I have no idea why your printer will let you do normal cleanings but not deep cleanings.

 

[leo8088]

Your nozzle check pattern is weird. I tend to believe that the print head is clogged. Why not assume that it is clogged and try a unclog method that worked really well for me, which was a method I learned from someone long time ago on this forum?

This is what I did to my ip4300 with a PGI5 that had a clog before:

Purge the PGI-5 thoroughly.
Refill it with dye based black ink.
Flush the print head to clean up all the residual black pigment ink from the print head.
install the print head and all cartridges back into the printer.
Run two light cleaning cycles. This is to prime all the channels pf the print head.

Once this is done you can do a nozzle check and verify that the PGI5 is still clogged. But this confirms that some ink is still flowing but this time it is a dye black ink and not pigment black ink.

Print some very large black text. Just a few letters at a time. You will see the print head clears up by printing. Initially you will see some banding on the text. The banding will disappear in front of you while you watch it printing. I switched back to a PGI5 with a correct black pigment ink right away and the clog was gone completely and the nozzle check was back to normal again.

 

[jimbo123]

nice to get some quick responses, thx !! and yes very weird nozzle check

GH, yes to 1 and 4, not yet to 2 and 3

great suggestions, problem is that i print daily , sometime 50-100 pages so can't be without a printer for long. so... i knocked the dust off a spare MP830, loaded it with a new print head and carts so all new stuff. works great. will try out some of the suggestions, this old MP830 is 30 months old, been refilled 120 times, 18,000 printed pages and 70% waste pad use. will try to resurrect the old MP830, but if not, will at least learn by taking it apart, etc

and here i was looking forward to changing it's diaper when it hit 100%.....

J

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Printers: Canon MP830, IP4500, MX700
Method: German Durchstich Method
Ink: Hobbicolors
Misc: Squeeze bottles, needles, scabbards from Howard Electronics

 

[ghwellsjr]

Let's hope suggestion number 2 or 3 clears up the problem. In the mean time, I would strongly advise that you keep your old printer turned on.

 

[jimbo123]

quick update, i soaked the print head in paper towels with windex, still NG. have not cleaned the contacts or done anything else

my newly setup MP830 has been working fine, so.... i decided to toss caution to the wind and try the new print head in the old printer with the old carts. the nozzle check came out fine, so now i know its the old print head. will try soaking some more

so now, i'd like to put back my old printer w/new print head but am unclear how to properly store the newly setup printer that i used for a day or so.

any ideas ?? probably printed 20 pages on it

also can i just orange cap the newly opened carts and rubber band them for future use ??

J

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Printers: Canon MP830, IP4500, MX700
Method: German Durchstich Method
Ink: Hobbicolors
Misc: Squeeze bottles, needles, scabbards from Howard Electronics

 

[ghwellsjr]

As long as you have removed the print head from your new printer, it will be fine for long term storage. I would deposit some Windex or water on the purge pads just before shutting down for the last time. I would not store an all-in-one printer long term in the original box with the styrofoam pads because they will outgas and deposit a film on both sides of the scanning glass.

You can hold the orange caps on the cartridges with rubber bands to protect them until you need them. Don't retape the air vents. You should put them in a ziplock bag with a piece of wet paper towel to keep the humidity up.

You might want to consider buying another print head now so that you will be able to continue uninterrupted printing when your next problem arises.

 

[jimbo123]

much thx to all. i'm back in business, old printer, old carts, new print head. new printer safely stored to be used as backup when needed. BTW, old print head had 18,000 pages on it before it died.

guess it makes sense to get a spare MP830 print head. is canon still the best place to get one ?? i see a lot of refurb'd ones, but makes sense buy a new sealed one.

J

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Printers: Canon MP830, IP4500, MX700
Method: German Durchstich Method
Ink: Hobbicolors
Misc: Squeeze bottles, needles, scabbards from Howard Electronics

 

[qwertydude]

18,000 pages? I'd hazard a guess that you simply burned out the printheads. Although the pattern would also suggest that you may need to clean the alignment strip inside the printer since you're missing entire vertical bands on the pigment black.

 

[ghwellsjr]

guess it makes sense to get a spare MP830 print head. is canon still the best place to get one ?? i see a lot of refurb'd ones, but makes sense buy a new sealed one.

I recommend getting a print head from Canon if you can pick one up from a local dealer or repair shop, just to save shipping and time, but you will have to pay tax. Otherwise, there are lots of places on eBay that sell them too. As long as it is factory sealed, I don't think it matters where you get it.