MP610 - Print Head Problem

[Watson306]

Hi All,
I am new here, I have a problem with print head I believe as the printer initially was missing lines in print outs and I have tried various things one was to take the head apart and clean it with hot water which I have seen on another site, which did show signs of improvement (was sufficient for document printing) but today the missus wanted me to print a picture of our toddler, but the print quality was not good enough for a photo so I found somewhere else who recommended using a compressor to blow out the blockage, which I did until no ink came out but now the magenta is not coming out at all which is almost as tho I have totally dried out the magenta passage (if this is possible), and the cyan is not perfect either.

Any ideas?

I have used a window cleaning product and followed the guides on here to drip some onto where the cartridge sits and onto the purge trays, with no improvement.

I will post up a pic of the print output shortly.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Watson306]

Here's a copy of the print out.

 

[stratman]

Except for maybe Yellow, every other color, including Pigment Black, is affected.

The first thing to try is new OEM cartridges, or known working cartridges or new aftermarket cartridges, to see if your cartridges are causing ink starvation to the print head. The Pigment Black portion of your nozzle check shows at least a dozen nozzle clogs. Each blank area in the lattice represents a nozzle. This may be cleared with print head soaking. The rest of the nozzle check may be due to print head clogs, print head electrical malfunction, logic assay board malfunction, improperly functioning cartridges (ink starvation), or a combination of issues.

What do you mean by taking apart the print head? Taking the print head out of the printer to soak/flush/clean is OK. Taking the print head apart - opening it up - is extremely risky and likely to result in an unrepairable malfunction. This would be a last resort effort.

Use of powered compressor to blow the print head out is also risky behavior.

Hot water means different things to different people. Water hot enough could damage the print head.

Try new cartridges first and then go on to other potential diagnoses/fixes. Soaking the print head in original Windex with Ammonium D may work. This could take days. Do not print anything else besides nozzle checks after soaking until the colors return properly. You could also try cleaning the electrical contacts on the print head and the printer with a soft pencil eraser or isopropyl alcohol and lint free cloth to cover all bases. One other thing to check is the purge system:

Use a syringe/needle, soda straw, long eye dropper or some other implement FLOOD water on top of the purge pads. Water should POOL on top of the 2 pads. It takes more than a couple of drops to FLOOD the purge pads. The purge pads are located to the extreme right as you look into the inside of the printer. When the printer is idle or powered off, the print head rests above the purge pads. Open the lid and you will see the print head come to and stop in the middle, like when you change cartridges. Now use a flashlight to see the pads to the right. FLOOD the purge pads making sure you see a pool of water above them then close the lid and perform a simple cleaning. Open the lid and look to see if the water is now gone (the pads may even look a little less blackish). Report if you are unable to FLOOD the pads or if the POOLED water doesn't go away. Report your experience - if it worked as expected or not.

Be prepared - you may need to purchase a new print head or a new printer. But hope for the best while trying the steps above.

 

[Watson306]

Quick update, I had already soaked the purge pads, and the water does go away.

I have just now soaked the print head in window cleaning fluid for about an hour and it already improves a small amount, so have put it back into soak, and will keep my fingers crossed.

 

[The Hat]

Quick update, I had already soaked the purge pads, and the water does go away.

I have just now soaked the print head in window cleaning fluid for about an hour and it already improves a small amount, so have put it back into soak, and will keep my fingers crossed.

Stratman had covered most of the things for you to do and not do and I can only add one other
which is the bad news I am afraid, I reckon you have damaged your print head beyond repair.

Its not going to come back anywhere near to what you had before
and the only thing left to do now is to purchase a new one sorry.

Compressed air, hot water and near dismantling are not the usual recommendations for a poor print out,
I know its cold comfort to you now but you should have come here first where you
would have received much better advice before you started going hard at your print head.

Its elementary my dear Watson306 We can only offer good advice to you beforehand but not afterwards..