MP610 suddenly stopped printing on return stroke

[bluecrabby]

My Pixma MP610 suddenly stopped printing while the print head is moving in one direction. The result is a page of 1-inch printing, 1-inch blank, repeat until bottom.

I have refilled my own ink tanks since purchasing the printer in 2006, and have had no problems until recently. I just refilled a few of them at once, and suddenly this problem occurred. If I choose the 'fine' option for printing it will print the whole page because of the addition back and forth trips of the print head.

I primarily use this for text and table printing, no photographs. To refill I put the cartridge in a cradle with a rubber dam to prevent leakage, drill a small hole in the top, refill, and plug with an airtight plug.

Below is an example of the output. Thanks for any help!

Hm. Had hoped to post an image. I hope my description was sufficient!

 

[barfl2]

As you have got it to print using fine setting you have in effect forced the printer to use the BK cart normally reserved for photos. So it sounds like you have poor inkflow from the PGBK cart or blockage in your PGBK nozzles.

Have you tried any head cleaning ? have you a spare PGBK cart to try. More experienced heads than mine will no doubt reply to you soon but I would only print nozzle checks until problem is resolved.

You will be able to post your picture soon there is a waiting period for newbies.

 

[bluecrabby]

barfl2, thanks for the reply. I had done a head cleaning and a test print, and I just noticed this: The PGBK row of the test print is half missing! The top half is just blank white page; the bottom half that appears is printed just fine, so it's not a clogged head, but the problem I'm experiencing does affect the test print as well. Thanks for bringing this up.

Just to clarify--only the top half of the PGBK row is missing; the other rows printed normally.

 

[PeterBJ]

This is an electrical fault in the printhead, and only a new printhead might help.

If the fault was caused by a short circuit from water left on the electronics after cleaning the printhead outside the printer, there is a risk that the motherboard was damaged as well. A damaged motherboard could burn out a new printhead.

If the printhead just failed without having been exposed to water, the fault is most likely caused by an open circuit, and then the motherboard is most likely not damaged.

You find a new printhead here: http://www.crc-tasktron.co.uk/index.php?app=ecom&ns=prodshow&ref=75 or here: http://www.surffact.de/de/Canon-Druckkopf-IP5300.html&refID=37 or here: http://bopcanon.com/qy6-0075.aspx depending on your location.

This thread is about a problem similar to yours: http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=8363 see this thread to help deciding whether to buy a new printhead or not.

There is a 24 hour waiting period, before new members can post links and upload images. Instructions on image upload is found here: http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=107#p107

 

[Grandad35]

Since it always prints normally in one direction, this would seem to rule out an ink flow or print head problem.

IMHO, the most likely problem is with the timing strip or (more likely) the sensors that read the timing strip. If the timing strip marks aren't sensed in one direction, the printer won't even attempt to fire the nozzles. There are a number of reports where the timing strip was dirty and caused strange problems with offset printing, but this is the first time that I remember anyone reporting this specific problem.

 

[bluecrabby]

PeterB, thanks for the input. I did try to search the forums for a similar problem but didn't find that entry!

This is an electrical fault in the printhead, and only a new printhead might help.

If the fault was caused by a short circuit from water left on the electronics after cleaning the printhead outside the printer, there is a risk that the motherboard was damaged as well. A damaged motherboard could burn out a new printhead.

The last time I took it out was quite a while ago, so I don't think that's it.

If the printhead just failed without having been exposed to water, the fault is most likely caused by an open circuit, and then the motherboard is most likely not damaged.

You find a new printhead here:

I live in Japan, so I'm not sure that shipping a print head overseas would be worth it. Unfortunately, everyone in Japan sends their stuff to the manufacturer for repairs, so there don't seem to be any vendors supplying print heads for repair here.

Maybe it's just time for a new printing-only printer? Maybe even one that I could use my leftover BCI-7/BCI-9 ink in?

 

[bluecrabby]

Is it possible that the print head is fine but the timing strips are dirty? If so, where can I find the timing strips to clean them? Off to search the forums...

 

[The Hat]

A nozzle check will tell all so the sooner you post one the better.
I tend to think its an electrical problem also but cleaning the timing strip is certainly worth a try..

 

[PeterBJ]

For location of the timing strip see this thread: http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=7438 post #4

For cleaning the timing strip: Turn on your printer and open the lid as if you would change an ink cartridge. After the printhead has centered pull out the power cord without first turning the printer off. You can now slide the printhead freely from side to side. Use a soft tissue paper moistened with a window cleaner with ammonia to clean the timing strip. Be careful not to tear the timing strip.

 

[bluecrabby]

Thanks much for all the good information. I found the timing belt and inspected it with a flashlight. There are two marks about 2 mm long, and about three marks less than 1 mm long on the belt. I touched them with a qtip but they did not change in character. Other than those marks, the belt is completely clean, and I am not inclined to pick at it more as I don't think that's the source of the problem. I guess I'll have to wait until I can post a print test, although my explanation described it pretty clearly: all areas were fine, except for the PGBK area, in which the upper 50% simply did not print. The letters 'PGBK' are cut off in the middle, with the lower half appearing and the upper half not. All ink tanks are full.

I'll add that in the past, some tanks ran out of ink even though there was ink in the tank. I bought a new PGBK cartridge to deal with this issue and soon after ran out of ink--on a new, full, cartridge! I discovered that there seemed to be a vacuum issue, and if I pulled out the filler plug to allow air into the reservoir area, that the ink would flow into the sponge and feed the printer again. I wonder if this damaged the PGBK area of the head?