MP980 woes, nozzle check GRAY NG, any ideas ?

[jimbo123]

my MP980 is acting up, 5 CLI-221 color carts, 1 PGI220BK cart. nozzle check does not print any of the 3 GRAY bands.

here is what i have tried so far:
- tried new CLI-221 GRAY cart (NO good)
- tried a second NEW CLI-221 GRAY cart (NO good)

now soaking the print head and flooded the print pads with windex. will let soak for a day and then dry for a day

other than installing a new print head, any other ideas if the above does not work

on a side note, in 2010 i bought 5 refurbished MP980s from canon for $36 each, still have 2 left. FYI, a new MP980 print head from amazon now runs $115. yikes.....

thx

J

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• Active Printers: MP830, MP980, PRO-100
• Stored Printers: MP830, IP4500, MX700, MX860, MX870
• Method: German Durchstich Method
• Ink: Hobbicolors and OCP
• Misc: Squeeze bottles - so much easier than syringes

 

[The Hat]

I would be more concerned as to why this problem has crept into your new printer this early, are you not using OEM carts and inks ?..

There was an earlier warning put out by @PeterBJ that these small 221 carts don’t perform as well when filled using the German method, so you may have to consider the top fill method..

 

[jimbo123]

all genuine canon parts here.

this is not my new MP830 but my old MP980 that i have been using strictly for photos for the past 18 months. i am using genuine canon carts, german method and have 190 refills across the 6 ink carts.

more info, the OCP GRAY ink i have been refilling with is 4 years old, so this may be the culprit. might explain why when i tried 2 brand new canon carts they did not work, since i may be dealing with a clog issue. not sure until i finish soaking and let dry out for a day so to retest.

if the print head or purge pump is clogged, could that impact just a single color ?

TIA,

J

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• Active Printers: MP830, MP980, PRO-100
• Stored Printers: MP830, IP4500, MX700, MX860, MX870
• Method: German Durchstich Method
• Ink: Hobbicolors and OCP
• Misc: Squeeze bottles - so much easier than syringes

 

[stratman]

the OCP GRAY ink i have been refilling with is 4 years old, so this may be the culprit. might explain why when i tried 2 brand new canon carts they did not work, since i may be dealing with a clog issue.

Definitely could be the origin for your problem.

Was the loss sudden or incremental with streaking that enlarged?

If there is a clog or ink starvation for any reason, I hope the channel did not burn out from lack of ink flow or this is a logic board assay malfunction. Your soaking will hopefully be successful.

if the print head or purge pump is clogged, could that impact just a single color ?

For the single Pigment Black channel. For the rest of the colors, which use a single purge pad for all those colors combined, unlikely unless the Grey ink has different properties that would cause a clog in the pad leading to poor suction on the Grey cartridge ink ejection port. There would also need to be minimal interference from this clog with the ink colors that are adjacent to Grey on the purge pad.

Things to try:
1) Wash and clean the purge pad. Test the purge system.
2) Clean all electronic contacts on the print head and printer.
3) Time for new Grey refilling ink.
4) Consider flushing all cartridges, especially before using them in a new print head or "new" refurb printer, on the (unlikely) possibility there may be a biological contaminant from the Grey ink that could back flow up into other cartridges in the print head or the purge pad. Probably an extreme step but I would not want to chance my precious MP980's or print heads to early failure. Heck, I'd get all new cartridges for the next "new" refurb to be on the safe side.


I'm not a paranoid deranged millionaire.
- Howard Hughes

 

[PeterBJ]

I also think that the 4 year old grey ink could be the cause of the problems. Most unexplained print head clogging has been caused by IS regular magenta, but I have had 4 print heads clogged by IS regular cyan and observed growth in IS photo magenta. I think other colours could also be affected and I also think this could affect other brands of ink as well. I think the age of the ink could increase the risk of biological growth.

I have experienced an iP5200 that was OK in the evening being totally clogged in both the normal and light cyan nozzles next morning. I have seen a hypothesis that the bacteria/algae/fungi can grow inside the print head and this is the cause of the sudden blockage.

Even if the service manual is no help in this situation, it might be useful in other situations, you find a link in this post.

To verify that the print head is clogged and the error is not electronic, you could try making a stamp test of the print head immediately after a nozzle cleaning, by pressing the underside of the print head against some soft tissue paper like paper handkerchiefs.

 

[jimbo123]

stratman, peterBJ and hat,

muck thx for the advice, all good ideas. not sure how long it has been happening, since i only use this printer for photos, it is not used heavily.

will let you know how it goes after a few days effort involving cleaning, flooding and drying.

again much thx

J

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• Active Printers: MP830, MP980, PRO-100
• Stored Printers: MP830, IP4500, MX700, MX860, MX870
• Method: German Durchstich Method
• Ink: Hobbicolors and OCP
• Misc: Squeeze bottles - so much easier than syringes

 

[jimbo123]

good news, was able to get my MP980 back working. here is what i did:
- soaked the print head, let dry for 2 days
- flooded the 2 print pads with windex
- used new GRAY cart
- ordered new GRAY ink

ran a cleaning, then a nozzle check. some banding, but the GRAY was back. ran a few more cleanings, all came back fine except for CYAN. was going to replace the CYAN cart but let it sit for a few days, ran periodic cleanings and the CYAN came back.

much thx to those "nifty-stuff" or now "printerknowledge" guys who offered advice. before i posted this i guessed who would respond and i was 3 for 3.

thx again

J

oh, here's one you'll like. turned out i already had 16 oz of GRAY that i ordered just a few months ago and had forgotten about it. oh well, can never have too much spare ink or spare printers.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• Active Printers: MP830, MP980, PRO-100
• Stored Printers: MP830, IP4500, MX700, MX860, MX870
• Method: German Durchstich Method
• Ink: Hobbicolors and OCP
• Misc: Squeeze bottles - so much easier than syringes

 

[stratman]

That is good news -- congratulations!

Now go buy a lottery ticket as you are lucky and a fortune teller.

 

[mrelmo]

i also have a 980 which i got from canon refub, i have been worried about the exact same issue that you just had, because i don't use the gray cartridge very often, so i periodically do a nozzle check just to run ink through the print head, sure i'm running needless ink through the other color carts but it is a small price to pay for a self filler

 

[stratman]

sure i'm running needless ink through the other color cart

Maybe you have prevented clogs in the other cartridges. The amount of ink is quite small with nozzle checks. Consider it the angels' share.