Pixma MP520 stopped printing PGBK black

[SteveInGA]

Printer; Canon Pixma MP520
Have been reading for several hours the many posts about this situation, but would still appreciate some advice.
The printer does not get a lot of use. Couple weeks ago, stopped printing when I would choose FAST / GRAYSCALE and evetually even when choosing High Qual / Grayscale. Would do a deep clean and it would then print HIGH Qual / GRAYSCALE for a while but not any qual less. Now, will not print in grayscale at all and nozzle pattern check shows no PGBK pattern at all, but colors are perfect.
my efforts to date:
* have tried 3 diff PGBK carts
* have soaked the printhead over night, then rinsed with warm water
* Several times, have puddled windex on the purge sponge, ran clean cycle and the liquid is gone afterwards, so purge system is working, right?

I love this printer, and have a good stash of carts, so hate to chunk it in the trash if there is something else I can try.

Thanks!
-steve

 

[The Hat]

Hi @StevelnGA, It would appear that the PGBK part of the print head has failed due to a couple of reasons which I won't go into now because it won't help.

The only thing you can do is get a new print head if you wish to continue to print using the pigment ink, however if you change your media setting to use Matte photo paper then you can still use the printer as near normal without having to buy a new head.

The only down side to this is that the text will be a little bit bolder and will not be highlighter proof, plus the printer will print your document that little bit slower..

 

[SteveInGA]

thanks for the prompt reply, "Hat"!
Changing paper to matte setting; will that use the 3 color carts to make black or does it some how trick the PGBK cart to print?

 

[SteveInGA]

just tried printing a shipping label after having changed the paper setting to Matte Photo Paper and what did print looks like a 1960's 3-D movie. Bar coade did not print at all. Maybe I did something wrong (most likely).

As for the print head; tons of them on fleabay, but most appear to be refurb units. Any one know best and least expensive source for a prit head?

 

[jimbo123]

avoid the refurbished ones, get a genuine canon print head, will be more $ but make sure it is genuine canon and sealed.

then consider refilling, your MP530 has the easy carts(PG5, CLI8) to refill, use this site to search for methods, ink, etc.

a new print head may run you $100, after 8 refills you'll have saved the $100

your MP530 is of much better build quality than the newer canon printers, definitely worth trying to save.

i have had several MP830s, big brother to your MP530, have refilled over 1000 carts over 7 years or so

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

 

[SteveInGA]

thanks for the insight, Jimbo!

 

[The Hat]

just tried printing a shipping label after having changed the paper setting to Matte Photo Paper and what did print looks like a 1960's 3-D movie. Bar coade did not print at all. Maybe I did something wrong (most likely).

@StevelnGA, Be aware it’s not very advisable to use your printer in that state to print off shipping labels, if the label gets wet then the address could become unreadable, unless it’s done on glossy paper..

 

[SteveInGA]

An UPDATE;
have been using a freebie printer my brother gave me. FIANLLY bought a new CANON printhead. Installed it less than a week ago and it has printed about 10 pages perfectly! WOOHOO!
BUT, turned it on today to print a shipping label and am now getting error U051 Print Head Is Not Installed.
Put the old print head back in and printer recognizes it and it does print same - color but no black.
So, can a print head go bad after printing just under 10 pages???