Pro100 - Limited knowledge, found banding & tried cleaning... meh

[timdafweak]

First off, I have very little knowledge of the housekeeping processes. And as a result I may have made things much worse.

I have a Pro 100 and have used ink from PrecisionColors, having refilled the cartridges some 6 times in the last two years. I print pretty frequently (at least 2-3 times a week over the last two years). Never purged the cartridges, and never cleaned the printhead. Yeah, you can see where this is going.

A few days ago, I noticed banding (slight, but still throwing the picture off) on the PM color. Cleaning x2, Deep Cleaning x2, did nothing at all. So, I assumed print head problems, and went ahead with the hot water flush with syringes, and some of the other help I found here.

To no avail. After drying the printhead under the lamp for 2-3 hours I allowed it to cool and put it back in. Deep Clean x4, and the banding is worse than ever. Even colors that weren't banding, are showing bands.

I do have another Pro 100 printer waiting, but I don't want to surrender! Am I hosed here, do I need to just lick my wounds and move on? Or is there a way to salvage the situation?

 

[Thombar]

Owning my first Pro 100 I want to follow this thread>

 

[jtoolman]

First off, I have very little knowledge of the housekeeping processes. And as a result I may have made things much worse.

I have a Pro 100 and have used ink from PrecisionColors, having refilled the cartridges some 6 times in the last two years. I print pretty frequently (at least 2-3 times a week over the last two years). Never purged the cartridges, and never cleaned the printhead. Yeah, you can see where this is going.

A few days ago, I noticed banding (slight, but still throwing the picture off) on the PM color. Cleaning x2, Deep Cleaning x2, did nothing at all. So, I assumed print head problems, and went ahead with the hot water flush with syringes, and some of the other help I found here.

To no avail. After drying the printhead under the lamp for 2-3 hours I allowed it to cool and put it back in. Deep Clean x4, and the banding is worse than ever. Even colors that weren't banding, are showing bands.

I do have another Pro 100 printer waiting, but I don't want to surrender! Am I hosed here, do I need to just lick my wounds and move on? Or is there a way to salvage the situation?

Funny that have mentioned Magenta! That ink has been replaced and yours is about 2 years old??
How is the Yellow? Mike may have to chime in here.
Worse comes to worse, you will need a print head. They are available on EBAY for about $75 new.

I would contact Mike and discuss the problem, as there is a new Magenta ink replacement as well as PK and Gray and L Gray.

Joe

 

[Smile]

well this reminds me of situations that when in a hurry you can make more trouble than solve problems. This is not only with printers.

 

[stratman]

Worse comes to worse, you will need a print head. They are available on EBAY for about $75 new.

Or try Canon Sales. They always had the best price when I needed a print head (as long as they continue to manufacture that model print head).

 

[timdafweak]

well this reminds me of situations that when in a hurry you can make more trouble than solve problems. This is not only with printers.

Indeed, I do regret being hasty. But What should I have done differently?

Or try Canon Sales. They always had the best price when I needed a print head (as long as they continue to manufacture that model print head).

Thanks, if need be, I have a spare Pro 100. I can cannibalize the printhead from that. But if the printheads do fail frequently, it would make sense for me to stock up.

 

[timdafweak]

Funny that have mentioned Magenta! That ink has been replaced and yours is about 2 years old??
How is the Yellow? Mike may have to chime in here.
Worse comes to worse, you will need a print head. They are available on EBAY for about $75 new.

I would contact Mike and discuss the problem, as there is a new Magenta ink replacement as well as PK and Gray and L Gray.

Joe

Thanks Joe. That it could be the ink is a notion I didn't entertain. Yet.

I know that the people in the know clean their cartridges and purge them regularly, along with cleaning the printhead. Not having performed these functions and having had some foaming in the cartridges, I wonder if a combination of all those factors caused the banding.

Why would it get worse after the cleaning perplexes me.

 

[stratman]

it would make sense for me to stock up

I would recommend a spare (or two) in storage for you, especially now when they will be the least expensive they will ever be. The printers usually outlast the original print head.

Also, you should consider the new inks from Precision Colors as jtoolman suggested. If the new ink formulation decreases the risk of a clog or ink starvation then it might save money in the long run. However, there aren't any user reports on this yet on the forum. Maybe because the new formulation works?!

 

[jtoolman]

Foaming is the result of running your refilled carts till they are declared empty. You should refill them when declared Low! The Sponge will not be affected by air being introduced after the liquid chamber is exhausted.

Except for the Original Yellow cart which you should NOT use to refill, as stated in the PC site, you can add the PC inks to any remnants of your OEM inks still in the carts. I have never had to flush my original carts before I started to use the PC inks.

Canon print heads are really self destructing themselves as they are being used due to their THERMAL nature. So a print head failing after a couple of years can and does happen.
Foam in carts, trying to print when you do not have a perfect nozzle check, having insufficient ink flow ( ink starvation ) due to malfunctioning sponges ( Foam ) will contribute to the early death of a print head. Canon heads are not as durable as EPSON ones. They will need to be replaced once or twice through the life span of the printer.

Joe

 

[timdafweak]

Strange. I Heeded all warnings, and never let the cartridges get to zero. Refilled as soon as I got the low warning.

I even ordered a clean empty cartridge from PC for Yellow.

But as you said Joe. It could be that the Printhead has simply run its course. I would just want to be sure it is the printhead before I move on from here, and hopefully not make the same mistakes with Printhead #2.

I would recommend a spare (or two) in storage for you, especially now when they will be the least expensive they will ever be. The printers usually outlast the original print head.

Also, you should consider the new inks from Precision Colors as jtoolman suggested. If the new ink formulation decreases the risk of a clog or ink starvation then it might save money in the long run. However, there aren't any user reports on this yet on the forum. Maybe because the new formulation works?!

Yep, I better buy a few of the printheads, I will call as soon as Canon sales line opens in EST. I was planning on getting the new formulation from PC anyway, but got sidetracked with this issue.

Any recommendations on how to proceed? Should I go and flush the cartridges and windex the printhead? Is there a better way?