Repeated Canon Printhead Clogging...

[jamorama]

You don't have clogged nozzles, you have an ink flow problem, the only question is whether it is inside the print head or outside and the logical way to resolve this is to buy a new cartridge.

I see... is there any reason why the darker shades of cyan work though?

What kind of ink do you refill with?

Hobbicolors UW-8/Pigment Black

Where are you located?

California, United States

I had the exact same problem with the lighter Cyan nozzles on my ip4700 which hasvthe same printhead as your mx860... I tried a different ink batch, purging the cartridge, using a cleaning cartridge, etc. But none of those things fixed my problem.

I'm not exactly sure what happened to the original cartridge but a new cartridge fixed the problem. The other cartridge appeared to be fine but now I'm certain it was the cartridge.

Did it work if you did a deep clean? It almost seems as if if I left the printer inactive for a couple of hours, it would revert back to the problem.

 

[RMM]

Jamorama,

Yes, it would work for a few hours after I did a deep clean. I even printed about 30 4x6's in a row without any problems. After a few hours of sitting the "clog" would return.

Like I said, I tried many different things and it did end up being the cartridge in my case.

 

[ghwellsjr]

I see... is there any reason why the darker shades of cyan work though?

The darker shades are darker because the nozzle have larger holes than the smaller ones. I suppose when things get marginal, the smallest nozzles are the first to quit working, not because they are clogged but because the cartridge can't deliver the flow of ink fast enough to supply all the nozzles when the larger ones are the hogging all the ink. That's probably not correct but it sounds good.

 

[jamorama]

I see~ I'll purchase one off amazon to try out soon (or is there a better choice... local stores are are like 15 bucks)

 

[ghwellsjr]

I would buy one in a reputable store, like one of the big chain office stores.

 

[nche11]

Jamorama,

Yes, it would work for a few hours after I did a deep clean. I even printed about 30 4x6's in a row without any problems. After a few hours of sitting the "clog" would return.

Like I said, I tried many different things and it did end up being the cartridge in my case.

It's not a clog inside the print head. It is likely to be a blockage outside. The purge unit has a soft plastic blade that will wipe the print head whenever a deep (or regular) cleaning cycle is invoked. It wipes clean the blockage (ink) from ouside of the print head. Your printer will print fine for a while until the blockage reoccurs. If it were a real clog inside the print head no ammounf of deep cleaning would fix it. I would try to find which cartridge is doing this and replace it.

 

[nche11]

not because they are clogged but because the cartridge can't deliver the flow of ink fast enough to supply all the nozzles when the larger ones are the hogging all the ink. That's probably not correct but it sounds good.

False. It is not an jnk flow problem. This does not explain why it stops working after sitting for an hour. An ink flow problem will give you banding when you print.

 

[Grandad35]

not because they are clogged but because the cartridge can't deliver the flow of ink fast enough to supply all the nozzles when the larger ones are the hogging all the ink. That's probably not correct but it sounds good.

False. It is not an jnk flow problem. This does not explain why it stops working after sitting for an hour. An ink flow problem will give you banding when you print.

I agree with ghwellsjr. When a cart is partially clogged or if the sponge has been displaced slightly to block the grooves that allow air into the ink chamber when the vacuum in the ink chamber reaches a certain threshold level, the cart requires an increasing suction from the print head as ink is used. Apparently, the larger nozzles have the ability to pull a higher suction pressure than the small nozzles, so the smaller nozzles starve first. A cleaning cycle "puts things right" in the cart so that the suction pressure required to pull ink is lowered (temporarily, until more ink is used). I don't want to get into a long technical discussion about how these carts work, but they are far more complex than meets the eye.

 

[stratman]

You have an intermittently intermittent issue. When I see a checkerboard pattern on the nozzle check I think of the cause as something not from inside the cartridge itself. But, since flow returns with a deep cleaning, then the odds of a flow problem increases. Whether this is from the cartridge or the printhead is the main question. The simplest and least expensive way of approaching your issue, once you have assured all contact surfaces are clean and clear, is to completely purge the cartridge, refill, and try printing. If the problem remains, then try a factory fresh OEM Canon cartridge, since sponge architecture and/or location can change just enough to cause flow issues even though it looks "OK". If this does not work then consider a new printhead.

Do not try printing photos or documents until you resolve your nozzle check issues - you could damage a functioning printhead due to ink starvation.

 

[nche11]

Grandad, you are right that there is an increasing suction especially when the print head is working hard in printing. If the cartridge has a blockage that resists the suction from the print head than you have the ink flow problem. You should have some banding in the print as a result. But this is not the case according to the original poster. He seemed to be able to print fine after a deep cleaning cycle. The problem would only come back the next day. If it is an ink flow problem he would have the problam all day everyday. A deep clean may improve it for a little while but it should come right back. If it happens only every morning it is a different problem. My guess is he has a cartridge that is leaking very slowly. The purge unit is able to absorb most of the leak but it would still leave some on the print head to block some nozzles from printing. This explains what is happening to his printer. The printer does not always do a cleaning cycle when you print the first time in the morning. If it does he would not have seen the problem at all. I have seen this kind of problem before. He needs to make sure his cartridges are resealed perfectly after refilling.