Repeated Canon Printhead Clogging...

[krc777]

I have, I guess, a similar problem except my cyan doesn't print at all on the rest nozzle page.
Just blank in that area.
When I tap the cartridge onto paper ink comes out.
Anything else I can try? I have removed all the cartridges and looked underneath but everything looks clean,
and dust free.
k

 

[jamorama]

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.

I'll be honest here, I am not aware of how to purge the unit...

 

[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.

I'll be honest here, I am not aware of how to purge the unit...

I'm talking about purging the cartridge.

For more details on purging cartridges see my post to Donkeyoatay at http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5902. Your investment can be a little as zero if you already have running water, a needle and syringe, and a paper towel.

 

[Harvey]

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.

You have some sense I have the same problem always is the same you print excellent from a deep cleaning, then the next prints hours or days later the problem is back, I have bought several printheads and is the same your theory of the leak in the cart is interesting I always use the german method, allegedly to have a good pressure balance and free of the imbalances of top fill then you have to cover the ventilation hole, as an important datum I am using Hobbicolors too, even I had the same problem with cyan not printing and damaged the head trying to "unclog it" now it is fully clogged in cyan, other colors are fine, I suspect of a vaccum problem or oversaturation in sponge, I blow the ventilation hole, empty all the ink, swing the cartridge, all ink gone, works excellent until a few days.

For a reason it seems the upper sponge needs to be free from so the cartridge can "breath" and supply a good flow of ink, but the sponge is always saturated in all carts, but no in Yellow, which never fails if I print a full square on solid yellow, but the problem is always with cyan, any comments are appreciated.

 

[Harvey]

I was thinking I never turn my printer off, when you turn your printer off for a while when you turn it on it makes a slight cleaning, and the purge blade cleans the head, well I also print in plain paper regularly in color so all colors are used, and these prints should clean the nozzles in theory, then I switch for photo printing and there is the banding maybe the problem resides in the lighter cyan that should be of no use in plain paper setting or maybe the ink need is less so the cartridge performs well in low suction-light use derived on plain paper use.

 

[Grandad35]

Harvey,

1. I always leave my printer turned on. It uses very little power and only does cleaning cycles based on how long it has been setting idle.
2. Did you use hot water to purge? Hot water dissolves hardened deposits much more quickly than cold water. If you have a stubborn clog in the filter, turn the cart upside down and drop isopropyl alcohol onto the exit filter and let it set for 10 minutes. Be sure to blow the IPA out when you are done.
3. Did you make sure to tap the sponges back into place after the purge/blowout procedure? It is easy to have the sponges move and partially obstruct the opening between the ink and sponge chambers or lift the bottom sponge free of the exit filter. Both are problems. Look at a new cart to see how the sponges fit, and use that as a guide.
4. Once a cart is purged, ink will tend to overfill the sponges above the original level. After the refill hole is plugged, blow into the vent hole to cause ink to drip from the exit until you are sure that there is no ink above the sponges - it will tend to drip otherwise.
5. A test for a poorly feeding cart is to put the cart in something that will contain an ink drip and open the refill hole. Allow it to drip until the ink drips at a steady rate (30 seconds or so). A "good" cart will drip at about 2 drops/second. As a cart clogs, the drip rate will slow. When the drip rate falls below 2 seconds/drip, it can starve the print head.

 

[ghwellsjr]

Haryey, the kinds of problems you are experiencing is one of the reasons that I always buy at least two of any complicated device that I need to have working. I have at least two of every type of printer that I own, not only so that I can have an immediate replacement in case my primary one fails, but also so that I can do comparison testing to isolate a problem. It is almost impossible to tell whether a fault is in the print head, in the printer, or in a cartridge, unless you can swap parts and see what effect that has.

I once had a problem with banding when I was using third-party cartridges. By swapping, I was able to determine that a particular cartridge would work fine with one print head but not with another one. Sometimes, things are so marginal that they appear to work and then later they don't. You seem to be in this state right now. If I had your problem, I would be very frustrated as you are but there is no magic solution that we can offer you. When we have these problems, we keep working at it until we find a solution or give up.

One suggestion that I always offer when any kind of problem happens is to first check the purge system. Put some Windex or other window cleaner, or just plain water, on the two pads off to the right where the print head parks, look to see that the shiny liquid remains pooled on the pads for a minute, then do a cleaning and see that the liquid has been sucked away and the pads look dull and not shiny. Without a properly working purge system, nothing else will work.

Another potential problem is an air leak in the rubber seal on the top of the print head that the cartridge rests against. If you are having a problem with just your cyan, swap the cyan rubber seal with one of the other colors that you've never had a problem with.

You may also have an air flow problem in the cartridge. If you ever get ink in the serpentine air flow path and it dries out there blocking the air flow, then you will have the type of problem you are experiencing. Remove your cyan cartridge and put your lips to the air vent and gently blow into it. You should not have to blow very hard to get ink to come out of the outlet port.

There have been other suggestions on this thread, such as checking the bottom of the print head after you have your banding problem to see if there is a deposit of wet or dried ink that is blocking the nozzles, and making sure that the sponge in the cartridge is making good contact with the outlet filter. Have you investigating these issues?

Another experiment you can try is start with a completely refilled cyan cartridge and when you get your cyan working, print ten pages of solid cyan and see if it continues to print them all without a problem. Then see if the level of the ink in the reservoir has gone down. Repeat until you see it going down. Then leave it overnight and see if it will work again. We're trying to find out if there is an air flow problem from the top sponge down to the bottom of the reservoir.

That being said, from my experience and those of people who have had similar problems, most of the time, the problem is in the cartridge and it is one of the easiest things to diagnose--just buy a new OEM Canon cartridge from a reputable source, not online. Go to a big store that sells printers and buy a cartridge there. It will probably cost you more than other ways of getting one but it is the most trustworthy. There are counterfeits out there and low price for OEM makes you wonder.

If any of the above suggestions determines a specific potential problem that you don't know how to fix, please ask for more help. In any case, let us know how things go.

 

[Harvey]

Harvey,

1. I always leave my printer turned on. It uses very little power and only does cleaning cycles based on how long it has been setting idle.

2. Did you use hot water to purge? Hot water dissolves hardened deposits much more quickly than cold water. If you have a stubborn clog in the filter, turn the cart upside down and drop isopropyl alcohol onto the exit filter and let it set for 10 minutes. Be sure to blow the IPA out when you are done.

3. Did you make sure to tap the sponges back into place after the purge/blowout procedure? It is easy to have the sponges move and partially obstruct the opening between the ink and sponge chambers or lift the bottom sponge free of the exit filter. Both are problems. Look at a new cart to see how the sponges fit, and use that as a guide.

4. Once a cart is purged, ink will tend to overfill the sponges above the original level. After the refill hole is plugged, blow into the vent hole to cause ink to drip from the exit until you are sure that there is no ink above the sponges - it will tend to drip otherwise.
That is what I have seen over time, but mostly with cyan and magenta, even photo black, for some reason the yellow cart remains very clean, (because of the ink formulation?) almost not saturating the top sponge, mostly a 25% of all the sponge material gets ink.

5. A test for a poorly feeding cart is to put the cart in something that will contain an ink drip and open the refill hole. Allow it to drip until the ink drips at a steady rate (30 seconds or so). A "good" cart will drip at about 2 drops/second. As a cart clogs, the drip rate will slow. When the drip rate falls below 2 seconds/drip, it can starve the print head.

1.I always do the same, I read in a review that if its sits idle it consumes 0.8 watts thats next to nothing, plus you have it printing right away when you need to.

2.Just drilled a hole over the reservoir, let water run until the sponge was plain white, let the carts dry several days under tropical sun at +92F most of the time, then sealed with hot glue, and refilled.

3.I took care of not moving the sponges, everything is perfect.

4.That is what I have seen over time, but mostly with cyan and magenta, even photo black, for some reason the yellow cart remains very clean, (because of the ink formulation?) almost not saturating the top sponge, mostly a 25% of all the sponge material gets ink.

5.Will skip this step, a hot glue plug is in the reservoir since I wanted to remove the seal, so I am afraid of getting another one there.


Thank you so much for your help.

 

[Harvey]

Haryey, the kinds of problems you are experiencing is one of the reasons that I always buy at least two of any complicated device that I need to have working. I have at least two of every type of printer that I own, not only so that I can have an immediate replacement in case my primary one fails, but also so that I can do comparison testing to isolate a problem. It is almost impossible to tell whether a fault is in the print head, in the printer, or in a cartridge, unless you can swap parts and see what effect that has.

I also have two IP4500 as you never know when you need a lifesaver and its good to have two of the same on critical stuff, but now only one head I live in Nicaragua, Central America, this time I am waiting for the new head to arrive and make a proper testing, plus I will be receiving a new printer so this would be third one, further testing needs to be done on my second printer as I am keeping it new because I live in a little dusty environment, and I keep it in case the ever working IP4500 fails and it doesnt print anymore, now what I used of my spare printer is the head which is new, also I need new carts to do a fair testing in both printers.

I once had a problem with banding when I was using third-party cartridges. By swapping, I was able to determine that a particular cartridge would work fine with one print head but not with another one. Sometimes, things are so marginal that they appear to work and then later they don't. You seem to be in this state right now. If I had your problem, I would be very frustrated as you are but there is no magic solution that we can offer you. When we have these problems, we keep working at it until we find a solution or give up.

Thats my case now, the only problem is wasting paper, I am using DiamondJet Plus from Mitsubishi, locally bought at $25 100 8.5x11 sheets wich I found it to be very good and somehow cheap, but the problem is to have to throw it away because of banding. Frustration is always my mate, unless I make a deep cleaning but not always help, sometimes turning the printer on and off seems to help a little.

One suggestion that I always offer when any kind of problem happens is to first check the purge system. Put some Windex or other window cleaner, or just plain water, on the two pads off to the right where the print head parks, look to see that the shiny liquid remains pooled on the pads for a minute, then do a cleaning and see that the liquid has been sucked away and the pads look dull and not shiny. Without a properly working purge system, nothing else will work.

I opened up the printer and took care of the purge system cleaning the pads and oiling some moving parts and now it is slick, the purge system is in perfect condition as I found no ink under the pads everything so clean, although I had some problems before opening the printing relating to the purge system being stuck and giving me the 6A00 error which I got rid of.

Another potential problem is an air leak in the rubber seal on the top of the print head that the cartridge rests against. If you are having a problem with just your cyan, swap the cyan rubber seal with one of the other colors that you've never had a problem with.

You may also have an air flow problem in the cartridge. If you ever get ink in the serpentine air flow path and it dries out there blocking the air flow, then you will have the type of problem you are experiencing. Remove your cyan cartridge and put your lips to the air vent and gently blow into it. You should not have to blow very hard to get ink to come out of the outlet port.

The printhead is new, but I havent swapped the rubbers because I am confident all rubber pads are new, there is no ink in the serpentine, I blow often the vent hole the ink flows foamy not a jet, does it need to flow in a drops or jet? maybe that is the key to my problem.

There have been other suggestions on this thread, such as checking the bottom of the print head after you have your banding problem to see if there is a deposit of wet or dried ink that is blocking the nozzles, and making sure that the sponge in the cartridge is making good contact with the outlet filter. Have you investigating these issues?

Another experiment you can try is start with a completely refilled cyan cartridge and when you get your cyan working, print ten pages of solid cyan and see if it continues to print them all without a problem. Then see if the level of the ink in the reservoir has gone down. Repeat until you see it going down. Then leave it overnight and see if it will work again. We're trying to find out if there is an air flow problem from the top sponge down to the bottom of the reservoir.

That being said, from my experience and those of people who have had similar problems, most of the time, the problem is in the cartridge and it is one of the easiest things to diagnose--just buy a new OEM Canon cartridge from a reputable source, not online. Go to a big store that sells printers and buy a cartridge there. It will probably cost you more than other ways of getting one but it is the most trustworthy. There are counterfeits out there and low price for OEM makes you wonder.

I'll try the 10-15 page solid color print and see what happens, I always buy a virgin empty Canon they always seem to work but my problem is recent, maybe the ink is the problem and not the cart, time will tell, will try with brand new carts being sold on a local store, time ago I solve a similar problem with pigment ink, that is believed to create glob due to the nature of the ink, and a new cart is need once in a while.


If any of the above suggestions determines a specific potential problem that you don't know how to fix, please ask for more help. In any case, let us know how things go.

Thanks for your time.

 

[Harvey]

Well from last night this test is at 7:00pm, I removed the pirnthead it looked clean with no visible ink in the cyan nozzles something I noticed is the magenta and Cyan rubber pads had more ink than the other carts on them, the printer was turned off al 11:00 pm, then turned on in the morning, then 2 hours off and then on again here is the result, I will try to see what happens with the purge unit, no visible signs of ink over it.