Resetting the Compatible Chip & Unclog Photo Black

[ghwellsjr]

The purpose of switching between the full tank and empty tank is to get the printer to do a purge/clean cycle without having to hook up the printer to a computer. I do a lot of repair on other people's printers that I may not have a driver for or that I may have just purchased from eBay and working in a room where I don't have a computer. If you are already hooked up to a computer then it is easier to use the printer driver software to command a cleaning cycle.

You should limit your cleaning cycle to just the colors you are trying to fix so as not to waste ink on the other ones. Switching between full and empty cartridges does this automatically. But again, if your printer is already connected to your computer, you can do this more conveniently from the software.

 

[embguy]

ghwellsjr, Thank for the explanation. I can skip the empty cartridge step since my MP830 is an AIO and has control panel.

Anyone know where is the photo black nozzles located. Are they together with the color nozzles?
I noticed that the yellow, magenta and cyan ink level disappeared faster than the photo black after each cleaning cycle.

 

[embguy]

ghwellsjr,
After trying couple of days to unclog the photo black, there is no improvement at this point. After a few cleaning cycles with Windex, it prints a perfect nozzle test. It is due to the Windex diluted the photo black ink. As soon as the Windex are gone, missing some photo black pattern (post #4) returns.

I am using Windex with ammonia D straight out of the bottle. Is this the solution you use?

Am I chasing the wrong source of problem?

 

[ghwellsjr]

I do not believe that you have clogged nozzles. When you have clogged nozzles, the nozzle check pattern never changes, unless, of course, some of the nozzles become unclogged. I believe you are having an ink flow problem as Smile stated earlier, especially since you noted that the photo black ink is not being used up as quickly as the colors when you do repeated cleaning cycles. Now you have to determine whether the flow problem is inside the printhead or inside the cartridge (or both).

The easiest way to determine that is to have multiple printheads (or printers that have similar printheads that use the same cartridges) and multiple cartridges. You have to find a cartridge that works with a printhead and then swap either the cartridge or printhead that is giving you the problem with a known good one. It is unclear to me if you have multiple cartridges but you can always buy more. You probably don't have multiple printheads but you can probably go to a store and try your suspect cartridges in their printers. I think you said you have at least one Canon OEM cartridge. I would not ever use any but Canon OEM cartridges for several reasons that I have stated elsewhere. If your Canon OEM cartridge has been refilled, I would recommend getting a new one.

As stated earlier, don't rule out the possibility that a particular cartridge won't work with a particular printhead.

After you have identified whether the flow problem is in the printhead or in the cartridge (or both) we can proceed.

 

[embguy]

I am using Canon OEM cartridges. When I got this MP830, it has a compatible yellow and magenta. I had replaced with Canon OEM yellow and magenta cartridges.

At this point, I am using a new Canon OEM photo black on my MP830. The photo black is working correctly on my iP4500. The problem did not go away when I used the photo black from the iP4500. Therefore, I think the flow problem is not on the ink cartridge. But I will test the photo black from my MX850 tomorrow just to be sure.

Is printhead flow problem same as ink clog? I don't have another printhead to test the printhead flow problem.

 

[ghwellsjr]

It does appear that the problem is in the printhead but it is not clogged nozzles. I would call it a printhead flow problem rather than a clog problem. Clog implies something that will not let any ink past it. Since you do get a good nozzle check after a good cleaning, we know that it is a severe restriction but not a total clog.

Pharmacist has already advised you to check the seal between the cartridge and the printhead so we will assume that is not the problem.

I would recommend you make or get a good cleaning cartridge. I have successfully used the cleaning solution available from injetsaver.com. It appears that they have cleaning cartridges that fit your printer but you probably should buy some cleaning solution so that you can add more. I do not know how you are going to do this with the chipped cartridges because I only use older printers but whatever you do to refill them is what you need to do for the cleaning solution.

 

[embguy]

ghwellsjr,
A few weeks ago, I requested the Arthur Entlich's head cleaning manual. Earlier this evening, I mixed his 1:1 mixture of Windex with ammonia D and isopropyl alcohol cleaning solution. I added a few drop to the purge pad and one drop at the photo black nozzle screen as per your unclogging procedure. Did a deep cleaning. The nozzle check, right after the cleaning, shows nothing, nil, for the photo black. I had a funny feeling that I may have damage the printhead. I stopped using the 1:1 solution to do the cleaning. I continued the head cleaning with the Windex only. I was able to get back partial photo black pattern. After a few more cleaning cycles, the restriction finally open up. I did over 50 consecutive nozzle check with perfect photo black pattern.

I think the 1:1 solution knocked off some ink at the top of the nozzles (channel) and completely fill the gap of the restriction below. With subsequent cleaning, the restriction was completely removed. I am not sure that the 1:1 solution did the work or the last 2 days worth of cleaning finished the job.

I will run more nozzle check tomorrow to make sure that the ink restriction/clog was completely removed.

Thank you for your suggestion on inkjetsaver.com cleaning kit. I may need it if the nozzles are not completely clear.

 

[ghwellsjr]

I'm not clear what you did with the 1:1 solution, which I think you mean is half Windex and half alcohol. Did you put that in a cartridge to make a cleaning cartridge or did you use that mixture instead of straight Windex but otherwise followed the same procedure I recommended with a regular cartridge?

Now that it appears the problem has been solved, you need to do one more test, just to make sure. Tell your printer that you are using a photo paper, any kind, it won't matter. Open the cover of the scanner and make a "copy". The copy should come out solid black. If it has white streaks in it, then you still have a flow problem. Look to see if the ink in the reservoir is going down. If it isn't then you probably have a flow problem in the cartridge.

 

[embguy]

ghwellsjr,
Yes, the 1:1 solution is half Windex and half alcohol. I did not use a cleaning cartridge. I just put a few drops of this solution on the photo black nozzle screen to do the cleaning/nozzle test cycles.

The printhead flow problem has not been fixed yet. This morning, I tested the Canon OEM photo black cartridge from my 2 months old MX850. I got a partial photo black pattern.

I think the current photo black is diluted with cleaning solution that migrated upward from the cartridge.

Now, I am back to square one with the printhead flow problem. You recommend the inkjetsaver.com cleaning kit. I assumed that you have use it and it works. I am going to order the cleaning solution from them and make the cleaning cartridge using my empty.

At the mean time, I will make a cleaning cartridge using the half Windex and half alcohol to do the cleaning.

 

[ghwellsjr]

I have not purchased a cleaning cartridge from inkjetsaver.com, I have just purchased the cleaning solution and made my own. Be advised that they provide two different concentrations of cleaning solution, a more expensive stronger one for pigment ink which they call Regular and a cheaper weaker one for dye ink which they call Color. I would get the Regular one even though it costs a little more. Either one will work for any type of ink. I got the 16 oz bottle because the shipping makes it cost effective.

I have had only one occasion to use my cleaning cartridge. One of my friends that I supply refilled cartridges to had a flow problem similar to yours but with magenta. We could not get the printhead cleared up with the normal Windex routine but the cleaning cartridge did the trick. I swapped printheads with him and did the work at my house because I didn't have the cleaning cartridge with me when I went to help him at his house. I do not remember how much effort it took to get the printhead working again. Remember, in my instructions I advise to let the printer sit overnight. Sometimes it just takes time for these problems to clear up.

One more thing I would add: I used a magenta cartridge that still had some ink left in the sponge area so that there is a slight color that is printed when you do a nozzle check after a cleaning cycle. This makes it easy to tell when the problem has been solved.