The Ultimate Unclogger

[Roy Sletcher]

A recurring theme among the luminaries on this forum is the subject of CLOGS.

Not the traditional Dutch footwear either, but the serious kind that bedevils our inkjet printers.

Several participants on this board use the print formatting software Qimage, and recently publisher Mike Cheney added a feature caller the "Ultimate Unclogger" as one of its features.

Surprisingly it did not even raise an eyebrow on this site. At least if it was mentioned I missed it.

At first I embraced the feature with enthusiasm as a huge step forward. Now I am not so sure. Before poisoning "The Well" with my comments, I would like to know what others think.

Some comments about the feature can be viewed from this thread on another printing forum:
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/53802882

And here are the comments on the publishers website:
http://ddisoftware.com/tech/qimage-ultimate/qimage-ultimate-unclogger-results-post-here/

Also uploaded a file of the printout of the mighty ultimate unclogger from my Canon Pro100 printer.

Comments invited!

Roy Sletcher

 

[turbguy]

Can you scan a printout? It's an interesting idea to save ink and waste diaper life.

Since we in the forum are of the opinion that operating starved nozzles may cause heater failures in thermal print heads, I'd be somewhat leery of the practice at first...

 

[The Hat]

Roy,
The reason why Ultimate Unclogger didn’t raise an eyebrow on this forum is because it’s just a load of Blarney to put it mildly.

Mike Cheney may know what he is doing with his Qimage but when it comes resolving a suspected clog in a print head I don’t think he has quite got it yet.

99% of all suspected clogs in an Epson or Canon print head are mostly caused by the cartridge not delivering sufficient enough ink to the heads or in the case of Epson it’s most lightly an air lock.

Who knows his method may well work out cheaper to save some ink on an Epson printer but an extremely expensive and costly method on a Canon printer and before I go much further I would like to WARN all Canon printer owners DO NOT TO USE THIS METHOD to resolve a possible head clog on your printer, it simply doesn’t work..

 

[PeterBJ]

I'm also one of the sceptics. The program creates a customized purge page. Years ago purge pages were recommended to clear clogs, but not so much any more, as printing a purge page really stresses the nozzles. A thermal print head as used by Canon, HP, and others relies on a steady ink flow to cool the nozzle heaters. Without this cooling they risk burning out. Instead printing only nozzle checks is recommended until the problem is solved.

I watched the video and most of it is about unclogging an Epson printer, but it is mentioned that the function can also be used for Canon and HP printers. Maybe the piezo-electric print heads used by Epson can withstand this treatment, but I would not recommend it for a Canon or HP printer.

Here is the missing print pattern from @Roy Sletcher 's first post. I guess something went wrong with attaching the image, so you accidentally double posted?

 

[Grandad35]

When a printer runs a cleaning cycle, it uses a pump to pull a light vacuum on the print head to pull out air bubbles and (in so doing) establish an "ink link" from the cart to each and every nozzle exit. It might be weakly argued that firing a properly working nozzle performs a similar function, but firing a clogged nozzle does nothing on a piezo head and just heats the nozzle on a thermal head. If a print head could be purged without the pump, the printer suppliers could save a lot of money.

 

[Lucas28]

The method can be useful for simple clogs, where only some nozzles were clogged. In cases where a whole color has disappeared the method is not safe.

As Grandad stands, unclogging with the build in pump is better. Do you think too much ink is consumed in that way? Then fill the cartridges with head cleaning fluid. It's made for it.

 

[Grandad35]

Printing a test pattern will cause ink to flow in the channel that feeds the individual nozzles, but how does that clear a clog in the nozzle itself? If there is a small air bubble in the channel, it could be argued that printing will work the air bubble toward the end of the channel and eventually out of the way.

If you truly have a "clogged nozzle", I can see that removing the head and soaking the nozzle plate can loosen a clog, but I have trouble seeing how firing a clogged nozzle will clear a clog. The printer's pump is for removing air bubbles, and will not clear a truly clogged nozzle (the generated suction is way too low).

 

[Roy Sletcher]

Thanks for all the replies, that to a person confirmed my later thoughts on the matter.

Obviously forcing print cycles through a clogged Canon head is not going to end well, unless you are a reseller of Canon Print heads.

My earlier hope had been that the "unclogger" would equate to running cleaning cycles without the surplus ink going into an ever filling waste tray. The cost of wasted ink when running cleaning cycles did not worry me. Filling the waster container prematurely was my concern.

Using Jose's strategic technique of replacing several cartridges together definitely seems to reduce the number of cleaning cycles. Unless Canon is sneaking in cleaning cycles when I am not around. ;-)

Have attached the "unclogger" printout with did not show in my first message. Probably of limited interest now.

Roy Sletcher

 

[Emulator]

Where was it I read that printer manufacturers regard printheads as consumables? That's why they are so easy to remove and insert, just like the cartridges.

The only thing that is missing are the good quality after market supplies at low prices!

 

[turbguy]

The only thing missing is print head availability from the OEM, when a printer is 5 years old...

Honestly, printer technology has not advanced much in the last 5 years...why not just continue to use a common print head in all like printers?? Why a different print head in some may different printers?