Canon i550 nozzle clog problem

[Scotter]

Every time I print I have to go into the maintenance menu and run a nozzle
clean. Has anyone determined a fix for this or why this may be happening?
Thanks!

 

[Bill Foster-KSC]

Every time I print I have to go into the maintenance menu and run a nozzle
clean. Has anyone determined a fix for this or why this may be happening?

A friend has an i550 and I have an i850 - neither of us has had to do a
head cleaning since we bought the printers several months ago. I use
mine regularly, every few days at least, and my friend lets it sit for
over a week at times.

When you finish printing, the printer will "park" the heads in a rubber
housing that keeps the heads from drying.

Make sure you're not turning the printer off with a power bar or
anything else - the printer should be plugged into a live power outlet
at all times.

If that is not the problem, then perhaps you have a defective printer.

 

[Dave McFall]

A friend has an i550 and I have an i850 - neither of us has had to do a
head cleaning since we bought the printers several months ago. I use
mine regularly, every few days at least, and my friend lets it sit for
over a week at times.

When you finish printing, the printer will "park" the heads in a rubber
housing that keeps the heads from drying.

Make sure you're not turning the printer off with a power bar or
anything else - the printer should be plugged into a live power outlet
at all times.

If that is not the problem, then perhaps you have a defective printer.

I, also, have an i550 which is operating beautifully (touch wood). I
would appreciate an explanation of why the unit should be left plugged
into a live outlet.

Thanks (remove nospam to reply).

Dave M

 

[shamanjp]

I, also, have an i550 which is operating beautifully (touch wood). I
would appreciate an explanation of why the unit should be left plugged
into a live outlet.

Thanks (remove nospam to reply).

Dave M

If you turn the printer off by pressing the power button the printer will
make sure that the heads are parked so they won't dry out prior to powering
down. If power is disrupted by turning off a power strip it's possible the
printer may be caught with the heads not in the parked position and the
heads could dry and clog.
JP

 

[buck]

@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com>, "shamanjp" <shamanjp
(nospam)@prodigy.net> says...

If you turn the printer off by pressing the power button the printer will
make sure that the heads are parked so they won't dry out prior to powering
down. If power is disrupted by turning off a power strip it's possible the
printer may be caught with the heads not in the parked position and the
heads could dry and clog.
JP

There are also some models which actually are keeping
track of the passage of time (even when powered down)
and will perform a quick "head clean cycle" before
printing if the firmware judges the cleaning is
required.

I had a 600 series Epson that would clog like crazy if
simply switched off on a power strip, but didn't clog
after I learned not to do this.

Considering the TINY ammount of power consumed by the
printer when its not printing, and the problems you can
get if you disconnect it, I recommend NOT DISCONNECTING
THE POWER FROM ANY INKJET PRINTER IF YOU DONT HAVE TO!!

For all but 2 of the printers that are connected to my
system (there are six connected) I dont even bother to
switch them off at all because the ONLY time any of them
give problems is after being off for an extended time.

One of the 2 that do get switched off is the Laser
printer (they draw a lot of juice and are designed to be
OFF when idle hence the "warm up" period built into
them) and an HP 7350 that has some kind of firmware bug
that causes it to "fall into a deep sleep" if it is left
on without being used for over an hour. The HP gets
powered down BEFORE the computer, otherwise it wont
respond to its own power switch (Im waiting to hear from
HP if this is a known bug or a defective unit its only a
few months old and has ALWAYS acted this way).

The other four units (HP 952c, HP1200 3in1, Canon S820,
Canon BJC 4550) NEVER get powered down, and (knock wood)
NEVER give clogging problems. All of these units get re-
inked by me with bulk ink (www.inksupply.com)designed
specifically for the printer series, and I print a LOT!!

During horse show season the old Canon prints from 40 to
50 small (4x6 or 3x5) PROOFS a day, After proofing the
S820 will print those 40 or 50 pix to what ever size is
needed. The HP 7350 does 40 or so 5x8 prints a day, the
HP 3in1 does duty as a copier/fax 2 or 3 times a week,
and the 952 c does a hundred or so pages a week of
text/graphics.

I dont think I see or hear more than 2 cleaning cycles a
week from the lot of them except for after a power
outage when they ALL do long head cleaning cycles on
power-up(3 to 5 hours without power after ANY type of
rain or thunderstorm is normal/average for my power
company)

 

[Barrie Brozenske]

I dont think I see or hear more than 2 cleaning cycles a
week from the lot of them except for after a power
outage when they ALL do long head cleaning cycles on
power-up(3 to 5 hours without power after ANY type of
rain or thunderstorm is normal/average for my power
company)

My canon s630 is used on our RV. AC power is usually shut off when not
used (it is from a battery powered inverter). I do notice the cleaning
cycles almost every time I use it. However, it can be several days
between uses. I am not particularly happy about the consumption of
colored ink in the cleaning cycles, as I print only gray scale....but I
did not find a B&W printer I wanted either.

 

[Wayne]

The other four units (HP 952c, HP1200 3in1, Canon S820,

Canon BJC 4550) NEVER get powered down, and (knock wood)
NEVER give clogging problems. All of these units get re-
inked by me with bulk ink (www.inksupply.com)designed
specifically for the printer series, and I print a LOT!!

Life of an inkjet with a mounted head (Canon, Epson) while using bulk
ink is said to be about 2-3 years. When fed with original inks, 5-6
years.

During horse show season the old Canon prints from 40 to
50 small (4x6 or 3x5) PROOFS a day, After proofing the
S820 will print those 40 or 50 pix to what ever size is
needed. The HP 7350 does 40 or so 5x8 prints a day, the
HP 3in1 does duty as a copier/fax 2 or 3 times a week,
and the 952 c does a hundred or so pages a week of
text/graphics.

40 5x8" prints on 7350 a day???
You have to change inks (refill) daily and the print quality probably
isn't good.

wayne

 

[buck]

Life of an inkjet with a mounted head (Canon, Epson) while using bulk
ink is said to be about 2-3 years. When fed with original inks, 5-6
years.


40 5x8" prints on 7350 a day???
You have to change inks (refill) daily and the print quality probably
isn't good.

wayne

Correct on the refills (I keep several carts standing by
and rotate through them) incorrect on the quality..

I cant for the life of me figure why you think the
quality would suffer...I use the highest quality
settings, good paper (some Red Riverm some Printasia)and
the best damn ink money can buy AFAIK, from
www.inksupply.com (MIS Assosiates)

 

[Wayne]

Correct on the refills (I keep several carts standing by

and rotate through them) incorrect on the quality..

I assure you that I'm correct on the quality. Refilling cartidges with
integrated printhead (HP, Lexmark) won't give you the same results as
refilling cartidges with mounted printhead (Epson, Canon). There will
be a noticable loss in quality mainly because of the printhead, which
isn't life-time one. After 2nd refilling or even 1st, the printouts
may appear banded, washed out, etc.
Remember that you also mix the original ink with the bulk ink - not
good if you want your prints to last (even 1 year).

I cant for the life of me figure why you think the
quality would suffer...I use the highest quality
settings, good paper (some Red Riverm some Printasia)and
the best damn ink money can buy AFAIK, from
www.inksupply.com (MIS Assosiates)

Your prints just won't last, no matter which setting and which paper
you will be using. Secondly you're shortening the life of the
printhead. I use original inks with Canon because they are really
cheap. The only letdown is the paper (especially pr-101) which is bit
pricey.
I think that if you buy a printer for 270$ (Europe) you can afford
inks for 9$.

Wayne

 

[buck]

I assure you that I'm correct on the quality. Refilling cartidges with
integrated printhead (HP, Lexmark) won't give you the same results as
refilling cartidges with mounted printhead (Epson, Canon). There will
be a noticable loss in quality mainly because of the printhead, which
isn't life-time one. After 2nd refilling or even 1st, the printouts
may appear banded, washed out, etc.
Remember that you also mix the original ink with the bulk ink - not
good if you want your prints to last (even 1 year).


Your prints just won't last, no matter which setting and which paper
you will be using. Secondly you're shortening the life of the
printhead. I use original inks with Canon because they are really
cheap. The only letdown is the paper (especially pr-101) which is bit
pricey.
I think that if you buy a printer for 270$ (Europe) you can afford
inks for 9$.

Wayne

Wayne, you make 4 assumptions you shouldn't make:

first bad assumption: That Im too stupid to notice ANY
drop in quality. Im not, and its kind of insulting.

Second bad assumption: That I continue to refill a cart
simply because I can. I USUALLY will only refill twice,
then chuck it. That cuts my cost to only slightly more
than one third. I tried 3 refills on the HP # 57 # 58
(carts for the HP 7350, 7550 ect) and quality
deteriorated, so I cut that line off at 2 refils...

Third bad assumption: That the ink I refill with is of a
type and quality that would cause problems of any kind
with the head. I've been doing this a LONG time (since
the very first ink jet kits became available (dont
remember what year)). Some bulk inks are even BETTER
than OEM, some are very bad, thats what prompted my
orriginal response.

Fourth bad assumption: that the ink I use doesn't make
long lasting prints. Just not so.. MIS inks last as
long, or longer than OEM inks, thats one of the reasons
they take the trouble to formulate the ink for the
CARTRIDGE not the brand.

You really shouldn't make those assumptions, my
experience proves them incorrect.

 

[Wayne]

first bad assumption: That Im too stupid to notice ANY

drop in quality. Im not, and its kind of insulting.

There is a drop in quality: the prints won't last (photo papers). And
don't try to tell me that *the quality is the same when using refills
or not* on those media.

Second bad assumption: That I continue to refill a cart
simply because I can. I USUALLY will only refill twice,
then chuck it. That cuts my cost to only slightly more
than one third. I tried 3 refills on the HP # 57 # 58
(carts for the HP 7350, 7550 ect) and quality
deteriorated, so I cut that line off at 2 refils...

HP ink is expensive, I know. If you print documents on coated or plain
media, then you don't have to worry about the quality (which won't
change). BUT, if you start to print on photo papers - the quality WILL
NOT BE THE SAME AS with oem's. You won't see it (the diffrence) but
the prints will fade quicker (which shows the DIFFRENCE between
formulating ink in refills and OEM's).

Third bad assumption: That the ink I refill with is of a
type and quality that would cause problems of any kind
with the head. I've been doing this a LONG time (since
the very first ink jet kits became available (dont
remember what year)). Some bulk inks are even BETTER
than OEM, some are very bad, thats what prompted my
orriginal response.

Refills will always be refills - the are made to be cheap and to get
people to buy them instead of buying (sometimes expensive) OEM inks.
Show me inks which are better than OEM's and cheaper than them - there
is no such thing.

Fourth bad assumption: that the ink I use doesn't make
long lasting prints. Just not so.. MIS inks last as
long, or longer than OEM inks, thats one of the reasons
they take the trouble to formulate the ink for the
CARTRIDGE not the brand.

How can you tell that some refills are better than oems - any data ?
As far as I know, no refills will last longer (and be the same
quality) than originals (livick.com / wilhelm imaging resource).
Ink in refills is specially formulated to be as near as in the
originals (but it will never be).

You really shouldn't make those assumptions, my
experience proves them incorrect.

I'am not making bad assumptions and didn't want to make them, even if
they would be false but they are (unfortunately?) true.

Wayne

PS.

In HP's, refills don't shorten the life of the printhead.

 

[Deathwalker]

--
Ian Lincoln Independent I.T Consultant

There is a drop in quality: the prints won't last (photo papers). And
don't try to tell me that *the quality is the same when using refills
or not* on those media.


HP ink is expensive, I know. If you print documents on coated or plain
media, then you don't have to worry about the quality (which won't
change). BUT, if you start to print on photo papers - the quality WILL
NOT BE THE SAME AS with oem's. You won't see it (the diffrence) but
the prints will fade quicker (which shows the DIFFRENCE between
formulating ink in refills and OEM's).


Refills will always be refills - the are made to be cheap and to get
people to buy them instead of buying (sometimes expensive) OEM inks.
Show me inks which are better than OEM's and cheaper than them - there
is no such thing.

Mr Wayne oem isn't made by epson and canon etc. They buy it same as
everyone else, they don't have huge caldrons next to the printer workshops.
What you need is a thirdparty who buys from the same supplier the oems get
it from Don't forget third party sellers don't have to subsidise the
underpriced printers being produced.

 

[Nonya]

There is a drop in quality: the prints won't last (photo papers). And
don't try to tell me that *the quality is the same when using refills
or not* on those media.


HP ink is expensive, I know. If you print documents on coated or plain
media, then you don't have to worry about the quality (which won't
change). BUT, if you start to print on photo papers - the quality WILL
NOT BE THE SAME AS with oem's. You won't see it (the diffrence) but
the prints will fade quicker (which shows the DIFFRENCE between
formulating ink in refills and OEM's).


Refills will always be refills - the are made to be cheap and to get
people to buy them instead of buying (sometimes expensive) OEM inks.
Show me inks which are better than OEM's and cheaper than them - there
is no such thing.


How can you tell that some refills are better than oems - any data ?
As far as I know, no refills will last longer (and be the same
quality) than originals (livick.com / wilhelm imaging resource).
Ink in refills is specially formulated to be as near as in the
originals (but it will never be).


I'am not making bad assumptions and didn't want to make them, even if
they would be false but they are (unfortunately?) true.

Wayne

PS.

In HP's, refills don't shorten the life of the printhead.

At last, the voice of reason! Thanks Wayne for setting things
straight. Most folks, including my self, have gone through a period
where we have tried alternate ink sources trying to save a few
dollars. I had even convinced myself for a short period of time that
I was getting nearly the same results. Unfortunately, I started using
color matching and noticed quite a difference in printing the same
photo with Epson ink versus the other inks. MUCH better match with
Epson OEM! OUCH! Your pointing to the information at
http://www.livick.com/method/inkjet/pg2d.htm (and Wilhelm) sites is
also an eye opener for those who have not seen the results of OEM
versus the generic brands longevity. The OEM inks last at least 3 to
4 times as long or more! There are many reasons to stick with OEM
inks and avoid substitutes. There is only one valid reason anyone can
give for using a substitute ink and that is cost. Not enough reason
to take a chance on damaged permanent print heads and poor
performance!

 

[Wayne]

Mr Wayne oem isn't made by epson and canon etc. They buy it same as

everyone else, they don't have huge caldrons next to the printer workshops.
What you need is a thirdparty who buys from the same supplier the oems get
it from.

By saying "OEM INKS" here I meant the ORIGINAL INKS (not refills).
Sorry if I gave a misleading information - it's 3:49AM here - what do
ya expect

Don't forget third party sellers don't have to subsidise the
underpriced printers being produced.

Some companies have to subside for the printers, some don't. Canon
didn't get much from selling inks until now.
If they want to make more money they just make new inks which are more
expensive (change BCI-3* inks to BCI-3e*). Everyone knows how much
Lexmark and HP inks cost and compared to Can/Eps inks they really are
EXPENSIVE.

Wayne

 

[SleeperMan]

By saying "OEM INKS" here I meant the ORIGINAL INKS (not refills).
Sorry if I gave a misleading information - it's 3:49AM here - what do
ya expect


Some companies have to subside for the printers, some don't. Canon
didn't get much from selling inks until now.
If they want to make more money they just make new inks which are more
expensive (change BCI-3* inks to BCI-3e*). Everyone knows how much
Lexmark and HP inks cost and compared to Can/Eps inks they really are EXPENSIVE.
^^^^^^^^^^
Wayne

I second that¨!!!
Canon (i550 in my case) is faaaaaaaaar better solution than ANY LEX.

 

[larryjenson]

I had the same problem shortly after I bought it. It is a warranty issue. A local office machine company repaired it in a day. Call first to get the part ordered and confirm that they know what the problem is. No charge. Now my paper is jamming. Pulls to the left and it just started happening. I have been very pleased otherwise.