Canon i850 abruptly stops printing black; colors ok. Any ideas?

[electron]

I'm reproducing the info I sent to Canon tech help and am hoping for a
more helpful response here. ;-)

Model: i850
OS: Windows XP SP1
The printer abruptly stopped printing black in in the middle of a page
-- the page continued to feed normally. On all-black text pages the
paper feeds normally but no text (not one spot of black ink) is
produced
on the page. All colors work normally.
I did a black clean and a black deep clean. No effect.
I removed the black cartridge and touched absorbant paper to the
delivery port -- good ink flow.
I removed all cartridges and the print head. I touched a piece of wet
absorbant paper to the bottom of the print head. A *LOT* of black ink
came out along with some colored ink. Reinserted head and tanks.
Color fine; no black.
Unplugged and replugged printer. Rebooted computer. Tried different
print sources (Wordperfect, Adobe Acrobat). No black.
Any suggestions?

electron

 

[Miss Perspicacia Tick]

I'm reproducing the info I sent to Canon tech help and am hoping for a
more helpful response here. ;-)

Model: i850
OS: Windows XP SP1
The printer abruptly stopped printing black in in the middle of a page
-- the page continued to feed normally. On all-black text pages the
paper feeds normally but no text (not one spot of black ink) is
produced
on the page. All colors work normally.
I did a black clean and a black deep clean. No effect.
I removed the black cartridge and touched absorbant paper to the
delivery port -- good ink flow.
I removed all cartridges and the print head. I touched a piece of wet
absorbant paper to the bottom of the print head. A *LOT* of black ink
came out along with some colored ink. Reinserted head and tanks.
Color fine; no black.
Unplugged and replugged printer. Rebooted computer. Tried different
print sources (Wordperfect, Adobe Acrobat). No black.
Any suggestions?

electron

Sounds like the print head is shot to me.

 

[electron]

Sounds like the print head is shot to me.

Thanks. That was my top guess, but before I bite the bullet I guess
I'll reload the drivers. I really can't think of anything else. The
contacts to the print head seem to be in good shape.

electron

 

[Dan G]

Don't keep printing on a possibly clogged head, it'll burn out. A thorough
cleaning in hot water/ammonia might get it cleared, if it is clogged.
Cleaning kits like the one sold at www.inkjetsaver.com can clear most any
clog. If it's not clogged, then it's really dead.

 

[electron]

Don't keep printing on a possibly clogged head, it'll burn out. A thorough
cleaning in hot water/ammonia might get it cleared, if it is clogged.
Cleaning kits like the one sold at www.inkjetsaver.com can clear most any
clog. If it's not clogged, then it's really dead.

Thanks. The head has clogged previously. In those cases one or more
of the nozzles would stop working, but not all of them completely (and
simultaneously). I suppose there is a part of the head where there is
one channel the ink flows through before it gets to the nozzles and a
plug there could bring everything to a grinding halt. But it is hard
to believe that something that large could get past the head input
port screen. And a piece of wet paper touched to the nozzles caused a
large dump of black ink. This would seem inconsistent with a clog.
But, before I cough up the $ for a new head I suppose flushing the
head would be worthwhile.

 

[Bill]

Model: i850
OS: Windows XP SP1
The printer abruptly stopped printing black in in the middle of a page
-- the page continued to feed normally. On all-black text pages the
paper feeds normally but no text (not one spot of black ink) is
produced on the page. All colors work normally.

That sounds exactly like my experience when the printhead died on my
i850 a few months ago. First a few nozzles stopped working, then the
whole printhead suddenly stopped working mid-page. It was only 16 months
old and printed about 4000 pages. Not very good for a printhead that is
supposed to last the life of the printer.

Needless to say, I was rather disappointed to learn that Canon changed
their tune about printhead life when I had a failure, and they were not
willing to do anything to keep me as a customer.

Anyway, after finding out that the printhead costs 90% of a new printer,
I tossed the Canon in the trash, and I went back to HP printers. No
issues with printheads since they're integrated into the cartridges, and
print quality that easily equals the competition's prints.

 

[Michael Grey]

I have an extra printhead if needed and extra ink at a great price.

 

[electron]

That sounds exactly like my experience when the printhead died on my
i850 a few months ago. First a few nozzles stopped working, then the
whole printhead suddenly stopped working mid-page. It was only 16 months
old and printed about 4000 pages. Not very good for a printhead that is
supposed to last the life of the printer.

About the same number of months here, but I don't think I've
approached 4000 pages. Maybe they're set to fail about 6 months after
warrantee expiration.

Needless to say, I was rather disappointed to learn that Canon changed
their tune about printhead life when I had a failure, and they were not
willing to do anything to keep me as a customer.

Anyway, after finding out that the printhead costs 90% of a new printer,
I tossed the Canon in the trash, and I went back to HP printers. No
issues with printheads since they're integrated into the cartridges, and
print quality that easily equals the competition's prints.

They're charging me about $50 for the printhead -- I believe the price
has come down from what it was. I think that's about the cost of 1
b+w and 1 color cartridge for many printers on the market. Meanwhile,
using good bulk ink, the ink costs are quite low for Canon. So, I
think the economics still favors Canon. And, personally, I've used HP
printers at work and the Canon at home and I'm pleased with the output
of both. On the other hand, if Canon knew the lifetime of the
printhead was limited it should have been more forthright and should
sell the heads through normal distribution channels.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Bill]

They're charging me about $50 for the printhead -- I believe the price
has come down from what it was.

My prices are in CDN funds - $60 for the head, plus shipping and taxes,
brings the delivered price to $81. A new i560 printer can be had for
only $90.

b+w and 1 color cartridge for many printers on the market. Meanwhile,
using good bulk ink, the ink costs are quite low for Canon. So, I
think the economics still favors Canon.

If refilling with bulk ink is the main concern, then Canon is the
obvious choice because the ink tanks are easy to handle. But if the
heads are failing that often, they have a quality issue to deal with
first.

I'm not a heavy printer, so my first priority is a reliable unit that
prints when I want it.

And, personally, I've used HP
printers at work and the Canon at home and I'm pleased with the output
of both. On the other hand, if Canon knew the lifetime of the
printhead was limited it should have been more forthright and should
sell the heads through normal distribution channels.

I agree. That's partly the reason I dumped Canon. Since other companies,
and even Canon I believe, sell replacement heads for various models in
the stores, there's no reason these heads couldn't be sold at retail as
well.

It's a shame really, as Canon cameras are so reliable for capturing the
photos...