Canon I860 printhead

[Mickey]

Well, after several yrs of heavy use it looks like I may be starting to
have some printhead issues. On a full page color print, sometimes you
can see what look like smudging for a short, 1", distance. Close look,
looks more like one of the colors is failing for a short distance then
recovers. I have pulled the PH and cleaned the outside surface in case
it was just the paper hitting the PH but that didn't take care of the
problem.

Was thinking about pulling the PH and do a full clean job and put it
back in service and see what happens. I seem to recall at one time or
another instruction have been posted on how to do this on canons. Can
anyone point me to the instructions.

TIA

Mickey

 

[Dan G]

Several of the online ink sellers have cleaning kits that consist of empty
tanks and a cleaning solution. This is the only really effective way to blow
the boogers out of a head. Much more effective than soaking. If you want to
try a soak, just take it out and soak it in warm distilled water and
ammonia, being careful not to wet the electrical contacts on the side.

2 sources for cleaning kits I have used:

http://www.inkjetsaver.com/

http://www.alotofthings.com/

 

[Bob Headrick]

Well, after several yrs of heavy use it looks like I may be starting to
have some printhead issues. On a full page color print, sometimes you can
see what look like smudging for a short, 1", distance. Close look, looks
more like one of the colors is failing for a short distance then recovers.
I have pulled the PH and cleaned the outside surface in case it was just
the paper hitting the PH but that didn't take care of the problem.

If the printheads starts out clogged and clears itelsf in the first 1" or so
of printing it does *not* sound like a printhead problem, more like a
service station issue. If the printheads are not properly capped between
print jobs the ink can dry out causing the issue you are observing.

I am not familiar with the service station of the i860 but that is the first
place I would look - make sure the service station area is OK, not clogged.
Clean the capping station if possible.

For the problem described I would not manually clean the printhead as you
risk damaging it.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging

 

[measekite]

Now ask yourself why they sell cleaning kits.  Maybe because they expect you to get a clog from unbranded ink.

Dan G wrote:

Several of the online ink sellers have cleaning kits that consist of empty tanks and a cleaning solution. This is the only really effective way to blow the boogers out of a head. Much more effective than soaking. If you want to try a soak, just take it out and soak it in warm distilled water and ammonia, being careful not to wet the electrical contacts on the side. 2 sources for cleaning kits I have used: http://www.inkjetsaver.com/ http://www.alotofthings.com/ "Mickey" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...



Well, after several yrs of heavy use it looks like I may be starting to have some printhead issues. On a full page color print, sometimes you can see what look like smudging for a short, 1", distance. Close look, looks more like one of the colors is failing for a short distance then recovers. I have pulled the PH and cleaned the outside surface in case it was just the paper hitting the PH but that didn't take care of the problem. Was thinking about pulling the PH and do a full clean job and put it back in service and see what happens. I seem to recall at one time or another instruction have been posted on how to do this on canons. Can anyone point me to the instructions. TIA Mickey

 

[Frank]

Now ask yourself why they sell cleaning kits. Maybe because they expect
you to get a clog from unbranded ink.

 

[Mickey]

If the printheads starts out clogged and clears itelsf in the first 1"
or so of printing it does *not* sound like a printhead problem, more
like a service station issue. If the printheads are not properly capped
between print jobs the ink can dry out causing the issue you are observing.

I am not familiar with the service station of the i860 but that is the
first place I would look - make sure the service station area is OK, not
clogged. Clean the capping station if possible.

For the problem described I would not manually clean the printhead as
you risk damaging it.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging

The problem is not at the beginning or end of a print but in the middle.
Have even seen it on a 4x6 print to a lessor degree. On both the
large and small print it appears the magenta is the color having the
problem. Wonder if instead of being the printhead it is actually the
cart that is having some problem feeding the printhead?

Mickey

 

[Dan G]

The problem is not at the beginning or end of a print but in the middle.
Have even seen it on a 4x6 print to a lessor degree. On both the
large and small print it appears the magenta is the color having the
problem. Wonder if instead of being the printhead it is actually the
cart that is having some problem feeding the printhead?

Mickey

Very possible, especially if you use compatible or refill tanks. This is
often the sign of a dying tank.

 

[zakezuke]

Very possible, especially if you use compatible or refill tanks. This is
often the sign of a dying tank.

Or overfilling. I can't get a firm picture of the issue, but if the
sponge side is over full there would be an issue with printing... at
first looking ok, but then a sort of crescent like effect where the
the outer edges look ok but the center is starved for ink.

 

[Tony]

The problem is not at the beginning or end of a print but in the middle.
Have even seen it on a 4x6 print to a lessor degree. On both the
large and small print it appears the magenta is the color having the
problem. Wonder if instead of being the printhead it is actually the
cart that is having some problem feeding the printhead?

Mickey

Does this happen on plain paperf or just on Photo paper?
I know it sounds weird but this could be a paper issue. Paper and inks must
match. Have you recently changed the paper or ink you are using?

Tony
MS MVP Printing/Imaging

 

[Arthur Entlich]

I have put together a series of posts and links regarding care of Canon
print heads which I can email you free of charge, and without spam.

Since I am not Canon proficient myself, I have relied upon people who
appear to have reasonable knowledge in the area to amass the information
from. As a result the manual is much less complete than the one I
provide on Epson printers, and it's somewhat a matter of following the
links to get to the information you will need.

If you would like a copy, please email me at:

e-printerhelp(at)mvps(dot)org

(at) = @
(dot) = .

Art

Make sure to mention it's the Canon printer manual you wish to have.

 

[Mickey]

I have put together a series of posts and links regarding care of Canon
print heads which I can email you free of charge, and without spam.

Since I am not Canon proficient myself, I have relied upon people who
appear to have reasonable knowledge in the area to amass the information
from. As a result the manual is much less complete than the one I
provide on Epson printers, and it's somewhat a matter of following the
links to get to the information you will need.

If you would like a copy, please email me at:

e-printerhelp(at)mvps(dot)org

(at) = @
(dot) = .

Art

Make sure to mention it's the Canon printer manual you wish to have.

Thanks for the offer. An e-mail should be on the way shortly.

Mickey

 

[Mickey]

Very possible, especially if you use compatible or refill tanks. This is
often the sign of a dying tank.

Was giving thought to this yesterday. I do refill and the tanks are the
original ones. Makes them at least 3 yrs old. Had plans on swapping
tanks today.

Mickey

 

[Dan G]

Was giving thought to this yesterday. I do refill and the tanks are the
original ones. Makes them at least 3 yrs old. Had plans on swapping
tanks today.

Mickey

YIKES! You should be replacing them after 5-6 refills, no wonder you have
issues. Some tanks will last more like 10 cycles, some more like 4.

 

[Burt]

YIKES! You should be replacing them after 5-6 refills, no wonder you have
issues. Some tanks will last more like 10 cycles, some more like 4.

cart life can be extended for years by purging them periodically. Works
great. OEM carts work best for refilling and seem to clean best when
purging. for details see the nifty-stuff forum.

 

[GeoffC]

Was giving thought to this yesterday. I do refill and the tanks are the
original ones. Makes them at least 3 yrs old. Had plans on swapping
tanks today.

Mickey

I used to work in a Canon printer repair centre, but I don't any more,
but I did see a lot more printers than any user could. Some customers
used the manufacturer's ink and some used cheap equivalents. We soon
realised that the printers where non-Canon inks had been used suffered
overall from a lot more problems than those where only genuine ink had
been used. I kid you not, when an engineer opened the lid of a printer
which had non-Canon inks fitted, there would usually be some swearing
because he knew it was going to be a more troublesome job.
In your case I would suggest that you try cleaning the head (we used to
take the Canon heads out and stand the nozzles in a puddle of IPA
solvent for an hour or so, before wiping them and refitting them in the
printer, and if that didn't work we'd offer to fit a new head), and buy
a set of genuine Canon ink tanks and fit them.
I don't recommend refilling ink tanks. If you are using large quantities
of ink, maybe some lateral thinking about other printing technologies
might prove useful. Bubblejet printers have a high cost per page
compared with other technologies.

http://www.printerhelp.me.uk

 

[Burt]

I used to work in a Canon printer repair centre, but I don't any more, but
I did see a lot more printers than any user could. Some customers used the
manufacturer's ink and some used cheap equivalents. We soon realised that
the printers where non-Canon inks had been used suffered overall from a
lot more problems than those where only genuine ink had been used. I kid
you not, when an engineer opened the lid of a printer which had non-Canon
inks fitted, there would usually be some swearing because he knew it was
going to be a more troublesome job.
In your case I would suggest that you try cleaning the head (we used to
take the Canon heads out and stand the nozzles in a puddle of IPA solvent
for an hour or so, before wiping them and refitting them in the printer,
and if that didn't work we'd offer to fit a new head), and buy a set of
genuine Canon ink tanks and fit them.
I don't recommend refilling ink tanks. If you are using large quantities
of ink, maybe some lateral thinking about other printing technologies
might prove useful. Bubblejet printers have a high cost per page compared
with other technologies.

http://www.printerhelp.me.uk

While I would not dispute what GeoffC states, I would emphasize that there
are different qualities of aftermarket inks. The ones I have used in my
Canon printers have worked as well as OEM inks and have not caused problems
with the printheads. If they had caused premature loss of a printhead and
required a printhead purchase every few years, the money saved would have
paid for many more printheads or new printers over the two years. On the
other hand, if poor quality inks had damaged the printhead shortly after
they were used that would certainly be a poor attempt at economizing.

Too bad that the Canon techs that GeoffC mentions would immediately assume
that more problems would exist on opening the lid and seeing non-OEM ink
tanks in place. I don't understand what more problems would be caused
beyond printhead clogging and/or damage and the usual waste ink tank full
problem that occurs with lots of use and cleaning cycles regardless of brand
of ink used.

 

[Tony]

While I would not dispute what GeoffC states, I would emphasize that there
are different qualities of aftermarket inks. The ones I have used in my
Canon printers have worked as well as OEM inks and have not caused problems
with the printheads. If they had caused premature loss of a printhead and
required a printhead purchase every few years, the money saved would have
paid for many more printheads or new printers over the two years. On the
other hand, if poor quality inks had damaged the printhead shortly after
they were used that would certainly be a poor attempt at economizing.

Too bad that the Canon techs that GeoffC mentions would immediately assume
that more problems would exist on opening the lid and seeing non-OEM ink
tanks in place. I don't understand what more problems would be caused
beyond printhead clogging and/or damage and the usual waste ink tank full
problem that occurs with lots of use and cleaning cycles regardless of brand
of ink used.

Burt
What I am about to say is not aimed at Canon or any other individual
manufacturer.
It is my belief that some manufacturers push their technical departments (in
many cases they are actually agents and not employees) to resist as hard as
possible any warranty claims on printers that come in with non-OEM carts. There
is of course no reasonable basis for this other than an extension of their
desire to sell their own inks.
In addition to that I have never seen one case where it could be proven that
compatible inks caused any damage to a printer. Not only that I have never seen
any analysis from any manufacturer that pointed to compatible inks causing
damage. You would think that if they could demonstrate an issue with
compatibles they would shout it from the hilltops!
I am aware of one manufacturer that refuses to handle any warranty claim if the
printer arrives with non-OEM cartridges, this is illegal most places but the
average customer does not have the clout or the money to test this in court. I
am equally aware of one that never refuses to handle a printer under warranty
whatever cartridges are installed (although they have a slightly sneaky habit
of returning the printer with the cartridges removed and in a plastic bag!!!).
With respect to printers that have failed printheads (printers with printheads
built into the printer and not part of the cartridge) what often happens is the
user starts to get print quality problems and decides that one cartridge is low
on ink, they replace the cartridge and the problem is not fixed, if the
cartridge they bought is a compatible they tend to blame it for the problem.
The reality is that the printhead was failing and the old cartrdige was in fact
not empty. Very hard to explain this to some people.
Tony
MS MVP Printing/Imaging

 

[zakezuke]

I used to work in a Canon printer repair centre, but I don't any more,
but I did see a lot more printers than any user could. Some customers
used the manufacturer's ink and some used cheap equivalents. We soon
realised that the printers where non-Canon inks had been used suffered
overall from a lot more problems than those where only genuine ink had
been used. I kid you not, when an engineer opened the lid of a printer
which had non-Canon inks fitted, there would usually be some swearing
because he knew it was going to be a more troublesome job.
In your case I would suggest that you try cleaning the head (we used to
take the Canon heads out and stand the nozzles in a puddle of IPA
solvent for an hour or so, before wiping them and refitting them in the
printer, and if that didn't work we'd offer to fit a new head), and buy
a set of genuine Canon ink tanks and fit them.
I don't recommend refilling ink tanks. If you are using large quantities
of ink, maybe some lateral thinking about other printing technologies
might prove useful. Bubblejet printers have a high cost per page
compared with other technologies.

Could you explain in more detail how you feel that non-canon inks
fitted would have a negative effect. I've combed though various
service manuals and they would suggest that the lifespan of a given
canon, when I re-crunch their numbers, are only rated at 10 cartridge
changes before "end of life". I have had a chance to evaluate the
mp760 vs the ip3000 and I have to say the mp760 got head issues first,
and this was the pigment black, and this was with OEM ink. My ip3000
experienced a similar issue, but that I attribute to the fact the
printer was taken out of service in favor of the ip5200.

Not that I don't see a grain of truth to your statements

[Non-Canon tanks]
There are come which lack the level of quality control that Canon OEM
does, specifically with the inlet ports being too large to manage that
balance between flow and overflow. This can lead to premature waste
pad fill without software intervention.

[self filled OEM tanks]
I can see where the end user could botch the job, not taking into
account the reservoir inlet hole, overfilling of the sponge side
restricting ink flow.

But as far as being a more troublesome job, I would like to know more
about that subject.

[I don't recommend refilling ink tanks. If you are using large
quantities of ink, maybe some lateral thinking about other printing
technologies might prove useful. Bubblejet printers have a high cost
per page compared with other technologies.]

That's a valid opinion, though I would include all inkjets in this
regard. However the high cost of page is mostly due to ink and
paper. Bulk aftermarket ink offers 80-90% savings over OEM typically
speaking. Assuming a $100 printer, two refills of bulk ink pays for
it self even if the printer explodes. If you change a tank 10 times
in a canon, you are already at end of life side of things, and
anything above and beyond that is a bonus.

 

[justmanuals]

I used to work in a Canon printer repair centre, but I don't any more,
but I did see a lot more printers than any user could. Some customers
used the manufacturer's ink and some used cheap equivalents. We soon
realised that the printers where non-Canon inks had been used suffered
overall from a lot more problems than those where only genuine ink had
been used. I kid you not, when an engineer opened the lid of a printer
which had non-Canon inks fitted, there would usually be some swearing
because he knew it was going to be a more troublesome job.
In your case I would suggest that you try cleaning the head (we used to
take the Canon heads out and stand the nozzles in a puddle of IPA
solvent for an hour or so, before wiping them and refitting them in the
printer, and if that didn't work we'd offer to fit a new head), and buy
a set of genuine Canon ink tanks and fit them.
I don't recommend refilling ink tanks. If you are using large quantities
of ink, maybe some lateral thinking about other printing technologies
might prove useful. Bubblejet printers have a high cost per page
compared with other technologies.

Could you explain in more detail how you feel that non-canon inks
fitted would have a negative effect. I've combed though variousservicemanualsand they would suggest that the lifespan of a given
canon, when I re-crunch their numbers, are only rated at 10 cartridge
changes before "end of life". I have had a chance to evaluate the
mp760 vs the ip3000 and I have to say the mp760 got head issues first,
and this was the pigment black, and this was with OEM ink. My ip3000
experienced a similar issue, but that I attribute to the fact the
printer was taken out ofservicein favor of the ip5200.

Not that I don't see a grain of truth to your statements

[Non-Canon tanks]
There are come which lack the level of quality control that Canon OEM
does, specifically with the inlet ports being too large to manage that
balance between flow and overflow. This can lead to premature waste
pad fill without software intervention.

[self filled OEM tanks]
I can see where the end user could botch the job, not taking into
account the reservoir inlet hole, overfilling of the sponge side
restricting ink flow.

But as far as being a more troublesome job, I would like to know more
about that subject.

[I don't recommend refilling ink tanks. If you are using large
quantities of ink, maybe some lateral thinking about other printing
technologies might prove useful. Bubblejet printers have a high cost
per page compared with other technologies.]

That's a valid opinion, though I would include all inkjets in this
regard. However the high cost of page is mostly due to ink and
paper. Bulk aftermarket ink offers 80-90% savings over OEM typically
speaking. Assuming a $100 printer, two refills of bulk ink pays for
it self even if the printer explodes. If you change a tank 10 times
in a canon, you are already at end of life side of things, and
anything above and beyond that is a bonus.

This Parts & Service manual can now be purchased for $10.79 and
downloaded immediately after payment from http://www.justmanuals.com


(e-mail address removed)

 

[justmanuals]

If the printheads starts out clogged and clears itelsf in the first 1" or so
of printing it does *not* sound like a printhead problem, more like aservicestation issue. If the printheads are not properly capped between
print jobs the ink can dry out causing the issue you are observing.

I am not familiar with theservicestation of the i860 but that is the first
place I would look - make sure theservicestation area is OK, not clogged.
Clean the capping station if possible.

For the problem described I would not manually clean the printhead as you
risk damaging it.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging

This Parts & Service manual can now be purchased for $10.79 and
downloaded immediately after payment from http://www.justmanuals.com


(e-mail address removed)