Canon i960: help wth clogged printhead, please

[Wolf Kirchmeir]

Suddenly and without warning, the magenta on my i960 stopped printing. I
installed a fresh tank, and did several cycles of cleaning + nozzle
check. Tried some deep cleaning, too. But the magenta head still doesn't
print correctly - it looks like about half the nozzles are clogged (if
that's what it is.)

I tried some isopropyl alcohol on the little pad underneath the tank,
which improved the printing _very_ slightly, so it looks like this may
be the way to go. If so, how do I do it?

Thanks for any help received.

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Although I have not done tests on Canon inks, if you are using them, I
have been told that the mixture I suggest for Epson inkjets works on
Canon OEM (their own) inks. You can test it by mixing the ink color in
question with a bit of the fluid I recommend, and make sure the ink
dissolves into it without any particles developing or any clotting,
sticking to the sides of the container or bottom, or floating.

So, get some ammoniated window cleaner, (Windex with Ammonia D or
Original Formula or a generic equivalent in North America.. you seem to
be in Canada), add 10-25% isopropyl alcohol (that can be sold as 99% to
70% mixed with water) do not use any sudsy or lubrication formulations.

Place this so the head is in contact with a good wet soaking of it (on
the pad, or on a quality paper towel, etc. Allow it to soak for a few
hours, do a cleaning and try again. If you get improvement, but not
full correction, do it again.

If no improvement, it could be bad contacts on the head to printer (if
the head is removable, do so and clean all contacts) , or a burned up
circuit within the head (head replacement is required).

Art

 

[measekite]

Are you and have you always used Canon brand ink?

Do you use this printer infrequently? If so, how often?

 

[BF]

Suddenly and without warning, the magenta on my i960 stopped printing. I
installed a fresh tank, and did several cycles of cleaning + nozzle
check. Tried some deep cleaning, too. But the magenta head still doesn't
print correctly - it looks like about half the nozzles are clogged (if
that's what it is.)

I tried some isopropyl alcohol on the little pad underneath the tank,
which improved the printing _very_ slightly, so it looks like this may
be the way to go. If so, how do I do it?

Thanks for any help received.

I refill so my ink costs are very low. At least every other day I turn
the printer on and do a nozzle test. If it looks ok I'm done. If not I
do a cleaning cycle. Seems like a lot of playing around but it seems
like the only way to reduce the risk of clogs.

 

[Wolf Kirchmeir]

Are you and have you always used Canon brand ink?

No. I wondered if this might be an isue, but haven't noticed any
problems until recently.

Do you use this printer infrequently? If so, how often?

Some days, I print a lot, other days not at all. The clogging turned up
after about three days of idle time. I also started turning off the
printer overnight, which may have contributed. (The printer does
cleaning cycles on its own, apparently, to judge from the noises it
emits from time to time.)

 

[measekite]

You just answered your one question. The solution is to buy a Canon
IP4000 and use Canon inks.

 

[Wolf Kirchmeir]

You just answered your one question. The solution is to buy a Canon
IP4000 and use Canon inks.

Wolf Kirchmeir wrote:

OK, why an IP4000? Why not an i9900? (If I'm going to have to buy a new
printer anyhow, as seems likely.)

 

[Wolf Kirchmeir]

Although I have not done tests on Canon inks, if you are using them, I
have been told that the mixture I suggest for Epson inkjets works on
Canon OEM (their own) inks. You can test it by mixing the ink color in
question with a bit of the fluid I recommend, and make sure the ink
dissolves into it without any particles developing or any clotting,
sticking to the sides of the container or bottom, or floating.

[...]

Well, I tried a variation on your suggestion. Figured if the print head
was fried, I couldn't do any more damage, and if it was merely clogged,
it would either work or not.

Last night, I sprayed a bit of Windex onto a foam applicator, and then
daubed that onto the print head (where the tank's exit hole sits.) Also
daubed on some iso-propyl alcohol. This morning's nozzle check showed a
marked improvement, so --

I sprayed a bit of Windex into the magenta tank, through the opening
where the tank contacts the print head. Then a cycle of deep cleaning,
and nozzle test print. Showed an almost perfect test patch, so I did it
for _all_ the tanks, and the printer is now "nearly new." Did a few test
prints. There is a slight streaking, which I think will disappear as the
nozzles clean out some more with further printing. If not, more cleaning
is in order.

I suspect that a combination of low ink level plus two or three days
with the printer turned off, caused clogging. The Windex seems to be
dissolving that. I do not expect any long term effects, but it's clear
that frequent printing/cleaning cycles are required to prevent the ink
from drying out and causing troubles.

Thanks for everybody's help. I also googled a few phrases, and learned a
lot of stuff that is _not_ in the manual. Most important: an empty ink
cartridge can fry the print head, as the ink actually cools the print
head. So always have plenty of extra full tanks on hand.

BTW, there is a faint but definite ammonia odour to a fresh print, which
I noticed when I first got this printer. That should have been be a
clue.

 

[measekite]

I9900 is the very vest. Itis a pure photo printer, and 8 color andit is
the best. The IP4000 is the best value for anarrow carraige printer.
It is a duplex printer and has 2 paper feeds and produces excellenent
results. It depends how large you want to go.

 

[Dan G]

Although I have not done tests on Canon inks, if you are using them, I
have been told that the mixture I suggest for Epson inkjets works on
Canon OEM (their own) inks. You can test it by mixing the ink color in
question with a bit of the fluid I recommend, and make sure the ink
dissolves into it without any particles developing or any clotting,
sticking to the sides of the container or bottom, or floating.

[...]

Well, I tried a variation on your suggestion. Figured if the print head
was fried, I couldn't do any more damage, and if it was merely clogged,
it would either work or not.

Last night, I sprayed a bit of Windex onto a foam applicator, and then
daubed that onto the print head (where the tank's exit hole sits.) Also
daubed on some iso-propyl alcohol. This morning's nozzle check showed a
marked improvement, so --

I sprayed a bit of Windex into the magenta tank, through the opening
where the tank contacts the print head. Then a cycle of deep cleaning,
and nozzle test print. Showed an almost perfect test patch, so I did it
for _all_ the tanks, and the printer is now "nearly new." Did a few test
prints. There is a slight streaking, which I think will disappear as the
nozzles clean out some more with further printing. If not, more cleaning
is in order.

I suspect that a combination of low ink level plus two or three days
with the printer turned off, caused clogging. The Windex seems to be
dissolving that. I do not expect any long term effects, but it's clear
that frequent printing/cleaning cycles are required to prevent the ink
from drying out and causing troubles.

Thanks for everybody's help. I also googled a few phrases, and learned a
lot of stuff that is _not_ in the manual. Most important: an empty ink
cartridge can fry the print head, as the ink actually cools the print
head. So always have plenty of extra full tanks on hand.

BTW, there is a faint but definite ammonia odour to a fresh print, which
I noticed when I first got this printer. That should have been be a
clue.

Just get yourself a cleaning kit and you'll be ready the next time. BTW,
NEVER leave an ink tank out of the printer for more than a minute or 2.

http://www.inkjetsaver.com/clean.html

 

[Arthur Entlich]

You're welcome.

I just want to add something to your comments, which are correct.

The Canon semi-permanent print head can indeed be damaged from running
inkless. It uses a bunch of very tiny resistors that head the nozzles
to boil and expel the ink, and indeed the lack of ink can burn them out.

This is NOT true of Epson heads. They have other issues, but that's not
one of them. They can develop airlocks in the print head if you leave
the printer without ink, and dried ink in the head can causes clogging,
but they don't overheat if there is no ink in the head, because they use
a cool process to eject the ink. There is a small amount of head
generated from the piezo movement, but I don't believe it could be
enough to cause damage.

Art

Although I have not done tests on Canon inks, if you are using them, I
have been told that the mixture I suggest for Epson inkjets works on
Canon OEM (their own) inks. You can test it by mixing the ink color
in question with a bit of the fluid I recommend, and make sure the ink
dissolves into it without any particles developing or any clotting,
sticking to the sides of the container or bottom, or floating.

[...]

Well, I tried a variation on your suggestion. Figured if the print head
was fried, I couldn't do any more damage, and if it was merely clogged,
it would either work or not.

Last night, I sprayed a bit of Windex onto a foam applicator, and then
daubed that onto the print head (where the tank's exit hole sits.) Also
daubed on some iso-propyl alcohol. This morning's nozzle check showed a
marked improvement, so --

I sprayed a bit of Windex into the magenta tank, through the opening
where the tank contacts the print head. Then a cycle of deep cleaning,
and nozzle test print. Showed an almost perfect test patch, so I did it
for _all_ the tanks, and the printer is now "nearly new." Did a few test
prints. There is a slight streaking, which I think will disappear as the
nozzles clean out some more with further printing. If not, more cleaning
is in order.

I suspect that a combination of low ink level plus two or three days
with the printer turned off, caused clogging. The Windex seems to be
dissolving that. I do not expect any long term effects, but it's clear
that frequent printing/cleaning cycles are required to prevent the ink
from drying out and causing troubles.

Thanks for everybody's help. I also googled a few phrases, and learned a
lot of stuff that is _not_ in the manual. Most important: an empty ink
cartridge can fry the print head, as the ink actually cools the print
head. So always have plenty of extra full tanks on hand.

BTW, there is a faint but definite ammonia odour to a fresh print, which
I noticed when I first got this printer. That should have been be a
clue.