Blocked Canon

[Laurence]

I've been given a canon pixma 4000 to repair.
It has stood unused for 6 months & will not
print anything at all. I ran 10 deep clean cycles
which made no difference at all .

Is it feasible to remove the print head & soak
it in some solution to dissolve the caked ink?
What dissolves ink best without harming
the printhead?

The printer was working well before being
put into storage
Laurence

 

[Tony]

I've been given a canon pixma 4000 to repair.
It has stood unused for 6 months & will not
print anything at all. I ran 10 deep clean cycles
which made no difference at all .

Is it feasible to remove the print head & soak
it in some solution to dissolve the caked ink?
What dissolves ink best without harming
the printhead?

The printer was working well before being
put into storage
Laurence

Be careful, this may be a blocked printhead but it may also be a failed purge
unit.
Generally if there is absolutely no output from the head the problem is the
purge unit. This series of Canon printers survive lack of use better than most
in my experience.
You can remove the head (just operate the lever) and soak it in water, or if
you have access to an ultrasonic cleaner give that a try with a solution of 50%
ammoniated cleaner and water; this is effective maybe 50% of the time. But if
you cannot get any output I would suspect the purge unit and that is probably
throw away time.
Tony
MS MVP Printing/Imaging

 

[Burt]

Be careful, this may be a blocked printhead but it may also be a failed
purge
unit.
Generally if there is absolutely no output from the head the problem is
the
purge unit. This series of Canon printers survive lack of use better than
most
in my experience.
You can remove the head (just operate the lever) and soak it in water, or
if
you have access to an ultrasonic cleaner give that a try with a solution
of 50%
ammoniated cleaner and water; this is effective maybe 50% of the time. But
if
you cannot get any output I would suspect the purge unit and that is
probably
throw away time.
Tony
MS MVP Printing/Imaging

Tony - has your experience been good with ultrasonic cleaners and Canon
printheads? I've read a few posts on the Nifty-stuff forum from people who
did use ultrasonic cleaners and the print head didn't work afterward. You
would be the best last word on this technique.

Laurence - Tony is an expert with printer repairs and I wouldn't presume to
give better advice than he has given you. I would suggest, just for
background info, that you go onto the Nifty-Stuff Forum, click the FAQ link
at the top of the page, and select the first thread about what to do if your
printer doesn't print properly. Lots of info on various techniques for
unclogging a printhead (if that is the problem.) Read through the whole,
long thread before you do anything, and then start with the most benign
approach that would be least likely to ruin the printhead.

Usually, if one or two cleaning cycles won't clear a clog you need to go on
to a more agressive, undocumented approach. Tony mentioned the purge unit
could be faulty. This unit operates during a cleaning cycle by applying a
vacuum that pulls ink from the cartridges through the printhead and into the
waste ink area. This is done to either prime a new cart or to dissolve
built up dry ink in the printhead. If the printhead is totally clogged then
no ink can go through to clear it, no matter how many cleaning cycles you
run. As Tony states, a faulty purge unit could be the problem as it will
not function to pull ink through the printhead when you activate a cleaning
cycle.

 

[measekite]

It must have had non Canon ink.  Well it is shot.  Get a new print head.  It will probably cost more than a brand new printer with a full load of ink.  Well, get a new IP4500 and use only Canon ink.  You will get great results.

Laurence wrote:

I've been given a canon pixma 4000 to repair. It has stood unused for 6 months & will not print anything at all. I ran 10 deep clean cycles which made no difference at all . Is it feasible to remove the print head & soak it in some solution to dissolve the caked ink? What dissolves ink best without harming the printhead? The printer was working well before being put into storage Laurence

 

[Tony]

Tony - has your experience been good with ultrasonic cleaners and Canon
printheads? I've read a few posts on the Nifty-stuff forum from people who
did use ultrasonic cleaners and the print head didn't work afterward. You
would be the best last word on this technique.

Laurence - Tony is an expert with printer repairs and I wouldn't presume to
give better advice than he has given you. I would suggest, just for
background info, that you go onto the Nifty-Stuff Forum, click the FAQ link
at the top of the page, and select the first thread about what to do if your
printer doesn't print properly. Lots of info on various techniques for
unclogging a printhead (if that is the problem.) Read through the whole,
long thread before you do anything, and then start with the most benign
approach that would be least likely to ruin the printhead.

Usually, if one or two cleaning cycles won't clear a clog you need to go on
to a more agressive, undocumented approach. Tony mentioned the purge unit
could be faulty. This unit operates during a cleaning cycle by applying a
vacuum that pulls ink from the cartridges through the printhead and into the
waste ink area. This is done to either prime a new cart or to dissolve
built up dry ink in the printhead. If the printhead is totally clogged then
no ink can go through to clear it, no matter how many cleaning cycles you
run. As Tony states, a faulty purge unit could be the problem as it will
not function to pull ink through the printhead when you activate a cleaning
cycle.

Burt
We use ultrasonic cleaners as a last resort and get maybe a 50% success rate. I
always warn the customer that using this can make the situation worse. I think
the trick is to get the liquid composition right but there may be some issues
caused by the high frequencies that can damage the printhead or associated
electronics. It only takes a few minutes and if it works then all is fine, if
it fails nothing is lost I guess.
Tony

 

[Burt]

Burt
We use ultrasonic cleaners as a last resort and get maybe a 50% success
rate. I
always warn the customer that using this can make the situation worse. I
think
the trick is to get the liquid composition right but there may be some
issues
caused by the high frequencies that can damage the printhead or associated
electronics. It only takes a few minutes and if it works then all is fine,
if
it fails nothing is lost I guess.
Tony

Tony -
Soaking the nozzle area while sitting in a container with a saturated
lintless paper towel and about 3 mm. of liquid - either hot water, windex,
or a mix, and then dripping the same liquid onto the intake screens has
usually done it for me. The one time I got too agressive I had to buy my
one and only replacement printhead! I think you are right that the
ultrasonic cleaners have the potential to screw up electronics in the head.
I have also heard of people running hot water from the tap onto the intake
screens til the water runs clear. They take care to not get the contacts
wet on the back of the printhead. I've learned to start with the least
invasive, least potentially damaging approach and getting more agressive if
need be. Certainly, the ultrasonic cleaner would be nearly the final try.

Did you read through the posts from Grandad35 on taking the printhead apart,
cleaning the ports in the body of the printhead, and reassembling it? You
have to grind down the plastic nibs that hold the contact plate on the back
before removing the nozzle section. otherwise you overstress the connecting
ribbon assembly. Reassembly requires some means of holding the contact
plate on the printhead. I don't recall what he used, but you do get proper
alignment when you put it back because the plastic protrusions that you
ground the "caps" off of engage the holes in the plate.He found that you can
clear blockages in the body ports that can not be cleaned with the nozzle
plate intact. It was more of a last ditch experiment that worked out. Not
recommended for the first attempt to clean a blockage or for those who lack
the ability to take things apart and put them back together again!

 

[measekite]

Tony wrote:

"Burt" <[email protected]> wrote:



"Tony" <[email protected]> wrote in message news[email protected]...



"Laurence" <[email protected]> wrote:



I've been given a canon pixma 4000 to repair. It has stood unused for 6 months & will not print anything at all. I ran 10 deep clean cycles which made no difference at all . Is it feasible to remove the print head & soak it in some solution to dissolve the caked ink? What dissolves ink best without harming the printhead? The printer was working well before being put into storage Laurence -- Remove x to reply.



Be careful, this may be a blocked printhead but it may also be a failed purge unit. Generally if there is absolutely no output from the head the problem is the purge unit. This series of Canon printers survive lack of use better than most in my experience. You can remove the head (just operate the lever) and soak it in water, or if you have access to an ultrasonic cleaner give that a try with a solution of 50% ammoniated cleaner and water; this is effective maybe 50% of the time. But if you cannot get any output I would suspect the purge unit and that is probably throw away time. Tony MS MVP Printing/Imaging



Tony - has your experience been good with ultrasonic cleaners and Canon printheads? I've read a few posts on the Nifty-stuff forum from people who did use ultrasonic cleaners and the print head didn't work afterward. You would be the best last word on this technique. Laurence - Tony is an expert with printer repairs and I wouldn't presume to give better advice than he has given you. I would suggest, just for background info, that you go onto the Nifty-Stuff Forum, click the FAQ link at the top of the page, and select the first thread about what to do if your printer doesn't print properly. Lots of info on various techniques for unclogging a printhead (if that is the problem.) Read through the whole, long thread before you do anything, and then start with the most benign approach that would be least likely to ruin the printhead. Usually, if one or two cleaning cycles won't clear a clog you need to go on to a more agressive, undocumented approach. Tony mentioned the purge unit could be faulty. This unit operates during a cleaning cycle by applying a vacuum that pulls ink from the cartridges through the printhead and into the waste ink area. This is done to either prime a new cart or to dissolve built up dry ink in the printhead. If the printhead is totally clogged then no ink can go through to clear it, no matter how many cleaning cycles you run. As Tony states, a faulty purge unit could be the problem as it will not function to pull ink through the printhead when you activate a cleaning cycle.



Burt We use ultrasonic cleaners as a last resort and get maybe a 50% success rate. I always warn the customer that using this can make the situation worse. I think the trick is to get the liquid composition right but there may be some issues caused by the high frequencies that can damage the printhead or associated electronics. It only takes a few minutes and if it works then all is fine, if it fails nothing is lost I guess. Tony

An indirect ommission that he is in the business.  So his opinions are skewed toward him making money.  They are not independent personal opinions that are offered without gain.

 

[Tony]

Tony -
Soaking the nozzle area while sitting in a container with a saturated
lintless paper towel and about 3 mm. of liquid - either hot water, windex,
or a mix, and then dripping the same liquid onto the intake screens has
usually done it for me. The one time I got too agressive I had to buy my
one and only replacement printhead! I think you are right that the
ultrasonic cleaners have the potential to screw up electronics in the head.
I have also heard of people running hot water from the tap onto the intake
screens til the water runs clear. They take care to not get the contacts
wet on the back of the printhead. I've learned to start with the least
invasive, least potentially damaging approach and getting more agressive if
need be. Certainly, the ultrasonic cleaner would be nearly the final try.

Did you read through the posts from Grandad35 on taking the printhead apart,
cleaning the ports in the body of the printhead, and reassembling it? You
have to grind down the plastic nibs that hold the contact plate on the back
before removing the nozzle section. otherwise you overstress the connecting
ribbon assembly. Reassembly requires some means of holding the contact
plate on the printhead. I don't recall what he used, but you do get proper
alignment when you put it back because the plastic protrusions that you
ground the "caps" off of engage the holes in the plate.He found that you can
clear blockages in the body ports that can not be cleaned with the nozzle
plate intact. It was more of a last ditch experiment that worked out. Not
recommended for the first attempt to clean a blockage or for those who lack
the ability to take things apart and put them back together again!

Overall Burt it's the result of using thermal printheads. They do sometimes
fail electronically and when that happens fixing them becomes near to
impossible. Epsons piezzo heads rarely fail this way but they do clog quite a
bit (or at least they used to, I have heard that the newer ones are more
robust) especially when not used for a time.
No I haven't read that article, I will do so out of interest but it is unlikely
that I would use that at work because the cost of labour would probably not
make it worthwhile for the printer's owner.
Thanks for the info.
Tony

 

[Frank]

measekite wrote:

Nothing of value. He is an escape from a mental institution.
Frank