Canon PIXMA iP4599 TIA

[kelly]

I have a Canon PIXMA iP4599 series printer. It worked perfectly for
about three years but now it prints a "typed" page with evenly spaced
gaps. The gaps are about three lines deep and pefectly spaced
(like there is a "strip" across a roller blocking the ink).
But the test print ie: alignment, colour etc. all come out as should
be. Also, it prints pdf ie: airline tickets etc. with no faults at
all.
Can anyone explain the fault? Also can anyone tell me what
the strip of magnetic tape (like tape on a music cassette). This runs
parallel to the cartridge carriage rails but to the rear of them.
Any suggestions welcome.

 

[Gernot Hassenpflug]

I have a Canon PIXMA iP4599 series printer. It worked perfectly for
about three years but now it prints a "typed" page with evenly spaced
gaps. The gaps are about three lines deep and pefectly spaced
(like there is a "strip" across a roller blocking the ink).
But the test print ie: alignment, colour etc. all come out as should
be. Also, it prints pdf ie: airline tickets etc. with no faults at
all.
Can anyone explain the fault? Also can anyone tell me what
the strip of magnetic tape (like tape on a music cassette). This runs
parallel to the cartridge carriage rails but to the rear of them.
Any suggestions welcome.

Not much info there!
- What OS?
- What driver version?
- What application?

I would try setting the media type to something else, since the
printer uses different "modes" (combination of printer commands and
inksets utilized depends on media type). Perhaps something is
genuinely wrong with one particular mode (firmware?), in which case
you could test it like this.

I guess the iP4599 is one of the iP4500 family, not sure: I have an
iP4500 which I bought about 5 years ago to print stuff for my
wedding. It has been going very well, although I use an MP610 for most
things now.

Disclaimer: I write driver code for Canon devices for the "gutenprint"
project that provides inkjet drivers for linux and MacOSX OSes, so I
am fairly familiar with the internals of a printjob, and its variation
with quality settings and media type. I'm not so familiar with how
applications under Windows generate the initial data that the driver
accepts and turns into the printer language.

 

[Fred McKenzie]

I have a Canon PIXMA iP4599 series printer. It worked perfectly for
about three years but now it prints a "typed" page with evenly spaced
gaps. The gaps are about three lines deep and pefectly spaced
(like there is a "strip" across a roller blocking the ink).
But the test print ie: alignment, colour etc. all come out as should
be. Also, it prints pdf ie: airline tickets etc. with no faults at
all.
Can anyone explain the fault? Also can anyone tell me what
the strip of magnetic tape (like tape on a music cassette). This runs
parallel to the cartridge carriage rails but to the rear of them.
Any suggestions welcome.

Kelly-

The fact that PDF files print correctly suggests that the problem is not
in the printer. It could be a changed setting in the program doing the
printing, or in the printer preferences/setup.

The tape you see is probably the flexible electrical cable connecting
the print head.

Fred

 

[kelly]

Kelly-

The fact that PDF files print correctly suggests that the problem is not
in the printer.  It could be a changed setting in the program doing the
printing, or in the printer preferences/setup.

The tape you see is probably the flexible electrical cable connecting
the print head.

Fred

Thanks, f
Fred. I reset the printer to best printing setting and it worked then.
Uses more ink, I suppose but who cares as long as it prints works.
Thanks, all, for your input. I can put my big hammer back in the
toolbox now.