Mac OSx and Canon Pixma IP5000 suddenly printing wrong colours (or colors!)

[Jonathan]

This one has me stumped. For years, we've used a Canon Pixma IP5000
printer on the Mac Mini with the latest version of OSx etc.
And we've also used a good brand of non-genuine ink which has ALWAYS
worked fine in tow printers.
Suddenly, the Pixma has started printing the wrong colours! I tried
everything - although Macs are still a bit of a mystery to me, I think
by the end of a long afternoon I'd found everything associated with
printing. Except the print colour matching.
Anyway, red is coming out as either brown or a sort of mauve and the
blues seem all wrong.
I've printed from both Openoffice (running via x11) and also Word. The
mac is running the latest update.
We've lost the printer manual, and despite holding down numerous
combinations of buttons for varying lengths of time, all it does is a
head cleaning cycle. I've also taken out the old but nearly new inks
and bought new ones and tried printing pages of colour to flush
anything through, and yellow and blue are fine, but bright red still
seems wrong. Which is odd, as, within a photo, ALL the colours are
wrong. At one point, it started randomly printing black and white from
Openoffice, which is what made me think it might be at the software
end of things.

I've also done head alignment. I'm trying to avoid calling Canon yet
as they'd just laugh at us for using non-genuine inks.

Sorry for long message but I wanted to cover all bases! Thanks for any
help.

 

[The Mac Dude]

This one has me stumped. For years, we've used a Canon Pixma IP5000
printer on the Mac Mini with the latest version of OSx etc.
And we've also used a good brand of non-genuine ink which has ALWAYS
worked fine in tow printers.
Suddenly, the Pixma has started printing the wrong colours! I tried
everything - although Macs are still a bit of a mystery to me, I think
by the end of a long afternoon I'd found everything associated with
printing. Except the print colour matching.
Anyway, red is coming out as either brown or a sort of mauve and the
blues seem all wrong.
I've printed from both Openoffice (running via x11) and also Word. The
mac is running the latest update.
We've lost the printer manual, and despite holding down numerous
combinations of buttons for varying lengths of time, all it does is a
head cleaning cycle. I've also taken out the old but nearly new inks
and bought new ones and tried printing pages of colour to flush
anything through, and yellow and blue are fine, but bright red still
seems wrong. Which is odd, as, within a photo, ALL the colours are
wrong. At one point, it started randomly printing black and white from
Openoffice, which is what made me think it might be at the software
end of things.

I've also done head alignment. I'm trying to avoid calling Canon yet
as they'd just laugh at us for using non-genuine inks.

Sorry for long message but I wanted to cover all bases! Thanks for any
help.

Two possibilities come to mind:

Colorsync having gotten utterly confused. If you can find where you may
be able to switch to a generic profile to see if it fixes this. (I do
not know this off-hand).

or

Ink cartridges put into the wrong slots. I do not know whether or not
that is possible with your printer; I do know it is with my Brother MFC.
Once you have the wrong ink in the system it likely takes a major effort
to flush it out.

Is there a way to print a test page, or can you connect it to a
different computer? If the problem persists it is most likely cartridge
mix-up.

Mac Dude

 

[measekite]

This one has me stumped. For years, we've used a Canon Pixma IP5000
printer on the Mac Mini with the latest version of OSx etc.
And we've also used a good brand of non-genuine ink which has ALWAYS
worked fine in tow printers.
Suddenly, the Pixma has started printing the wrong colours!

First there is no generic ink that is branded. Second eventually
generic ink will ruin a printer.

I tried
everything - although Macs are still a bit of a mystery to me, I think
by the end of a long afternoon I'd found everything associated with
printing. Except the print colour matching.
Anyway, red is coming out as either brown or a sort of mauve and the
blues seem all wrong.
I've printed from both Openoffice (running via x11) and also Word. The
mac is running the latest update.
We've lost the printer manual, and despite holding down numerous
combinations of buttons for varying lengths of time, all it does is a
head cleaning cycle. I've also taken out the old but nearly new inks
and bought new ones and tried printing pages of colour to flush
anything through, and yellow and blue are fine, but bright red still
seems wrong. Which is odd, as, within a photo, ALL the colours are
wrong. At one point, it started randomly printing black and white from
Openoffice, which is what made me think it might be at the software
end of things.

I've also done head alignment. I'm trying to avoid calling Canon yet
as they'd just laugh at us for using non-genuine inks.

So am I.

 

[Tony]

This one has me stumped. For years, we've used a Canon Pixma IP5000
printer on the Mac Mini with the latest version of OSx etc.
And we've also used a good brand of non-genuine ink which has ALWAYS
worked fine in tow printers.
Suddenly, the Pixma has started printing the wrong colours! I tried
everything - although Macs are still a bit of a mystery to me, I think
by the end of a long afternoon I'd found everything associated with
printing. Except the print colour matching.
Anyway, red is coming out as either brown or a sort of mauve and the
blues seem all wrong.
I've printed from both Openoffice (running via x11) and also Word. The
mac is running the latest update.
We've lost the printer manual, and despite holding down numerous
combinations of buttons for varying lengths of time, all it does is a
head cleaning cycle. I've also taken out the old but nearly new inks
and bought new ones and tried printing pages of colour to flush
anything through, and yellow and blue are fine, but bright red still
seems wrong. Which is odd, as, within a photo, ALL the colours are
wrong. At one point, it started randomly printing black and white from
Openoffice, which is what made me think it might be at the software
end of things.

I've also done head alignment. I'm trying to avoid calling Canon yet
as they'd just laugh at us for using non-genuine inks.

Sorry for long message but I wanted to cover all bases! Thanks for any
help.

First thing to do is to print a service test page.
With power on, press the Resume/Cancel button and hold it down until the LED
blinks twice, release the button.
The printer should print a page that includes near the top a Black grid and
several coloured bars. These should be Magenta, Cyan and Yellow of different
intensities. Check that they are indeed the correct colours.
Tony
MS MVP Printing/Imaging

 

[measekite]

Tony wrote:

Jonathan <[email protected]> wrote:



This one has me stumped. For years, we've used a Canon Pixma IP5000 printer on the Mac Mini with the latest version of OSx etc. And we've also used a good brand of non-genuine ink which has ALWAYS worked fine in tow printers. Suddenly, the Pixma has started printing the wrong colours! I tried everything - although Macs are still a bit of a mystery to me, I think by the end of a long afternoon I'd found everything associated with printing. Except the print colour matching. Anyway, red is coming out as either brown or a sort of mauve and the blues seem all wrong. I've printed from both Openoffice (running via x11) and also Word. The mac is running the latest update. We've lost the printer manual, and despite holding down numerous combinations of buttons for varying lengths of time, all it does is a head cleaning cycle. I've also taken out the old but nearly new inks and bought new ones and tried printing pages of colour to flush anything through, and yellow and blue are fine, but bright red still seems wrong. Which is odd, as, within a photo, ALL the colours are wrong. At one point, it started randomly printing black and white from Openoffice, which is what made me think it might be at the software end of things. I've also done head alignment. I'm trying to avoid calling Canon yet as they'd just laugh at us for using non-genuine inks. Sorry for long message but I wanted to cover all bases! Thanks for any help.



First thing to do is to print a service test page.


That is incorrect.  The first thing to do is to get the appropriate ink installed in your printer and then go from there.

Meas
BS MVO Printing/Imaging


With power on, press the Resume/Cancel button and hold it down until the LED blinks twice, release the button. The printer should print a page that includes near the top a Black grid and several coloured bars. These should be Magenta, Cyan and Yellow of different intensities. Check that they are indeed the correct colours. Tony MS MVP Printing/Imaging

 

[Jonathan]

That makes sense!

Yes, it did! And it printed the correct colours! Weird thing is, this
looks similar to the one printed from the PC, but the colours are
correct.
IN the end, we totally stripped out anything and everything to do with
printing, downloaded the latest drivers (up to 4.15 from 2.something),
installed them and guess what? All is fine! Colours are rich and
vibrant - and correct!

Oh, but hang on, someone's got a better idea...

That is incorrect. The first thing to do is to get the appropriate ink installed in your printer and then go from there.

First there is no generic ink that is branded.

Ah, so the words "Jet Tec" on the side of the box aren't a brand name?
Better chuck my dictionary out.

Second eventually generic ink will ruin a printer.

EVEN if it did, let's "do the math".
We use quite a bit of ink, what with newsletter and that. About a set
per month.
non-genuine 12 months at £9 per set = £108
genuine: 12 months at £9 per set = £550.20

New printer: £125 http://www.ajelectronics.co.uk/ViewProdDetails.asp?Prod_code=IP5000

So, even if the printer only lasted ONE year (it's lasted two so far),
that would be £550-108=£442 vs £108+125=£233 therefore, assuming the
very very worst case theoretical scenario, we're still £209 better off
getting non-genuine inks, including a brand new printer into the
bargain!

In fact, you're argument seemed so bizarre, I had a quick look - since
you joined two years ago, in comp.periphs.printers alone you've posted
6899 replies - an average of 9.6 posts each and every single day,
almost all of them (that I can see) slagging off people for buying non-
genuine Canon ink.
But when it comes to other brands, it's a different story. In fact, it
seems there's a certain reputation here:

Since this was "contributed" by our troll, I know that the person spends
so much time submitting predictable, condescending posts, that he has no
experience whatsoever with printers and ink. He makes it all up easily
because he says the same things repeatedly.

The reason that he has no knowledge is simple: he has no time to obtain
any experience because he posts crap from dawn to dusk; then sleeps.
What he says makes no difference.

So, er, I guess my summary would be: Tony - thanks.
measekite: What exact mission are you on?

Anyway, I'm not into getting into a flame war, you've (almost) all
been helpful, so thanks.

 

[measekite]

Jonathan wrote:

On Jun 9, 11:23 pm, measekite <[email protected]> wrote:



Tony wrote:



First thing to do is to print a service test page.



That makes sense!



With power on, press the Resume/Cancel button and hold it down until the LED blinks twice, release the button. The printer should print a page that includes near the top a Black grid and several coloured bars.



Yes, it did! And it printed the correct colours! Weird thing is, this looks similar to the one printed from the PC, but the colours are correct. IN the end, we totally stripped out anything and everything to do with printing, downloaded the latest drivers (up to 4.15 from 2.something), installed them and guess what? All is fine! Colours are rich and vibrant - and correct! Oh, but hang on, someone's got a better idea... measekite <[email protected]> wrote:



That is incorrect. The first thing to do is to get the appropriate ink installed in your printer and then go from there.



On Jun 9, 6:26 pm, measekite <[email protected]> wrote:



First there is no generic ink that is branded.



Ah, so the words "Jet Tec" on the side of the box aren't a brand name? Better chuck my dictionary out.


No it is just the relabelers name






Second eventually generic ink will ruin a printer.



EVEN if it did, let's "do the math".


You Cant Count or is it Count Cant

You are also forgetting about reduced quality and short print life as well as gradual fading of the diminished qualtiy you get anyway.


We use quite a bit of ink, what with newsletter and that. About a set per month. non-genuine 12 months at £9 per set = £108 genuine: 12 months at £9 per set = £550.20 New printer: £125 http://www.ajelectronics.co.uk/ViewProdDetails.asp?Prod_code=IP5000 So, even if the printer only lasted ONE year (it's lasted two so far), that would be £550-108=£442 vs £108+125=£233 therefore, assuming the very very worst case theoretical scenario, we're still £209 better off getting non-genuine inks, including a brand new printer into the bargain! In fact, you're argument seemed so bizarre, I had a quick look - since you joined two years ago, in comp.periphs.printers alone you've posted 6899 replies - an average of 9.6 posts each and every single day, almost all of them (that I can see) slagging off people for buying non- genuine Canon ink. But when it comes to other brands, it's a different story. In fact, it seems there's a certain reputation here: On 7 Jun, 05:33, Richard Steinfeld <[email protected]> wrote:



measekite wrote:



Since it is a Lexmark you can use any crappie relabeled ink. It makes no difference. Use the cheapest you can find.



Since this was "contributed" by our troll, I know that the person spends so much time submitting predictable, condescending posts, that he has no experience whatsoever with printers and ink. He makes it all up easily because he says the same things repeatedly. The reason that he has no knowledge is simple: he has no time to obtain any experience because he posts crap from dawn to dusk; then sleeps. What he says makes no difference.



So, er, I guess my summary would be: Tony - thanks. measekite: What exact mission are you on? Anyway, I'm not into getting into a flame war, you've (almost) all been helpful, so thanks.

 

[Tony]

Jonathan
I don't know what fixed it. I have to say that reinstalling drivers only rarely
fixes problems of this sort but I am delighted that you have a working printer
again.
Tony

 

[J.J. O'Shea]

That makes sense!


Yes, it did! And it printed the correct colours! Weird thing is, this
looks similar to the one printed from the PC, but the colours are
correct.

That's because that's the built-in printer test page which should be the same
no matter which computer is attached to the printer.

IN the end, we totally stripped out anything and everything to do with
printing, downloaded the latest drivers (up to 4.15 from 2.something),
installed them and guess what? All is fine! Colours are rich and
vibrant - and correct!

Using the wrong drivers can cause no end of problems.

Oh, but hang on, someone's got a better idea...

measekite <[email protected]> wrote:

He's a known troll.

Ah, so the words "Jet Tec" on the side of the box aren't a brand name?

Of course it is.

Better chuck my dictionary out.

As usual... No it won't.

EVEN if it did, let's "do the math".
We use quite a bit of ink, what with newsletter and that. About a set
per month.
non-genuine 12 months at £9 per set = £108
genuine: 12 months at £9 per set = £550.20

New printer: £125
http://www.ajelectronics.co.uk/ViewProdDetails.asp?Prod_code=IP5000

So, even if the printer only lasted ONE year (it's lasted two so far),
that would be £550-108=£442 vs £108+125=£233 therefore, assuming the
very very worst case theoretical scenario, we're still £209 better off
getting non-genuine inks, including a brand new printer into the
bargain!

I have an Epson that's lasted _seven_ years on a steady diet of non-'genuine'
ink, and an HP that's lasted three years on non-'genuine' ink at home (on
different computers). I have Canons and Epsons at the office which have been
fed nothing but non-'genuine' ink since I've been there. None of them have
had any ink-related problems. I suspect that I'm not alone.

In fact, you're argument seemed so bizarre, I had a quick look - since
you joined two years ago, in comp.periphs.printers alone you've posted
6899 replies - an average of 9.6 posts each and every single day,
almost all of them (that I can see) slagging off people for buying non-
genuine Canon ink.

That seems to be the case.

But when it comes to other brands, it's a different story. In fact, it
seems there's a certain reputation here:



So, er, I guess my summary would be: Tony - thanks.
measekite: What exact mission are you on?

He's a troll. Worse, he's a troll who posts using HTML crap. Worse yet, he
uses non-standard HTML crap. My newsreader regards his HTML crap as an
attachment which I'd have to download as if it were a binary post if I wanted
to read it, which I don't. Indeed, I've deliberately set my newsreader to
_not_ download that kind of post.