Cleaning iP4000 print head?

"Pixmaker" wrote in message
...
I've done a google search and haven't found a straight answer to my
problem. Sorry if I am repeating a very old thread

My iP4000 is printing erratically after just three month.

[snip]

Are you sure it isn't an Epson printer? According to out local newsgroup
troll by the name of measekite only Epson printers have any such printing
problems.....

Get a cleaning kit from www.inkjetsaver.com . It uses clear solvent to clean
the ink passages as well as the heads and is nearly always successful.
NEVER leave an ink tank off the carriage for more than a couple minutes,
this lets the ink in the passage below dry out and clog.


"Pixmaker" wrote in message
...
I've done a google search and haven't found a straight answer to my
problem. Sorry if I am repeating a very old thread

My iP4000 is printing erratically after just three month. Yes, I was
first in line when they passed out the stupid pills and refilled the
Magenta tank with yellow and vice versa. Yeah, I know, it only takes
one of those pills!

Bought new carts and still had a problem. Here's what I did:

To find out which cart was a problem, I created three rectangular
boxes in Pagemaker and filled them with C, M, and Y. When printed, I
get a brilliant three boxes of CMY.

Aha! sez I, the carts are correctly filled, installed correctly and in
the right slots.

Then I ran a test pattern and the cyan cart shows some streaking. So I
ran numerous cleaning and deep cleaning cycles but cannot get rid of
the white streaks in the cyan bars.

Questions:

1. Does this indicate clogging of the cyan nozzles?
2. If deep cleaning can't fix things, can I remover the print head and
soak it or otherwise clean it better than the deep cleaning cycle
does?
3. If yes to (2) what cleaning solution? Water and Windex? Muriatic
acid? Caustic soda? Alcohol? And at what temperature?

Yes, if this becomes a nightmare, I can always trash this printer and
buy another since it won't break the bank...just dent it pretty badly.
But this is a really nice li'l printer and I'd like to rescue it.

Any and all suggestions will be gratefully received. Thanks

DaveinFLL (Pixmaker)
==========================
It's not the heat, it's the humidity!
==========================
(...Think the humidity's bad?
You should watch us vote!)

Following are a few sites that have excellent information by people who
don't just give you their opinionated response - they have used these
products successfully, and they also report when they have had problems.
Neil Slade's info on Canon printers, papers, and inks is at
http://www.neilslade.com/papers/inkjetstuff.html. Then follow the link he
gives near the top of that site to http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/ for the
forum on ink jet stuff. Lots of information there as well. It's a good idea
to know how to trouble shoot printer problems that can occur with any ink
and that information is on those sites. Slade covers cleaning canon print
heads in detail.

"Pixmaker" wrote in message
...
I've done a google search and haven't found a straight answer to my
problem. Sorry if I am repeating a very old thread

My iP4000 is printing erratically after just three month. Yes, I was
first in line when they passed out the stupid pills and refilled the
Magenta tank with yellow and vice versa. Yeah, I know, it only takes
one of those pills!

Bought new carts and still had a problem. Here's what I did:

To find out which cart was a problem, I created three rectangular
boxes in Pagemaker and filled them with C, M, and Y. When printed, I
get a brilliant three boxes of CMY.

Aha! sez I, the carts are correctly filled, installed correctly and in
the right slots.

Then I ran a test pattern and the cyan cart shows some streaking. So I
ran numerous cleaning and deep cleaning cycles but cannot get rid of
the white streaks in the cyan bars.

Questions:

1. Does this indicate clogging of the cyan nozzles?
2. If deep cleaning can't fix things, can I remover the print head and
soak it or otherwise clean it better than the deep cleaning cycle
does?
3. If yes to (2) what cleaning solution? Water and Windex? Muriatic
acid? Caustic soda? Alcohol? And at what temperature?

Yes, if this becomes a nightmare, I can always trash this printer and
buy another since it won't break the bank...just dent it pretty badly.
But this is a really nice li'l printer and I'd like to rescue it.

Any and all suggestions will be gratefully received. Thanks

DaveinFLL (Pixmaker)
==========================
It's not the heat, it's the humidity!
==========================
(...Think the humidity's bad?
You should watch us vote!)

Pixmaker wrote:

I've done a google search and haven't found a straight answer to my
problem. Sorry if I am repeating a very old thread

My iP4000 is printing erratically after just three month. Yes, I was
first in line when they passed out the stupid pills and refilled the
Magenta tank with yellow and vice versa. Yeah, I know, it only takes
one of those pills!
[edited]

Yes, if this becomes a nightmare, I can always trash this printer and
buy another since it won't break the bank...just dent it pretty badly.
But this is a really nice li'l printer and I'd like to rescue it.

Any and all suggestions will be gratefully received. Thanks


Pix . . .

Before you pull out all your remaining hair (I'm guessing you still have
some ;-), and trash the printer and waste money on a new one. You can
simply get a new printhead for it. ($55 eBay, just checked)

-Taliesyn

I've done a google search and haven't found a straight answer to my
problem. Sorry if I am repeating a very old thread

My iP4000 is printing erratically after just three month. Yes, I was
first in line when they passed out the stupid pills and refilled the
Magenta tank with yellow and vice versa. Yeah, I know, it only takes
one of those pills!

Bought new carts and still had a problem. Here's what I did:

To find out which cart was a problem, I created three rectangular
boxes in Pagemaker and filled them with C, M, and Y. When printed, I
get a brilliant three boxes of CMY.

Aha! sez I, the carts are correctly filled, installed correctly and in
the right slots.

Then I ran a test pattern and the cyan cart shows some streaking. So I
ran numerous cleaning and deep cleaning cycles but cannot get rid of
the white streaks in the cyan bars.

Questions:

1. Does this indicate clogging of the cyan nozzles?
2. If deep cleaning can't fix things, can I remover the print head and
soak it or otherwise clean it better than the deep cleaning cycle
does?
3. If yes to (2) what cleaning solution? Water and Windex? Muriatic
acid? Caustic soda? Alcohol? And at what temperature?

Yes, if this becomes a nightmare, I can always trash this printer and
buy another since it won't break the bank...just dent it pretty badly.
But this is a really nice li'l printer and I'd like to rescue it.

Any and all suggestions will be gratefully received. Thanks

DaveinFLL (Pixmaker)
==========================
It's not the heat, it's the humidity!
==========================
(...Think the humidity's bad?
You should watch us vote!)

Burt wrote:

Following are a few sites that have excellent information by people who
don't just give you their opinionated response - they have used these
products successfully, and they also report when they have had problems.
Neil Slade's info on Canon printers, papers, and inks is at
http://www.neilslade.com/papers/inkjetstuff.html.


This is an interesting site. They did fail to report the bad batch of
yellow ink sold by inkgrabber that literally ruin a bunch of print
heads. That is the issue. I am not saying that can never happen with
OEM inks, but the chances are far more remote and the financial wealth
of the company provides you with a level of comfort that they will stand
behind their product.

Then follow the link he
gives near the top of that site to http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/ for the
forum on ink jet stuff. Lots of information there as well. It's a good idea
to know how to trouble shoot printer problems that can occur with any ink
and that information is on those sites. Slade covers cleaning canon print
heads in detail.

"Pixmaker" wrote in message
.. .


I've done a google search and haven't found a straight answer to my
problem. Sorry if I am repeating a very old thread

My iP4000 is printing erratically after just three month. Yes, I was
first in line when they passed out the stupid pills and refilled the
Magenta tank with yellow and vice versa. Yeah, I know, it only takes
one of those pills!

Bought new carts and still had a problem. Here's what I did:

To find out which cart was a problem, I created three rectangular
boxes in Pagemaker and filled them with C, M, and Y. When printed, I
get a brilliant three boxes of CMY.

Aha! sez I, the carts are correctly filled, installed correctly and in
the right slots.

Then I ran a test pattern and the cyan cart shows some streaking. So I
ran numerous cleaning and deep cleaning cycles but cannot get rid of
the white streaks in the cyan bars.

Questions:

1. Does this indicate clogging of the cyan nozzles?
2. If deep cleaning can't fix things, can I remover the print head and
soak it or otherwise clean it better than the deep cleaning cycle
does?
3. If yes to (2) what cleaning solution? Water and Windex? Muriatic
acid? Caustic soda? Alcohol? And at what temperature?

Yes, if this becomes a nightmare, I can always trash this printer and
buy another since it won't break the bank...just dent it pretty badly.
But this is a really nice li'l printer and I'd like to rescue it.

Any and all suggestions will be gratefully received. Thanks

DaveinFLL (Pixmaker)
==========================
It's not the heat, it's the humidity!
==========================
(...Think the humidity's bad?
You should watch us vote!)

Pixmaker wrote:

I've done a google search and haven't found a straight answer to my
problem. Sorry if I am repeating a very old thread

My iP4000 is printing erratically after just three month. Yes, I was
first in line when they passed out the stupid pills and refilled the
Magenta tank with yellow and vice versa. Yeah, I know, it only takes
one of those pills!

Bought new carts and still had a problem. Here's what I did:



Forget what you did. Here is what to do. Call Canon Tech Suppt and
just tell them you have a problem that relates to the print head. Ask
them to send you a new one under warranty. In most cases they will send
you a new one. Use OEM inks and test the printer. It will probably be OK.

To find out which cart was a problem, I created three rectangular
boxes in Pagemaker and filled them with C, M, and Y. When printed, I
get a brilliant three boxes of CMY.

Aha! sez I, the carts are correctly filled, installed correctly and in
the right slots.

Then I ran a test pattern and the cyan cart shows some streaking. So I
ran numerous cleaning and deep cleaning cycles but cannot get rid of
the white streaks in the cyan bars.

Questions:

1. Does this indicate clogging of the cyan nozzles?
2. If deep cleaning can't fix things, can I remover the print head and
soak it or otherwise clean it better than the deep cleaning cycle
does?
3. If yes to (2) what cleaning solution? Water and Windex? Muriatic
acid? Caustic soda? Alcohol? And at what temperature?

Yes, if this becomes a nightmare, I can always trash this printer and
buy another since it won't break the bank...just dent it pretty badly.
But this is a really nice li'l printer and I'd like to rescue it.

Any and all suggestions will be gratefully received. Thanks

DaveinFLL (Pixmaker)
==========================
It's not the heat, it's the humidity!
==========================
(...Think the humidity's bad?
You should watch us vote!)

measekite wrote in
m:



Pixmaker wrote:

I've done a google search and haven't found a straight answer to my
problem. Sorry if I am repeating a very old thread

My iP4000 is printing erratically after just three month. Yes, I was
first in line when they passed out the stupid pills and refilled the
Magenta tank with yellow and vice versa. Yeah, I know, it only takes
one of those pills!

Bought new carts and still had a problem. Here's what I did:



Forget what you did. Here is what to do. Call Canon Tech Suppt and
just tell them you have a problem that relates to the print head. Ask
them to send you a new one under warranty. In most cases they will
send you a new one...



Sorry, I can't help but giggle.

So why aren't you using 3rd party ink, Measekite? In your own words,
(if something goes wrong) "just tell them you have a problem that
relates to the print head" and "Ask them to send you a new one under
warranty."

JHanson

John A. Hanson wrote:

measekite wrote in
om:



Pixmaker wrote:



I've done a google search and haven't found a straight answer to my
problem. Sorry if I am repeating a very old thread

My iP4000 is printing erratically after just three month. Yes, I was
first in line when they passed out the stupid pills and refilled the
Magenta tank with yellow and vice versa. Yeah, I know, it only takes
one of those pills!

Bought new carts and still had a problem. Here's what I did:




Forget what you did. Here is what to do. Call Canon Tech Suppt and
just tell them you have a problem that relates to the print head. Ask
them to send you a new one under warranty. In most cases they will
send you a new one...





Sorry, I can't help but giggle.

So why aren't you using 3rd party ink, Measekite? In your own words,
(if something goes wrong) "just tell them you have a problem that
relates to the print head" and "Ask them to send you a new one under
warranty."

JHanson



I could do that but as I said before, I have no need to get involved in
all of the hassle when I do not print heavily. If I get to the point
where I use a set of cartridges every couple of months or more then I
will definitely consider that.

"measekite" wrote in message
...
(snip)

This is an interesting site. They did fail to report the bad batch of
yellow ink sold by inkgrabber that literally ruin a bunch of print heads.
That is the issue. I am not saying that can never happen with OEM inks,
but the chances are far more remote and the financial wealth of the
company provides you with a level of comfort that they will stand behind
their product.

(snip)

Sorry to disappoint you Measekite, but that situation WAS reported on the
Nifty-stuff forum by one individual. Another person reported on the same
forum that he subsequently used their yellow carts and they worked fine.
That forum has extremely objective and thoughtful posts and the people who
post and respond are intent on helping to solving each others problems and
are not trying to convince others of their personal prejudices or agendas.
Slade's site is not as fluid - it appears that he updates it periodically,
but not as often as new information appears on the Nifty-Stuff forum. These
are guys I trust. I have never tried inkgrabbers, but the posts about
Formulabs (several vendors - we've already been through this) and MIS are
extremely positive for Canon inks.