Ink Jet Help Requested

[xrunner]

Trying to print out some high quality images and discovered a problem with the magenta. I executed the internal cleaning several times to no avail. I then removed the print head and cleaned with alcohol, but it did not improve. It's a Canon MG5320.

What I do not understand is how it prints out a magenta bar on the test, but the other two magenta bars below it (which are supposed to be lighter) do not print out at all. How is it possible for magenta to print out once each test pattern but not the other two bars? Is that a print head issue or something else? 

Thanks.

[Alex Eisenhut]

Oh crap. Canon *and* an inkjet? The help I provide is wearing my steel-toed ranger boots, my kilt for leg freedom, and an open window.

edit: "and" into "an". 

[xrunner]

Oh crap. Canon *and* and inkjet? The help I provide is wearing my steel-toed ranger boots, my kilt for leg freedom, and an open window.

Dammit this piece of junk! Now the Cyan is dead and it's got a new magenta ink cart! 

Might be time for a new color laser ...

[Ampera]

Or if you want to go really reliable, Colour ribbon. I have a monochrome ribbon printer, and even though it's slow, it will work long past anything that can even interface with it. It has never failed to print for arbitrary reasons, the ink cartridge has no connection to the electronics so YOU can see if it's running low and not have to have a machine refuse to work with one even though it's full of ink. Most of them will work with any computer that has Centronics support (Mine even works on a Commodore 64 WITH bitmaps through a special adapter). The only thing that can really go wrong with them is the heads wearing out, which has not happened to me, and probably will never happen to me so long as I keep to occasional prints.

If you need something for speed, then you really have to look elsewhere, but if you are fine with setting 10 documents on to print, loading up the paper feed, and walking away for 30 minutes for great, often cheaper prints, then colour dot matrix impact printers are the best option I can think of for reliability, simplicity, and support. There are even dot matrix impact printers that can go actually pretty fast. Mine doesn't but I do not need to print anything in a time of crush, and can wait 4-5 minutes for a full page print.

[Alex Eisenhut]

My services come with a lifetime satisfaction guarantee. However you must supply me with the correct quantity of haggis. Yum!

It's a little-known fact of inkjet printers that they have a sort of sponge to rest the heads on, and once it's full, the printer's rubbish.

All consumer printers are rubbish in one degree or another. My recent experience of a new (and heavy) HP laser that printed wobbly lines out of the box with its own test pattern sort of confirms this.

I ended up with an equally large Brother MFC-9340CDW, which is a LED printer, but also has weirdness. It is able to print straight lines, but the print driver is hilarious, apparently Brother doesn't know most people have more than one monitor.

The print dialog opens on the laptop's screen, but with the "main" (external) screen's location. So all I see is the bottom strip of the print dialog on the wrong screen, with no way to fix it. I press alt-space and move the dialog manually. 

The color copier mode has very bad color accuracy (everything is skewed green), and there seems to be no calibration mode.

The printer's OS seems very sluggish on the printer's touch screen. Come on.

When printing, it sounds like there are about 15 different competing processes happening inside as the fan revs up and down and up again, and weird internal processes happen. I'd feel a bit happier if the fan turned on, the whole print process happens, then the fan turns off.

I gave away (sadly) my 20 year old HP 5L after trying and giving up to make it work with various USB->parallel adapters. So I kept a 2001 W2K machine around for it.

Lately all I could find for it were rebuilt toner cartridges. The one I ended up with had a long scratch across the imaging drum and HP wouldn't take it back since it was obviously my fault. 

[drussell]

It's a little-known fact of inkjet printers that they have a sort of sponge to rest the heads on, and once it's full, the printer's rubbish.

Some have a little tray or container that can be emptied and cleaned.  For the ones that just have absorbent pads, you can take them out and soak them for a while and rinse them out a few times to clean them out.  It's a bit messy but very effective.

[frozenfrogz]

To clear a clogged print head, you need to flush it with cleaner fluid. There are some recipes out there, basically consisting of ISO-propanol, some distilled water and a drip of ammonia.
Just rubbing and cleaning the outside will not get you there :/



Also, soaking the head in hot water might be an option.

[wraper]

This does not look like clogged printhead. Rather some sort of electronics issue, probably damaged FPC cable or bad connection to the printhead.

[xrunner]

OK thanks for the tips - I'll try some of those home remedies today. 

[Gyro]

I watched that first video, thinking why on earth hasn't he removed the printhead, rather than stuffing bits of kitchen paper in? 

I've used the syringe method successfully on Cannon printheads using various diameter bits of sleeving to fit the colour and HC black inlets. I used IPA and deionized water. It works a bit better if you keep the bottom immersed in a saucer of water so that you can keep flushing backwards and forwards. If you look at the nozzles under a gecent magnifier you can see if any are still blocked. You just keep going until they are all clear.

You can also clean and check the printhead (flexprint) and carriage contacts with IPA at the same time. The contacts get splashed during cleaning anyway, the whole thing is waterproof.

[steve30]

Or if you want to go really reliable, Colour ribbon. I have a monochrome ribbon printer, and even though it's slow, it will work long past anything that can even interface with it. It has never failed to print for arbitrary reasons, the ink cartridge has no connection to the electronics so YOU can see if it's running low and not have to have a machine refuse to work with one even though it's full of ink. Most of them will work with any computer that has Centronics support (Mine even works on a Commodore 64 WITH bitmaps through a special adapter). The only thing that can really go wrong with them is the heads wearing out, which has not happened to me, and probably will never happen to me so long as I keep to occasional prints.

If you need something for speed, then you really have to look elsewhere, but if you are fine with setting 10 documents on to print, loading up the paper feed, and walking away for 30 minutes for great, often cheaper prints, then colour dot matrix impact printers are the best option I can think of for reliability, simplicity, and support. There are even dot matrix impact printers that can go actually pretty fast. Mine doesn't but I do not need to print anything in a time of crush, and can wait 4-5 minutes for a full page print.

TwoOfFive: What model printer do you have? I have a couple of dot matrix printers, but they are a bit past their best. I'd like a better quality 24 pin one. I also wouldn't mind having a colour one, although I doubt I'd really have much use for it. I've never used a colour dot matrix printer myself, but I hear they are very prone to the colours bleeding into each other. Might be something to consider if you are looking for quality prints.

[stj]

Epson FX80 was the one to have!
 

[wraper]

Try cleaning print head contacts with cotton swab and alcohol.

[Ampera]

Or if you want to go really reliable, Colour ribbon. I have a monochrome ribbon printer, and even though it's slow, it will work long past anything that can even interface with it. It has never failed to print for arbitrary reasons, the ink cartridge has no connection to the electronics so YOU can see if it's running low and not have to have a machine refuse to work with one even though it's full of ink. Most of them will work with any computer that has Centronics support (Mine even works on a Commodore 64 WITH bitmaps through a special adapter). The only thing that can really go wrong with them is the heads wearing out, which has not happened to me, and probably will never happen to me so long as I keep to occasional prints.

If you need something for speed, then you really have to look elsewhere, but if you are fine with setting 10 documents on to print, loading up the paper feed, and walking away for 30 minutes for great, often cheaper prints, then colour dot matrix impact printers are the best option I can think of for reliability, simplicity, and support. There are even dot matrix impact printers that can go actually pretty fast. Mine doesn't but I do not need to print anything in a time of crush, and can wait 4-5 minutes for a full page print.

TwoOfFive: What model printer do you have? I have a couple of dot matrix printers, but they are a bit past their best. I'd like a better quality 24 pin one. I also wouldn't mind having a colour one, although I doubt I'd really have much use for it. I've never used a colour dot matrix printer myself, but I hear they are very prone to the colours bleeding into each other. Might be something to consider if you are looking for quality prints.

It's an Epson LQ-570+ Centronics printer with ESC/P2 support (Epson's somewhat proprietary standard that is supported for most of their printers as a better LCD communications protocol than straight ASCII or IBM codepage printing. It is a loud, slow, massive beast, but it will be working when every single printer off the line today dies, and it will be working more. If you are looking for SERIOUSLY fast printing where you can go through MASSIVE stacks of paper in a few minutes, regular impact printers can make even the fastest inkjets look like a brain damaged gorilla poking at the paper with a lead stick.
They are huge, expensive, can often only do text, but they are FAST

For a good modern printer, I would suggest laser. The toner will kill you (so does ink for inkjets) but they truly have the best print qualities and speeds for a modern printer. We had a monochrome one that could spit out paper after paper after paper in rapid fire succession.

Honestly I do still love dot matrix printers. The fact that it's the only printer you can have that will never screw up for stupid reasons (at least in my experience) is awesome. As long as nothing is broken, you hook up the cable to your computer, set a document printing, make sure the paper is loaded, and you will get a print, little to no variables. There may be the issue with some colour bleeds on colour dot matrix impacts, but I'd say if you can get one of acceptable quality and you can stockpile enough ink (nobody uses them so it can be a bit hard to find ink), it will make a perfect backup when your expensive Brother or Epson decides to shit itself and break for no obvious reason.

[Alex Eisenhut]

My first "serious" printer was an Epson LQ-500.



It was awesome for the day. 24 pin NLQ printing, good graphics resolution.

[Brumby]

I still have an Epson LQ-400, sitting in a filing cabinet drawer.  I wonder if it still works?

Just need a driver for Win 7.

[stj]

and best of all - they are Tractor-Feed!
i really miss just ripping open a new box of 2000sheets and just loading it onto the sprockets like an ammo-belt!

now i have to constantly be topping up relatlively small trays with a couple of hundred sheets at a time,
and the sheets have to be stapled or clipped together afterwards. 

[Assafl]

If it has a separate printhead (separate from the print cartridge - usually connected by a thin flexible hose) it may need to be replaced. If the hose is clogged - it may be time for a new printer.

Also, not printing color for a long time causes these types of outputs on inkjet. I make it a point to print in color whenever I can.

[tooki]

Trying to print out some high quality images and discovered a problem with the magenta. I executed the internal cleaning several times to no avail. I then removed the print head and cleaned with alcohol, but it did not improve. It's a Canon MG5320.

What I do not understand is how it prints out a magenta bar on the test, but the other two magenta bars below it (which are supposed to be lighter) do not print out at all. How is it possible for magenta to print out once each test pattern but not the other two bars? Is that a print head issue or something else? 

Thanks.

The reason that cyan and magenta have three bars each in the test pattern is that they actually have three printheads each, for 5, 2, and 1pl droplets. (512 nozzles each for the six magenta and cyan, yellow, photo black, and pigment black.) It looks like there's either a catastrophic clog in the duct to the 2 and 1pl magenta nozzles, or an electronic problem.

A replacement printhead (part Qy6-0080) can be had on eBay for about $25, so it may be worth trying that.

If it has a separate printhead (separate from the print cartridge - usually connected by a thin flexible hose) it may need to be replaced. If the hose is clogged - it may be time for a new printer.

Also, not printing color for a long time causes these types of outputs on inkjet. I make it a point to print in color whenever I can.

This model has a separate head, but has no hoses - the cartridges sit in the carriage, directly atop the printhead.

As for using them regularly: every inkjet cleans all the nozzles on power-up (or first print after a while), even when just issuing a black and white print job. That said, I've used Canon inkjets since around 2003, and have never had issues with clogging, even after months of disuse. (In stark contrast with the Epson inkjets I used from 1998-2003, which clogged often, and ultimately clogged irreversibly.) The only time I've had to replace a Canon printhead is when I accidentally damaged one.

[tooki]

It's a little-known fact of inkjet printers that they have a sort of sponge to rest the heads on, and once it's full, the printer's rubbish.

Some have a little tray or container that can be emptied and cleaned.  For the ones that just have absorbent pads, you can take them out and soak them for a while and rinse them out a few times to clean them out.  It's a bit messy but very effective.

Early inkjets did that, but most now have a rubber-rimmed cap that seals the head shut, and a separate felt-bottomed tray to catch waste ink, which has a specific (and to me amusing) name: the spitoon! Indeed the printers track how much ink is dispensed into the spitoon and disable the printer when full; it's then supposed to be replaced. Service menus usually let you reset the spitoon counter of course.

Some printers' head caps have a vacuum hose attached, used for cleaning by actually sucking ink through without activating the nozzles, and also for priming the heads after ink changes.

[xrunner]

The reason that cyan and magenta have three bars each in the test pattern is that they actually have three printheads each, for 5, 2, and 1pl droplets. (512 nozzles each for the six magenta and cyan, yellow, photo black, and pigment black.) It looks like there's either a catastrophic clog in the duct to the 2 and 1pl magenta nozzles, or an electronic problem.

Yes I see that now. I was cleaning it again and did notice that the magenta had more than one streak on the cleaning pad. I never realized it worked like that. I persisted in cleaning and eventually it started working. Several of the magenta heads were clogged, and I need to print out more color from time to time. Thanks.

[Ampera]

I still have an Epson LQ-400, sitting in a filing cabinet drawer.  I wonder if it still works?

Just need a driver for Win 7.

I recall mine having drivers for Windows 7, but if all else fails, just get generic ESC/P or ESC/P2 drivers, as it will support most of the printer's functionality.

[SeanB]

Driver is IBM proprinter or proprinter 2, or Epson FX80, or Generic/text only. Depends if you want graphics ( the proprinter or Fx) and incredibly slow multipass printing, or really fast text only printing.

[Assafl]

Some printers' head caps have a vacuum hose attached, used for cleaning by actually sucking ink through without activating the nozzles, and also for priming the heads after ink changes.

So that is what that tiny peristaltic pump in Epson printers is for? A peristaltic spittoon?

Crazy Kickstarter idea: A peristaltic spittoon for the lazy wine lover.

[tooki]

The reason that cyan and magenta have three bars each in the test pattern is that they actually have three printheads each, for 5, 2, and 1pl droplets. (512 nozzles each for the six magenta and cyan, yellow, photo black, and pigment black.) It looks like there's either a catastrophic clog in the duct to the 2 and 1pl magenta nozzles, or an electronic problem.

Yes I see that now. I was cleaning it again and did notice that the magenta had more than one streak on the cleaning pad. I never realized it worked like that. I persisted in cleaning and eventually it started working. Several of the magenta heads were clogged, and I need to print out more color from time to time. Thanks.

Thanks for the update! By any chance, did you in the past allow the cartridge to actually run dry, and then leave it dry for a while? That's the only thing I'm aware of that can really cause a clog in a Canon. That's why they warn when the cartridge is running low (though I really appreciate that the Canons let you override the low-ink warning and keep printing if you choose.)

Some printers' head caps have a vacuum hose attached, used for cleaning by actually sucking ink through without activating the nozzles, and also for priming the heads after ink changes.

So that is what that tiny peristaltic pump in Epson printers is for? A peristaltic spittoon?

Possibly, but to be honest I'm not entirely sure, I've never dismantled an Epson.

The ones that I know have the vacuum pumps are some HP OfficeJet models, the ones that use ink tanks that look kinda like squished marshmallows. They actually have bidirectional pumps that can pump backwards towards the tanks, to dislodge obstructions in the ink paths.

Crazy Kickstarter idea: A peristaltic spittoon for the lazy wine lover.

Isn't that what most people would simply call their esophagus?