cyan not printing- Canon Pixma Pro9500 Mark II

Hello- I didn't use my printer for months after purchase & just bought all new 10 ink cartridges.
Cleaned 3x & deep cleaned which worked well..except cyan has no color at all on test page.
Other colors also were blank at first but printed after cleanings.
I never knew if the cyan worked since I just got new inks after buying this used printer. All other functions work well like the front load 13" x 19" format..
Any opinions would be appreciated!

Firstly, hi and welcome.

The 9500 if left unused for months will clog up the head a bit and the best thing to do before installing your new cartridges is to give them a good shake for about 20 seconds.

Now running a head clean is advisable after such a long period of idleness and if that doesn’t work then do a normal head followed by one deep head clean, but after each head clean you must run a nozzle print to check your progress.

Under no circumstances should you print anything (Nozzle check excluded) till you can get your nozzle print perfect, doing so will render your print head useless for everyday work.

Running continued deep head cleans should be avoided, because it wastes all of your expensive inks and also if after two deep cleans the nozzle print isn’t clear then you’ll have to clean the print head externally yourself.

Because you don’t have the history of this printer you’ll have to suspect the head is damaged and if it isn’t then it will clean up with a good soaking in warm water, overnight with a couple of drops of washing–up liquid (Dreft/Fairy) and a squirt of Windex mixed in also.

Rinse the head under soft running water for a few seconds then thoroughly dry the head in a warm place before installing it back into the printer, run a normal head clean and do one nozzle print, then check that nozzle print against the previous ones, if clear then great but if not you’ll have to get a new head.

Good luck and please report back to us with any progress..

Thank you. I did a test print after each cleaning & deep cleaning. The test prints improved with each cleaning.

I only printed test pages. I'll clean the printhead & will post the result soon.

Have a great holiday!!

western said:

Thank you. I did a test print after each cleaning & deep cleaning. The test prints improved with each cleaning.

I only printed test pages. I'll clean the printhead & will post the result soon.

Have a great holiday!!

Click to expand...

@western ,
I hope that when you write "test print" you mean "nozzle check". Trying to print ink from a clogged nozzle tends to burn out the clogged nozzle. (The boiling water in the ink nozzle keeps the nozzle temperature under control.)
When you remove the head, check for a pattern of dried ink in a rectangular pattern corresponding to the cap on the purge unit, If you find such a pattern, be sure to clean the gasket surface on the purge unit. You might want to clean the purge unit in any event.
Which cyan is missing? (regular or photo or both?)
Good luck

Hi. I meant nozzle test.

Photo cyan is OK. The cyan is the only problem.

I'll clean the printhead, do a cleaning & nozzle check and let you both know how it goes.

Thanks for writing. Have a fun weekend!

western said:

Hi. I meant nozzle test.

Photo cyan is OK. The cyan is the only problem.

I'll clean the printhead, do a cleaning & nozzle check and let you both know how it goes.

Thanks for writing. Have a fun weekend!

Click to expand...

@western ,
You might want to do a blot test on the printhead before cleaning it. This should show that the cyan nozzles are blocked. If it doesn't, well ...
http://www.printerknowledge.com/thr...-purge-unit-testing-may-not-be-adequate.4665/ post #3.

You may have some trouble getting a good nozzle check after cleaning the printhead if the purge unit is gunked up with dried ink. Running a bit of windex through the purge unit pads & pump might be time well spent.

@berttheghost, while flooding the purge pad from time to time is not a bad thing to do but in the OP case it won’t help much because if the purge unit was bunged up then the other four colours would be in trouble too, blacks, grey and magenta..

The Hat said:

@berttheghost, while flooding the purge pad from time to time is not a bad thing to do but in the OP case it won’t help much because if the purge unit was bunged up then the other four colours would be in trouble too, blacks, grey and magenta..

Click to expand...

I could argue that if the purge unit were not hampered by drying ink, the cleaning cycles might have been completely effective. But my concern is that priming a dry printhead after removing it for cleaning can take multiple attempts due to trapped air. Cleaning the capping surface of any dried ink residue will help to ensure a good airtight seal with the printhead. BTW, the blade wiper sponge might be dry, which would also affect the seal. Someone might suggest that few cc of glycerine applied from a syringe to the blade wiper sponge/reservoir might alleviate the need to replace the blade wiper unit. I might suggest a few drops as a very temporary solution.

You are forgetting that when you reinstall the print head this action automatically causes an extensive cleaning and agitation cycle to begin.

Once the printer has completed this cleaning routine, which also includes the wiper sponges, then with the heads freshly primed with ink, the printer is free to carry on with any print commands that are stored and waiting in the print spooler. (Nozzle check)

The Hat said:

You are forgetting that when you reinstall the print head this action automatically causes an extensive cleaning and agitation cycle to begin.

Once the printer has completed this cleaning routine, which also includes the wiper sponges, then with the heads freshly primed with ink, the printer is free to carry on with any print commands that are stored and waiting in the print spooler. (Nozzle check)

Click to expand...

No, I'm NOT forgetting. I'm remembering all too well ...
The printer will detect that the printhead was removed and will ATTEMPT to prime the printhead automatically. If the printer were in new condition and the printhead itself were new and filled with their storage fluid, I would expect this to succeed. But this printer is used and the printhead will be filled with air. The printer was stored for several months without flushing the purge unit beforehand, so the purge unit may be hampered by dried ink. I suppose that it's POSSIBLE that the printer MIGHT successfully prime the nozzles for ALL TEN carts on the first try with a purge unit in less than new condition. But I wouldn't expect it.

BTW, the OP would be well advised to wait overnight between a head cleaning and a nozzle check since it appears that the cleaning effect continues after the cleaning operation completes. (It's like letting the head sit overnight in a dish of cleaning solution.)

BTW2, the OP should be certain that the printer's purge unit is up to snuff before replacing the printhead. A bad purge unit can ruin a perfectly good printhead.