Canon MG5450 Patchy - Help Please!

PeterBJ

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The MG5450 printer is of the PGI-550/CLI-551 cartridge generation. These cartridges are totally opaque and a resetter will possibly never be available. So visual inspection of refilled OEM cartridges is not an option. Furthermore the OEM cartridges come in a starter version with reduced capacity and in a normal version called XL.

This makes refill of OEM cartridges difficult, so 3'rd party cartridges either prefilled or refillable are often used. But the quality of 3'rd party cartridges varies a lot. Some work well, others don't, causing problems with ink flow, clogging or leaking. These problems can ruin a print head.

I guess that the price for a new MG5459 is around 100£? Keep in mind that the printer is not very refill friendly, and that by buying the printer you buy a lottery ticket. You might win or you might lose. I have no idea about the odds.

If you buy the printer, first try a gentle unclogging method like the one I linked to in post #5. Forcing water or other cleaning fluid through the print head is a more radical approach with a much higher risk of damaging the print head.

If you buy the printer and my suggestion for print head cleaning doesn't work, I suggest asking the forum before trying tougher and more risky cleaning methods.
 
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