Thanks to knowledgeable people here I managed to clear a serious clog in the pigment channel of my i860. It was great to have it printing well again. Unfortunately, when I went to do a nozzle check today, I got the 5 flashing orange lights signal. I had printed last week with no problems except the yellow tank was getting low. I replaced it before starting the nozzle check. I tried the advice for re-setting. The printer wouldn't print because I couldn't resolve the error. I have some other poorly working print heads that I used to replace the former one. When I replaced the print head the orange lights went out and the green light is steady. As soon as I installed the original one it turned to the 5 orange flashes. My quandary now is do I buy a new print head - somewhere around $100 - or do I chuck the whole thing and buy a new printer? I really like this printer but I seem to keep spending money on keeping it going. I also hate the idea of having to buy replacement carts all the time. I'm stuck and need some good advice.
i860 printhead problem (I think)
- Thread starter popsy
- Start date
emerald
Getting Fingers Dirty
Sorry to hear of the 5 flashing orange light alarm. It most often portends the death of the print head. Canon printers i860, iP4000, MP770 and MP740 use this model QY6 0049 print head. An eBay search turns up a dozen or so of new print heads - all from China and in the price range of $75. I'd be leery of the Chinese print heads. You might be lucky and find a used printer of the above models with a used print head. Otherwise, it's my opinion it's not worth the money to fix it.
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I wouldnt get rid of your printer if I were you; its got years left in.
The five orange lights mean your print head has expired, its not broke but
Canon have built in a certain amount of prints and then call in a permanent time out.
I have a 12 year old i685 which suffered the same faith but now with a new print head it will probably last another 10 years.
It maybe dearer to get a print head but you know what your printer can do already so you wont have to change
to any new inks, cartridges or even a resetter which cost real money as well.
My advice is to stay with your trusty old steed and just try to find a new print head for it
or even a second hand old one that you could pick up somewhere..
The five orange lights mean your print head has expired, its not broke but
Canon have built in a certain amount of prints and then call in a permanent time out.
I have a 12 year old i685 which suffered the same faith but now with a new print head it will probably last another 10 years.
It maybe dearer to get a print head but you know what your printer can do already so you wont have to change
to any new inks, cartridges or even a resetter which cost real money as well.
My advice is to stay with your trusty old steed and just try to find a new print head for it
or even a second hand old one that you could pick up somewhere..
- Thread starter
- #4
Thanks for the input, emerald and The Hat. I am loathe to give up on the printer though my husband thinks I should. I welcome any more opinions out there about this. Luckily I don't have any printing to do right now so can afford to wait a bit.
What about new ones? Are any of the lower priced Canons as good as the i860 and its relatives?
What about new ones? Are any of the lower priced Canons as good as the i860 and its relatives?
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Thats the way to go popsy.. You wont regret it..popsy said:
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