should I replace my Canon MX850?

[pvrbulls]

(bump?)

 

[ghwellsjr]

I noticed on the two black blocks for each of the dye inks, there appears to be some yellow to the right of some of the blocks which shouldn't be there. This suggests to me that the yellow nozzles may have some build up of dried ink on the bottom of the print head. I would suggest that you remove all the cartridges and then remove the print head and "blot' it on a folded paper towel soaked in window cleaner like Windex to see if you can clean off any residue build up there. Then put it back together and see if anything improves. Try to get this done as quickly as possible since you don't want any ink to dry out inside your print head.

 

[pvrbulls]

I noticed on the two black blocks for each of the dye inks, there appears to be some yellow to the right of some of the blocks which shouldn't be there. This suggests to me that the yellow nozzles may have some build up of dried ink on the bottom of the print head. I would suggest that you remove all the cartridges and then remove the print head and "blot' it on a folded paper towel soaked in window cleaner like Windex to see if you can clean off any residue build up there. Then put it back together and see if anything improves. Try to get this done as quickly as possible since you don't want any ink to dry out inside your print head.

I did as you suggested and blotted the bottom of the head. There was considerable black ink in various places on the bottom, though I didn't notice any yellow. Perhaps it was from all the cleaning cycles? Anyway, here is another nozzle check:

If you missed it in my previous posts, is there a safe/easy way to disconnect the "top" or "lid" on the MX850 so as to raise it further to be able gain easier access to those purge pads?

Also, which inks would you recommend instead of the Hobbicolors inks? I need to get some headed my direction as the pigment black has gotten very low.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[ghwellsjr]

This indicates that the sparse yellow above the solid yellow was not coming from the nozzles. Unfortunately, the sharp demarcation between the yellow at the bottom 1/4 of its area indicates that you have an electrical problem that cannot be fixed. You will need a new print head.

I would go with Image Specialist inks from Precision Colors.

 

[pvrbulls]

This indicates that the sparse yellow above the solid yellow was not coming from the nozzles. Unfortunately, the sharp demarcation between the yellow at the bottom 1/4 of its area indicates that you have an electrical problem that cannot be fixed. You will need a new print head.

I would go with Image Specialist inks from Precision Colors.

Thanks!

The new head should arrive Monday or Tuesday.

Regarding inks from Precision Colors, which pigment black would you suggest... the regular Canon Compatible PGI-5 Ink or the Canon Compatible Ultra Black Pigment Ink? I have read on this site where some seem to prefer the later.

Also, have you ever disconnected the "lid" on your MX850? I would like to more easily get to those purge pads to clean them before installing the new print head.

 

[ghwellsjr]

If you want me to decide for you which pigment black ink to get, I would suggest the 1128, but I have not used it yet. I have ordered some to see how it might work in term of its clogging of the purge system. I have also ordered the Ultra and the 1020 for comparison.

No, I have not tried to remove the "lid" on my MX850. I wouldn't think it would be possible without a full dismantling due to the cables going between the lid and the base unit, not to mention the mechanical issues.

 

[nche11]

At the same time I ordered a new batch of Hobbicolors ink(I have used Hobbicolors inks for years.) Almost immediately I started having problems with the yellow nozzles clogging. Thinking that I had gotten a defective head, in December, 2009 I bought another head for the 850 which, like the previous one, started clogging(yellow only) almost immediately.

Two print heads in a roll this pretty much indicates that you have a purge unit problem. Because your AIO is a new printer there is likely a defect of the purge unit that did not protect the ink in the yellow channel nozzles from drying up. When you started a print job at the time the ink in the nozzles had dried up that had stopped or reduced the flow of ink you would pretty much fried the ink and clog the nozzles pretty good. That will result in the nozzle check that shows the sign of clogging. I think you had a bad luck and got a defective purge unit in your new AIO.

Be very careful with purge units of printers. I once had an awesome i960 that I enjoyed for hundreds of photos for about 2 years. One day I looked at the the pad of the purge unit and it looked messay. I did not know that purge units are supposed to be messy. I picked up the pad and give my purge unit a cleanining job. I must have disrupted it enough that it stopped protecting the print head nozzles. The next day when I used the printer I had some clogging. I immediately soaked the print head and I was able to have it recovered completely. Well, I discovered that the clogging returned like 2 days later and it was more than just one colors that was clogged. I soaked the print head for a few days and it was recovered again. But the clogged returned yet again. That's when I realized that there was something going on with the purge unit. I lost the print head this time without success in recovering it. I let go the i960 afterwards.

I will never tamper a healthy purge unit without a solid proof that it needs service. It is a critical and sensitive part of a printer that if it is not broken don't fix it. I believe your yellow channel clogging is a purge unit problem in this case.

 

[ghwellsjr]

A bad purge unit will not cause the electrical problem that pvrbulls indicates on his nozzle check that he is having. It can lead to random clogged nozzles or an entire color not printing anything, but not the pattern on his yellow where exactly the bottom 1/4 prints perfectly and the top 3/4 prints nothing.

He may also have a bad purge unit which he should test by putting Windex on the purge pads and making sure it gets sucked away by a cleaning. But if his purge unit is clogged, he will know immediately when he puts in his new print head and nothing prints.

 

[Tin Ho]

The 3rd scan of the nozzle check looks like an electronics defect of the print head. But the 1st and the 2nd scan are very typical print head clogging symptom. There is no doubt to me the clogging occurred first. The OP probably continued to use the printer which then led to the final break down of the electronics. I had an ip4300 with a clogged magenta with a nozzle check just like the OP's first nozzle check on yellow. After many rounds of soaking and cleaning effort the nozzle check ended up just like the OP's 3rd nozzle check. A fuel leak has to happen first to cause an engine fire. It looks to me the OP had a clogging first.

 

[ghwellsjr]

If you read the intervening posts, you will see that what looked like clogged yellow nozzles was apparently in fact caused by dried ink deposited on the bottom of the print head and after pvrbulls cleaned the bottom of the print head, those random nozzle patterns disappeared.

How do you propose that continuing to use a printer with clogged nozzles can lead to an electrical problem?

Removing the print head from the printer to soak and clean it is what leads to an electrical problem. That's why I have urged people to try to get the printer to clean its own print head and only soak it as a last resort.