Pro-100; No low warning when PM was (pretty much) empty

[The Hat]

"the refiller"... that's me right?
No, once maybe, but not twice.

Never say never, it might leave you with a red face again..

 

[jjohnl]

Still not fixed.
I got a new cart from PC right after my last post and refilled the day it arrived. Then I wasn't able to do any printing because of some family matters, and just got back to it today. Here are 2 test prints I just did; the red one first, then when I saw the red I printed again. You can see the difference.

All the carts still appear to be full, as they should be. (Including the PM.)

 

[jjohnl]

Now here's something interesting I didn't notice before; maybe it's a clue.

Once a week, even if I don't have time to do any real printing, I print a nozzle check then a 4x6 test image, to protect the print head. This was done on May 25. I didn't even notice those black blobs at the end of the sheet of paper! They're slightly darker on the side with the nozzle check so that would have been the first part of the page to come out; in other words, the first paper that came out of the printer in about a week.

Does this mean anything to anyone? (By the way, the 4x6 image on the other side of the paper doesn't have any unusual blobs or colors; it's just really absurd color because it's plain paper.)

 

[The Hat]

@jjohnl, Looking at the latest two photos you’ve posted it would seem the problem is getting worse rather than better because your first photo is all red, compared to the photo in post#10, which was only partially red.

The most obvious cause is a slow leaking cartridge, but if you’re sure that the refill hole is completely 100% airtight then it can’t be that, right ?

Your nozzle check shows the tell tail signs of an ink build up on the bottom of the print head and this can be caused by the purge unit not been able to clean the head properly because of an excess amount of ink in that area, this is where unwanted ink tends to end up. !

The next thing to look at it is the purge unit itself, I would give the whole area a good splash of Windex and wipe up the mess using paper towels, and then finish off by flooding the two pads with the Windex and then run a normal head clean.

You’ll find after doing this little bit of maintenance you prints will be perfect once again, but when you go to use the printer in a few days time, this dreaded issue with the red will return till you solve your problem for once and for all..

 

[jjohnl]

@jjohnl, Looking at the latest two photos you’ve posted it would seem the problem is getting worse rather than better because your first photo is all red, compared to the photo in post#10, which was only partially red.

Actually, the red stops at about her chin. This print was a 4x6 whereas the previous was (roughly) 6x8. So I don't think it's getting worse but it sure isn't getting better.

The most obvious cause is a slow leaking cartridge, but if you’re sure that the refill hole is completely 100% airtight then it can’t be that, right ?

It's a refurb cart I got from PC, including the plug. Seems unlikely the original and replacement are leaking the same.

Your nozzle check shows the tell tail signs of an ink build up on the bottom of the print head and this can be caused by the purge unit not been able to clean the head properly because of an excess amount of ink in that area, this is where unwanted ink tends to end up. !

The next thing to look at it is the purge unit itself, I would give the whole area a good splash of Windex and wipe up the mess using paper towels, and then finish off by flooding the two pads with the Windex and then run a normal head clean.

You’ll find after doing this little bit of maintenance you prints will be perfect once again, but when you go to use the printer in a few days time, this dreaded issue with the red will return till you solve your problem for once and for all..

sigh...

 

[The Hat]

It's a refurb cart I got from PC, including the plug. Seems unlikely the original and replacement are leaking the same.

So which one of the two Magentas are leaking ? the problem isn’t with the cartridges, it’s more likely a problem with the refilling ! !...

 

[jjohnl]

Boy, Hat, you're just determined that it's me, aren't you?

I've taken all the carts out and they're in a translucent plastic container, sitting upright as they would be in the printer. I'll watch them and see if one leaks. There is ink on the bottom of the printhead, also in the carriage (?) that holds the head. It appears to be black. I know it could just be a mixture but there are no traces of any other color anywhere. The black cart appears full, as they all do.

So... if the black cart is leaking, how does that translate to a red print?

I've done a search for "Pro-100 purge unit" and also for "Pro-100 waste pads" and can't find any info about them. Do you know of a reference that will show the various parts so I'll know what I'm dealing with?

 

[The Hat]

Boy, Hat, you're just determined that it's me, aren't you?

Nope, but you have to start some where, but it’s the most likely place to start.
Start by turning on the printer and then raise the top cover and when the print carriage moves to the centre, pull the power cord out of the wall.

Now you’ll have access to the right hand side of the printer where the purge unit (Parking Station) is situated, just move the head and cartridges to the left out of your way, it makes it easier to work.

If you’ve got some Latex gloves, now would be a good time to wear them, all ink in and around the purge unit always looks black, that does not mean you black cartridge is leaking, it can be any one of them..

click to enlarge.

 

[jjohnl]

If you’ve got some Latex gloves, now would be a good time to wear them, all ink in and around the purge unit always looks black, that does not mean you black cartridge is leaking, it can be any one of them..

Just to be clear, the black-looking ink I was talking about is not around the purge unit, it's on the bottom of the head and in the head carriage.

So am I understanding that those 2 pads in your picture are the waste pads? I always thought the long sponge strip that the head rides above was the waste pad.

 

[PeterBJ]

The two pads in the picture uploaded by The Hat are not waste pads, they are purge unit pads and their purpose is to distribute vacuum evenly under the print head nozzles when cleaning the nozzles. They are made from a hard and porous plastic material.

The waste pads or ink absorber pads are much larger pads made of a felt like material, and the pads are installed inside the printer case at the bottom. Ink sucked out from the print head during print head cleaning is deposited in these absorber pads.

See this drawing from a parts catalog for Canon Pixma iP5200. The absorbers are marked "1".