Installed new printhead in Pro 9000 mark 11. Problems with black

I was having problems with several colors. I removed my print had and cleaned it but still continued to have problems. I installed a new printhead and all the colors are good except for black. Part of the time it works but part of the time it is pale. I have changed ink cartridges 3 times, (once was a refill) and am still having problems. Any suggestions please? My printer is Pro 9000 Mark11.

Could you upload a crop from a print showing the black defect plus a nozzle check?

I also have a 9000 II, running on non OEM ink, for a number of years, with one print head replacement a few years back.

I hesitate to advise on print head related posts, because it is easy to be completely wrong. But if all else fails, I would remove the print head and visually examine the gold contacts on both the head and carrier.

Next examine the small circular pad filters on the carrier into which the ink cartridges fit, is ink visible on each and if you touch each filter pad gently with a piece of kitchen paper towel, does it pick up a little ink. Do the same with the pad on the bottom of the cartridges. This should indicate whether ink flow is adequate.

Was the replacement print head obtained from a Canon authorised supplier such as CRC Tasktron Ltd, (costing around £100), there are some dodgy heads on the market, which are "refurbished" and sold more cheaply.

Have you cleaned the two print head parking places with a few cc of Lidl Window Cleaner from a syringe. This left to soak for a few minutes, is sucked through into the waste tank at switch on and leaves the parking pad bright and clean.

Good luck!

PeterBJ said:

Could you upload a crop from a print showing the black defect plus a nozzle check?

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@Helen Basler, As said, we will still need to see your nozzle print for further examination, but whatever you do don’t run test prints till you can get a perfect nozzle check.

Question:- What are you using for carts ?, OEM new or are you refilling them, or running with aftermarket compatibles...

Thank you all for the replies and help. Yesterday I was trying to print a label for a doll body I had sold on eBay, so i just scanned that this morning. I hope you can tell it was pale in places and has a greenish tone. I did a nozzle check and no black was showing. So then I did a cleaning and that is the 2nd nozzle check. The next label was better but not as good as it should have been.
That is what has been happening lately sometimes black will be dark as normal and sometimes faded.
I bought the printhead about a year ago from a dealer that was recommended on this forum but I can't find my receipt and don't remember the name. Right after I bought the printhead and before I had a chance to install it I had some major health problems and just recently started using my printer again.
For years I had refilled my original Canon cartridges, but if I'm in a hurry I sometimes use generic cartridges. The black right now is a generic but I also have the same problem with my original Canon when I refill it.
I have a doctors appointment later this morning so will not have time yet to try the suggestions offered above until later. Thanks again for the help.

Now that you got your black back working in your Nozzle print, I would start to exercise your printer by printing several more nozzle prints in a row, then print at least ten more of those labels, and that should get all the printer juices flowing properly once again.

On another note, your printer is not the best for producing address labels, because the ink isn’t water proof and if it gets wet if may become unreadable...

The Hat said:

On another note, your printer is not the best for producing address labels, because the ink isn’t water proof and if it gets wet if may become unreadable...

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True. As a safeguard against smearing, I think eBay (and USPS) is fine with clear tape over the sender and receiver addresses BUT NOT the barcodes. Barcode readers may not be able to read the barcode with tape over them but the conventional addresses written out are OK as they are read by the human eye.

Check with eBay and USPS to make sure!

All the shipping labels I use, I print with a laser printer. I also always cover it with clear shipping tape... didn't know scanners couldn't read it.

William Seaward said:

All the shipping labels I use, I print with a laser printer. I also always cover it with clear shipping tape... didn't know scanners couldn't read it.

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Depending on the tape and other conditions, there may be no problem. But, eBay gets a discount from the shippers, some of which is passed on to the user when they print a label through eBay, and eBay does not want to slow the shippers down with unreadable barcodes because of tape. It's about efficiency and keeping the money making machine in motion.

The Hat said:

Now that you got your black back working in your Nozzle print, I would start to exercise your printer by printing several more nozzle prints in a row, then print at least ten more of those labels, and that should get all the printer juices flowing properly once again.

Click to expand...

I started to print the nozzle checks. The 1st one was perfect, the 2nd one had just partially filled the black. I have scanned and posted the first 3. Each time there was less black. I've used printers for many many years and this is a 1st for me. Generally if I have trouble it is just lines? I sure hope someone knows what's wrong. Edit: