PRO-1000 - access print head when printer is blocked by B204

Hi,

My PRO-1000 is blocked with support code B204 - the error comes up when I turn on the printer and prevents access to the menus:



I found some recommendation to take out the print head, clean all contacts and reinstall it. However, the print head is hidden inside the printer case:



Does anyone know how to make the print head accessible in such case? How would the service center do it?

The Ninth said:

the error comes up when I turn on the printer and prevents access to the menus:

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This error is related to the print head itself, so one of the things you could try is to hold in the Resume button for 10 seconds then press the On button, if not try it with a 30 second hold and see if that makes a difference, you could also try this while the top lid is open.

But even if you get the printer to respond you’ll need to pull the plug once the print head moves slightly, then what because removing the print head is not straight forwards..

Your caught between a rock and a hard place, and the only reasonable thing to do is to return it to a Canon Service Centre.. Ouch..
P.S. If you manage to get the print head to move, I’d look at the purge unit area first to see if the wiper mechanism is working properly (Moving freely)..

AFAIK nothing has been posted in this forum for disassembling the Pro-1000 in order to remove the printhead. I think that few, if any, of the regulars here owns a Pro-1000. This is isn't a run of the mill Pixma multifunction or even the more affordable Pro models like the Pro-9500/10/100.
I would take with every precaution any 'tutorial' video found on Youtube, Messing inside the Pro-1000 is no joke. More likely than not you'd do more harm than good. Sorry, but if you want be on safe side Canon service center seems the best option. Nevertheless, I'd contact them first and ask for a quotation, albeit approximative, of the cost of the repair. It might be reasonable or so expensive that isn't worthwhile,

The Hat said:

This error is related to the print head itself, so one of the things you could try is to hold in the Resume button for 10 seconds then press the On button, if not try it with a 30 second hold and see if that makes a difference, you could also try this while the top lid is open.

Click to expand...

Thanks! What button are you referring to? On the front, the printer has a ON and a STOP button, on the operation panel it has HOME, BACK, OK and arrow buttons.

Artur5 said:

More likely than not you'd do more harm than good. Sorry, but if you want be on safe side Canon service center seems the best option. Nevertheless, I'd contact them first and ask for a quotation, albeit approximative, of the cost of the repair. It might be reasonable or so expensive that isn't worthwhile,

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I am in touch with Canon already. The quotation highly depends on whether they need to replace the print head, which they say they can tell only once they have seen the printer. Cost-wise I am not sure if replacing the print head is economical, they quoted 650 €, while a new PRO-1000 is at 1,000 € right now. The new printer includes inks that are at least partially usable for printing, and free ICC profiles from my shop. With the replaced print head I have to pay for the ink to fill it and for the new ICC profiles. Still, I will probably go down the route of replacing the print head if necessary, simply because it is less hassle and I avoid turning my current printer into 30 kg of electronic scrap.

I’m not use to these printers with little LED screens, the button I was referring to is the one you’d normally press to continue a print or other operation. (I have a Maxify with one of these screens but I never use the screen..)

Now at least you have a quote from Canon, yes it’s cheaper than a new printer but with the transporting costs, new inks and a new head, that will end up been more that the initial quote.

A new printer would probably be a better option and you might even get a discount if you buy from the Canon website, and its delivered to your door at no extra cost, plus all the ink left in the other printer can be used in this new one.

The only good thing out of this is you’ll have a printer you can pull apart in the knowledge that you’re not going to break anything.. Be careful because it may spill ink if not moved properly..

The Hat said:

I’m not use to these printers with little LED screens, the button I was referring to is the one you’d normally press to continue a print or other operation. (I have a Maxify with one of these screens but I never use the screen..)

Now at least you have a quote from Canon, yes it’s cheaper than a new printer but with the transporting costs, new inks and a new head, that will end up been more that the initial quote.

A new printer would probably be a better option and you might even get a discount if you buy from the Canon website, and its delivered to your door at no extra cost, plus all the ink left in the other printer can be used in this new one.

Click to expand...

Hmmm, tried to play with the different buttons of the PRO-1000 but no luck.

I agree that getting a new printer would probably be more economical. But my gut feels better with getting the one fixed that I have. Already have an appointment with a service technician and will keep you posted on the results.

I know nothing about the Pro-1000 however the same code has appeared on my Canon Maxify when a cartridge was completely empty.
I solved it by putting in an old empty Canon OEM cartridge, it then showed I needed to replace it with a full cartridge and when I did that it the printer carried on as normal.

The Ninth said:

I agree that getting a new printer would probably be more economical. But my gut feels better with getting the one fixed that I have. Already have an appointment with a service technician and will keep you posted on the results.

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Printer is now working again, after putting in a new print head. It was quite a piece of work, even in service mode the print head refused to come out, so the technician had to take the printer apart to get to it. All in all it cost me 893 €, while a new printer would have come to 988 €. So when factoring in the free ink that would have come with the new printer versus the one I had to use to fill the new head, there was really nothing economically about the repair, apart from the good feeling of having fixed the older printer instead of having to throw it away.

I hope at least with the new print head, the printer is "as-good-as-new" and will last for a few more years.

Good to hear that your printer is back to work
Not so good news about the total cost of the repair..

The Ninth said:

Printer is now working again, after putting in a new print head. It was quite a piece of work

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Very interesting information, but very worrying at the same time, when you got a Service Technician to do the job, he couldn’t get the head to move to a favourable position to replace it, that’s a bit of a bummer, and poor design on the part by Canon.

Now looking at the costs involved, I reckon you’d have been far better getting a new printer and could have saved at least €100 on a set of inks that come with the new printer, that’s just looking at the ink price alone, how much of your ink was wasted in the change over ?..

The lesson from this is, if the head on your Pro 1000 goes west, than its time for a new printer, because this must be the first Canon printer that doesn’t have a consumer replaceable print head, now that’s some progress.. My opinion..