Repeated clogging after repeated cleaning/deep cleaning

Tin Ho, let me try to understand. The print head works fine in the printer at another office using pigment ink. It does not work with pigment ink in the printer at the first office. But works fine with dye ink. Am I correct?

Why was I forced to reregister? It wouldn't let me login on my proper account, even when I copied and pasted my username and password from the reminder e-mail.

I managed to clean out the cartridge, in that the water that is now forced out is pretty clear now. The sponge, however, is another matter. It's a lot darker than that sponges in the coloured cartridges I've cleaned out. Is this cause for worry?

RealPenguinLust It's a lot darker than that sponges in the coloured cartridges I've cleaned out. Is this cause for worry?

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Dont be too worried about the colour of the sponge, its near impossible
to get it as clean looking as the coloured cartridges.
Once the water is clear then its good to go after you get the sponge just about dry.

Regards to your log-in just click on the word (report) bottom right-hand corner and
Im sure that moderator will be able to sort it out for you quickly..

Ok, well I've cleaned out the 3e cartridge and filled it with 6BK. I still get those damn blank streaks. So I tried pouring water on the purge pads and doing the cleaning, and the water disappeared, so I guess the purge pads are ok. It still doesn't print right.

I guess at this point the only thing to do is change the cartridge and hope that this is nothing but a bad cartridge and not the head. Unfortunately, those don't grow on trees and I haven't got the money to spend on something that might not work. Unless someone else has another 0.05$ solution, I guess that's it.

PenguinLust
With your new clean 3eBK cartridge it should have printed ok for you.
You could give your print head one last try of Windex, squirt a few drops onto the ink inlet
and put the cartridge back in on top of the Windex and try a nozzle check.

Do the same again and see if there is any difference in the two nozzle checks,
if there is keep going until you get a good nozzle print.

If that doesnt work then buying a new cartridge is unlightly to fix the problem
so it looks like a new print head will be the only way out for you..

I did like you said. The nozzle check just got worse and worse. On the 3rd page, I couldn't see a dot of anything out of the 3e cartridge.

The odd thing about before the Windex, is the text seemed to streak worse towards the end of page. This gave me the impression that the clog occurred not right at the nozzle, but further up the supply train, as if a local reservoir was able to supply ink for a short time, but couldn't be replenished fast enough.

There comes a time..........buy a new printer. Start over. I've done this cycle several times in my life, all with Canons, and always very pleasantly surprised at the improvement they made. Something like BJC 600 to 6000 to S800 series to ip4300 and 9300. I always bitched and kavetched about spending the money and every time my reaction, once I bit the bullet was, "Wow!" Wish I had done it earlier.

You can buy new or almost new printers cheaper than a replacement head and a set of cartridges.

That S860 is more than long in the tooth. Get a later model and you will be blown away by the better color renditions and increased speed. The iP4300 is one of the last with the large, clear, refillable carts. I love mine for "office" work, it has the big, fast pigment ink black, and casual photo prints. When I want heart stopping photo work, it's the 9300 Big Bad Boy.

PenguinLust
If your problem is still in your cartridge then maybe it didnt get clean out enough,
and a new cartridge could solve the print streaks.
It would be a cheaper option than a new print head and wont go to waste anyway
even if you have to get the print head in the end..

Maybe the problem is that I didn't wait long enough for the Windex to do its work, but a few days after my last post I printed something and I've printed out about half a dozen pages of text since then, and I don't even see the slightest bit of streaking. I've noticed, however, that the text is a little fuzzy, like there are these tiny tributaries extending from the letters. Maybe that's from using the photoblack ink in the 3e cartridge.

Still, the colours are shot and I don't think I will go with replacing the head. When I can afford it, I'm just going to replace it. There's no way it would be cost-effective to try to maintain this printer with a new head--just get a new printer.