IP4300 missing PGBK grid from nozzle check

Very interesting ,grandexp.Some time ago I switched from pigmentblack ink to photoblack in my Canonprinters-560 and 4200.I mostly use black and white for printing out my bankaccounts and bills.I dont need any archival prints and the present quality is sufficient for me.So thank you for tour experiences.
Bertil

You're welcome Bertil. I think you are saying to refill your PGI cartridge with dye black ink. That's an excellent strategy to avoid every problem associated with pigment based black ink. Unfortunately dye black ink is not suitable for text documents that need to be preserved. I print a lot of tax documents, contracts, real estate documents, etc.

I spent some time to read this thread more carefully this morning. I see at least two problems associated with using black pigment ink by Canon printers. One is print head clogging, which is resulted from reduced ink flow in the PGI cartridge. The other is regarding clogging of purge units.

The first problem can be solved by purging the PGI cartridge once every 5 to 10 refills. I had the problem (who hasn't?) from time to time. I use a lot of printers (business use). I do not see a trend of one brand of ink more likely to clog than others. I use only high quality ink preferably made in USA (I am in USA). The clogging of text printing head kept occurring from time to time. After I started to purge the PGI cartridges periodically the clogging has reduced to nearly none for the past 2 years.

The 2nd problem (clogged purge units) is not an issue for my printers. I rarely ever encounter any purge unit problems with my Canon printers. I had to watch the waste ink tank for Epson printers but Canon printers are just about trouble free with my purge units. If you experience clogging in your purge unit this is what I would do. Go to any pharmacy and buy a large bottle of Isopropyl Alcohol (70% alcohol, 30% water and nothing else). It costs about $2 for a large 500 ml bottle. Just periodically use a syringe to inject the IA fluid into the parking pad. You can use Windex too but it is more expensive. This can be an effective preventive measure if you worry your purge unit getting clogged. I used IA and Windex alternately to help purging my PGI carts in addition to using water. IA dislodges ink sludge in the PGI cartridges very effectively.

Harvey, I believe your print head issue is likely caused by not purging your PGI cartridges. Did you purge your PGI carts from time to time? I trained my employees to watch the printer printing. If the darkness of the printed text turns lighter it means two things. The cartridge is about empty or it is in need of a purge. If refilling the PGI cart does not restore the darkness of the text it is time to gibe the PGI cart a good purge.

Ghwellsjr, how long have you been using Hobbicolors pigment black ink? I never had clogged purge units among my Canon printers. I have used Hobbicolors for about 2 years. I have consumed a couple of liters of the black pigment ink (by about a dozen of printers). I have not seen any purge unit clogging yet.

I have had very few print head clogging issues ever since I started to periodically purge my PGI carts. I don't expect my employees to care much about my printers. I have to take every preventive measure to prevent my printers from running into problems by careless employees. Can't blame the employees. Their job is not about taking care of the printers. I found puring PGI carts made a drastic improvement in preventing print head clogging. I have read a lot of complaints of text print head clogging. I have also read a lot of responses to the complaints mostly blame the ink used. Such responses did not address the real cause and were not very helpful.

The OP's print head is clogged. There wasn't enough information provided for anyone to speculate what caused the clogging. The OP did not mention if he refilled his cartridges or not. He could be using OEM carts. If he refilled his cartridges he did not mention which brand of ink he used. It is interesting to see how a few responses linked the OP's issue with Hobbicolors. I believe the OP uses only OEM cartridges. I am using Hobbicolors inks. I am totally happy so far. I will watch this forum for reports of real issues of their products. I have had issues for every brand of inks. There is not a brand name that is totally immune to print head clogging problems. Print head clogging is a common issue and I have found an easy solution to prevent it from happening.

scrappy said:

I had the exact same problem with my ip4300, and it completely revived.
Hope yours does.

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One of my mp780 got scratchy text that looked like a bad clogging. I gave it up after repeated soaking and cleaning with no change. Bought a new print head. Installed it and same thing. Later I tried the new print head and the original one on another mp780. Same thing too. This 2nd mp780 was find with its own print head. I concluded that the first mp780 killed its original print head and a brand new one too. That was quite a blow to my Canon experience.

Most text print head clogging can be revived by soaking with Windex for 30 minutes to an hour. I did recover clogged print heads most of the time.

Grandexp:

You have made some terrific points. The best way to keep a printer working well is to use it. Your high volume use probably prevents certain issues, at least as quickly as someone who infrequently uses their printer. Purging the Pigment Ink cartridge can be an effective measure to maintain performance. Some regularly drip fluid (solvent) onto their purge pads to prevent clogs of the purge system as well as the print head.

The algorithm I would use for diagnosing the OP's specific problem - completely missing Pigment Black ink nozzle check missing - can be divided into three major categories: cartridge issue (ink starvation from either no ink or an impedement to flow of ink from the cartridge for which a purge may fix the issue), print head issue (clog, bad electrical contacts, or electrical failure), and/or purge system issue (clog, disconnected tubes, pump failure, etc).

The first thing to try is another cartridge, preferable a new OEM Canon cartridge because it presents the fewest variables, but any known working cartridge will do. One can, of course, purge and refill the same cartridge. If the new cartridge does not work then we move on to the purge system and the print head. Oftentimes, testing the purge system along with trying a new cartridge, as well as check/clean electrical contacts, is preferred since it's quick and easy to do and facilitates diagnosis.

Since the OP did try a different cartridge, it is less likely the cartridge was his problem. Still, from what I read, the OP did not state if it was a new cartridge, an OEM cartridge or even if it was a known working cartridge. So, we cannot be 100% sure the cartridge is not the problem.

In the third post on the thread the OP states he refills with Hobbycolors ink using the German/Durchstich method. Hobbycolors ink has cropped up as a Pigment Black ink in clogs. Ghwellsjr did some experimentation with various pigment black inks which are linked in the thread. I have also used Hobbicolors pigment black ink for about a year and had no clog issues. I switched back to Precision Colors IS pigment black because of highlighter smearing issues with the Hobbicolors long before ghwells conclusions. Maybe there is a bias suffered on the forum and it's thought Hobbicolors is the major culprit in clogs. Maybe not. A running tally of ink brands that have been involved in clogs may illuminate the issue further.

Most text print head clogging can be revived by soaking with Windex for 30 minutes to an hour. I did recover clogged print heads most of the time.

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I wish most pigment ink print head clogs could be fixed with a 30 minute Windex soak, but it isn't so for the majority of users considering the experiences reported on the forum. Again, maybe it's a bias in that we only see people with stubborn clogs, but I doubt it. I wonder if you have such nice and speedy results because you have people closely monitoring for changes in print output which you then act upon quickly.

Maybe I missed something from the OP's post. I did not see if OP refilled his cartridges with Hobbicolors. I just looked through again I still don't see it. One of the point I am making is text print head clogging is common regardless the brand of pigment black ink used according to my experience. It happened to many of my print heads across the board for just about every brand of ink I used. The practice of purging the PGI carts ended pretty much all of that drastically.

Your algorithm of diagnosing print head clogging is excellent. The clogging can be caused by many causes. Your method can identify the real cause which points to the right direction to address the incident.

I would like to add that if a text print head is already clogged (fully clogged or only partially) changing the PGI cartridge to another (new OEM or used good working one) will not clear the clog. It did not work that way for me. Once clogged the print head had to be rinsed or soaked to unclog. By switching the cartridge it will not give a correct diagnosis of the original PGI cartridge. I believe it is the PGI cartridge that is problematic and has reduced ink flow that eventually led to the clogging. And once clogged changing out the cartridge will not fix the clog.

I do ask my employees to watch the printer printing. But I don't really expect any of them to really do that. The only effective way to avoid clogging is to take the preventive measure by purging the PGI cartridges periodically. I did unclog a few print heads in the past by soaking with Windex for only 30 minutes. It is probably true that those incidents were detected very early.

Grandexp said:

Maybe I missed something from the OP's post. I did not see if OP refilled his cartridges with Hobbicolors. I just looked through again I still don't see it.

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Post #3 in this thread is by the OP, named hachuelo, who writes:

Thanks for your response jtool,I already tried another cartridge with same results also I haven't tried any unclogging procedure so far. On a side note the cartridges are refilled with Hobbycolors Ink using the german method.

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Your algorithm of diagnosing print head clogging is excellent.

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this is the forum's preferred method, not just mine, based on years of experience from multiple contributors.

I would like to add that if a text print head is already clogged (fully clogged or only partially) changing the PGI cartridge to another (new OEM or used good working one) will not clear the clog. It did not work that way for me. Once clogged the print head had to be rinsed or soaked to unclog. By switching the cartridge it will not give a correct diagnosis of the original PGI cartridge. I believe it is the PGI cartridge that is problematic and has reduced ink flow that eventually led to the clogging. And once clogged changing out the cartridge will not fix the clog.

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I didn't say this was the fix but that it is part of the process. Trying a different cartridge in the OP's situation is entirely suitable step that will give valuable information, possible curative action.

I do ask my employees to watch the printer printing. But I don't really expect any of them to really do that. The only effective way to avoid clogging is to take the preventive measure by purging the PGI cartridges periodically.

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IIRC, there are users here, including heavy users, who do not purge Pigment Ink cartridges. Maintenance purging works for you is great but it may not be a sine qua non step for all, though I too would recommend considering maintenance purging if you want the least risk of your PGI-5 cartridge failing at an inconvenient time depending on one's situation.

It is refreshing to see a new member with a high degree of sound knowledge. Experience has been a grand teacher for you. (Is that where your user name comes from?) You say much of what the consensus is on the forum. It's like you've been reading the forum for years. Welcome aboard.

stratman said:

IIRC, there are users here, including heavy users, who do not purge Pigment Ink cartridges. Maintenance purging works for you is great but it may not be a sine qua non step for all, though I too would recommend considering maintenance purging if you want the least risk of your PGI-5 cartridge failing at an inconvenient time depending on one's situation.

It is refreshing to see a new member with a high degree of sound knowledge. Experience has been a grand teacher for you. (Is that where your user name comes from?) You say much of what the consensus is on the forum. It's like you've been reading the forum for years. Welcome aboard.

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I should make it clearer. If you pay some attention to the printing quality, mainly watch for the darkness of the text, you can get an idea if the PGI cartridge is having an ink flow problem and is giving stress to the print head. You can purge it before it eventually clogs the print head. However, It is not impossible for a PGI cartridge to be free of ink flow problems for a very long time. I have employees who won't care about the printers. I have to do the preventive purging to keep the printers free from clogging. I agree that you don't have to do it if you know how to watch for signs of trouble and purge the cart in time before it attacks. I also believe most users don't watch with the right attention despite they know very well about refilling. They really don't have a clue how to prevent their print head from getting clogged. Purging the PGI carts periodically will be a good practice for the protection of their print head.

I am not completely new to this forum. I registered in 2011. But I have used Canon inkjet printers since early 2000. I read posts here from time to time. Half of my refilling skill was from here and built up the other half from accumulated experience. I only posted here a few times. I just wanted to share my experience on the text print head clogging issue that I think I have dealt with successfully. Again I want to emphasize that I have switched among well known brand name of pigment black inks. It did not stop my print heads from getting clogged. It is the periodic purging of the PGI carts that really made the drastic difference. It is too easy to blame the ink rather than finding out the real cause.

Thanks for the smiley and the thumb up.

Grandexp said:

I should make it clearer.

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You were crystal clear the first time.

Didn't somebody famous once say eternal vigilance is the price we pay for liberty from OEM ink prices?

This is one of two things, a very very badly blocked printerhead or dead electrics. Most likely the latter, buy a new printer.