A Friend's PIXMA iP7220 w/ Blurry Text

[PalaDolphin]

My question is: Should I introduce the concept of ICC profiles to my friend who has experienced blurry text when printing from Microsoft Word?
I'm writing up an e-mail for things to do and try to solve his problem. He said he was using cheap third-party ink cartridges and I said, "No, no, no, use Precision Colors, drill out used OEM carts, etc." Then I start looking up online how ICC profile files are used in Microsoft Office applications like Word and I get the gist that they're not. So, do I just nix the concept of ICC profiles with my friend?
I asked why type of documents and color that he's printing and he said just B&W text.

 

[stratman]

Should I introduce the concept of ICC profiles to my friend who has experienced blurry text when printing from Microsoft Word?

No.

The issue, based on what info you have provided, is probably related to the "cheap third-party ink cartridges" and maybe the paper he is printing on. It may be the print head simply needs to be aligned. It may also be that he is using a photo paper setting instead of Plain Paper setting when he prints. Using a photo paper setting results in using only the Dye-based inks to make black text and may result in "blurry" text.

To save money, third party ink sellers may use little to no Pigment ink in their pigment ink cartridges. This will result in poorer test sharpness. One way to tell is to print text, let dry thoroughly, and then quickly run some water run over part of the page in the sink and look for smearing, running, change in sharpness in the characters versus the part of the page left dry. Obviously you need a control print that is water resistant, like from an OEM Canon cartridge or other source.

A good test would be to try a new OEM Pigment Black cartridge. If the problem remains then it is either the paper or paper setting, or needs a print head alignment, or a bad print head.

 

[PeterBJ]

The blurry test is most likely the result of a print head failure. Does the PGBK nozzle check look like what is seen in this thread and in this? If so it is probably caused by a bad refill ink. The use of an ICC profile may correct a colour cast but can of course not repair a defective print head.

The print head is type QY6-0082 if you want to look for one. Beware of print heads from the Far East. They are sold as new or refurbished but are often defective out of the package, which is made to look like the the genuine package.

In the US the best source of Canon spares is Canon!

 

[PalaDolphin]

Yeah, I invited him to join our group so we can diagnose his problem, but I haven't heard back from him. He's probably really busy with work or just doesn't find correcting his printer problems a high priority.