Cannon IP4500 w/ CIS Woes

[ROX]

Hello All,

I'm a new member but been reading around through the forum a little now. For the most part ive been able to read most of the post on here and diagnose the problems Ive been having with my canon ip4500.

I print alot- nothing like 100 pages a day but on any given day I could print any where from 30 to 50 pages and some days nothing at all. My major problem has been clogging of the head. I was able to clear it a couple times by deep cleaning the head but this time not at all.

Just today I tried hitting the intake with compressed air to see if i could clear the nozzles...well it didnt work. Yellow does NOT print at all and cyan seems to be printing a lighter shade making everyting I print look pink or red. Cleaning the head did not work either.

So my questions for the gurus...

1. Obviously- how do I fix this? Should i try to soak the head in distilled water and run some water through the head?

2. is the yellow cartridge that came with the cis dead? I'ts never gone empty since ink is always being fed.

3. I hate the idea of not being able to print since i dont have a back up.....but will refilling my carts vs cis the best route for me? Will refilling OEM carts still block the printing head?

4. Can i salvage this printer? If i decide to run oem carts again will I run into any problems?


FYI I tried to drop some yellow ink into the yellow intake and it does not get absorbed into the head. Normally when I drop some magenta into the intake, it drips out of the nozzles.

TIA! I hope someone can shine a little light on my problems

 

[jflan]

I would suspect that either your ink is not up to par and plugged your printhead or you had a flow issue with the CIS and overheated your printhead. I would lean toward "plugged" and try cleaning it.
What brand of ink ?

If you use the Forum Search function, you will find a plethora of information on cleaning Canon printheads.

 

[ROX]

I would suspect that either your ink is not up to par and plugged your printhead or you had a flow issue with the CIS and overheated your printhead. I would lean toward "plugged" and try cleaning it.
What brand of ink ?

If you use the Forum Search function, you will find a plethora of information on cleaning Canon printheads.

Hey jflan,

when you say "plugged" you mean clogged?

I dont know what brand of ink is in the system but this the the company web site

http://www.continuousink.com.ph/

 

[ROX]

If i decide to scrap the cis system and refill the carts. Will i still clog the heads? or does it depend on the type of ink I'm using?

 

[jflan]

I would suspect that either your ink is not up to par and plugged your printhead or you had a flow issue with the CIS and overheated your printhead. I would lean toward "plugged" and try cleaning it.
What brand of ink ?

If you use the Forum Search function, you will find a plethora of information on cleaning Canon printheads.

Hey jflan,

when you say "plugged" you mean clogged?

I dont know what brand of ink is in the system but this the the company web site

http://www.continuousink.com.ph/

Yes, plugged = clogged.
I have no experience with continuousink, perhaps someone on the forum has knowledge of their inks ?

 

[jflan]

If i decide to scrap the cis system and refill the carts. Will i still clog the heads? or does it depend on the type of ink I'm using?

1. No.
2. Yes.
All inkjet ink is not created equal. You can search the forums here and get opinions from experienced refillers on which inks that they prefer.
My personal preference is Hobbicolors UW-8 for my Canon printers.

 

[ROX]

If i decide to scrap the cis system and refill the carts. Will i still clog the heads? or does it depend on the type of ink I'm using?

1. No.
2. Yes.
All inkjet ink is not created equal. You can search the forums here and get opinions from experienced refillers on which inks that they prefer.
My personal preference is Hobbicolors UW-8 for my Canon printers.

It seems that refilling might be a better option with my situation. I'll contact Hobbicolors- they seem local to me with the area code given.

jflan- have you had any problems with refilling - are you refilling OEM carts?

 

[jflan]

Presently using OEM Canon carts.

 

[ROX]

So i cleaned the printer head and yellow is working again. cyan still looks a little light but alot better. I got another ip4500 and I think Im going to use this printer as a cart refill only printer.