Canon 100S printerhead 1 not printing

[MalcB1]

In the past 10 days I purchased a new(ish) Canon Pixma Pro 100S from Ebay. I’ve always wanted a 100S and since it is now discontinued I knew I’d have to buy a second-hand one. The issue was that the printer I bought did not have a printerhead or ink. So I knew I was taking a chance!

I purchased a new head from CRC (Taskron) and OEM pre-filled ink from Cartridge People. One ink tank (grey) shows up as being nearly empty. I’ve tried it in another colour and the fault seems to be in the cartridge as black showed ok in that slot but grey didn’t.

It would be great if this was the only problem but I think this is a minor issue compared with the real problem. When I aligned the print head group 2 printed fine but group 1 (PC, M, Y, PM) did not print at all.

I’ve run the set up more than once, checked the tanks are installed correctly and printed a couple of images which prove these tanks are not working. I’ve had different error messages. The most recent was 3 but also the one relating to printhead, I think 11 dreaded yellow flashes. But to be honest I'm new to this printer and finding my way around is hit and miss. I also noticed that the white power light flashes.

My thoughts now are that this issue was why the printer was on Ebay. I only paid £102 but I’ve invested in ink and new printerhead so do I cut my losses or can someone help me fix the problem? Or recommend someone who can? I’m based in Cheshire.Or Is it simply the faulty OEM ink cartridge?

Thanks in advance for any advice and yes I know not to buy from Ebay.

 

[The Hat]

so do I cut my losses or can someone help me fix the problem?

@MalcB1, you seem to be having mutable issues all at the same time..

First off, STOP printing everything until you can resolve these problems, now this is going to sound a bit off but you need to get yourself a new set of PC-42 carts for two reasons.

I didn’t even know that the printer would work without the original setup OEM carts, for the initial setup procedure, but you have proven it does, now the set of carts you bought are not OEM carts, only Canon carts are OEM, all the others are rubbish..

The Pro 100 must have all the cart slots filled to print and they are colour specific, the print head alignment you did was not completed. And I wouldn’t do another till you get a proper set of OEM carts.

The most likely cause of your problem is with the poor choice of carts you bought, because the 11 flashing LED lights suggest you need to run the automatic head Alignment once again and but time make sure the printer is allow to finish before venturing into any more printing.

The Canon printer needs ink in the print head at all time to function properly, the ink is used as a coolant to keep the nozzles from overheating and burning out, so before you do anymore test prints run a Nozzle check to make sure all inks are present.

You can get the ink you require direct from Canons website with free delivery, but it does take a few days so hold on till then and come back when you have made some progress..

P.S. Nozzle check prints won't harm the print head..

 

[stratman]

Welcome to the forum, MalcB1.

I’ve tried it in another colour and the fault seems to be in the cartridge as black showed ok in that slot but grey didn’t.

The chips on the cartridges are specific to the color it is paired with. Black chip for Black slot of print head, Grey chip for Grey slot of print head, etc. A chip designated for Black will not be recognized as Grey if that cartridge is placed in the Grey slot of the print head.

Would the printer install with Aftermarket (3-rd party) cartridges. Maybe so. You were able to install the printer. But you were not able to align group 1 (PC, M, Y, PM), never mind the ink level monitoring of the Grey cartridge for the moment.

If this was a new print head, and CRC-Tasktron is believed to be a reliable seller, then the issue lies either with the aftermarket cartridges you bought and/or the printer itself (maybe the logic assay board). That would be catastrophic since it means big money for a Canon repair shop to fix. It also might be why the person sold the printer - but let's not jump to any conclusion yet until you've tried to resolve the issues first.

While the printer may install with a new set of aftermarket cartridges of a different brand and from a different a different merchant, the best approach is to buy ALL new Canon OEM cartridges and then reinstall. This takes the question of cartridge function out of the equation.

Also, it would be best to start at square one with the installation. Uninstall ALL the Canon drivers and applications you installed previously. Remove the printer from Windows/Devices or whatever operating system you use. Reboot and then freshly install the printer making sure you are using the proper drivers from Canon.

 

[MalcB1]

I'm taking on board everything you say. Before I received your reply I arranged a replacement cartridge. Seeing as the other half works fine I thought I'd try this cartridge with a complete reinstall before purchasing Canon. The two images I printed were both small so I hope I've not created any further damage. I'll keep you informed of progress and would like to thank you all for your help.

 

[stratman]

Let us know. Hope it works.

 

[MalcB1]

The issue isn't resolved but I think we've identified the problem.

I replaced the grey ink so all cartridges now light up, downloaded the software again, removed the cartridges and the printhead (twice), performed numerous cleaning operations and the situation remained the same.

Noticed ink is going down from all cartridges equally and test page shows perfect results for group 2. Still nothing for group 1.

I came to the conclusion that it would not help if I replaced the ink with Canon inks and contacted CRC Tasktron who service printers for Canon. According to them it is most likely an issue with the purge unit which primes ink through the system and it needs replacing at a cost of £120.

I've boxed the printer and arranged a courier. Should take a week or so to fix.

Fingers crossed. I'll update this if its not the purge unit

Thanks for your help. I'm by no means an expert on printers but I certainly know more about the 100S!

 

[stratman]

You can check the purge system if it is working and may be reasonable to try if the courier is not coming in the next hour.

When the printer is at idle or turned off, the print head moves all the way to the right and parks itself over a couple of pads called the purge pads. Open the top of the printer like you are going to change out a cartridge. When the print head moves to the center and stops then pull the plug from the mains. Look to the extreme right and you will see the purge pads. In the image below they are above the red circle.

Using water or window washer fluid and a syringe or soda straw, flood the purge pads until they are brimming full of liquid. If the liquid drains and never fills up then tubing somewhere is disconnected and letting the fluid drain out. If the fluid keeps in place then plug the printer back in and close the cover. The print head will move back to parking position over the pads and the fluid will be sucked away by the purge system. Once all the usual noise stops you then lift the cover again. When the print head moves to center you can see if the fluid is now gone - purge system working - or fluid is still there - purge system not working properly.

 

[MalcB1]

Received my printer back today and although I haven’t tested yet the Purge unit has been replaced. Thanks for your advice.

 

[stratman]

Excellent.

Give your printer a good workout print things and let us know how it's working.