Canon i865 - strange banding

[beneix]

I have a trusted old Canon i865 that mostly does document printing duties - I print my photos at labs, not at home. I hadn't used it to print photos for a long while but yesterday I wanted to print a couple, put in some Canon Photo Pro 4"x6" paper and got printing. I discovered some really ugly banding on the photos. As a new user, I can't post URLs, but if you go to the following image by deleting the space before the double slashes you will see on the right-hand side what I mean:
http: //imageshack.us/photo/my-images/85/i865banding.jpg/
I tried rotating the 4"x6" sheets 180 to see if it was the actual paper (they had been lying around for a couple of years), but that wasn't it.

Then I performed a print head clean and nozzle alignment after ensuring all ink tanks had enough ink in them. No difference.

Then I tried printing via PictBridge from my 550D to eliminate software and drivers. Same problem.

Then I tried printing on plain paper. Similar problem, just doesn't come out as clearly.

Has anyone had a similar thing happen, or does anyone have any ideas?

 

[The Hat]

beneix

I had a look at your picture and there is a bit of a problem with the cyan.
Its hard to tell by just looking at a photo but its eider a stubborn clog or an electrical problem,
please post a nozzle check so we can make a better diagnosis for you.

Then I performed a print head clean and nozzle alignment after ensuring all ink tanks had enough ink in them. No difference.

Then I tried printing via PictBridge from my 550D to eliminate software and drivers. Same problem.

Then I tried printing on plain paper. Similar problem, just doesn't come out as clearly.

Try not to print anything more than a nozzle check till you get this problem sorted..

 

[beneix]

Many thanks for your quick and helpful reply! I have printed a nozzle check pattern. Same procedure with the links, remove the space before //.

Full:
http: //imageshack.us/photo/my-images/43/nozzlecheck1.jpg/

Detail 1, showing some banding:
http: //imageshack.us/photo/my-images/710/nozzlecheckdetail1.jpg/

Detail 2, not showing the banding very well but it is clear on the paper (I only have a very basic flatbed scanner):
http: //imageshack.us/photo/my-images/684/nozzlecheckdetail2.jpg/

I know the printer isn't worth very much anymore but I'd hate to throw it out for just this, so if there is a way of fixing it (myself) that would be ideal. I have really appreciated its versatility with being able to print text fairly speedily, CD faces, and (before) perfectly acceptable photos.

 

[The Hat]

beneix


Thank you for the nozzle check (image 43) but you could try uploading on this forum instead of imageshack. (More convenient)

Now the only real problem I can see is that the second cyan strip is only outputting
correctly on the bottom half and 50% on the top but it is still printing.

Now its quite possible that your print head is damaged and a replacement is now required
for you to continue to print Photos but I would not give into that hypnosis just yet.

Try removing the print head from the printer and soaking in about an inch of Windex for 24 hours
at least then give it a wipe of a paper towel and put it back into the printer.

Next perform a light head cleaning and print off two nozzle checks to see if there is any improvement in the cyan at all,
use the nozzle check that you uploaded as your reference.

Please report back on your progress..

 

[turbguy]

The periodicity of the missing blocks indicates an elecrical issue to me...a service test print might be of more diagnostic value.

Wayne