Canon i9950 problem

[Jeffers]

This looks like a very useful forum! I'm UK based, amateur photographer, bought Canon i9950 early 2006 with other digital kit but have only just begun to use it seriously on photo work. Always used high quality paper and ink - genuine Canon. Now getting flashing light on front indicating problem with printer head - user guide says check contacts (done) or possibly replace. Canon UK say they cannot guarantee that simply buying a new printer head (cost about $100 here) and installing - which looks dead easy - will fix it, so that means a service visit with extra costs for labour and transport etc etc etc .... They then mention that of course it might be better to replace the printer... My assertive though not aggressive reply was that this was a top of the range printer when bought and that it has done only light domestic service and that therefore it is pretty poor if it can provide only 3 and a bit years' life. The nice man said he would pass my comments to head office UK and see if they bark, since he personally accepted that this is bad news all round.

Has anyone else had this problem and if so could you fix it yourself? Do you think that this is a reasonable life expectancy for this printer?

Thanks for reading so far and for any replies!

Jeff (Sevenoaks, UK)

 

[Grandad35]

Jeffers,

I have an i9900 - the same printer for the US market. I have never seen this problem, but can offer a few comments:
1. You didn't indicate how many photos you have printed, but I have printed the equivalent of over 4000 8x10 high quality photos (and have replaced the print head once), but the printer is still going strong.
2. The print head for that printer also currently costs $100 in the US.
http://www.printheadxpress.com/catalog/us/canon/qy6-0055-000.htm
http://weink.com/catalog/canon/0055.htm
3. Even if the printer is dead, a used i9900 still has a reasonable value on eBay. The main reason for this is that it uses the BCI-6 carts, which are the easiest carts to refill (no chips, etc.). I refill to keep costs down, and plan on keeping my printer going as long as possible. There are apparently a lot of others in the same situation, so your printer has a decent value, even if only for spare parts. BTW - your empty carts also have value on eBay.
4. If you were refilling, I would probably recommend fixing the i9950. You will have to weigh the cost of a new head against what you estimate the total repair cost will be if you return it to Canon to decide whether to try replacing the print head yourself. Remember that Canon wants to get these printers out of circulation, so there is a high probability that it will be declared "unfixable" if the problem is much more involved than just replacing the print head.
5. Since you use OEM ink, the chipped carts on a new printer will only cost about 25% more that the BCI-6 carts. If you can get a decent price for your i9950, it may not cost too much to upgrade.

It's a tough call - good luck.

 

[Manuchau]

No....the life expectancy is much longer. I have done several thousand prints of all sizes with this printer over the last 5 years, and it prints as well now as it ever has, although I do get some markings on the bottom of the prints at times. It would be best if you could find and test another printhead, possibly a used one on eBay that is being sold in working condition. Advertise in your town - maybe someone in your town has one.

 

[Jeffers]

Wow! Many thanks for these comments - really helpful. I obviously have a lot to learn about using an inkjet printer efficiently and I'm happy to learn from others in this way. Canon UK head office have left a message for me so with luck they might make me some kind of offer when I eventually speak to them. I'm happy to send a message to the forum about any outcomes, if that would be of interest.

Thanks again to both

Jeff

 

[Trigger 37]

Jeffers,... Before you do anything,.. tell us more about the flashing lights. Sometimes this error message does not mean the printhead. What have you done
to clean the head. What ink are you using. Are you refilling your own ink. What ink carts do you use for refilling. How many flashes are you getting, are they alternate or just orange-orange-orange,----etc. then green.

This is all important information.

 

[Jeffers]

Trigger 37 and others: thanks very much for your help and suggestions. Problem solved with a new print head which arrived this morning - all seems to be working again ok. For info, I've always used genuine Canon carts and have never tried refilling. So at least I was able to say in all honesty to Canon UK that this was the case. Their line was quite informative but I'm sure that anyone else on this forum will know these things already: e.g. that it's best to use an inkjet printer pretty regularly rather than leave it standing idle for long periods. Their line was that four years is a reasonable life span for a print head - but who's to say? Anyway - I have the User Guide but not the service manual, and I checked the Guide about the green/orange flashing light pattern which did indeed indicate a printhead problem. My inital concern was whether simply replacing the printhead would solve the problem or whether there was a lurking fault with some control unit or software (no idea what's involved there) - so I was worried I might have wasted my money. But the service agent they put me on to (CRC) were very helpful and said that it was 99.99999% sure a new printhead was needed anyway, so obviously they would not charge me again for replacing it even if they had to do additonal work on it. Well, I suppose nothing lasts for ever. I've gained in that I have found this forum! Thanks again guys.

 

[Hughbikes]

I have a different fault with my i9950. A few days ago black became streaky, so I tried first "cleaning" and then "deep cleaning". This did not clear the fault: instead black stopped completely.

I took the head to the local supplier from whom I bought the printer. He has cleaned the head for me a few times before, and until now this has always solved any problem. This time he professionally cleaned the head and said it would now work alright. Instead when I got it home black still wasn't printing at all and now and photo magenta had completely stopped too.

A few days later I tested the printer again. Now all Group 1 colours have failed: black, red, green, photo cyan and photo magenta. I have found no information about this on the Canon online support FAQ's, so I have left a message for Canon's email support service. The website says this might take 2-3 days but I received an acknowledgement email that says 1-2 days. Either way I don't know how long Canon will take to help me. Also, from reading your forum I don't know how much to trust Canon's advice when I do receive it!

I think I have had my i9950 for at least four years. At first I used to get a refill store to refill the Canon cartridges for me. Since then I have used Black Diamond replacement cartridges. I have used the i9950 for ordinary domestic printing plus some posters and other documents that included photo's.

I would be grateful for advice from forum members with experience of similar faults on this model.

 

[embguy]

Hughbikes,
I think the purge unit on your printer is not working since your local supplier got your printhead working.

The purpose of the purge unit is to suck ink out of the ink tank through the printhead nozzles. When you got home with the newly cleaned printhead, your printer was not be able to prime the printhead to get rid of the air bubble trapped in the nozzles because the purge unit is not working.

Stop doing any printing. This is important.

1. Open cover
2. Flood the purge pads with Windex. The purge pads are at the location that the printhead parks.
3. Close cover and wait for a few minutes
4. Open cover. Is the Windex still on the purge pads? If yes, the purge unit is not working.

Read the following thread and pay attention on how to fix the purge unit.
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=4329

 

[Hughbikes]

Thanks for the suggestion. However, I'm in the UK and I'm not sure that Windex is sold in this country (

 

[embguy]

Thanks for the suggestion. However, I'm in the UK and I'm not sure that Windex is sold in this country (

UK members have found Windex replacement in UK. But I cannot remember the name. Any window cleaner with ammonia will do. Make sure that cleaner is not too thick. For the purpose of testing the purge unit, you can use distilled water on the purge pads.