Canon ip8500 banding issue

[ejaf]

Hi,

Just refilled my ip8500 with MIS inks and new hobbicolor cartridges.

Everything looks good, except on a manual print head alignment, column "K" is banded all the way throughout the range (-5 to +5).

Have run cleaning, deep cleaning, to no avail.

Does anyone know just what exact cartridges are used for column "K"? that way, I can troubleshoot by either replacing, or pushing a large color print through, utilizing those cartridges. The column itself is dark grey/medium gray check.

TIA...Eric

 

[Lilla]

Two thoughts,

1) How does the 'Extended Nozzle Check' look? If you don't know how to perform this check, do a search on this phrase and your printer model. The sequence of buttons varies slightly between models, so be careful to get the procedure for your printer.

2) How does a purge8 test pattern look? purge8.tif (also purge4/6/7) is included in purge.zip by MIS Associates, you can download purge.zip at this link.

I have i960 (6 color printer). I once had a banding problem with Photo Cyan. The banding only showed up when using the photo paper settings because the problem was with the finer elements. My efforts to clean the print head failed and I had to replace the print head.

My experience with banding is that it sometimes does not show up on a nozzle check but the problem is clearly shown on a purge6 test.

Because of my experience, my current practice is this. Each day, before printing for the first time, I do a nozzle check. If/when it looks good I then do a purge6 test using these settings
1) using plain paper / default settings
2) on plain paper but I select Photo Paper Pro / fine / diffusion settings

I think that after doing a Photo Paper Pro/fine/diffusion check, there is no point in also doing a Plain Paper/default settings check, but I'm not sure so I often do it both ways. I would be interested in knowing what others think.

Lilla

2007-02-17 After writing the above, I decided to make a change. I decided to start each day by doing an Extended Nozzle Check (ENC), rather than a plain Nozzle Check (NC), since for an i960 printer ENC shows the grid marks and NC does not. Today, ENC showed poor grids for C & M. Magenta was low, but not low enough to trigger a low ink message. C was not low. I changed the M cartridge with a refilled cartridge, and did another ENC, and to my surprise, both C & M grids were now perfect. Conclusion, C & M cartridges can affect each other.

 

[ejaf]

Will do those things you mention tonight, and report back.

Thanks for the ideas...

Eric

 

[Tin Ho]

One simple question. Was the nozzle check good before switching to new ink and cartridges? If the answer is yes you can switch back to the old ink and cartridges and do the nozzle check again. It may be the ink or the cartridges that is giving you the problem. By switching back to the old ink and cartridges you have a good chance to isolate the exact element that is causing the problem.

If, however, the answer is no. The problem is likely that the clog was there and the new ink and cartridges simply won't fix it for you. You will have to unclog it. There is a good chance it can be unclogged. JUst don't keep printing. It will make it worse if you do.

 

[ejaf]

Following that route, should I replace them one at a time, and check? Or all at once? And would there be issues if the ink brand is different?

 

[Tin Ho]

My gut feeling is it is not caused by the new ink nor the new cartridges. Most people were not aware their printer had a clog until a bit too late. A clog normally takes some time to become bad enough to show a clear symptom. By switching to new ink and new cartridges usually won't cause a clog to be as bad as in your case immediately. It can happen but should happen after using it for a while. I believe by switching back to your old ink and cartridges the banding will be there still. But go ahead to swap all of them at once so that there is no more doubt if the new ink and cartridges are to blame for the problem.

 

[ejaf]

Any of you know exactly what the extended nozzle check is supposed to look like?

I've got the print, but have no way uploading it?

Codes across the top, followed by 8 grids centered between 2 strips of grey down the sides, followed by a wide strip of grey, and then grey lines (two white rectangles in the middle), followed by CDR Sensor OK (I've installed a CD printing tray), followed by a grey line, and then gradations of cyan.

Only thing that looks a little weird is on the grey lines with the rectangles, the printing line which starts just after the blank rectangles seems to off every 4th line.

E

FYI...the purge 8 test looks OK to me.

 

[ejaf]

OK...now the banding is gone, but my manual print head alignment column "K" still doesn't give me anything that comes close to solid.

I'm confused.

E

 

[Lilla]

Any of you know exactly what the extended nozzle check is supposed to look like?

Here's two examples that might help. I couldn't find an ip8500 example, but i9900 uses the same print head as IP8500.

Nifty-Stuff i860 Nozzle Check and Extended Nozzle Check

Grandad i9900 Extended Nozzle Check

I've got the print, but have no way uploading it?

If you can scan it or take a picture of it with a digital camera, you can upload the file using the instructions here. There is a minor mistake in the instructions, which you will probably figure out, if not post back. Tip: Use the code that appears at the top of the screen after your picture finishes uploading.

FYI...the purge 8 test looks OK to me.

Sounds good. Is this using the old carts or the new carts?

Lilla

 

[mikling]

Make sure you do a head alignment and then retest with the nozzle test.