Canon ipf 6100 dead - advice needed.

[Deisedoll]

Hi
I am new to the forum, and would really appreciate some advice re this problem.
I purchased this printer ipf 6100 second hand as I am dipping my toe in the water, wanting to print some of my own artwork.

I purchased the printer about 2 years ago and it worked fine initially (it had very little use when I first got it and I used it very little) with some issues going on the printer ended up not being used again for about a year. Printer was moved to another room and I started using it again. However as it had been unused I had to replace the L printhead and maintenance cartridge. When I first turned it on it was asking to go through the head cleaning which I did (drinking loads of ink) but then asked for the head to be replaced.
I replaced the maintenance tank and the head (purchased from my nearest canon supplier) and it worked fine for about 3 weeks.
Then I got some lines downward on a print and I put it through the cleaning cycle (A) but it continued repeating the cleaning cycle and the nozzle check. Used loads more ink, ran out of some inks which I replaced but is now asking for a new L printhead once again.
Printer is not printing now, will print a Nozzle check in service mode showing misprinting in 3 different boxes but prints a normal nozzle check perfectly.
I have not put it through a (B) clean as it took almost 15 minutes to complete the (A) cleaning.

I am using compatible inks that I purchased on ebay but before purchasing I thoroughly checked the feedback of the seller which was excellent and individual feedback from customers that had purchased the particular ink that I am using.

So to summarise

Printer is asking for a new head.
The following code did pop up once but when I turned the maching off and back on it has not come up again (Hardware error 03800500-2F2F) I dont think this is the issue though as it is not coming up now.

Should I put it through the B clean, which may just use up loads of ink.

Should I purchase another printhead

or should I call it a day.........


I would be grateful for any help as I have already spent a lot on this machine. (Costs 250 for a service engineer to knock at my door as I am in Southern Ireland and not near any Canon dealers)

 

[stratman]

Welcome to the forum, Deisedoll. Sorry to hear about your printer problem and hope you find a solution.

Your printer is specialized and most people do not have experience with that model. However, there are very knowledgeable folks here, some who may have experience with that printer. Our forum Moderator, @The Hat, is from Ireland, too, and may have some answers, so you are in good company here.

First things first -- please post an image of your nozzle check. Scanning it is better than an image made with a phone. Crop the image so we can see the print out and also affected area clearly.

Looking up your error code on Google I found a link to the printer's Service Manual:

Error: 03800500-2F2F

Condition Detected: The non-discharge of the EVEN or ODD line (640-nozzles) is detected the 320-nozzles or more.

Action: Check the head management sensor and surrounding parts.
Check that the printhead is attached correctly.
Replace the head management sensor.
Replace the printhead

There may be more than one reason for the error code. Swapping in a new print head may not solve the issue.

Looking at another web site link for your error gave some good information:

Generally the 2f2f error means that the sensor is not sensing any ink coming from the head for that specific color.
Which means that the procedure is like this:
Printhead is on top of the sensor shooting ink.
First trial = 0
Second = 0
Third = 0
Than printhead goes to purge unit to be cleaned. Guess what - shooting ink too.
Than again on top of the sensor.

This whole procedure is repeated 3 or 4 times if I am not wrong.
And the above procedure is only for one color. It has to be done for all colors

That sounds like what you are experiencing. Another post says:

First thing to do when you have a 2F2F error is to understand which part is playing with you.

Before replacing anything on the printer I would go to service mode and print a nozzle check print.
If the printout is ok and you see all the colors - it means that you can rule out tubes and printhead and purge unit (to some degree the purge unit)
It means that the printhead is shooting ink correctly BUT this is not being read by the sensor.
Usually a dirty sensor would do that. I don't replace sensors often (if any) - cleaning does the trick.

If the printout is NOT ok and you don't see a train of color or more - it means that the problem is PRINTHEAD or tubing system or "May God Help You".
First you check the tubes for air bubbles. Than replace printhead and check again. Than replace the purge unit (even if it doesn't make much sense to you now).

If you are able to get a perfect nozzle check, hopefully this is a dirty sensor that you can clean. Let's see your nozzle check.

There were other potential solutions found in the links from my google search, so don't order a new print head yet.

 

[Deisedoll]

Welcome to the forum, Deisedoll. Sorry to hear about your printer problem and hope you find a solution.

Your printer is specialized and most people do not have experience with that model. However, there are very knowledgeable folks here, some who may have experience with that printer. Our forum Moderator, @The Hat, is from Ireland, too, and may have some answers, so you are in good company here.

First things first -- please post an image of your nozzle check. Scanning it is better than an image made with a phone. Crop the image so we can see the print out and also affected area clearly.

Looking up your error code on Google I found a link to the printer's Service Manual:



There may be more than one reason for the error code. Swapping in a new print head may not solve the issue.

Looking at another web site link for your error gave some good information:



That sounds like what you are experiencing. Another post says:



If you are able to get a perfect nozzle check, hopefully this is a dirty sensor that you can clean. Let's see your nozzle check.

There were other potential solutions found in the links from my google search, so don't order a new print head yet.

Thank you very much for your reply I am trying to figure out how to remove the Head management sensor the nozzle check attached here is the bad one

 

[The Hat]

Hi @Deisedoll, welcome to the crazy world of inkjet printers, firstly I don’t think you should own a large inkjet printer, they need to be used almost daily and if you can’t manage that then you’re better off without it, this beast will cost you a fortune and bleed you dry.

This printer is like a baby, it will always want something from you, unless you feed it work constantly, there are lesser printers out there that will work in your environment and be able to withstand not been used for weeks, but they are costly to purchase.

The spiral you’re in will continue unless you know how to get out of it quickly, I’ve been there and done that, I ended up giving my printer away for nothing and it saved me a fortune, not having to constantly feed the hungry beast. (No regrets)

The only manageable large printer that I know that will work for you is the Pro 1000, you don’t need experience to own and run it, because it will run itself and produce the most amazing prints you have ever seen, and it won’t keep dumping on all the time... Sorry...

 

[stratman]

nozzle check attached here is the bad one

Looks like it might be a combination of electrical malfunction (eg the entire vertical loss of ink in the Black section) along with specific nozzle clogs (random loss of hatch or hash marks, each representing a nozzle).

Take this with a grain of salt since I do not understand what the repetition of the nozzle checks mean, such as testing different nozzles of the same color or ability to alter the intensity of the color printer.

 

[Deisedoll]

Hi @Deisedoll, welcome to the crazy world of inkjet printers, firstly I don’t think you should own a large inkjet printer, they need to be used almost daily and if you can’t manage that then you’re better off without it, this beast will cost you a fortune and bleed you dry.

I was hoping to print 24 X 36 inch.

Would you think the pro 2000 would be similar to the other large format ipf 6100

 

[Deisedoll]

@stratman

Thank you for your help, I think it may be more than the printhead also

 

[The Hat]

I was hoping to print 24 X 36 inch.

It’s heart breaking to have to call it a day on your printer but if you spend the money wisely you can get a far better and newer printer that will run without any hiccups for a very long time, the Pro 2000 is yet another super printer, and the Pro 1000 will do 17 x 26...