- Joined
- Apr 19, 2007
- Messages
- 8,706
- Reaction score
- 7,171
- Points
- 393
- Location
- USA
- Printer Model
- Canon MB5120, Pencil
My Canon MP830 is not functioning properly.
1) Recently I noticed that web pages that had printed perfect before (eg PayPal) were now missing text/images at the right and/or left margins. The margins were set at the least possible value for months. The page layout was set to Fit-To-Page. Any changes to these parameters do not fix the problem Page Size is Letter with Media Type set at Plain Paper.
2) Today I noticed that web pages did not print even close to what Print Preview showed unless Page Layout was set to Fit-To-Print. If set to Normal-size Printing, it appeared that some of the text was missing. This might be due to the way some web pages are constructed and not a problem with the printer per se, but it was odd nonetheless.
3) Stranger yet was that when Copying a document with the scanner, nothing was printed out. This malfunction occurred with either the Black or Color button selected on the printer.
4) Even worse was that text was not printing at all from either a word/notepad document. When I try to Print Test Page from the Printer Properties window, all that is printed is the colored Windows emblem/flag but no text at all.
5) Printing DVD covers using Acoustica CD/DVD Label Maker worked fine, but these were graphics only (jpg's).
6) A Nozzle Check was missing all of the PGBK portion.
7) A Print Head Alignment resulted in error USB001:
"An error occurred during automatic printhead alignment.
The print head nozzles may be clogged. Execute cleaning on the Maintenance tab of the printer driver and
reexecute print head alignment."
8) I had been using Hobbicolors PGI-5 Pigment Ink refill ink for the past 2 weeks . Before that, I used only OEM Canon PGI-5 ink. The Hobbicolors ink was injected into an unpurged OEM Canon cartridge that had been capped and stored for about 3 months. This was the first time that cartridge had been refilled. The refilled cartridge is still nearly completely filled with the Hobbicolors pigment ink.
9) I decided to swap the refilled cartridge for a new OEM PGI-5. After two Cleanings there was no change, so I did a Deep Cleaning which resulted in the PGBK now printing on the Nozzle Check, albeit imperfectly. Another regular cleaning gave only a slight bit more improvement. A second Deep Cleaning resulted in a very good Nozzle Check, with some banding in the solid vertical bars alongside the PGBK text. The lattice-like printing appeared excellent. Additionally, the Print Test Page and text documents from Word and Notepad print again as does the copying function with the scanner. The quality of the text - less banding or stripes and more solid black - improves as I continue to print.
Thinking about it more, I do recall text from a MS Word document looking less black and more grayish a couple of days ago, but I thought it might have been the file data and not the printer --- probably rationalizing the poor text output considering what I know now.
Could there have been poor ink flow from the refilled cartridge causing ink starvation or was there plugged-up ink in the printhead? Was the problem related to refilling an unpurged but 3 month old (capped) cartridge that dried out a bit and inhibited ink flow? Was there an issue with the Hobbicolors ink? Or is my printhead on the way out?
Are there any limitations as to how many regular cleanings and deep cleanings one can do without harming the printer? Should one space out how often these cleanings are performed and if so then how much time should elapse before performing another, particularly the deep cleanings?
Lastly, why are web pages no longer fitting on the paper when printed? This is a separate issue from the ink starvation problem, to be sure, but still a hassle. I have now uninstalled and reinstalled the printer drivers and will see if that helps.
I welcome opinions or observations on these issues.
1) Recently I noticed that web pages that had printed perfect before (eg PayPal) were now missing text/images at the right and/or left margins. The margins were set at the least possible value for months. The page layout was set to Fit-To-Page. Any changes to these parameters do not fix the problem Page Size is Letter with Media Type set at Plain Paper.
2) Today I noticed that web pages did not print even close to what Print Preview showed unless Page Layout was set to Fit-To-Print. If set to Normal-size Printing, it appeared that some of the text was missing. This might be due to the way some web pages are constructed and not a problem with the printer per se, but it was odd nonetheless.
3) Stranger yet was that when Copying a document with the scanner, nothing was printed out. This malfunction occurred with either the Black or Color button selected on the printer.
4) Even worse was that text was not printing at all from either a word/notepad document. When I try to Print Test Page from the Printer Properties window, all that is printed is the colored Windows emblem/flag but no text at all.
5) Printing DVD covers using Acoustica CD/DVD Label Maker worked fine, but these were graphics only (jpg's).
6) A Nozzle Check was missing all of the PGBK portion.
7) A Print Head Alignment resulted in error USB001:
"An error occurred during automatic printhead alignment.
The print head nozzles may be clogged. Execute cleaning on the Maintenance tab of the printer driver and
reexecute print head alignment."
8) I had been using Hobbicolors PGI-5 Pigment Ink refill ink for the past 2 weeks . Before that, I used only OEM Canon PGI-5 ink. The Hobbicolors ink was injected into an unpurged OEM Canon cartridge that had been capped and stored for about 3 months. This was the first time that cartridge had been refilled. The refilled cartridge is still nearly completely filled with the Hobbicolors pigment ink.
9) I decided to swap the refilled cartridge for a new OEM PGI-5. After two Cleanings there was no change, so I did a Deep Cleaning which resulted in the PGBK now printing on the Nozzle Check, albeit imperfectly. Another regular cleaning gave only a slight bit more improvement. A second Deep Cleaning resulted in a very good Nozzle Check, with some banding in the solid vertical bars alongside the PGBK text. The lattice-like printing appeared excellent. Additionally, the Print Test Page and text documents from Word and Notepad print again as does the copying function with the scanner. The quality of the text - less banding or stripes and more solid black - improves as I continue to print.
Thinking about it more, I do recall text from a MS Word document looking less black and more grayish a couple of days ago, but I thought it might have been the file data and not the printer --- probably rationalizing the poor text output considering what I know now.
Could there have been poor ink flow from the refilled cartridge causing ink starvation or was there plugged-up ink in the printhead? Was the problem related to refilling an unpurged but 3 month old (capped) cartridge that dried out a bit and inhibited ink flow? Was there an issue with the Hobbicolors ink? Or is my printhead on the way out?
Are there any limitations as to how many regular cleanings and deep cleanings one can do without harming the printer? Should one space out how often these cleanings are performed and if so then how much time should elapse before performing another, particularly the deep cleanings?
Lastly, why are web pages no longer fitting on the paper when printed? This is a separate issue from the ink starvation problem, to be sure, but still a hassle. I have now uninstalled and reinstalled the printer drivers and will see if that helps.
I welcome opinions or observations on these issues.
