Canon Pixma 3000 woes

Fano

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I have been having some difficulties with my Pixma 3000 .
I bought it about 4 months ago and initially it worked perfectly.
The first problems appeared lately.
Colour photo prints were being printed with too much magenta ink ,giving everything a red tint.
I changed the ink cartridges (Phoenix);I had about 6 sets with no probs; but the problem still lingered.
After deep cleaning I was able to get about 5-6 good prints before the problem reappeared.
I have also had yellowish tinted prints and greenish tints too.
I have the correct drivers installed and I have switched cartridges to Smart Jet but I still cant resolve the problem.
I am using high quality paper ,matt glossy 128g and when the printer works the quality is very good .
I am baffled at this stage as to what may be the problem.
It seems the 3 colour inks,magenta,cyan and yellow are not being mixed correctly.
The black is fine.
Does anyone have any ideas ?
Cheers
 

BlasterQ

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It could be the 3rd party inks you are using are of low quality.
Or maybe, you are using the Canon default settings to print your photos.
Canon default settings are optimized only if you are using Canon OEM inks and Canon photo papers.
Try getting Canon OEM inks and Canon photo papers and see if the problem goes away.
 

Fano

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Can I rule out the printhead being damaged ?
If I could then I could try the Canon Ink as you have said.
One other point is that the print head lock lever snapped off and is no longer in use.
The cartridges stay in place without it but I wonder could this be a reason for the misprinting?
 

BlasterQ

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Well, now that you've mentioned it, it MUST be the reason for misprinting.
The lock lever not only holds the cartridges in place, it secures the catridge to the contact valve. If it is lose, then your inks might drip, or some of the inks might just partially flow, providing in an uneven ink flow in some colors.
 

fotofreek

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Are you talking about the lever that locks the print head in place or the little plastic lever that locks the individual cartridge in place? The cartridge can't merely sit in the right place, it has to have the ink outlet port in intimate contact with the ink pickup in the print head. The print head has to be positioned very accurately as well. If it is the lever on the cartridge you simply have to replace the cartridge.
 

Fano

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The piece thats broken is the Print head lock lever,it holds all 4 cartridges in place.
I tried a print head realignment in the software maintenance and I received an error.
I notice if I fiddle around with the cartridges,press then down,sometimes the printing is fine,albeit for about 5 sheets.
This is probably the root of the problem although the magenta tint was there before the damage to the lever.
I may try to fix it with superglue.
Is it possible to buy a new lock lever ?
 

cd187

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Had this same problem a while ago with a Canon i850. Superglue did not work very well for me. My solution was to use hot glue to lock the printhead in place. Just lift the plastic bar connected to the locking lever up out of the way. Then, pressing the printhead against the printhead carriage back wall, supply a small bead of hot glue to both sides of the printhead along the carriage walls. This seem to work best for me if the carts were in place, but it should work as well with the carts removed. Note, you will need to keep the printhead in place until the hot glue cools. Depending on the condition of the locking lever, you may want apply the hot glue to the loose edge of the lever and the printhead carriage instead. Good luck.
 

Fano

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Will I be able to replace the empty cartridges with the lever permanently glued in position ?
The piece of the lever that broke off is just the left hand notch that the lever rotates on.
Only about 4mm broke off.I cant find the piece that broke though.
I was on to Canon's warranty office and they have a service agent in Dublin and they said I can post it up to them.
Seemed like a very nice guy too.
It will only cost 10 for postage but I dont know how long they will take to fix it and the printer could get damaged in the post although I have a good box for it.
If I glue the printhead I would probably void the warranty and if the problem isnt resolved I would be in serious trouble ?
 

cd187

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Yes, you can still remove the ink cartridges after applying the hot glue to the end of the lever. The only trouble I remember having would be when I needed to remove and flush the printhead periodically, when switching different vendor inks. I needed to apply a little ice to cool the glue bead, and remove the hot glue. After flushing the printhead and allowing it to dry somewhat (compressed air sped things up here), I had to reapply a bead of glue when reseating the printhead into the carriage. As a matter of fact, my son is still using the printer currently. The next time I go visit him (400 miles away), I will get some photos of the reworked assembly. If totally necessary, maybe I can get him to do this, and e-mail them to me. Since he uses the Canon oem inks, he has not had the need to remove the printhead yet. The repair was last done in Jan. 2004 and has held up for over 3000 pages, mostly 4x6 photos. If the printer is still under warranty, then let Canon service fix it .
 

Fano

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I sent the printer off for repair as its still under warranty.
I'll see what feedback I get from them and I'll use the hot glue if they dont fix it.
 

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