Canon Pixma ip4000 printing issue

[prolonga]

Hi!

I have a printing problem with my Canon Pixma IP40000.
The issue is a regular darker area as you can see in this scanned sample of pic:

http://aycu34.webshots.com/image/43993/2004712341454216374_rs.jpg


I have already:
- replaced all inks cartridges,
- done all routine (normal and heavy) cleaning suggested by Canon,
- cleaned twice the printhead (in hot water,
- done again all routine (normal and heavy) cleaning suggested by Canon,

But nothing changed !

I think it is not a paper issue because its a long time that I am printing with Ilford Galerie (weighted 240gr. ).

Any suggestion please?

Tks

Giorgio

 

[ghwellsjr]

Which way was the print produced? It looks to me like the top of the image is what came out of the printer last. Correct?

 

[prolonga]

sorry, it's incorrect
the "darker" area is what come out of the printer last.

thank you
Giorgio

 

[ghwellsjr]

Can you tell as it is printing if the speed that the paper comes out of the printer changes when it gets to the place where it is printing the darker area?

 

[prolonga]

it doesn't change.

tks
Giorgio

 

[on30trainman]

prolonga,
Is the picture that you linked to in your first post a full page print? That is, is it a 8X10 or such print on a 8.5 X 11 sheet of paper? I had been having problems when printing a full page photo print on my ip6000D - the last portion of the print would have some noticeable banding in it. I think it may have been darker banding like your example, but not sure. Don't think I have any of those prints around anymore. I tried the Post-It note trick that someone on this form talked about - put one of the stickies on the trailing edge of the paper. That didn't work for me. What fixed it for me was to set the paper size to legal (8.5 X 14) in the printer driver. That completely took care of the problem for me. My surmise was that somewhere near the end of the paper travel the printer detects that is near the trailing edge and something happens - change of paper feed speed or something else. The longer paper setting in the print driver prevents this from happening.
It would be worth a try for you. If you do let me know the results. I also have an ip4000 but haven't printed any photos on it recently.

Steve W.

 

[fotofreek]

Banding at the trailing edge of prints was noted on the FAQ's on the Canon web site when I had this problem three years ago with my i960. They mentioned curvature of the paper as a cause, so I started storing my paper flat instead of leaving it in the paper feed area. It appears to only happen with borderless prints. I have a feeling that the problem is twofold - there is very little paper left for the feed rollers to advance it as precisely as they should, and the weight of the paper has the leading edge dropping down to the level of the print receiving tray before the print is complete. You might try placing something like a book on the output tray to get it more level with the guide rollers so the paper dosn't tip down as the last 3/8 to`1/2 inch is printed.

 

[prolonga]

on30trainman,
what I linked was a 5x7 printed borderless on 5x7 sheet, but I also had darker banding on 5x7 with border, 4x6 and A4 borderless and with border (same file size both).


fotofreek,
papers have no curvatures because they are carefully stored in the original boxes.

Giorgio

 

[fotofreek]

Giorgio - try supporting the paper as it comes out of the printer - pretty much at the level of the rollers. Report back with your results.

 

[on30trainman]

what I linked was a 5x7 printed borderless on 5x7 sheet, but I also had darker banding on 5x7 with border, 4x6 and A4 borderless and with border (same file size both).

Try a 5 X 7 print with a custom paper size of 5 X 9 or 5 X 10 and see if the banding is any different. Or select any paper size and change to a custom paper size that adds about 2 inches to the length.