Canon PIXMA MG3222 Black Ink Test pattern gets worse w/cleaning

[old shot]

Problem began 1 mo. ago, after I began to refill my PG240 & Cl241 ink ctgs.using E-bay kit.Recommended fill volumes were low ( 7ml), but I followed directions. Did not clean nozzles, just fill & go. Black text page was light vs. vendor filled ctgs. Didn't improve with cleanings but nozzle test OK, Cleaned ink sponge, soaked & flushed ctg. w/Windex + 2-3 drops ammonia. Nozzle test worse. Color not bad but black pattern disappeared.Maybe poor quality ink. Got new ink: Pigment Black from Inkowl.com. Refilled a nearly pristine ctg w/ 15ml volume. Results attached.I can provide more detail, printer history, etc. if you feel it will help. I have not printed anything other than nozzle tests since all this began
Thanks for your help.

 

[stratman]

Multiple problems seen with every color. If the lighter color swathes appearance is due to scanning error image compression error then maybe the tri-color cartridge is OK. If the swathes look perfect on your side then no need to buy a new tri-color cartridge.

The Pigment Black is an obvious problem. It disappeared and stayed away even when you refilled a different PG cartridge with completely different ink. If you did not test this PG cartridge BEFORE refilling then how can you know it was working right before the refill?

A lot of potential confounding variable here. When diagnosing and resolving loss of ink it is critical to either thoroughly flush and soak a problem cartridge OR to use a new or known working cartridge. I do not know if that was the case for you.

Regardless, to remove potential problems, buy new cartridges. If you are going to refill then typically OEM is the best choice. Since your cartridges have the print head built into them then your issues should be gone. There is a chance that your issue(s) are from elsewhere, like the logic assay board or the tubing or the purge unit. But the first thing is to make sure the cartridges are not the problem.

 

[The Hat]

Problem began 1 mo. ago

The cost of refill inks and now most likely new OEM carts, Ouch..

Maybe you could save yourself awful lot of grief by getting a Maxify printer, no more tears.. Check them out.. Just click, print and forget it..

 

[PeterBJ]

You might be lucky that the nozzles can be cleaned by alternately pressing the nozzle plates of the cartridges against a soft tissue paper handkerchief wetted with pharmacists cleaning solution or a window cleaner with ammonia and a dry paper handkerchief. In the US the "Original Windex with Ammonia-D" is recommended for this purpose. A tool that can also be helpful is a priming tool that is designed to remove air locks from refilled cartridges. These tools might also be used for unclogging the cartridges with success.

The combined sponge and printhead cartridges used in Canon and HP printers are not easy to refill and get working reliably. This post has several useful links. Also see this thread. And instead of using some unknown ink from Ebay I recommend a quality ink set, like this from Image Specialists.

 

[old shot]

First, many thanks for your quick response & suggestions. Much appreciated.
The color & blk. ctgs all came from the same E-bay provider in So.Cal and when full worked beautifully, with what ever quality ink he used to fill them. I saved a few to refill & sold the rest.

Both were refilled without cleaning. After the light page print, I was also unsure about the ctgs & experimented using the 3 color as a sort of 'control': nozzles not cleaned, Blk cleaned., using method found here, top removed, pads out & rinsed under tap water until no ink remained, empty ctg case repeatedly soaked in Windex, then flushed with syringe thru. pad & vents until no ink showed on paper blotter, Final rinse with de-ionized water. Actually got some clear sol. to flow thru. nozzle. (OK, so it's an apple vs orange experiment.)

These ctgs were used in the images I sent. My plain paper color test prints, under 4x magnification show the same gaps as the scanned images. I expected this from the uncleaned color ctg, but the blk was a big surprise.Attached image of ctgs 24 & 48 hours post deep cleaning. Not sure if this is helpful. Sorry for the long winded description.

 

[old shot]

Just a follow-up. I did indeed get very lucky. Your advice to try a new cartridge is sound, but rather than spend $20-25, only to find out is was my printer, I went back to the sink.I sacrificed one of my 4 Black ctgs to see where the channels went to better flush it out. Then soaked 'em for a couple of days before refilling. Attached nozzle test shows the result. Now printing clear test pages, some with good color illustrations, too.
I'd be happy to photograph & Post my "dissected" ctg if you feel it might help,

 

[stratman]

Big improvement on missing ink. Not perfect, but if it works for you then that's all that counts.

The Yellow, though, is an amazing shade of Orange!