Canon Pixma MP830 - Light cyan not printing during nozzle check

[jhoulden]

Hello, I was hoping someone could help me with my canon.

The color while printing photos is too yellow. I think it has something to do with the cyan color. When doing the NOZZLE CHECK PATTERN the light cyan line does not show up at all although the dark line does. (the cyan and magenta have two lines that are printed when doing a nozzle check). I have also done the following multiple times: normal cleaning and pattern checking, deep cleaning, and changed the cartridges to ensure all colors are full.

Any help would be most appreciated.

 

[embguy]

Please upload the nozzle check for us to take a look.

You need to check the purge system operation first. If the purge system is not working, no amount of cleaning or deep cleaning will fix your problem. During cleaning, the purge system sucks ink out of ink cartridges through the nozzles. If the purges is not working, the cleaning is not carried out because no ink is going through the nozzles.

1. Open the cover.
2. Flood the purge system pads with Windex. These pads are located on the right hand side of your printer. It is where the printhead parks when idle. There are two of them. The left one is for the pigment black. The right one is for the color.
3. Close the cover.
4. Wait a minute and open the cover.
5. Is the Windex still on the purge pads? If yes, your purge system is not working. Report the result and wait for next instructions.

 

[jhoulden]

embguy, thanks for your quick response. I appreciate your help.

So this is what I did.

1) I wasn't sure what the purge pads were but I found a pic (one rectangle and one square) and added the windex as you suggested. (http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=26517)
2) Originally the rectangle purge pad holds the windex for longer than the square. rec: 5min, squ: 3min
3) I have attached a nozzle check and picture sample just in case it is of any help.

Q: Why would the light cyan nozzle check line not print yet the dark one does?

Thanks again.

Nozzle Check Results

Original Cat Picture

 

[ghwellsjr]

When you say that the two pads hold the Windex for 5 and 3 minutes, what do you mean? After you close the lid (until the noise stops) and re-open it, the pads should be empty of Windex. If it doesn't disappear immediately, how many times do you have to close and re-open the lid before it disappears?

The "lines" on the grid labeled "PGBK" are not supposed to be straight. Each short horizontal segment is from a different nozzle. You have at least a half-dozen missing segments which means you have that many clogged pigment black nozzles.

The "streaky lines" on your darker cyan pattern mean you have some clogged nozzles in that part of your print head.

On the lighter cyan pattern where you have "nothing at all", you probably have an electrical problem but it may be an ink flow problem.

After you repeat the purge test that embguy described, let us know how many times you have to close and open the lid before the Windex is completely sucked away and let us know.

 

[jhoulden]

ghwellsjr thanks for explaining the details on the Nozzle Check for me.

OK I did the test 4 or 5 times, here are the results with a few scenarios...

1) BASIC - in this scenario, i flood the pads, then close lid and wait for a sound of the printhead moving back into place (approx 2secs) then I wait a moment to ensure its done and reopen cover
Color Pad clears a little after the first lid opening but still fluid in area, the fluid does not disappear after 12+ attempts
PGBK pad clears after 3 attempts

2) ON/OFF - in this scenario open and close of lid as described above then power off the printer and power back on
Color Pad is fully purged , meaning I can see the light grey of the pad itself plus I see color markings (cyan, magenta) on the pad,
PGBK pad is primarily clear before power off, after power off pad is clear but still looks black and not grey like the color pad.

3) BASIC with ADDITIONAL SOUNDS - in this scenario, i flood the pads, close the lid then wait, the printheads moves back to position, then after ~20secs there is more sounds (like roller etc.)
same output as scenario 2.


I hope my tests make sense. Please let me know if further clarification is required.

Thanks again for the help

 

[embguy]

I think your purge system is working. Are you using Canon OEM cartridge?

Now you need to do the cleaning.
1. Open the cover.
2. Take out the cyan cartridge. Put some Windex on the inlet screen at the cyan slot. Reinstall the cyan cartridge.
3. Optional step: Continue to put Windex on the right square pad (color) for next few cleaning cycles. This is to do more cleaning on the purge system.
4. Close the cover.
5. Do a cleaning cycle and then a nozzle check. You can initiate color only cleaning cycle from your computer to save your black ink. If you start the cleaning from the printer keypad, it will do the black and color cleaning.
6. Repeat step 1 - 5 until cyan comes back. I usually do 5 to 10 cycles per day. Before calling for the day, repeat step 1 - 4 and let the Windex do the work until next day.

 

[ghwellsjr]

Also, since you are not getting any ink through your light cyan nozzles, it may be an electrical problem. Remove all your cartridges and then remove the print head being very careful to not let any ink get on the electronics part of the print head. Them put the print head back in and reinstall the cartridges. You will need to do a full cleaning. Sometimes this will clear up a problem with contacts. Then continue with what embguy said to do.

 

[jhoulden]

I have some progress to report. I followed what embguy said below regarding the 'windex cleaning' and now the pattern check has a very faint light cyan line. While I am doing this with the cyan would it be a good time to do the same to the PGBK because it showed some missing lines in the pattern check? Would it hurt to do the other colors too?

@ghwelljr: When you say "full cleaning" are you referring to doing ALL COLORS or are you referring to doing a DEEP CLEANING?

 

[jhoulden]

I received a response back from Canon that I have added below. Do you recommend that I do the cleaning as they stated below?

Based on the information you have provided, the problem you are experiencing may be due to a clogged print head. Please try the following.

1) Start by removing the ink cartridges from the printer.
2) Then remove the print head from the printer.
3) Clean the bottom of the print head as well as the inside with alcohol and a cotton swab such as a Q-tip. Ensure to use a separate cotton swab for each colour. Set aside for about 2 minutes and then repeat the cleaning.
4) Wait another 2 minutes and place everything back into the printer.
5) Next, perform 3-4 regular print head cleanings from the maintenance tab of the printer properties.
6) Try a test print.

 

[ghwellsjr]

@ghwelljr: When you say "full cleaning" are you referring to doing ALL COLORS or are you referring to doing a DEEP CLEANING?

I meant ALL COLORS. A DEEP CLEANING is a good way to use up your cartridges REALLY quickly. I never do a deep cleaning.

Yes, it would be a good idea to work on your pigment black as well as your other colors at the same time. But as soon as your pigment black starts showing all the segments, you should only clean the colors.

Canon's advice is excellent. I would just do a nozzle check between each cleaning on step 5, just to see if any progress is being made. Also, make sure you don't get any liquid on the electronics while you are doing the alcohol cleaning with the Q-tips. Don't be tempted to submerge your print head in alcohol, for example.