Canon Pixma Pro 1 Head change. Advice please.

BWPUK

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After eight years I'm just about to change the head on my beloved Pro 1. Can anybody advise how I can get the head carriage to the centre so I can change it? Any other advice would be gratefully received. Many thanks !
 

The Hat

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After eight years I'm just about to change the head on my beloved Pro 1.
What exactly is wrong with the print head that you need to change it..
Please post up your current nozzle check…
 

BWPUK

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Hi Mr Hat,

Please see the attached files the photo shows the banding problem I am having with prints and negatives I've been printing. The nozzle check shows the banding on the gray channels. This banding is horizontal not the vertical banding on the whole image because that's the result of a crap scan and scanner. I have done numerous head cleans and the banding on the gray channels will not go away. So I have assumed it's the head, so I've ordered a new one.

I've had the printer for quite a while and have always used Canon ink. It has never been hammered from a use point of view, and I suppose it's my neglect that has caused the problem because it has quite often gone weeks without being used.

Thanks for your help.
 

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  • Canon 1 Banding.jpg
    Canon 1 Banding.jpg
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  • Canon 1 Test.jpg
    Canon 1 Test.jpg
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The Hat

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I suppose it's my neglect that has caused the problem because it has quite often gone weeks without being used.
There is not much wrong with your print head, yes you are getting some horizontal lines in some of your colour blocks, but that’s not the fault of the print head.

If you are leaving the printer unused for long durations, now that’s your problem, you need to wake the printer up slowly and not just expect it to print straight away..

You may need to give the carts a good shake before starting to print, try the agitation mode in maintenance and run a nozzle check then leave the printer to sit for ½ hour, a lot of your issues are caused by the ink pigments settling in the tubing.

The best way to clear and clear up the tubing is to print some more and as often as you can and this will use up far less ink than running cleaning cycles all the time, and this will clean up all your issue..

If none of the above work for you, then run one deep cleaning cycle and leave the printer to sit for a while then print a nozzle check again and see if there are any improvements…

P.S. It’s false economy to leave this printer ideal because it uses more ink that way, than when it prints..
 

BWPUK

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Thanks Mr Hat,

I've done all as you suggest now and the nozzle check is all clear with no banding on the black and grey channels. However the banding on the prints is still giving me a headache, it is still present. I use Permajet Digital Transfer Film to print digital negatives for my Platinum printing and the Pro 1 has been printing them perfectly up until recently when this banding started showing up. It obviously is nothing to do with the blocked nozzles on the black and grey inks, I've cleaned the rollers, done a deep clean, and used the manual feed and it still occurs. Any ideas or suggestions what it might be ?
 

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Any ideas or suggestions what it might be ?
That is not good, maybe you could run 10 test sheets on copy paper of some image to exercise all the nozzles, this can help clean out any lingering little bits of dried ink..

Have you tried using the highest print settings on your image, or is the ink puddling ?
 

BWPUK

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Yes, I always use the highest quality print settings. Also the same media settings too. This material always accepts the ink without puddling and has made perfect negatives every time. I wondered if the head was touching the material and brushing it to create the banding so I enabled the setting to increase the head gap and it still has the banding.

I will do as you say and run 10 test sheets. Thanks so much for all your help.
 

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That is not good, maybe you could run 10 test sheets on copy paper of some image to exercise all the nozzles, this can help clean out any lingering little bits of dried ink..

Have you tried using the highest print settings on your image, or is the ink puddling ?
I think I may have sorted the problem. The media setting - Photo Paper Plus Glossy 2- must have caused the head to lightly brush the image causing the streaking. I changed the media setting to Fine Art Rag, which is obviously a thicker paper, and the problem went away. Many thanks to you for all your help.
 
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