Canon Pro-10 - Is My Print Head Faulty?

[GordW]

I would like some help from the group members. I have a Canon Pro-10 and use Precision Colors refills and Canon OEM ink when I need better quality.
(Background). In November I made several prints on heavy paper with a bit of a cup (concave) curl. I could hear the print head moving back and forth across the page much louder than on more normal-thickness paper in the past.
Fast forward to about a month ago and while the head noise is more normal, I noticed significant 'banding' in the mid-tones and blacks. While it is less noticeable with the Canon OEM ink set than it is with my Precision Color refill set, it is still there. That got me thinking it was a clogged print head. I took the print head out and rinsed it with distilled water. After drying and re-inserting, the issue persists.
Here are a couple of photos of prints that I hope show the issue. The JToolman test print is on Red River Satin. And the leaf is Canon Pro Lustre.
I would appreciate any insights that any of you can suggest. Did I damage the print head and need to replace it?

 

[Simon Knight]

Hi,
I would suggest printing a nozzle check followed by a head alignment. Both are found in the Canon printer utility application.

Also, my own Pro-10 has just suffered a print head failure where the grey ink stopped working. My printer refused to fully switch on and pulsed a code using the two LED. From memory I believe the flashing leds decoded to B200 which means dead printer head. I purchased a new head and my printer is now working.

In the past I have found that Canon print heads are quite tolerant of paper strikes. I use to have a S9000 with a CIS and from time to time it would trip over the tubes and make a horrible noise but apart from the noise it was fine.

 

[GordW]

Thanks Simon. I had previously run numerous nozzle checks and printer alignments using glossy paper (as suggested by JToolman) without success.

I ended up buying a new printer head from Canon Canada and after installing it and then a nozzle check and head alignment, I'm back printing.

 

[The Hat]

I had previously run numerous nozzle checks and printer alignments using glossy paper (as suggested by JToolman) without success.

The standard Canon nozzle check should always be run on plain copy paper, anyone else saying different is talking through their hat.. That’s what Canon.Inc recommend..

Remember it uses both photo and matte black and one is incompatible with Glossy paper..

 

[GordW]

The standard Canon nozzle check should always be run on plain copy paper, anyone else saying different is talking through their hat.. That’s what Canon.Inc recommend..

Remember it uses both photo and matte black and one is incompatible with Glossy paper..

Yes. I did run all of the nozzle checks on plain copy paper.

Thanks for the follow-up.