Canon Pro-10 Nozzle Clogged or Damaged?

[clogged_printer_man]

Been fighting with a used Canon Pro-10 I got from somebody who had not used it in years. At this point, I've tried soaking the print heads in windex and still have had no luck getting a perfect nozzle check. Are the heads damaged? Is there something else I should try? Any help is appreciated here!

 

[The Hat]

Any help is appreciated here!

Flood the purge unit with window cleaner, then try putting in a new set of carts and run a deep clean and then another nozzle check..

If there is no change then the head is probably beyond saving..

 

[clogged_printer_man]

Forgive my lack of knowledge here, but how would I go about flooding the purge unit? Just dump windex on top of it? It's also probably worth noting that I've been re-filling the existing ink cartridges with ink owl ink. Do you think the cartridges might be part of the problem?

 

[Artur5]

Possibly.
There's an expensive way of finding out. Install a whole new set of Canon original carts. OEM ink does a good job cleaning residual clogs of third party inks, although this won't fix the issue at once. Don't be disappointed it the colors with bad nozzle checks ( red and the two blacks ) take quite a while to recover, patience is the keyword here. Of course, depending on how long the printer had been neglected, there's a chance that you'll never get a perfect nozzle check from this printhead.

 

[The Hat]

Do you think the cartridges might be part of the problem? YES

The purge unit is where the print heads sits when ideal, first turn on the printer and when the print head moves away from the purge unit, pull the power plug quickly.

Now move the print head (By hand) over to the left side of the carriageway and this will give you access to the purge unit, use a large syringe or something similar to flood the top of the purge unit with window cleaner, don’t be afraid to splash it everywhere.

Now power on the printer once more and it will clean the purge unit itself, now try a test print of some sort, and remember a nozzle print check will tell you if your making any progress with the clogged nozzles..

Tip:- remember to shake a replacement cart before installing..

P.S. Artur5 has given some good advice also..

 

[clogged_printer_man]

Thanks for the tips guys! I'll pick up some replacement cartridges and flood the purge unit. If I see no improvement I think I can safely say the nozzles are cooked.

 

[The Hat]

I'll pick up some replacement cartridges

Don’t be tempted to buy aftermarket carts, its OEM inks your after not 3rd party..

 

[clogged_printer_man]

Alright, so I've replaced the PBK cartridge and it looks much better, which probably means that the MBK will also improve with the purchase of a new cartridge. However, I'm wondering if there is any way to save the old cartridges. Is there anything I can do here? I've seen the concept of flushing a cartridge thrown around here, would that help?

 

[The Hat]

I've seen the concept of flushing a cartridge thrown around here, would that help?

The carts are very easy to flush, but you need a special modified clip, that way you can rinse the cart with Window cleaner using a syringe, push the fluid in and sucking it out again a few time..

You can make a clip yourself, or buy them readymade..
octoinkjet.co.uk

 

[palombian]

That nozzle check is probably recoverable with good management. Try to view with a loupe or by scanning with high resolution to see the individual dots. You will see that white lines often still show lighter and smeared out dots, meaning the ink flow is not completely interupted.

No experience with Ink Owl (in particular mixed with other ink, something I always avoided).
As said, the best way to recover a PRO-10/PRO-9500 printhead is good ink and patience. IMO cleaning cycles do more bad than good.
I think a set of original cartridges is too expensive given the situation.
Best you could do is remove the printhead and soak it a night (or two) in distilled water with dishwashing liquid - for the sink not the machine), dry it properly before reinstalling, rinse and fill your carts with Ink Owl as explained, and do nozzle checks and one or two cleaning cycles every day until it enhances.

Fingers crossed, but since I refill my printers with Canon ink (from large format carts for the PRO-10/PRO-9500 and refill bottles for the Maxify) I seldom or none have clogs.