Cleaning a clogged printhead - ip4000

[ip4000]

I think I've found at least one way to clean the printhead.

I print a lot - basically the printer is running all the time. Recently I've run into greenish print. The test sheet show slightly "scratched" magenta (just barely). After some 20 deep cleaning cycles no change. As a last resort i plugged the printhead a cleaned the printhead bottom with soft tissue. BANG! the print turned back to normal. Magenta looks clean as allways. Must be a fluke me thinks.

Later (after 24 hrs printing full A4 by the hundreds) I give a test run on a magenta cart that had given me trouble. Same problem rears it's ugly head after a few sheets. The cart is an Hobbicolors cart with Hobbicolor magenta. Used only a couple of times. I've used Hobbi products and they are OK so I'm a bit puzzled why this should happen. Again hours of deep cleaning don't help. Then I remember the soft tissue cleaning method. And low and behold the printhead clears up.

Hopefully someone finds my finding usefull.

 

[hpnetserver]

How much ink did you drain into the printer's waste ink tank by doing 20 deep cleaning cycles? I bet the answer is none from your magenta cartridge. This proves what I have also questioned for a long time. If somehow a color in the print head is clogged the cleaning cycles will only suck ink from the colors that are not clogged. The clogged remains clogged. I did oberved that on a friend's s820 which had a clogged PC color. It didn't matter how many deep cleaning I did it wouldn't budge at all. But a quick soaking of the print head with water cleared it. Canon's cleaning cycle is a faulty function which only works in wasting ink on a healthy print head but does nothing to one with dried ink in the nozzles. I believe your printer's magenta channel has dried ink in it. It caused difficulty for the ink to flow downward into the magenta print head. This can happen if you ever let the printer continue to print at a time when the magenta cartridge was near empty. Considering your printing volume this could happen. You need to soak your print head to clear the magenta channel.

This is my analysis of the cause of a clogged Canon print head. If ink cartridge is near empty there is too little ink in the nozzle to be ejected normally. There is not enough ink to form bubbles with the required amount of ink for each bubble. So when the heater heats up no bubble is ejected. Instead, water in the ink is burnt out and the ink dries and clogs the nozzle. Soaking the print head should quickly clears it.

You might have a defective new magenta cartridge though. Try it on another printer.

 

[herky]

Is there a better or easier to clean nozzles than the clean,
or deep clean proceedure for the Canon i960?

Further to cleaning and deep cleaning my i960 after a nozzle check, am now getting horizontal line and vertical streaking on my color prints. Any clues?

 

[fotofreek]

Herky - I am the person who gave you this link on the printer newsgroup. Go to the FAQ's on the opening screen of this forum and open and read the posts on the first subject - my printer isn't printing properly. After reading through the information, come back if there is anything more you need to know. Almost anything anyone would answer would be a repeat of what is in that FAQ. Best to educate yourself first. Don't be shy, however, as you will get all the help we can give you here.

I would also suggest that you click on the Neil Slade link at the top of this forum's opening page and read his info on keeping your printer running well. Also good info on various inks and carts for these printers.

If you need more help, we need to know if you are using Canon ink, prefilled aftermarket carts, or refilling them yourself. Also need to know if you have left your printer sitting idle for fairly long times in the past.

The cleaning cycles in the printer software are for "light clogs." Unfortunately, the printer companies don't give you information on what to do next if the cleaning cycles don't work. Multiple repeats of the cleaning cycles if the first few don't work are generally not productive and just fill your waste ink tank faster.

 

[herky]

Thanx fotofreek, will looking further, as U suggest.
cheers-Herb.