Colour problems with Pixma 4000

[Semi-Scouse]

I've been using a Pixma 4000 with third party ink (Jet Tec cartridges) for over a year now with excellent results.
Recently all my prints (mostly photos on PhotoPro paper ) have taken on a greenish hue. Nozzle checks and deep cleaning fail to clear this. I've also binned all my ink and installed new cartridges.....but no improvement. I've even tried a new batch of photo paper, but still have the problem.

I've reinstalled drivers and the easy-print software, and have tried printing directly without easy-print, but nothing makes any difference.

Printing from my son's MacBook rather than from my PC shows some improvement, so now I'm well baffled.

Can anyone offer any ideas that will prevent me chucking the damn printer out of the window?

 

[Grandad35]

Semi-Scouse,

A green cast can be caused by a lack of Magenta. You said that you have run nozzle checks - do they look normal (especially the magenta(s))?

It has been shown numerous times in this forum that you cannot rely on any non-OEM prefilled cartridge to give consistent color from batch to batch. Unless they fill the carts themselves, the people who sell these cartridges have little control over where the ink comes from. Economics dictates that these carts are usually filled in China with Chinese ink, so you can guess what happens.

This problem is why those who require consistent color usually chose to refill, using reputable bulk ink from suppliers who always (well - almost always) supply the same ink.

 

[Semi-Scouse]

Cheers G35!

I'll try buying some original Canon catridges and see how it goes from there.

If it's Ok, I'll probably take your advice and try refilling froma consistent supply. OEM cartridge priced(particularly here in the UK) mean that it's almost a viable option to buy a new printer every second time the ink(s) run out.

Thanks again for the advice.

Semi-Scouse.

 

[jure849]

My Canon pixma ip1500 is doing the same exact thing. I've tried everything including drivers, a new printhead and new Canon ink cartridges to no avail. Any ideas what's going on? Thanks.

 

[Grandad35]

1. Did you print at least the equivalent of 2 8x10 prints to completely purge the old ink out of the printhead before judging the color?
2. What does the nozzle check show, especially the Magenta?
3. What paper are you using?
4. Are you letting the prints "dry" at least overnight before judging their color?
5. What light source are you viewing the prints under?
6. Is your monitor calibrated/profiled? If so, how?
7. How do you know that your original images have the correct color (e.g. are you setting a "custom white balance" in your camera before you take your test shots)?
8. Are you adjusting the color in software?
9. What software are you using to print? What settings are you using in the driver?

The first review that I looked at for this printer (http://reviews.cnet.com/Canon_Pixma_iP1500/4505-3156_7-30969814.html) says that it has poor color reproduction. The lack of a "photo (dye) black" will adversely affect its ability to print a full range of darker colors. Maybe your problem is inherent with this printer.

 

[jure849]

Hi Thanks so much for responding. To clarify, my ip1500 was printing beautifully until I ran out of PrintRite ink cartridges which I can no longer buy. My images need to be printed borderless on 8.5x11 paper. In addition to full color, they contain solid black, which now prints greenish or grayish from any cartridge on any setting. The only way I can get it to print black now is when the its set for plain paper and NOT borderless. Its my understanding that when set to plain paper it draws from the black cartridge and all other settings use a mix from the three colors to make black. It seems like a software setting issue, but the change of cartridge mfr. throws a wrench in it all, I know. Thanks for your attention Grandad35 I really appreciate it.

1. Did you print at least the equivalent of 2 8x10 prints to completely purge the old ink out of the printhead before judging the color?
yes, Ive even used purge documents Ive downloaded
2. What does the nozzle check show, especially the Magenta?
nozzle check is perfect Canon told me that means everythings working
3. What paper are you using?
Costco professional glossy inkjet photo paper, but ANY paper shows the noticeable black verses green I described above
4. Are you letting the prints "dry" at least overnight before judging their color?
yes, again black vs. green, very noticeable
5. What light source are you viewing the prints under?
all daylight, indoors, anything. . . green
6. Is your monitor calibrated/profiled? If so, how?
I dont know
7. How do you know that your original images have the correct color (e.g. are you setting a "custom white balance" in your camera before you take your test shots)?
again, black vs. green
8. Are you adjusting the color in software?
not to my knowledge, but maybe its embedding some kind of profile that I dont understand
9. What software are you using to print? What settings are you using in the driver? Im a Mac user; Ive tried to print from Acrobat, Preview, Photoshop, all with the same results. Im printing the same exact files that were printing perfectly before; nothings changed that Im aware of except the ink.

 

[Grandad35]

jure849,

It wasn't clear in your original post that you also changed cartridge suppliers. As has been stated many times by many people, 3rd party prefilled carts cannot be relied on to give repeatable color, especially when you change supplers. The most likely problem is that the new carts have ink that doesn't closely match your old carts.

As you stated, your printer doesn't have a "Photo black" ink, so your black on photos is generated by a mixture of C/M/Y inks. It is very difficult to get this mixture to give a good black - this is why the next higher level of printers include a photo black ink. The solution of printing photos with the pigment black and dye based C/M/Y might seem like an obvious solution, until you see the "bronzing" that this causes (especially on glossy paper). It looks like you will have to try other suppliers to see if someone else has a better C/M/Y inkset.

Google for reviews on the ip1500. For example (http://reviews.cnet.com/Canon_Pixma_iP1500/4505-3156_7-30969814.html) states:

Canon markets the iP1500 as an all-purpose printer, so as you might suspect, its photo printing is decidedly unimpressive. Our test photo, which is designed to stress a printer's photo capabilities, came out extremely dithered. Fine details, such as the illustration on a postage stamp, weren't discernible to the naked eye, and skin tones needed serious smoothing. Because of all the visible dots, prints looked blurry. Graphics were even worse, with lots of banding and, not surprisingly, more dithering. The iP1500 is not as skilled at handling gradients as its siblings (which aren't all that great themselves), its color matching is off, and its photos lack contrast.

But this shouldn't be a surprise, given that this is an entry level printer that they practically give away.

 

[jure849]

Grandad35 - Great news, I seem to have resolved my greenish ink problem. I found some of my old 3rd party cartridges, popped them in my Canon pixma ip1500 and black is black again, horray. The black ink is clearly marked "dye-based ink". Apparently everything else I tried was pigment-based black? It may be a cheap printer with bad reviews and the wrong ink, but everyone I know who's ever seen my printouts has thought they're absolutely gorgeous, until of course, black was green. Now that black's black, everything's rosy again, ha. It works for me. Hope this helps others. Thanks again for your attention.