i560 yellow printing with magenta ??

[RSole]

My i560 prints magenta (with yellow) when I print a yellow test page. If I print with only the yellow cart installed, the print is perfect with not a trace of contamination. As soon as I re-install the other carts, the magenta overpowers all other colors with lots of banding. I rinsed the print head in hot water but no improvement. I've searched here for a solution to no avail. I'm using Costco refill ink and mixed the photo inks with the others to stretch it, but that should only cause washed out colors, I think. The printer sits for weeks without use, but if it were a clog issue then yellow would not print perfectly as it does when it is the only cart in the unit. Can anyone help me with a solution other than buying another printer? Thanks.


p.s. I just now removed the yellow cartridge and there is magenta ink inside of it. How is the magenta getting in there? I had just flushed out the entire cart since I thought I had drunkenly put magenta into it previously but now I see that it is somehow sucking up the adjacent color.

 

[IGExpandingPanda]

My i560 prints magenta (with yellow) when I print a yellow test page. If I print with only the yellow cart installed, the print is perfect with not a trace of contamination. As soon as I re-install the other carts, the magenta overpowers all other colors with lots of banding. I rinsed the print head in hot water but no improvement. I've searched here for a solution to no avail. I'm using Costco refill ink and mixed the photo inks with the others to stretch it, but that should only cause washed out colors, I think. The printer sits for weeks without use, but if it were a clog issue then yellow would not print perfectly as it does when it is the only cart in the unit. Can anyone help me with a solution other than buying another printer? Thanks.


p.s. I just now removed the yellow cartridge and there is magenta ink inside of it. How is the magenta getting in there? I had just flushed out the entire cart since I thought I had drunkenly put magenta into it previously but now I see that it is somehow sucking up the adjacent color.

Firstly, you're using costco refill ink. IMS ink IIRC, at least that's what it was when I bought it. It's "universal" ink which well, isn't universal. It'll probably work OK in a canon for a while, but it's not ideal for it. That being said, it's been so long since I saw a BCI-3e it could be IMS ink could be color matched for it, but I highly suspect it was geared for an earlier Epson printer, like a 890 or so. This is just a guess.

The IMS black isn't pigmented. This does affect the quality of prints.

IMS ink was sold for about $1.00/oz, this is taking into account the photo cyan/photo magenta inks. Without those inks, it still was really cheap. Really Really cheap.

What you are experiencing is likely a lost of a rubber seal between magenta and the other two colors. There really isn't a resolution other than replacing the head. Canon heads are prone to burn out, and those rubber seals.

The i560 took the QY6-0042-000 printhead. This has been "discontinued" in favor of the QY6-0064-000 like on the ip3000. This'll run about $60 shipped.


Currently the best deal for a replacement printer is the mp610. Costco and Amzon have it on sale for about $80. To refill, you should also invest in a chip resetter. a "redsetter" type runs about $30. Plus you should consider ink other than IMS on this printer. Inksupply.com and hobbicolors are decent solutions. It'll cost more than the IMS ink, but you can use the old IMS bottles to fill your cartridges. This is what I did.

So
Replacement head, about $60
Replacement printer and chip resetter, about $110

FYI, the cartridges won't fit in the new printer.

 

[RSole]

Oh hallowed InkJetGuru! Thanks for that fast reply. So it is a leaking seal between the two colors, eh? Is it a seal inside the head or do you mean the rubber-like gasket that the cartridge sits on when it's inserted? It's dry around both carts in that area. I've heard there is a purge-pump that is activated when the print head parks on the right side. I will buy better ink for my next unit, thanks to you.

 

[IGExpandingPanda]

Oh hallowed InkJetGuru! Thanks for that fast reply. So it is a leaking seal between the two colors, eh? Is it a seal inside the head or do you mean the rubber-like gasket that the cartridge sits on when it's inserted? It's dry around both carts in that area. I've heard there is a purge-pump that is activated when the print head parks on the right side. I will buy better ink for my next unit, thanks to you.

The head attaches onto the printhead assembly with two screws IIRC. It's here where there is a gasket. Yours is obviously blown. There are also rubber grommets where the cartridge attaches. It would take a good deal of overflow to go from one cartridge to another. As I recall each cartridge has a small wall between the other. At least that's the way it is on the QY-0049 (ip4000).

While I don't recommend IMS ink, how many years did you use it? How many did you buy and use without a problem? I'm presuming IMS, unless Costco sells a different brand.

It looks like it's called "One ink". Not including the photo cyan/magenta it works out to be $1.50/ounce. If you enjoyed a few years of use, by all means don't let me tell you what to do. Heads are a limited lifespan item anyway. Without a doubt, there are better inks on the market. I'm not aware of any that are cheaper.

MIS (inksupply.com, not IMS or OneINK) floats at about $2.50/ounce for canon if you buy 4oz at a time + shipping. Their pigment ink is real pigment. I use this.

Hobbicolors floats around $2/ounce shipped. I wasn't impressed with their pigment ink the last time I tried it, it was dye, but I'm told they switched to a real pigmented ink. I was impressed with the color. They sell their product on e-bay. The "only" reason I don't use this is the fact that I consider paypal to be a pain, otherwise I'd buy Hobbicolors color and MIS (not IMS) pigment black.

 

[Ron350]

RSole
Are you using Canon ink cartridges or aftermarket?
How are you refilling the ink cartridges?

All it takes is a small air leak in one of the ink cartridges or at the rubber seal at the print head inlet port to cause ink cross contamination.

PS: The i560 is a very reliable printer with fewer moving parts than newer printers.

 

[RSole]

Hi again, IJG,
I've only used the original cartridges to refill (er, or were some generics from Staples?). I drilled and threaded the fill holes and used nylon screws and tiny o-rings to seal the hole. Can I assume that the quality of ink has nothing to do with the head membrane leaking? The way the membrane could leak is through fatigue from flexing or corrosion (if it's a foil membrane) from the pH of the ink being wrong. The printer never got much use and I've only refilled the carts maybe less than ten times each.
I cannot find an available new printer that uses the same cartridges yet. Or a printer that does not need a chip resetter but some resetters are less than $20, so not too big an issue, I guess. Any suggestions for a replacement printer? Thanks again.

 

[IGExpandingPanda]

Hi again, IJG,
I've only used the original cartridges to refill (er, or were some generics from Staples?). I drilled and threaded the fill holes and used nylon screws and tiny o-rings to seal the hole. Can I assume that the quality of ink has nothing to do with the head membrane leaking? The way the membrane could leak is through fatigue from flexing or corrosion (if it's a foil membrane) from the pH of the ink being wrong. The printer never got much use and I've only refilled the carts maybe less than ten times each.
I cannot find an available new printer that uses the same cartridges yet. Or a printer that does not need a chip resetter but some resetters are less than $20, so not too big an issue, I guess. Any suggestions for a replacement printer? Thanks again.

You'd obviously need to buy a new set of bci3e cartridges to test whether this is a cartridge problem or a head problem.

I'm sure ink would have a factor in printhead life, but 10x each tank is there and abouts of recommended print head life. The service manual contains more details. What might be a factor is fill technique, letting the sponge become over saturated. I tape the far head from the fill hole, the vent hole above the sponge, to help prevent this from happening. While I wouldn't purchase the ink you're using as it's not color matched to OEM ink ip4000/ip4300, having print issues now is not a sign of ink compatibility.

Presuming 640ml used (21.64oz) @ $25/set,
Hobbicolors would be about $43.28 ($18.28 more)
MIS (inksupply.com) would be about $54.1 ($29.10 more)
-Benefit: Closer color matching

There is a hidden cost for the printhead, about $1.00 per refill, though in your case about 1.25 per refill. 10 is the OEM designation of printhead life. 20-30 is not unusual. Sub ten, well, that's not a great run.

Canon OEM tanks are IMHO the best in terms of refill life. I've tried many a cheaper refillable brand, each at some point got gummed up.

the i560 took BCI-3e color cartridges. Canon has made two generation leaps since then
bci3e-BK / bci6 - ip3000/ip4000/ip5000 (bci-7 for Japanese models)
3e color will fit in a -6 tank

PGI5 / cli8 - ip3500/4200/4300/4500/5200 and such (bci-7e for Japanese models)

PGI220/CLI221 - ip4600/mp620 smaller, and more costly.

You can't really find the ip4500 unless you are lucky.
You can find the mp610, the basic all and one version of the ip4500. It's presently $80 shipped from Amazon.com and Costco. You'll need a chip resetter.

Currently, we know very little about the ip4600 and mp620/630 and such. I presume they take new chips and I presume there is no chip resetter on the market yet. This is unfortunate as the mp620 has wifi, a nice feature.

DON'T expect the mp610 to stick around, it's a close out price.

But if you're not interested in color prints, you might consider replacing the head. There is NO real advantage to newer printers in terms of text resolution. The newer printheads still use the same 600dpi 30pl in nozzles. The ip4300/4500/mp610 just have more nozzles, 512 rather than 320.

Printhead - about $50 + shipping
Printer - about $80 shipped

 

[Ron350]

Rsole
If you want to keep the i560 there is a way to test the print head for cross contamination outside of the printer.
The test is not as good as installing 3 new Canon color cartridges but it is much cheaper.

 

[RSole]

You are using a lot of virtual ink to help me out. Thanks, Ink Jet Guru.
Please do tell, how do I test for leakage in the head outside if the printer? I hope you don't mean putting it into another printer.
I've also read something about a purge/scavenge pump that goes into action when the head parks on some spongy pad on the right side. I'll eagerly wait for your reply.

 

[RSole]

Well, I succumbed and bought a new Multifunction Canon MX310. It was $129.99 at FutureShop (Canada that is) and $39.99 at The Source (a div of Circuit City here), so with FutureShop's 10% price guarantee, I paid $30.99 plus tax. Much cheaper than a new head for my old printer.

I have one other question: can the half full "demo" cartridges (PG40 and PG41) on this MX310 be topped up like a like a normal cartridge or are they physically smaller inside? Thanks for all your help.