i950 strange nozzle check pattern

[valerio]

Hi, I just registered to this fantastic Forum.

Recently I was not using so often my printer i950 and everything was OK. yesterdai I made a nozzle check and I got this strange pattern:



As you can see the cyan pattern is very strange, moreover nothing is printed in G. What is causing this problem?
I was thinking that the cyan head is partially clogged. I tried a couple of times to clean the cyan head with the a syringe with a small hose that attaches to the syringe and the printhead ink receiver as described by Robert in http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=241&p=1.

But no success.
Normally I'm using original Cannon ink, few months ago I started refilling with Color Fast ( Universal InkJet Refil ) but I don't know if the problem has been caused by this new ink because it is a lot of time since I run the nozzle check. It is important to highlight that in normal printing everything seams to be OK, I made the nozzle check just to be sure that everything is OK

There is any suggestion?

Thank you

Valerio

 

[ltsang]

Hi, Valerio,
from the print test you showed, I could see the missing pattern is very regular which points to a electrical problem rather than a normal head clog. Most likely is where the print head in contact with the printer did not make good contact. Try take out the print head and wipe the circuit board with a soft cloth soaked with alcohol gently and replace the print head see the missing nozzles come back. Takes only 5 minutes but that's the first thing I would try.
Hope that solves your problem. Do not touch those little springs on the printer, just clean the little copper dots at the back of the print head.

 

[Grandad35]

This post shows why problems with exactly 1/2 of a single bank of nozzles (which is what your top right nozzle check shows) are probably caused by an electrical problem, not a clog - like Itsang pointed out.

Please respond with the results of cleaning the contacts.

 

[valerio]

Hi, Valerio,
from the print test you showed, I could see the missing pattern is very regular which points to a electrical problem rather than a normal head clog. Most likely is where the print head in contact with the printer did not make good contact. Try take out the print head and wipe the circuit board with a soft cloth soaked with alcohol gently and replace the print head see the missing nozzles come back. Takes only 5 minutes but that's the first thing I would try.
Hope that solves your problem. Do not touch those little springs on the printer, just clean the little copper dots at the back of the print head.

Hi Itsang,

only today I was able to clean the contacts of the circuit board with alcohol. Unfortunately no success, the missing pattern is still there. I'm fearing that I have to replace my printer. Do you have any other suggestion?

Thank you

 

[Trigger 37]

Valerio,.. I had a similar problem on an i560 and I resolved it today. Read my post on "How to isolate printhead". I believe I fixed the problem by unplugging and replugging the flex cables that leave the logic card and go to the Carriage Asm and the printhead. You have to remove the covers to get at this. Not sure your up to that level of technical effort. It is difficult to get the out and to put them back.

 

[valerio]

Valerio,.. I had a similar problem on an i560 and I resolved it today. Read my post on "How to isolate printhead". I believe I fixed the problem by unplugging and replugging the flex cables that leave the logic card and go to the Carriage Asm and the printhead. You have to remove the covers to get at this. Not sure your up to that level of technical effort. It is difficult to get the out and to put them back.

Trigger 37, during the week end I'd like to try what you are suggesting. Shouldnt be a problem plugging and unplugging the flex cables, I'm an electronic technician. Could you please give me some suggestions on how to remove the covers? Some pictures could help a lot.

Thank you

 

[Trigger 37]

Valerio,...Sorry for the delay in responding. I was away on vacation for two weeks. I have a manual that has detailed pictures and instruction on how to repair and maintain the i550, 560, 850, and i950 printers. These pictures are worth a thousand words, and I don't wont to put all that on this web site. I will be placing that maunal on eBay sometime this week. It will provide all the details you need. If you have already fixed your problem with the Cyan nozzles, please let us know.

 

[valerio]

After few trialf I was able to remove the cover of the printer. I verified all the interconnections and I didn't find anything wrong.
What it is strange is that after few trials in cleaning the head as a side effect (I don't know why ), I had a severe ink contamination between black and yellow. So eventually I decided to get a new printhead from PrintHeadXpress. Just after 8 days I received the new printhead and, miracle! everything is again perfect. So now I'm still enjoying the print quality of my vintage printer.

 

[Trigger 37]

valerio,.. If you are interested, I have relisted my Printer Repair manuals on eBay. It includes the i950-i960. This will help you keep your printer working for a long time. You may want to continue to test your old printhead and to find out why it stopped working. This way you will know what to do to prevent the NEXT problem.

 

[valerio]

Thank you for your suggestion, I would be interested in getting your manual but unfortunately I found that you are not shipping overseeas.

Valerio