ip4000 printer colour drop off

[batchie123]

hi i recently have had problems with my printer not printing grey/silver colours i have cleaned the heads with isopropyl alcohol and have been using JET TEC Compatible ink
it seems that the 6c and 6m small boxes in the print page shows orange/pink rather than grey (picture) and the CYAN is slightly banded.
What print head actually prints the boxes and being in england is there any alternative to the alcohol that i can try thanks in advance


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v441/batchie/DSCF0026.jpg

 

[Trigger 37]

batchie123,.. Silver and grey colors are a balance of all three Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow. To made black in photos, the printer will use 100% of C,M,&Y. Silver is just a different "Shade of Grey" Another example is if your Magenta is printing very weak, things that should be grey will come out Green,... that is because in the absense of Magenta, Cyan and Yellow will make Green. Add the Cyan back and you will be able to get grey. Since yours is orange you are missing Cyan and your magenta is printing weak.

The Canon iP4000 is one of the best printers that Canon has ever made. It is a shame that you are using such cheap ink from JET TEC. I believe they make one mixture of ink for all printers,... that is why they call it a universal ink. There is no one ink that can work in all printers and give good results. There are many places on the net where you can get good ink to refill the Canon ink carts and it is just as low a price as the JET Tec. Try PrecisionColors.com for image Specialist inks, or Atlanticinkjet.com. They have compatible bulk ink for refilling or they have excellent ink carts.

If you have been refilling your carts with JET TEC for a long time, I'm sure your ink carts are clogged internally. Order some good ink, and also order some printhead cleaning solution and make yourself a clean cartridge out of an old cart. Clean the printhead with the cleaning solution by printing color bar test patterns of all colors until you see no streaks. Then purge the old carts to rejuvinate them and refill them with good ink. If you have not been doing refilling, then throw the jet tec carts away and buy some new ones that won't clog up your printhead.

 

[batchie123]

many thanks for your quick reply you have explained it simply which i needed to know and i'm much appreciative i use cartridges and have never filled my own and i have just purchased 3 cleaning cartridges for the colours
I used jet tec ink because it came with good recommendation's and have been using it for 2 years with no problems but the web pages you suggested are usa/canadian based and i live in england also i dont like to fill my own and would rather buy cartridges. Is there any other manufacturer that also supply to the uk you could recommend that is cheaper than canon original? i do a lot of printing and cannot afford to buy canon ink around about 50 pounds 100 dollars a pop each time i refill, again thanks for your time and advice
batchie....

 

[pebe]

Here are some suppliers. I have used the first two with excellent results.

http://www.choicestationery.co.uk/index.html
http://www.nd-ink.co.uk
http://happyprinter.co.uk/catalog/

As you do a lot of printing, it would be cheaper still to refill your self. I just bought a Hobbicolors refill kit for the iP4000, including 5 new carts, for 18 inc delivery by airmail.

Refilling is a doddle!

 

[batchie123]

your a star pebe 3 great websites thanks...you mentioned the hobbicolors kit i have found one on ebay for 35 usd delivered,do you get good results from these kits

 

[pebe]

Yes, I got mine from the Ebay site. Delivery was very quick and I am well pleased with it.

My previous kit was from a UK supplier about 18 months ago. That worked well until recently when I had problems with the magenta ink. It started to develop jelly-like particles in it so I ditched the lot and went to Hobbicolors, who have been well recommended.

 

[batchie123]

thanks again i'll give the kit a try.

 

[jflan]

Another vote for Hobbicolors.
I use it in my iP3000 and am very happy with the performance.

 

[on30trainman]

Another plus vote here for Hobbicolors ink - use it in both my ip4000 and ip6000D. If you choose Hobbicolors make sure to get the latest inks - the UW8 series.

Steve W.

 

[jflan]

Another plus vote here for Hobbicolors ink - use it in both my ip4000 and ip6000D. If you choose Hobbicolors make sure to get the latest inks - the UW8 series.

Steve W.

ontrainman,
What is the story with UW8 ?
Just checked my bottles and no UW8 designation on them.