My Pixma ip4200 wont print black

[BusyBear]

Hi
My pixma ip4200 printer stopped printing so I replaced both black cartridges. That didn't work so I bought 2 more black cartridges (thinking the chip was no good) and also the 3 colors. I have now replaced all cartridges (black twice) and the black still wont print.

I have run the cleaning a few times I have run deep cleaning a few times.

I have run printer alignment a few times.

I can print in red font (so far the only color I have tried) but I can not print black font.

When I print a nozzle check the top line which is meant to be black doesn't print , all others do.

I am out of ideas!

All cartridges have red lights lit so I know the printer recognized there is cartridges there and it knows they are all full.
Any ideas?
Thanks BusyBear

 

[Servo]

I would say you need new print heads, these are 35 in the uk.

 

[headphonesman]

Hi
My pixma ip4200 printer stopped printing
I am out of ideas!

All cartridges have red lights lit so I know the printer recognized there is cartridges there and it knows they are all full.
Any ideas?
Thanks BusyBear

Yes you probabably do need a new printhead..................but as you have nothing to lose you may like to try and clear using the extreme methods of "vacuum pull back" to clear a suspected blockage discussed in other threads.
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=2798
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=241&p=2
or please advise your general location UK or USA or other?........if you are UK I may be able to help you more directly .

 

[Smile]

My recipe for print head cleaning:

1. Soak the print head in distilled water until it is very clear. Use a small plastic container that did not contain any chemicals in it before procedure. Single use containers should be used.
2. Leave the head in distilled water solution for 24hrs. Make sure water level covers ink inlet ports too.
3. Change distilled water in the container and heat it to degrees 40-50C. Too hot can damage the dead so make sure to not overheat the water. When the water is ready submerge the head into the container for 15mins or so. Make at least 4 cleaning cycles this way.
4. Put a coffee filter on the table, underneath the coffee filter put 3 - 4 sheets of paper towel to absorb the cleaning solution.
5. Put the print head on the coffee filter and get some soda straws (they are ideal for ink ports on pixma printers) remove rubber padding around ink ports on the print head by using some instrument as tweezers. Recommended way is to submerge the head into distilled water because rubber padding can be removed easily without friction in water. Now when you are ready connect each soda straw to every ink port.
6. Make a cleaning solution by using few drops of ammonia solution and distilled water. For example 2ml of ammonia and 19ml of water in a 20ml syringe. Mix the solution by shaking the syringe.
7. Fill the soda straws with cleaning solution. If you get air pockets in the straws use another 20ml syringe to connect and force air trough the straws until there are no more air pockets and solution level is decreasing in the straws. Take some patience the method is slow but well worth it. The solution should decrease faster as more nozzles are cleared. Don’t hesitate to use the empty syringe to force some air trough the nozzles if you get air stuck when filling the straws.
8. Finish the cleaning by injecting pure distilled water and by submerging the print head into distilled water for 15mins. Then blow the ports with air using a syringe with a soda straw.
9. Clean the gold contacts on the head with some isopropyl alcohol and then immediately install into printer and perform 2 to 5 cleaning cycles or some deep cleaning to prime the head, and then print some purge pages. Now you can print nozzle check to see how well the cleaning unclogged the nozzles.

 

[BusyBear]

oohhh thanks for that

Think I will have to get someone to help me build this vacuum/blower thing.

I am in Australia so you may be a lil too far away to help me directly though

BusyBear

 

[headphonesman]

oohhh thanks for that

Think I will have to get someone to help me build this vacuum/blower thing.

I am in Australia so you may be a lil too far away to help me directly though

BusyBear

yes its a pity you are in Oz , (in the nicest possible way!) especially as 6 weeks ago I was on holiday there , (all over area)...........I could have brought a head out to you !

The fabrication of the tool is as easy as it looks.....................but meanwhile try Smiles head cleaning methods first..............you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.. I have had several instances of a colour refusing to print which have neen redressed by a bit of deep cleaning via machine Maintence Program and in conjunction with Smiles methods. If you have continued to print heavily with a color blocked for some time it may have fried that part of the head and you will need to buy a head.